Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That John Marshall, Henry Eddy, Ephraim H. Gatewood, James C. Sloo, J. C. Stickney, Alexander Kirkpatrick, William H. Davidson, Jesse Kirkman, and Thomas S. Hick, their associates, successors, and assigns, are hereby created a body politic and corporate, under the name and style of “The Shawneetown and New Haven Railroad Company,” and, by that name, shall be and are hereby made capable, in law and equity, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court or courts whatsoever; to make and use a common seal, the same to alter and renew at pleasure; and, by that name and style, be capable, in law, of contracting and being contracted with, purchasing, holding, and conveying, personal and real estate for the purpose and use of said corporation, as hereinafter limited; and shall be, and are hereby, vested with all the powers and privileges and immunities which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this act, as hereinafter set forth; and the saidcompany are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct, and finally complete a railroad for a double or single tract, commencing at Shawneetown, on the Ohio river, near the corner of North First street, adjoining the upper public landing in said town; thence to the town of New Haven, on the Little Wabash river, terminating upon the bank of the river at said town; and for his purpose, said company are authorized to construct said road; and for the purpose of embankments, cuttings, stone, wood, and gravel, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said railroad.

Sec. 2. The capital stock of said company shall consist of two hundred thousand dollars, in shares of one hundred dollars each; and the immediate government and direction of said company shall be vested in a board of not less than five directors, who shall be chosen by the members of the corporation in a manner hereinafter provided, and shall hold their

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offices until others shall be duly elected and qualified to take their place as directors; and the said directors, a majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall elect one of their number to be president of the board, who shall also be president of the company, and have authority to choose a secretary and treasurer, who shall give bond and security to the corporation for the faithful discharge of his duties, in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars.

Sec. 3. The president and directors for the time being are hereby authorized and empowered, by themselves or their agents, to execute all powers herein granted to the company, and all such other power and authority for the management of the affairs of said company, not heretofore granted, as may be proper and necessary to carry into effect the object of this act; and to make such equal assessments from time to time on all shares of the company as they may deem expedient and necessary: Provided, That no assessment upon such shares shall be made of a greater amount in the whole than one hundred dollars on a share.

Sec. 4. The president and directors of said company shall have power to issue their bonds and obligations of said company to the amount of half the capital stock of said company, and negotiate the sale of said bonds, through their agent or agents duly appointed for that purpose, either in the United States or England, not paying a rate of interest upon such amounts so loaned upon said bonds exceeding six per cent. per annum.

Sec. 5. The said company shall have power to make, ordain, and establish, all such rules, by-laws, ordinances, and regulations, as they may deem expedient and necessary to accomplish the designs and purposes, and to carry into effect the provisions of this act, and for the transfer and assignment of the stock, the payment of assessments, and the conveyance of property, and the well-ordering, regulating, and securing of the interest and affairs of said company: Provided the same shall not be repugnant to the laws of this State and the United States.

Sec. 6. A toll is hereby granted and established, for the sole benefit of said company, upon all passengers and property of all descriptions which may be conveyed or transported on said road, at such rates as may be agreed upon and established, from time to time, by the directors of said company.

Sec. 7. The annual meetings of the members of said company shall be holden, on the first Monday of each year, at such time, place, and under such regulations as the directors for the time being may appoint; at which meeting the directors shall be chosen by ballot. Each proprietor shall be entitled to one vote for each share, and shall have power, when absent from the place of election, to vote by proxy, such proxy being certified before a notary public, justice of the peace, or other competent authority.

Sec. 8. The saidcompany shall commence the said road within three years, and complete it within the next ten years.

Sec. 9. Any two members named in this act are hereby authorized to call the first meeting by giving notice, ten days previous, in at least one newspaper published in Shawneetown, Illinois, of the time and place and purpose of said meeting.

Sec. 10. This act shall be deemed and taken as a public act, and as such shall be taken notice of by all courts of justice in this State, without the necessity of pleading the same.

Sec. 11. The State may at any time purchase the said road, by paying cost, if it shall hereafter be deemed proper to do so. After the period of thirty years this corporation shall cease to exist.

Approved, March 2, 1839.