Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Jan.[January] 18, 1839.

AN ACT for the relief of the late Warden of the Penitentiary.
1

Auditor to issue warrant for $200.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, 2That the Auditor of Public Accounts be, and he is hereby, required to issue his warrant on the treasury in favor of the late Warden of the penitentiary for two hundred dollars.

In full of all claims.

Sec. 2. The money so appropriated shall be the full receipt and acquittal for all the said Warden may claim for emoluments and services, arising to him, and performed by him, during the time the said Warden was elected to said office.3

Approved, January 18, 1839.

1William H. Henderson introduced HB 49 to the House of Representatives on December 19, 1838. The House filled in the relief amount on December 21. On January 1, 1839, the House passed the bill. The Senate passed the bill on January 12. On January 18 the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 113, 125, 146, 152, 207, 219, 221, 238; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 125, 127, 156, 159-160, 175.

2The House of Representatives filled in the dollar amount on December 21, 1838.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 125.

3On January 16, 1837, the General Assembly elected Benjamin Enloe as warden of the Illinois State Penitentiary at Alton. Enloe began his duties on March 4, the same day the General Assembly passed an act increasing the warden’s salary from $600 to $800 annually. In July 1837, governor Joseph Duncan reported to the Illinois House of Representatives that in his opinion, the increase in Enloe’s salary was unconstitutional because Enloe was a sitting member of the General Assembly when the increase was approved. Eight days later, the General Assembly passed an act abolishing the position of warden, transferring the warden’s authority and responsibilities to the Inspectors of the Penitentiary. Enloe only held the position of warden from March 4 to July 21, 1837, yet he claimed the state owed him the balance of the salary for the two-year term to which he was elected. In December 1838, Enloe brought suit in the Illinois Supreme Court in an attempt to compel the Auditor to pay him the remainder of his salary. The Court disagreed and refused to compel the Auditor to pay any further money to Enloe.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 276-79; People ex rel. Enloe v. Auditor of Public Accounts, 2 Ill. (1 Scammon) (1838) 536-38.