Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb. 1, 1839.

AN ACT to provide for the election of Justices of the Peace in Naples and Meredosia, and for the appointment of certain Notaries Public.
1

Additional justices & constables in Naples district.

Sec. [Section]1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That hereafter there shall be two justices of the peace and two constables elected at every general election for justices of the peace and constables, in the Naples justices’ districts of Morgan county.2

Special election.

Time of election.

Sec. 2. A special election for one justice of the peace and one constable, in addition to the justice of the peace and constable now authorized by law, shall be held in said justices’ districts, at the usual place of holding elections, on the first Monday of April next; and said officers shall hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.

Not. Pub.[Notary Public] for town of Naples.

Sec. 3. The Governor shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one notary public in said town of Naples, whose duties and term of service shall be the same as other notaries public of this State.3

Sec. 4. Orson B. Cobb, who acted as a justice of the peace in the said Naples justices’ district, shall be deemed to have been a regularly appointed and qualified justice of the peace in said district, from the time of his first acting to the time of his death.

Sec. 5. The provisions of the first and second sections of this act shall be extended and applied to the justices’ district in which Meredosia is situated.

Sec. 3. applicable to other towns.

How appointed.

Sec. 6. The provisions of the third section of this act shall be extended and applied to the following towns in the county of Morgan, viz: Merodosia, Bethel, Exeter, Franklin, Waverly, Manchester, Princeton, Lexington, and Winchester; and to Grafton, Whitehall, and Jerseyville, in Greene county; to Rockport, Griggsville, and Perry, in Pike county; Chester, in Randolph county; to Hamburg, in Calhoun county; to Virginia, in Cass county; to Juliet, Lockport, and Wilmington, in Will county. There shall also be appointed, in like manner, two additional notaries public in the city of Chicago, and one additional notary public in the city of Alton.

Approved, February 1, 1839.

1John J. Hardin introduced HB 53, originally titled “An Act concerning the Town of Naples,” to the House of Representatives on December 19, 1838. The House passed the bill on January 1, 1839. The Senate referred the bill to a select committee on January 15. The committee reported it back the next day recommending sundry amendments, with which the Senate agreed before again referring it to the committee. The committee reported back again on January 18, recommending sundry amendments, including the title change, to which the Senate agreed and passed the bill. The House passed the amended bill on January 25. The Council of Revision approved the bill on February 1 and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 114, 126, 153, 238, 281, 317, 324, 326; Illinois Senate, Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 125, 127, 174, 177, 188, 228, 254-255, 261.

2Illinois law provided for the election of from two to eight justices of the peace in each district.
“An Act to Provide for the Election of Justices of the Peace and for Constables,” approved 30 December 1826, The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 399-402.

3An 1828 Illinois law provided for a notary public in each county and gave the governor power to appoint notaries in the event of vacancies. In 1839, the legislature passed a new law that allowed any town, village, or township with fifty legal voters to petition the governor to name a notary public to meet their growing local needs.
“An Act for the Appointment of Notaries Public,” approved 30 December 1828,” The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 512; An Act to Provide for the Appointment of Notaries Public .