Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Daniel S. Witter, Calvin A. Warren, John R. Wilcox, John Montague, William D. Abernathy, Joel Catlin, Isaac N. Morris, David W. Mathews, and Mark Aldrich, and their associates, successors, and assigns, are hereby created a body corporate and politic, under the name and style of “The Warsaw Railroad Company,” for the term of fifty years, and by that name may be, and hereby are, made capable, in law and in equity, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court or courts of record, or in any other place; to make, have, and use a common seal, and the same to renew and alter at pleasure; and shall be, and are hereby, vested with all the powers, 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 said company are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct, and finally complete a railroad from the south line of the northeast quarter of section seventeen, on the Mississippi river, in township number four, north of the base line, and range number nine, west of the fourth principal meridian, to intersect the Peoria and Warsaw railroad, at its termination on the Mississippi river, upon the most eligible and proper route; and for this purpose said company are authorized to lay out their said road wide enough for a single or double track through the whole length; and, for the purpose of cutting, embankments, stone, and gravel, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said railroad: Prvided all damages that may be occasioned to any person or corporation, by taking off such lands or materials for the purposes aforesaid, shall be paid for by the company in the manner hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. The capital stock of said company shall consist of twenty thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each. The immediate government and direction of said company shall be vested in five directors, who shall be chosen by the stockholders of said company, in the manner hereinafter provided, who shall hold their offices for one year after their election, and until others shall be duly elected and qualified to take their places as directors; and the said directors, a majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall elect one of their own number to be president of the board, who shall also be the president of the company. The said directors shall have power to supply any vacancy which may occur in the office of president, or in their own body, and shall also have power to choose and appoint such other officers and agents, to conduct and prosecute the business of said corporation, as they shall deem necessary; and the president and

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directors thus appointed shall hold the office until the next annual election of such officers.

Sec. 3. The said corporation is hereby authorized, by their agents, surveyors, and engineers, to cause such examinations and surveys to be made of the ground and country between the two points mentioned in the first section of this bill as shall be neeessary to determine the most advantageous route for the proper line or course whereon to construct their said railroad; and it shall be lawful for the said corporation to enter upon, and take possession of, and use all such lands and real estate as may be necessary for the construction and maintenance of their said railroad and the accommodations requisite and appertaining to the same; and may also hold all such lands as they may purchase, or receive in any manner, for the necessary purposes of said road: Provided, That all lands and real estate entered upon and taken possession of, and used by said corporation, for the purposes and accommodation of the said railroad, or upon which the site for the said railroad shall have been located or determined by the said corporation, shall be paid for by the said corporation in damages, if any be sustained by the owner or owners thereof by the use of the same for the purposes of said railroad; which damages shall be ascertained in the same manner that damages are now ascertained in the case of public roads running through the lands of individuals, some one of the directors acting in the stead of the supervisor in the general road law.

Sec. 4. If any person shall wilfully, maliciously, or wantonly, and contrary to law, obstruct the passage of any car on said railroad, or any part thereof, or any thing belonging thereto, or shall damage, break, or destroy any part of the said railroad, or implements, or buildings, he, she, or they, or any person assisting, shall forfeit and pay to said company, for every such offence, treble the amount of damages that shall be proved before any court competent to try the same, to be sued for in the name and behalf of said company; and such offender or offenders shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be liable to an indictment, in the same manner as other indictments are found in any county or counties where such offences shall have been committed; and, upon such conviction, every such offender shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, for the use of such county where such indictment may be found.

Sec. 5. The time of holding the annual meetings of said company for the election of directors shall be fixed and determined by the by-laws of said company; and at all meetings each stockholder shall be entitled to vote in person, or by lawful proxy, one vote for each share he, she, or they, may hold bona fide in said stock.

Sec. 6. Daniel S. Witter, Calvin A. Warren, John R. Wilcox and David W. Mathews, are hereby appointed commissioners to open subscription books for the stock of said com-

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pany; and said commissioners, or a majority of them, are hereby authorized to open subscription books for said stock, at such places as they may deem proper, and shall give at least thirty days’ notice, of the time and place when and where such books will be opened, in the State paper printed at the seat of Government, and shall keep said books open at least five days, unless the whole amount of capital stock shall be subscribed sooner than said five days; and they shall require each subscriber to pay five dollars on each share subscribed at the time of subscribing; and at the expiration of said five days, or sooner if said capital stock shall be subscribed, the said commissioners shall cause a meeting of the stockholders by giving ten days’ notice in some newspaper printed in the county or counties where said stock was subscribed, or in some newspaper printed at the seat (of) Government; and at such meeting, it shall be lawful to elect the directors of said company; and when the directors of said company are chosen, the said commissioners shall deliver said subscription books, together with all sums of money received by them as such commissioners, to said directors: Provided, That no person shall be a director unless he shall own at least five shares of the capital stock. Said corporation is hereby authorized to borrow any sum of money not exceeding their capital stock, and to make all such contracts as said corporation may deem necessary to carry into effect the powers and privileges hereby granted: Provided, That they shall not issue any drafts or checks, or other instruments, to be used as circulating medium.

Sec. 7. That the right of way, and the real estate purchased for the right of way by said company, whether by mutual agreement between the said corporation and the owner or owners of such land or real estate, or which shall become the property of said corporation by operation of law, as in this act is provided, shall, upon the payment of the amount of money belonging to the owner or owners of such lands as a compensation for the same, become the property of said corporation absolutely and in fee simple.

Sec. 8. The Legislature reserves to itself the right to purchase the stock of said corporation, at any time after twenty years from the passage of this act, by paying to said company the value of said railroad, fixtures, cars, and other apparatus necessary for carrying on the business of said corporation; and for the purpose of ascertaining the value thereof, the Legislature may appoint two or more commissioners, who shall proceed to ascertain, by inspection and the oath of witnesses, the actual value of the said railroad, fixtures, cars, and apparatus as aforesaid. The corporation may take and transport upon the said railroad any person or persons, merchandize or other property, by the force and power of steam, or animals, or any combination of them; and may fix, establish, take, and receive such rates of toll, for all passengers, and

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property transported upon the same, as the said directors shall from time to time establish; and the directors are hereby authorized and empowered to make all necessary rules, by-laws, regulations, and ordinances that they may deem necessary and expedient, to accomplish the designs and purposes, and to carry into effect the provisions of this act, and for the transfer and assignment of its stock, which is hereby declared personal property, and transferable in such manner as shall be provided by the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation.

Sec. 9. If the said corporation shall not commence the work within three years from the passage of this act, and complete the same within five years, then this act shall thenceforth cease and be void.

Sec. 10. Should the Board of Commissioners of Public Works, within one year from the passage of this act, deem it expedient for the interest of the State to extend the termination of the Peoria and Warsaw railroad over the route designated in this act, and pass an order to the effect, this act shall be null and void.

Approved, February 26, 1839.