Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb.[February] 3, 1840.

AN ACT concerning the Little Wabash river.
1

Co. comr’s of White may remove mill-dam

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the county commissioners’ court of White county is hereby authorized to remove the mill-dam across the Little Wabash river, purchased by the State, if to the said court it shall appear advisable so to do.2

Approved, February 3, 1840.

1Peter Green introduced HB 219, originally titled “An act for the relief of certain persons, in a certain case, on the Little Wabash river,” to the House of Representatives on January 21, 1840, and the House referred it to a select committee. The committee reported back on January 30 without recommending an amendment, but the House proposed one which was referred with the bill to the Committee on Finance, of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. The Committee reported back on February 1 and recommended an amendment, to which the House concurred. Later that day, the House changed the name of the bill to its final title and passed it. The Senate also passed it that day. The Council of Revision approved the bill on February 3 and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1840), 226, 300-01, 321, 325, 328, 338, 339; Journal of the Senate (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1840), 238, 240.

2The House of Representatives passed an amendment substituting everything after the enacting clause on February 1, 1840. A previous version of the act indicates the mill dam in question could be located at Carmi or New Haven.
Journal of the House of Representatives (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1840), 321; A Bill concerning the Little Wabash River.