Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

A Bill for an act for The relief of Leach and smith
1
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That the commissioner of Public Works for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, be & he is hereby required to cause to be emppanneled a Jury of twelve respectable householders of the County of Wayne, who after being duly Sworn, impartially so to do, shall proceed to assess the damages which Leach & Smith have sustained, by reason of their mill dam being destroyed in consequence of the timber floating against the same, which timber had ^been^ cut & felled into the little wabash river, on which said mill is situated, in the improvement of said river under “an act to Establish & mantain a general System of Internal improvements”

Sec. [Section]2. When said Jury has ascertained said damages, they shall make out duplicate copies of the assesment of the same, one of which copies shall be delivered to said commissioner of public works, & the other to said Leach & smith.

Sec. 3. The said commissioner of public works, so soon as he shall receive a copy of said assesment, shall pay to said Leach & smith, out of any funds in his hands for internal improvement purposes,

<Page 2>
the amount so assessed by said Jury, which shall fully discharge the state from all liability to said Leach & smith on account such damages.

[ docketing ]
A Bill for An act for the relief of Leach & smith

[ docketing ]
15

[ docketing ]
[12]/[31]/[1839]
ord.[ordered] 2^d Reading

[ docketing ]
H R

1On December 26, 1839, Daniel Turney in the House of Representatives presented the petition of Leach & Smith, which the House referred to a select committee. In response to this petition, Turney of the aforesaid select committee introduced HB 88 in the House on December 31. On January 2, 1840, the House referred the bill to the Committee on Internal Improvements, which did not report back the bill.
Journal of the House of Representatives, of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their Called Session, Begun and Held at Springfield, December 9, 1839 (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1839), 84, 109-10, 119.