chise. Penalty for vio lation. § 5. The said William English shall have the exclusive Extent of tran- ferry privilege from the said town of Warsaw to the said town of Alexandria, for the term of ten years from the passage of this act, for one mile above and below the foot of Main street, in said townof Warsaw, at the point where the same strikes the Mississippi river; and should any other person or persons establish, keep or run a ferry, and land within said mile, such person or persons shall forfeit and pay to the said William English ten dollars for every such offence, to be sued for and recovered in an action of debt, before any justice of the peace of the said county of Han§ 6. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage. cock. APPROVED Jan. 17, 1851. In force Janua- AN ACT authorizing the Georgetown and Perryville Plank Road company to charge ry 18, 1851. toll for erossing a bridge built by said company. Tolls. Rates. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Georgetown and Perryville Plank Road company be and it is hereby autfrorized, for the term of two years, or until said road be completed, to charge toll for crossing a bridge built by said company over the Big Vermilion river, in the county of Vermilion, not to exceed the rates as follows, to wit For every vehicle drawn by one animal, ten cents; for every vehicle drawn by two animals, fifteen cents; for every vehicle drawn by more than two animals, twenty cents; for every ten of neat cattle, ten cents; for every ten of sheep or swine, ten cents; or for every horse and rider or one horse led, five cents. § 2. 2. That after the completion of said road the said company may charge toll, not to exceed the rates aforesaid, for crossing said bridge, when the persons so crossing may not wish to travel on said road. 3. This act to take effect from and after its passage. APPROVED Jan. 18, 1851. In force Jan.20, AN ACT for the relief of the heirs at law and securities of William E. Armstrong, 1851. late sheriff and collector of Grundy county. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That whenever the administrator of the estate of William E. Arm tion. strong, late sheriff and collector of Grundy county, slai relinquish for said estate all claims against the state, for damages claimed to be sustained for non-fulfilment of contract on the Illinois and Michigan canal, and also dismiss the suit now pending against the state in the circuit court in La Salle county, for salvage [scalage] on section No. 126 of said canal, by writing filed in the office of the auditor of public accounts, the heirs of the said William E. Armstrong, deceased, George W Armstrong, Perry A. Armstrong, and other securities of the said William E. Armstrong, as collector, be and they are hereby released and discharged from any further obligation to pay the bal- Discharge. ance due the state by reason of the defalcation of the said William E. Armstrong. § 2. This act to be in force from and after its passage. APPROVED Jan. 20, 1851. AN ACT to provide for leasing the lands granted as a common to the inhabitants of In force Jan.25, the town of Kaskaskia, in Randolph county, or so much of said lands as it may be to the interest of the inhabitants of said town to lease for school and other purposes. 1851. Whereas the inhabitants of Kaskaskia, in the county of Preamble. Randolph, are in common entitled to the use and benefit of certain lands, commonly known as the Kaskaskia commons, by virtue of an ancient grant, recognized and confirmed by the government of the United States; and whereas the right to lease said lands, or any part of them, is granted by the constitution of this state to a majority of the qualified voters therein, and they having petitioned therefor, therefore, SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Den-Corporation. nis Kavanaugh, Savineen St. Vrain, Joseph Barnowsky, George W. Staley, and Edmond Menard, citizens of the town of Kaskaskia, in the county of Randolph, are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of "The President and Trustees of the Commons of Kaskaskia," and by that name they and their successors shall have perpetual succession and existence, with power to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, in all actions at law and in equity, in any court of competent jurisdiction; to make and use a common seal, and alter the same at pleasure; to adopt ordinances and by-laws not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of this state nor of the United States, and to do and perform all other acts necessary for the proper exer Powers. cise of the powers herein conferred, and the regulation of the privileges hereby granted. § 2. The said president and trustees shall continue in Term of office. office until the first Monday in April, A. D. 1853, and until their successors are elected and qualified; and on the first Monday in April, A. D. 1853, and every two years forever thereafter, or until the time is changed by law, an election shall be held for five trustees of the commons of Kaskaskia, who shall hold their office for two years and until their successors are elected and qualified; and the said trustees shall organize by electing one of their number president of the board, and shall appoint or elect a treasurer, as they may determine, who shall, in addition to his duties as treasurer, also perform the duties of clerk of said board, and at any meeting of said board for the transaction of business, not less than three shall be a quorum. ded. § 3. The president and trustees hereby appointed are Commons divi- authorized and empowered by this act to have the commons of Kaskaskia, or any part thereof, surveyed and divided into such lots as in their opinion will seem best and most advantageous, and shall cause a plat or plats of the same to be made, showing the number of acres in each lot and the location thereof, each lot to be also properly numbered; which plat or plats, when so made, shall be recorded in the recorder's office of Randolph county, a copy of which record, duly certified by the recorder of said county, shall be sufficient and competent evidence of the location of the lots described in said survey or surveys. Leased. How offered. § 4. The said president and trustees