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Sec[Section]. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly That the Commissioners of the school fund be and they are hereby required and directed
to [draw?] so much of the school fund of this state as may be deposited in Banks, and place the same in the Treasury of the State.
Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Governor to ascertain the amount of principal and
interest which the State is indebted to the school fund for money borrowed thereof, so soon as the same can
be done and upon the receipt of such information, the Governor is hereby authorized
and required to negotiate a loan on the best terms for the State he possibly can for such sum of money as will be sufficient to reimburse the said
fund for the principal, and interest due the same by the State, payable at any time after twenty years from the time of affecting said loan.
Sec. 3. Upon the payment into the State Treasury of the money aforesaid and also upon
the receipt of the moneys from the treasury of the United States belonging to the
school fund it shall be the duty of the State Treasury to give notice thereof for
three weeks in the newspaper printed by the Public Printer.
Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the State Treasurer on the first Monday of January next
and on the same day in every year thereafter on the warrant of the Auditor of Public
accounts to pay over an application, to each school Commissioner in each and every
County
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in this State that shall have accepted of the money under the provisions of this Law a rateable
share, to be ascertained by them of the said fund, in proportion to the number of
White children in each and every County, under twenty years of age as enumerated in
the Official returns of the Census as hereinafter provided ^for^ and the said school Commissioners shall severally receipt to the State Treasury for
the sum of money so received.
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the school Commissioners in each of the several Counties
upon the receipt of any monies under this act, to give fifteen days notice in one
of the most public places in each Township in his County, that he will loan so much
of the school funds as may be in his hands stating the day and amount of funds in
hand which money shall be loaned in sums not less than fifty nor more than three hundred
dollars for the term of twelve months with interest at the rate of twelve per. cent. per annum payable in advance, and the money aforesaid shall be loaned at the County
seats of the several Counties, Provided that in all cases where any Commissioner has has to bring suit for the collection of school money it is hereby made the duty of the
Court in addition to giving judgment for the principal and interest also ^to^ assess and give judgment for five per cent damages on said amount to pay the expenses incident to collecting said money which
judgment shall draw twelve per cent interest till paid.
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the said school
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Commissioner to report their proceedings every six months to the County Commissioners Court and to submit their2 Books, papers, bonds, notes and mortgages, and other securities for loans at the
same penalty, to the said Courts and to permit the said Court at any time to inspect and examine the same, and upon refusal thereof to be removed
from office by said Court (The said Court shall have power if in their opinion the public interest require the same, to remove
the said School Commissioner at any time and appoint an other.) And the said Court is hereby authorized to require from time to time such additional security from the
said school commissioners now as [heretofore?] to be appointed, as they may deem necessary for the safety of the money that may
be in their hands.
Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the school Commissioners of the several Counties when
they shall have received money as aforesaid to ascertain the amount due to each township
and in loaning the same to give a preference to the Citizens of the Township to which
said money belongs, if they shall make application to borrow the same and make it
entirely secure Provided that the school Commissioners of the several Counties and
their securities shall be liable for all money which may Come to their hands, and
their bonds shall be and remain on the files of the County Commissioners Courts, to be [sued?] on whenever any defalcation shall have accurred, and all bonds shall be Conditioned for the faithful discharge of all duties required
as to be required of them by law as school Commissioners
Sec. 8. If any school Commissioner shall neglect
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or fail to account for and pay over any money belonging to the school fund, or shall
fail or refuse to Comply with all or any of the requisitions of the law or Conditions
of his bond an action may be forthwith maintained on such bond against the principal
as his sureties as all or any member of them, and the failure aforesaid shall be
a sufficient breach to authorize a recovery without first having obtained judgment
against the principal. And upon all trials upon any bond as aforesaid the whole question
of defalcation and of non Compliance with the requisitions of the law or of breach
of any of the Conditions of the bond as aforesaid shall be put in issue and after
a full and fair trial judgment shall be rendered for so much money as is justly due
together with five per cent damages for the purpose of defraying incidental expenses.
