ances of real estate made by said corporation shall be made by the president and a majority of the directors of said company. § 19. The legislature hereby reserves to itself the right Right of repeal. to repeal, alter or amend this charter if the public good shall require it. APPROVED Feb'y 11, 1851. AN ACT for the relief of Thomas Corr. In force Feb.11, 1851. recognizance. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Thomas Corr, of the county of Macoupin, and state of Illinois, be Released from and he is hereby released from the recognizance entered into by him as the security of James H. Hall, in the case of the people of the state of Illinois against said Hall, and upon which said recognizance scire facias has been awarded against said Corr, and is now pending and undetermined in the circuit court of the said county of Macoupin; and said Corr is hereby authorized to plead this act in bar of any further proceedings on said recognizance: Provided, that said Corr shall pay all costs that have accrued in proceedings heretofore had upon said recognizance. § 2. This act to be in force from and after its passage. APPROVED February 11, 1851. AN ACT for the relief of the surety of Andrew Magee. In force Feb.11, 1851. Whereas Usher F. Linder did, on the thirtieth day of Preamble. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the said Usher F. Linder, surety of the said Andrew Magee, on the recognizance aforesaid, be and he is hereby released Discharge of surety from recognizance. Principal not to and forever discharged from all and every liability whatever upon the said recognizance. be discharged. said principal. § 3. This act to take effect from and after its passage. APPROVED Feb. 11, 1851. § 2. This act shall in nowise operate as a release of the In force Feb. 12, AN ACT for the improvement of a part of the Illinois river, and for hydraulic 1851. Corporation. Board of corporators. Vacancies. purposes. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That William Hickling, Lorenzo Leland, William H. Price, William H. W. Cushman, David Green, Bronson Murray, Benjamin T. Phelps, Benjamin F. Lamb and William Clayton, of La Salle county, in the state of Illinois, and their successors, shall be and are hereby constituted and declared a body corporate and politic, under the corporate name of "The River Board," and by that name may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, buy, hold, and sell property, real and personal, make and use a common seal, and alter or amend the same at pleasure, and plead and be impleaded in all courts and places whatsoever. § 2. Each of said corporators, and their successors, before entering upon his duties as a member of the river board, shall execute a bond, payable to the people of the state of Illinois in the penal sum of four thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as such, with at least two sureties, to be approved by the judge of the county court of said county, and shall file the same in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of said county, and make oath before said clerk that he will faithfully and honestly discharge his duties as a member of the river board, to the best of his understanding and ability; which oath shall be indorsed by such clerk upon said bond. Such bond may be sued for the use of any person injured by the breach thereof, in the same manner as is now provided by law in relation to sheriffs' bonds, and the same proceedings may be had in all respects, as near as may be. If any one or more of the persons named in the first section of this act shall neglect to qualify as required in this section, on or before the tenth day of March next, his place as a member of the river board shall be deemed vacant. § 3. When any vacancy shall occur in the river board, by death, resignation, neglect to qualify, removal from La Salle county, by any member thereof, or from any other cause, such vacancy shall be filled by the remaining mem bers of the river board, by the appointment of some freeholder, residing in La Salle county, as his successor, by an order on the books of the river board, but no such order shall be made without the concurrence of five members voting therefor, and the names of such five shall be recited in such order. Every person so appointed shall qualify in the manner required in the second section of this act, within twenty days after such appointment, otherwise such place shall be deemed vacant, and filled accordingly. § 4. No person shall be a member of the river board Residence. unless his residence be in said La Salle county. § 5. The river board shall appoint a president, secre- Officers. tary, treasurer and superintendent and such other officers and agents as they may think proper, and may prescribe the duties, powers and compensation thereof, and make such by-laws as they think proper, and may require such officers or agents severally to take an oath faithfully and honestly to perform their duties, and to give bond and security as said board may think proper. § 6. The river board is hereby authorized and required Object of corpoto improve the navigation of the Illinois river, from the ration. mouth of the little Vermilion, in said county of La Salle, to the mouth of Fox river, so as to admit the easy passage of steamboats at all ordinary stages of water, and to that end to construct a dam and lock (or dams and locks) on said Illinois river, and such other devices as they may deem necessary. § 7. The river board is also authorized, by means of Further objects. such dam or dams across said Illinois river, and in connection therewith to create water power and establish and