shall then proceed to lease, at public outcry, at a suitable place in the town of Kaskaskia, any or all of the lots so surveyed, for any number of years, not exceeding fifty, as in their opinion will best promote the interest of the inhabitants of said town, after first giving notice for six consecutive weeks, in a newspaper printed in the county of Randolph, and such other papers as they may deem proper, and by putting up four written or printed notices in four of the most public places in said town, of the place where and time when said lots will be publicly offered for lease. § 5. Each lot shall be offered separately, stating the number of years for which it is proposed to be leased, and the number of acres it contains, and the same shall be struck off to the best and most responsible bidder bidding the highest amount of money per acre therefor, payable annually, each and every year the same is leased for, at such time as may be designated and appointed by the said president and trustees, an entry of which shall be made by the clerk of the board in a suitable and substantially bound book to be provided for that purpose, which shall be subject to the inspection of any person interested. And the said president and trustees of the commons of Kaskaskia § 6. The proceeds of the lands and lots of the said Proceeds how commons of Kaskaskia so leased as provided by this act, applied. shall, after defraying the expenses attending the leasing of said lands and lots, be used and applied to the education of the children of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia, and such residents as are, by immemorial custom, commoners upon said commons, and the children of the lessees of said lots and lands so leased; to effect which object and carry out the intention of this act, the said president and trustees, or their successors in office, shall rent, or procure or cause to be erected or purchased, as in their opinion may be necessary, one or two suitable buildings for a school or schools; School houses, and they are hereby authorized to purchase and hold, in c. their corporate capacity, one or more lots of ground in the town of Kaskaskia for that purpose, using therefor the proceeds arising from the leasing of said lands and lots; and they may further use said proceeds for the purchasing of suitable school books and stationery, and a library or libraries for such school or schools, and shall employ a teacher Teachers. or teachers, qualified as required by the common chool law of this state, for the instruction of the pupils in said school or schools in which reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, and other branches of education may be taught; which teacher or teachers may be by them paid according to such contracts and regulations as they may make and adopt, out of the proceeds arising from the leasing of said lands and lots. And the said president and trustees are hereby authorized and empowered to establish not more than two elementary schools in the town of Kaskaskia to carry out the provisions and requirements of this act. § 7. The said president and trustees shall have power, and are hereby authorized, to appropriate a portion of the Religion. proceeds arising from the leasing of said commons to the purposes of religion, and for the support and advancement thereof: Provided, that no appropriations shall be made Meetings. Records. To account. filled. under this section unless the same are asked for and desired by a majority of the voters of the said town of Kaskaskia, by a petition or petitions presented to the said president and trustees, indicating the religious purposes to which the same shall be applied, and the amount thereof thus applied. § 8. The said president and trustees may meet at such times as they may fix by ordinance, (and at such times as they may deem necessary) and shall provide a good and substantially bound book, in which shall be entered the proceedings of such meetings and all ordinances and bylaws by them adopted, by the clerk of said board, and they shall provide another like book for the keeping of the treasurer's accounts, in which shall be entered a just, full and fair account of all receipts and expenditures of money by them received and made by virtue of this act, and they shall, at their last meeting in each year, render an account to the inhabitants of said town of Kaskaskia, of all moneys by them received and expended under this act, stating the amount paid for tuition, books and stationery, library books and the amounts paid, if any, for buildings, lots and repairs of buildings, and necessary furniture for school rooms. Said account to be certified by the treasurer in his capacity of clerk of the board, who may be allowed a reasonable compensation for his services, out of the funds created by this act; and the books to be kept as provided for in this section shall be open to the inspection of any person interested. § 9. If any vacancy shall occur in the said board, by Vacancies, how death or otherwise, the remaining trustees shall have power and are hereby authorized, to fill such vacancy by appointment, the appointee to have the qualifications necessary to be eligible to such office as in this act prescribed, and to hold his office until the next regular election, and until his successor is elected and qualified. ties. § 10. The said president and trustees, and their sucPowers and du- cessors in office, shall have power to receive annually from the lessees of said lands and lots, the moneys due annually upon all deeds of lease by them made, and shall transmit the same, should there be any in their hands, to their successors in office, and nothing in this act contained shall prevent the said president and trustees from leasing at any time any of the said lands and lots, after having first offered the same for lease at public outcry. Treasurer to give bond. § 11. The said president and trustees shall require their treasurer to give bond, in such sum as they may deem proper, payable to them and their successors in office, for the use of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia, with two or more good and sufficient securities, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties under this act and such ordinances |