1
Sec[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly.
That the Bonpas Creek, be, and the same is hereby declared, a navigable Stream, as high up the same as
Higgin’s Mill Situated in Edwards County.
Sec 2 This Act to take effect from its passage.2
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No 2
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12/02/1840
12/02/1840
Lost
Dec.[December] 2nd 1840
Dec.[December] 2nd 1840
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[12]/[01]/[1840]
[12]/[01]/[1840]
Engrossed
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12/02/1840
12/02/1840
lost
Dec. 2nd 1840
Dec. 2nd 1840
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1
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3
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2-3
1Alan Emmerson introduced HB 2 in the House of Representatives on November 27, 1840. On December 2, the House refused to pass the bill.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 32-33, 45, 51.
2Ebenezer Peck deprecated the practice, evident in this bill, of declaring waters navigable up to
the mill of one individual--in this case, Ransom Higgins. Peck believed such legislation discouraged prospective mill operators from availing
themselves of other potential sites for mills, therefore giving a monopoly to the
mill on the section declared navigable.
Illinois State Register (Springfield, IL), 11 December 1840, 1:7.
Handwritten Document, 2 page(s), Folder 2, HB 2, GA Session: 12-1,
Illinois State Archives (Springfield, IL),