construct such site or sites for manufacturing, hydraulic or mechanical purposes as they may deem expedient, and lease the same in parts and portions, or otherwise; but for the purposes of this section the river board shall not take private property without the consent of the owner, nor shall it be lawful for any owner or owners of lands, adjacent to any pool made by any such dam constructed by said board, to draw water from the same, without first paying to said board a just compensation for the use of the same; and should any such person or persons be unable to agree with the river board in that behalf, he, she or they may enforce their equitable rights in that behalf by bill in chancery, and the court, after a full investigation of the matter, by the appointment of commissioners, or otherwise, shall nake such final decree (not detrimental to the said navigation) as shall seem just, having due regard to the equities of the river board, as owners of such dam, and the equities of such other party as owner of such adjacent land, Right of using § 8. When it shall be deemed necessary by the river iy. board, for the purposes set forth in the sixth section of this act, to use, occupy or affect any lands, lots, or water privi Commencement of work. Toils. Loan of money. lege of § 9. Unless the river board commence said work within one year and six months from the passage of this act, all rights herein granted to said board to use, occupy or affect private property without the consent of the owner thereof, shall cease. § 10. The river board may establish and regulate a tariff of tolls to be paid for transportation upon such pool or pools, or through such lock or locks, and collect the same, and from time to time make and establish such reasonable by-laws and regulations in relation to the collection of tolls, the conduct of boats and rafts, and the general police of said navigation, as may be found necessary, and enforce the same: Provided, that no more tolls shall be levied than may be necessary (together with the net proceeds of the water power and hydraulic sites let by said board) to pay the current expense of letting boats through and keeping the work in repair and in operation. § 11. The river board is hereby authorized to borrow, for the purposes of this act, any sum or sums of money, not exceeding fifty thousand dollars in all, on a credit not exceeding thirty years, and at any rate of interest, payable annually, not exceeding ten per cent. per annum, and to execute and issue bonds for that purpose, which shall not be sold or hypothecated by said board at less than par. § 12. The river board may receive voluntary contributions, and take subscriptions for that purpose, and any town and subscrip or county in this state wishing to aid this work, may ad- Contributions vance or lend to the river board any amount of money they tions. think proper, and for the purpose of raising such amount any town, (at any annual town meeting or any town meeting regularly called for that purpose) or any county, a majority of the people of such county voting therefor, may levy a special tax on the taxable property within their bounds, not exceeding ten mills on the dollar. Special tax. § 13. To provide a revenue for the purposes of this act, and to meet the liabilities of the river board incurred under this act, there shall be levied annually, and collected as other taxes are or may be collected, a special tax in gold or silver, of four mills on every dollar's worth of taxable property in each of the towns of Ottawa and South Ottawa, in said county of La Salle, and of two mills and one half on every dollar's worth of taxable property in each of the towns of Utica, Deer Park, Dayton, Rutland, Grand Rapids, Farm Ridge, Bruce and Brookfield, in said county of LaSalle, and a tax of one mill and one half on every dollar's worth of taxable property in each of the towns of Serena, Mission, Manlius, Eagle, Adams, Earl, Northville, Freedom and Waltham, in said county of La Salle; and the board of supervisors of said county are hereby required to incorporate in the warrants to the collectors of said several towns, a mandate, commanding each such collector to collect such tax as is in this section imposed upon his town, specifying the amount of the same, and further commanding him to pay over the same to the treasurer of the river board, at the same time he is or may be required to pay over to the supervisors of his town the funds raised for town purposes; and it shall be the duty of said collectors so to collect and pay over such tax: Provided, that if the inhabitants of any town in this section enumerated, shall not, at their next annual meeting, pass a resolution declaring their willingness to submit to the tax in this section provided, and shall cause to be filed with the clerk of the county court of said La Salle county a certified copy of said resolution, within ten days thereafter, then the operation of this section shall be suspended, so far as it imposes an annual tax on such town, until such resolution shall be adopted at some regularly called or annual town meeting in said town, and until a certified copy of said resolution shall have been, in like manner, filed with the said clerk of the county court of said La Salle county, and from that time this section shall be operative upon such town: Provided, Proviso. that should two or more of said towns refuse in the manner aforesaid to submit to such tax, then the river board may, in their discretion, at any time before the next annual meeting of the board of supervisors of La Salle county, (by an order entered on their books, and by filing a certified copy |