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An ACT to amend an act to incorporate the Hambleton Primary School.

In force Jan.

7, 1841.

to

SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That it shall be lawful for the trustees of the Hambleton primary school, in Jersey Trustees county, to sue for and recover all monies which may have been sue for monies donated by Silas Hambleton for school purposes, which have not paid not been paid over according to the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, January 7, 1841.

An ACT making provision for organizing and maintaining Common

Schools.

SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,represented in the General Assembly, That for the purpose of establishing and sustaining common schools throughout the State, and taking care of and using the resources of the State held for purposes of education, the following sections and provisions shall take effect as the law of this State, on the first day of July next:

FIRST DIVISION.

Common School lands-their protection and preservation.

SEC. 2. That section number sixteen in every township granted to the State, by the United States, for the use of the inhabitants of the townships for the use of schools, and such sections and parts of sections as have been or may be granted as aforesaid, in lieu of section sixteen, and also the lands which have been or may be selected and granted as aforesaid, for the use of the inhabitants of fractional townships in which there are no section numbered sixteen, or such section shall not contain the proper proportion for the use of schools in such fractional townships, shall be held and considered as common school lands, and the provisions of this act referring to common school lands, shall be deemed to include and apply to the lands aforesaid.

In force July

1, 1841.

School lands

SEC. 3. The said common school lands shall be under the Lands under general superintendence and care of the county commissionsupervision of ers of the several counties in which the same, or the greater county com'rs part thereof may be situated, and when any township lies partly in two or more counties, the business of the township, so far as relates to the common school lands, shall be transacted in that county which contains the greater portion of" the said lands.

SEC. 4. The county commissioners' court in each county, shall, as soon as may be after the passage of this act, ap

Appointment point three trustees in each township, to be called the "Trusof trustees tees of School Lands" of said township, who shall be inhabitants and legal voters of the township, and whose appointment shall continue for four years, and until successors are appointed and qualified.

SEC. 5. The said trustees shall be a body politic and corTrustees, bo-porate, and may sue and be sued by the name and descripdy politic tion aforesaid; the said trustees before entering upon the duties of their appointments, shall take an oath before some officer authorized to administer the same, well, and truly and faithfully to execute the duties of trustees of school lands, according to law, agreeably to the best of their judgment and understanding.

Powers.

Treasurer to give bond

Action against

All monies to

SEC. 6. The said trustees shall be vested with the following powers, viz: to appoint a treasurer and require him to perform the duties of clerk, and such other duties as may be imposed by law, or any order of the trustees; to receive by deed or otherwise, and hold for the use of any school or schools in the township, any real estate, personal property, or money, which may be conveyed or delivered to them for the uses aforesaid.

SEC. 7. Every treasurer appointed under the provisions of the foregoing section, shall, before entering upon the duties of his appointment, execute a bond with good security, payable to the said trustees by their corporate name, in a penalty to be fixed by the trustees, conditioned that he will faithfully discharge all the duties of his appointment according to the laws now or hereafter to be in force; the security shall be approved by the trustees, and the bond shall be deposited with and kept by the school commissioner of the county, and for any breach in the conditions thereof, an action may be maintained against the obligors jointly or severally, and recoveries may be had thereon until the whole penalty shall be recovered.

SEC. 8. The trustees shall cause all nonies collected or be paid to obtained for rents, or recovered for trespasses, or which may school com'rs. otherwise come to their hands for the use of the township to be paid over to the school commissioners of their respective counties, to be applied to the support of schools as hereinaf ter required.

SEC. 9. The trustees shall render an account of their reTrustees to ceipts and disbursements annually, to the county commissionmake report ers' courts of their respective counties, and on failure to do so shall be liable jointly and severally out of their own estates for all monies which may come to their possession, and joint or several actions may be maintained in the corporate name of the township, for the recovery thereof; such action to be prosecuted under the direction of the county commissioners' court.

Trespassing upon Common School Lands.

Trespass

on

SEC. 10. If any person shall, without being authorized, cut, fell, box, bore, destroy or carry away any black or white walnut; black, white, yellow or red oak; white wood, poplar, lands wild cherry, blue ash, yellow or black locust, chesnut, coffee, or sugar tree, or sapling standing, growing, or lying upon any common school land, such person shall forfeit and pay for every tree so cut, felled, boxed, bored, or carried away, the sum of eight dollars; and if any person shall, without authority as aforesaid, cut, fell, box, bore, destroy or carry away any tree or sapling not herein above enumerated, standing, growing or lying upon any common school lands as aforesaid, such person shall forfeit and pay for every such tree or sapling so cut, felled, boxed, bored, destroyed or carried away, the sum of three dollars, and the penalties aforesaid shall be recoverable with costs of suit, by action of debt or assumpsit, either in the corporate name of the trustees of school Fines how relands of the township to which the land belongs, or by action quitam, in the name of any person who will first sue for the same, one half for the use of the person suing, and the other half for the use of the township aforesaid. When two or more persons shall be engaged or concerned in the same trespass, they shall be jointly and severally liable for the penalties herein imposed.

covered

SEC. 11. Every trespasser upon common school lands shall be liable to indictment, and upon conviction, to be fined Indictment

for trespass

of fines

in not less than three nor more than six times the amount of injury occasioned by such trespass, and shall stand committed as in other cases of misdemeanors; all fines imposed un- Application der the provisions of this section, shall be paid to the school commissioner of the county, for the use of the township injured.