Sec. 9. If any portion of the money hereby authorized to be distributed shall from any
Cause whatever be lost and thereby be rendered [unavailing?] for the objects and purposes aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the County Commissioners Court of the County where the money may be so lost, to make an order at the first term
of the Court, that a tax shall be levied and Collected in their respective Counties on all such
property as is authorized to be taxed for State and County purposes for a sum sufficient
to reimburse the school fund for the amount of principal and interest so lost or squandered
and such sum when Collected shall be added to and form a part of the school fund of
the proper County
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Sec 10. If any Township shall have neglected to elect Trustees of schools it shall be
the duty of the School Commissioners of the proper County to appoint an election of
Trustees of schools, to be holden on the first Saturday in June next giving fifteen
days notice of the holding said election in said Township and if a majority of the
legal voters present shall vote in favor of becoming incorporated it shall be sufficient
Sec. 11. If any school Commissioner, Treasurer of a Township, or other officer having
custody of school money shall embezzle the same or shall unlawfully convert the same
to his own use or shall fail to account for and pay over all funds which he may have
received as such Officer, as is required by law he shall be deemed guilty of larceny
and upon Conviction shall be fined and imprisoned as in other Cases of Larceny.
Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of each and every County assessor in this State when assessing taxable property in their respective Counties in the year 1839 to
provide a separate Colum in which shall be set down the number of white Children under twenty years of age
in the several Counties within this State.
Sec. 13. Within Twenty days after said County assessor or assessors shall have completed
their list as aforesaid they shall respectively make returns thereof to the County Commissioners Court of the proper County which said returns shall be signed by the assessors aforesaid,
and the Correctness of the enumeration shall be verified by oath before any justice
of the peace of the same County, and the Clerk of the County Commissioners Court shall so soon as said
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return is filed in his office Transmit a Certificate copy of the same under the seal
of the Court to the auditor of State which shall be filed in his office, and shall be authority
to Warrant the Treasurer of the State to pay over to the said school Commissioners the distributive share to which each
County may be entitled of the School fund as it may accrue
Sec 14. Previous to the first Monday of January next and to the same day in every year
thereafter it shall be the duty of the Treasurer of each Township in the state to ascertain the number of white Children under twenty years of age in his Township,
and to make return thereof, in writing under his hand to the school commissioner of
the proper County, the correctness of which shall be verified by affidavit before
some Justice of the peace of the County, and when received by said Commissioner shall
be filed away by him and shall be sufficient evidence and authority to the said school
Commissioner to pay over to the said Treasurer of the several townships, their respective
distributive shares of the interest of the school fund, and it is hereby made the
duty of the said School Commissioners to pay over said dividends without delay, and
to take the receipt of such township treasurer therefor, and it shall be the further
duty of the school Commissioner of the several Counties that shall have decided in
favor of distributing the school fund, within ten days after the said Treasurers of
Townships shall have made their returns to make out on abstract exhibiting the whole
number of children so enumerated as aforesaid
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in the County which abstract shall be subscribed and sworn to by said school Commissioners
respectively, and transmit the same immediately to the Auditor of State which said
abstract and enumeration shall after the year 1839 be sufficient evidence and authority
for the State Treasurer to pay over to the school Commissioners of the severa[l] Counties the distributive share of school money that may have accrued to said Counties
respectively
Sec. 15. If any County assessor or Township Treasurer shall wilfully make a false return
under oath of the number of Children in the county or Township in ^which^ such enumeration shall be made he shall be deemed and be taken to be guilty of perjury
and shall be punished in the same manner as persons Committing said Crime in other
Cases, And if any school Commissioner shall wilfully swear to and return a false and
incorrect abstract to the Auditor of State he shall be adjudged to be guilty of the
same Crime and punished in the same manner as above provided
Sec 16. When ever any money shall come to the hands of any school Commissioner which
of right is due and payable to the treasurer of any township in his County it shall
be his duty forthwith to pay the same over to the proper person, and a failure to
do so shall be a sufficient Cause to remove said Commissioner from office.
Sec. 17. So much of the money as this State has received or may receive under the deposite law passed by Congress as is or may be added to the school fund shall be embraced
in the foregoing Sections and be distributed as therein provided.
