Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Feb.[February] 24, 1841.

An ACT to authorize John L. Hunsacker to keep a ferry across the Mississippi River.
1

Ferry for 10 years.

Location.

Boats, &c.[etc]

State law to regulate ferry

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That John L. Hunsaker be, and he is hereby authorized to establish, and for the term of ten years, maintain a ferry across the Mississippi river on the road leading from Payson, in Adams county, to Marion City, in the State of Missouri. The ferry landing shall be on the north-east fractional quarter of section twelve, in township three south, of range nine west, of the fourth principal meridian.2 He shall at all times keep on hand a sufficient supply of boats and other water crafts, and therein afford a safe and expeditious passage for all passengers, and for horses, and other property usually transported across said river on ferry boats. He shall conform to and be governed by the law of the State regulating ferries.3

Rates of toll.

Road to ferry.

Sec. 2. The county commissioners of said county shall regulate the rates of toll and ferriage, and furnish a list thereof to the said Hunsaker, who shall at all times keep the same painted on a board, and placed up in a conspicuous place at the ferry landing. The said Hunsaker shall, without delay, cause to be put and thereafter to be kept in repair the road from the base of the Mississippi bluffs to the said ferry.

Failure to comply.

No other ferry to be licensed.

Sec. 3. A failure on the part of the said Hunsaker to comply with the foregoing requisites shall work a complete forfeiture of all the rights by this act conferred on him. The county commissioners shall not authorize the establishment of any ferry within three miles of the ferry hereby authorized, unless the said Hunsaker shall fail to keep his ferry as hereinbefore required.

Term of act.

Sec. 4. This act shall continue in force for ten years and no longer; but it may be altered, amended, or repealed whenever the public interest shall so require.

Approved, February 24, 1841.

1James H. Ralston presented a petition from John L. Hunsacker to the Senate on February 12, 1841, requesting the establishment of a ferry across the Mississippi River and the Senate referred it to the Committee on Public Roads. In response to this petition, Nelson W. Nunnally of the Committee on Public Roads introduced SB 205 on February 16. The Senate passed the bill on February 18. The House of Representatives passed the bill on February 23. The Council of Revision approved the bill the next day and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 442, 456, 477; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 297, 326, 337, 385, 391, 394.

2Located in the southwest portion of Adams County, south of Quincy.

3“An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Ferries, Toll Bridges, and Turnpike Roads,” 12 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 220-27.