SECOND DIVISION.

Election of School Commissioners, and sales of Common

School Lands.

school com'r

SEC. 12. On the first Monday in August next, and on the same day every two years thereafter, there shall be elected Election of by the qualified voters of each and every county in the State, a school commissioner for the said county, who shall be authorized to execute and perform the duties herein required, he shall, before entering upon his duties, execute a bond pay- To give bond able to the people of the State of Illinois, with two or more responsible freeholders as security, to be approved of by the county commissioners' court, in a penalty of not less than twelve thousand dollars, and with such increase as the court may direct, having regard to the nature and extent of duties and responsibilities, conditioned that he will faithfully

returns of

perform all the duties of the office of school commissioner for the said county, according to the laws now, or which may hereafter be in force, by which bond the obligors shall be bound jointly and severally for the performance of the conditions thereof, and upon which an action or actions may be maintained for the use of any township or fund injured by any breach thereof, and joint actions may be maintained to the use of two or more funds.

SEC. 13. The election provided for in the foregoing secElection and tion, shall be held and the returns thereof shall be made in connection with the election of county commissioners, and all contests in relation to said election, shall be decided as in the cases of contested elections for the office of sheriff or

com'r

Vacancies how filled

Proviso.

Coroner.

SEC. 14. When any vacancy shall occur in the office of school commissioner of any county, the county commissioners' court of such county shall appoint some competent per son to fill the vacancy until the election and qualification of another person, the person so appointed, shall give bond with security as is required of persons elected to said office: Provided, however, That when a vacancy occurs within twelve months of the time of the biennial election provided for in Term of office this act, the person appointed shall continue in office until such election, and the qualification of the person elected. SEC. 15. When such any vacancy shall occur more than year before e- twelve months previous to the time provided for the biennial election, the vacancy shall be filled by election as is provided in cases of vacancies in the office of county commissioners.

Vacancies 1

lection

Township funds

SEC. 16. The said commissioner shall make sale of the Sale of lands common school lands held for the use of each township in his county, upon the terms, and in the manner required by law. He shall loan the funds of the township, apply the interest accruing upon township funds to the support of schools, and perform such other duties as may from time to time be required of him; said commissioner shall also attend to the collection of all demands in favor of the several townships in their counties, and to the settlement of the accounts of trustees, and whenever necessary to the prosecution of suits for the recovery of demands in favor of townships, and all monies collected shall be faithfully applied, and used as required by law.

SEC. 17. The said commissioner shall execute a new bond annually, conditioned as required in the first bond, but the Com'r to give execution of a new bond shall not release or impair the liability upon the former bond existing at, and before the delivery of the new one,

bond annu

ally

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SEC. 18. The said commissioner shall be subject to removal by the county commissioners' court for misapplication of the funds, failure to make reports as required by law without

a reasonable excuse, failure to execute bond with good security as required by law, or for any other palpable violation of law or omission of duty.

SEC. 19. If at any time the county commissioners' court Additional shall have reason to believe that the security of the school bond commissioner is insufficient, by reason of insolvency or otherwise, said court shall require the commissioner to execute another bond with additional security, in such penalty as shall be deemed sufficient, conditioned as the first bond, and upon failure to give such security the commissioner may be removed from office; the execution of a new bond shall not affect the old one, or the liability of the security thereon.

SEC. 20. The said commissioner shall provide well bound books for the following purposes: First. A book in which he shall record at length all petitions presented to him for the sale of common school lands, and the plats and certificates of valuation made by or under the direction of the trustees

Books for re

cord

of school lands, and all the affidavits in relation to the same. Record of sale Second. A book in which he shall keep a list of all sales of of land, &c. school lands, which list shall contain the date of sale, names of purchasers, quantity and description of lands sold, and the sum sold for. Third. A book in which he shall keep a regular account of money received and paid or loaned out. And fourth, A book in which he shall keep a statement of money loaned, showing the date of each loan, the person to whom loaned, the time for which the loan was made, the rate of intercst, names of securities when personal security is giv. en, or in case of real estate, a description of the same, which books shall be paid for out of the county treasuries of the counties in which they are used; the accounts of each township and fund, shall be kept separate, as well as the list of sales.

SEC. 21. When the inhabitants of any township shall de- Petition for sire the sale of the common school lands of the township, sale they shall present a petition to the school commissioner of their county, requesting a sale thereof, which petition shall be signed by at least two-thirds of the white male inhabitants of the township, over twenty-one years of age. The signing of the petition must be freely and voluntary, in the presence. of two citizens of the township, after the true intent and meaning thereof shall have been made known and explained to each petitioner; when the petition shall have been so signed, an affidavit shall be endorsed thereon, or thereto attached, by the two citizens in whose presence the same was signed, proving the signing in the manner aforesaid, and the said petition with the affidavits aforesaid, shall be delivered to the commissioner for his action thereon: Provided, That Proviso no sale shall be made of any whole section of school lands, unless the township to which it belongs contains at least fifty inhabitants.

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