Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb.[February] 23, 1839.

AN ACT to establish the Illinois Asylum for the education of the deaf and dumb.
1

Persons created body politic.

Name and style.

Powers.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Thomas Carlin, Daniel G. Whitney, and Thomas Cole, of Adams county, Otway Wilkinson, Samuel D. Lockwood, Joseph Duncan, Dennis Rockwell, William Thomas, Julian M. Sturdevant, George M. Chambers, Samuel M. Prosser, Porter Clay, and Mathew Stacy, of Morgan county, Richard F. Barrett and Samuel H. Treat, of Sangamon county, Cyrus Walker, of McDonough county, Benjamin F. Morris, of Hancock county, William E. Withrow and James McCrosky, of Schuyler county, and Thomas Worthington, of Pike county, be, and they are hereby,

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created a body politic and corporate, to be styled and known by the name of “The President and Directors of the Illinois Asylum for the education of the deaf and dumb,” and by that name and style to remain and have perpetual succession, with power to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in all courts of law and equity; and they and their successors in office may have and use a common seal, and may change and alter the same at their pleasure; and shall be capable in law, by the name and style aforesaid, of purchasing, holding, and conveying any real and personal estate for the purposes of this incorporation, and for none other: Provided, That the individual property of the commissioners shall be bound for the faithful expenditure of all moneys appropriated for the purposes provided for in this act.

No.[Number] of directors.

Sec. 2. The number of directors shall not exceed nineteen, exclusive of the principal or superintendent of said asylum, who shall, ex officio, be a member of the board of directors, and exclusive of the president of the board.

Object.

Sec. 3. The object of said corporation shall be to promote, by all proper and feasible means, the intellectual, moral, and physical culture of that unfortunate portion of the community who, by the mysterious dispensations of Providence, have been born, or by disease become deaf, and, of course, dumb, and by a judicious and well adapted course of education, to reclaim them from their lonely and cheerless condition, restore them to the rank of their species, and fit them for the discharge of the social and domestic duties of life.

Location.

Sec. 4. Said asylum shall be located at any eligible site within four miles of the town of Jacksonville; Provided, Said president and directors can obtain a donation of five acres of ground with said limits, suitable for the use of the same.

Powers.

Sec. 5. The president and directors aforesaid shall have power, from time to time to prescribe and regulate the course of study to be pursued in said institution; to fix the rate of tuition, room-rent, and other expenses; to appoint instructors, and such other officers and agents as may be needed in managing the concerns of the institution; to define their duties, powers, and employments; to fix their compensation; to displace and remove either of the instructors, officers, or agents; to fill all vacancies among the instructors and agents; to erect necessary buildings and work-shops in which to prosecute the intellectual, moral, and physical instruction of the pupils; to purchase books, maps, charts, and other necessary apparatus for the use of the institution; and to make such by-laws as may, from time to time, be necessary relative to the management of the affairs of the corporation, and the regulation of the persons exercising any of the offices aforesaid, not contrary to law.

Sec. 6. The president and directors aforesaid shall faithfully apply the funds of the institution, according to the best of their judgment, in erecting suitable buildings; in compen-

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sating the necessary instructors, officers, and agents; in procuring books, maps, charts, and other apparatus necessary in promoting the education of the deaf and dumb children of this State, gratuitously, so far as the funds of the institution will admit; and it shall furthermore be the duty of the said president and directors to present to the Speaker of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, at each regular session of the Legislature, within the first week of the session, a statement of the funds and expenses of the institution, and of the number of children received and educated therein, designating the parts of the State whence they have come, and distinguishing between those who have been supported gratuitously, and others.

Guardian of deaf and dumb person.

Sec. 7. Whenever the parent, guardian, or nearest friend of an indigent deaf and dumb person is desirous to have him or her instructed, application shall be made to two justices of the peace of the county wherein such deaf and dumb person shall reside, who shall certify to the inability of the parent or guardian to pay for his or her board and tuition; which certificate, being produced, shall authorize the directors of the institution aforesaid to receive such deaf and dumb person as a pupil; and each indigent pupil, so received into the institution, shall be provided with board, lodging, and tuition, gratuitously, so far as the funds of the institution will admit.

Auditor to pay to pres.[president] & directors.

Proviso.

Sec. 8. In order to aid the funds of said asylum, the Auditor of Public Accounts is hereby authorized and required, annually, before making an apportionment and distribution of the interest upon the school, college, and seminary fund among the several counties of the State, to pay over to the said president and directors, out of said interest, a sum not exceeding one quarter per cent. upon the whole amount of said school, college, or seminary fund: Provided, That the Legislature may, at any time, repeal the eighth section of this act.

Powers of directors.

Sec. 9. The said directors, or a majority of them, when met, shall constitute a board, and shall have to appoint a president, a vice president, a treasurer, and secretary, (the president and vice president to be selected from their own body) and to prescribe their duties, and fix their term of service: and said president and directors shall have power to fill all vacancies which occur in their own body, by death, resignation, or otherwise.

Power of Legislature.

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall have power, from time to time, to alter and amend this charter, and to make such changes in the mode of conducting and managing the institution aforesaid, as to them shall seem best calculated to advance the interest of the same, and promote the objects of this incorporation.

Sec. 11. The act shall be deemed and taken as a public act, and shall be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, February 23, 1839.

1On January 2, 1839, Senator Orville H. Browning introduced SB 55 in the Senate. On January 11, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on School Lands and Education. On January 15, the Committee on School Lands and Education reported the bill favorably without amendment. On January 17, the Senate passed the bill. On January 25, the House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee on Education. On January 31, the House amended the bill. On February 1, the House referred the bill to a select committee of seven. On February 2, the select committee reported the bill favorably without amendment. The House then voted 41 yeas to 37 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting nay, to amend the eighth section of the bill. The House then passed two further amendments to the bill. On February 13, the House passed the bill by a vote of 59 yeas to 25 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On February 19, the Senate concurred in the House amendments. On February 25, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 3 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 233, 281, 315-316, 318, 327-328, 391, 454, 488; Journal of the Senate of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 3, 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 127, 157, 170, 183-184, 327, 354, 393, 406.