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Sec. 18. At all elections for Trustees of schools it shall be the duty of the Judges
of Election to [open?] a Column and receive the votes of the qualified voters of the Township for ^or^ against levying a tax for schools ^purposes, and also to specify the per cent,^ not exceeding one half per cent, and if two thirds of those voting in said Township, shall vote in favor of a tax,
the treasurer shall be authorized to Collect the same and the tax so collected shall
be applied exclusively to the use of schools in the Township in which it may have
been collected.
Sec. 19. At the election to be holden on the first Monday of August next it shall be
the duty of the Judges of election throughout the State to open a poll so that all the legal voters in Illinois may vote for or against receiving their distributive share of the school fund, and
if a majority of those voting upon this question in any County shall be in favor of
receiving their distributive share of the school fund under the provisions of this
act, it shall be the duty of the Treasurer to pay over to all Counties so voting their
share of said fund. And those Counties in which a majority of the votes shall be cast
against the distribution shall not be effected by the operation of this act.
Sec 20 That this law shall be published in the new[s]paper published by the Public printer, and a copy thereof furnished to each school
Commissioner in this State
Sec. 21. The Trustees of schools in townships are hereby authorized and empowered to
require of the Treasurer, heretofore appointed or hereafter to be appointed by them
a renewal of their bonds, or an increase of the sureties thereon whenever said trustees
may
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deem the safety and judicious management of the funds coming into the hands of such
treasurers may make the same necessary. and also to remove said treasurers from office
and appoint successors whenever the Trustees may deem it expedient so to do.3 If any of the Counties shall by a vote determine not to take their proportion of
the school fund as provided in this act ^they^ shall have the rights to take the same at any time hereafter when they shall determine
to do so by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters at any regular election,
of such Counties in proportion to the number of white children under the age of twenty
one years at the time of such election.4<Page 10>
[ docketing
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A Bill for an act to distribute the School fund ^to^ the Several Counties in this State
[ docketing
]
[02]/[26]/[1839]
[02]/[26]/[1839]
2
[ docketing
]
[02]/[26]/[1839]
[02]/[26]/[1839]
com sch. & Ed.[Committee on School Lands and Education]
[ docketing
]
[02]/[11]/[1839]
[02]/[11]/[1839]
Engrossed
1Orlando B. Ficklin of the Committee on Education, to which the House of Representatives referred a certain resolution, introduced HB 58 in the House on December 20, 1838.
The House tabled the bill and ordered printed 200 copies. On January 4, 1839, the
House took up the bill, referring it to the Committee of the Whole. On February 4,
the Committee of the Whole reported back the bill without amendment, and the House
referred it to a seven-person select committee. The select committee reported back
the bill on February 6 with amendments. The House refused an amendment to add an additional section to the select committee’s report. The House also rejected
an amendment to add a proviso. The House also rejected an amendment to add another section and proviso. The House also rejected an amendment offering a proviso regarding bond sales. The House adopted the select committee’s
amendments. On February 8, the House refused to table the bill by a vote of 34 yeas
to 47 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting yea. The House refused the additional of a proviso by a vote of 33 yeas to
49 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. The House also rejected another amendment to add
language to the end of the bill by a vote of 32 yeas to 52 nays, with Lincoln voting
yea. The House refused to vote on the bill’s passage by a vote of 38 yeas to 45 nays,
with Lincoln not voting. The House refused to strike out part of the fifth section
by a vote of 26 yeas to 60 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. The House adopted an amendment adding an additional section. The House also adopted an amendment adding language to the end of this section. The House refused to strike out the
fifteenth section by a vote of 33 yeas to 48 nays, with Lincoln not voting. The House
ordered the bill engrossed as amended for a third reading by a vote of 54 yeas to
29 nays, with Lincoln not voting. On February 13, the House passed the bill as amended
by a vote of 47 yeas to 33 nays, with Lincoln voting nay. On March 2, the Senate tabled the bill until July 4 by a vote of 17 yeas to 13 nays.
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), 19, 118, 167, 216, 340, 355-56, 363-67, 377,
394, 396, 597; 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), 331, 380-81, 411, 429, 498.
3On February 8, 1839, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment adding this section.
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), 366.
4On February 8, 1839, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment that added the language beginning with the words “If any of the Counties.”
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), 365.
Handwritten Document, 10 page(s), Folder 48, HB 58, GA Session 11-1, Illinois State Archives [Springfield, IL] ,