CHAPTER 19.

CANAL, AND IMPROVEMENT OF ILLINOIS AND LITTLE WABASH RIVERS.

AN ACT to revise the law in relation to the Illinois and Michigan canal, and for the improvement of the Illinois and Little Wabash rivers. [Approved March 27, 1874. In force July 1. 1874. See const. 1870. p. 82.]

1. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS.] § 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the canal commissioners shall continue to consist of three discreet and skillful persons, and shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the consent of the senate, at a meeting of the general assembly in 1875, and every two years thereafter, and shall hold their offices for two years, and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

2. SEAL-AUTHENTICATION OF ACTS.] § 2. They may adopt an official seal, and may authenticate all their official acts with the same and the signature of such member or officer of the board as it by resolution may direct.

3. TRUSTEES STATE OFFICERS NOT SUED.] § 3. For all legal purposes the said commissioners shall be deemed officers of the state, and all deeds, contracts, writings and acts may be made and suits prosecuted by them, in the name of "The Canal Commissioners," but they shall not be considered as a distinct corporation, or be liable to be sued.

4. OATH-BOND.] § 4. Before entering upon the duties of his office, each commissioner shall take and subscribe the following oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of canal commissioner according to the best of my ability.

He shall also give bonds, payable to the People of the State of Illinois, in the sum of $25,000, with at least two sufficient sureties, to be approved by the governor, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his office, and for a faithful accounting for all moneys intrusted to him as such commissioner, whenever and as often as he shall be lawfully required, and that be will give additional bonds with sufficient sureties when legally required. Such oath and bond shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Whenever the governor shall deem the bond of any canal commissioner insufficient, he may require additional bonds with secu

rity, in any penalty not exceeding that hereinbefore specified: Provided, that the bond of the commissioner acting as treasurer shall be in the sum of not less than $50,000.

5. COMPENSATION.] 5. Each of said commissioners shall receive $5 per day for each day he is employed in the duties of his office.

6. PRESIDENT, SECRETARY, TREASURER-MEETINGS.] § 6. They shall, annually, elect one of their number president, and one secretary and one treasurer. They shall hold quarterly meetings, and called meetings may be held at the request of any member of the board; any two members shall constitute a quorum to do business.

7. DUTIES OF SECRETARY.] § 7. The secretary shall keep the records of the commissioners, and perform such other duties as they shall require of him, and copies of all papers, documents and records legally in his keeping, certified by him under the official seal, shall be received in evidence in the same manner and with like effect as the originals.

8. POWERS OF COMMISSIONERS.] § 8. Said commissioners shall have general control and management of the Illinois and Michigan canal, including its feeders, basins and appurtenances, and the property thereto belonging, and all locks and dams and other improvements of the navigation of the Illinois and Little Wabash rivers, and shall have authority

First-To appoint a general superintendent, collector of tolls, and such other officers and agents as may be necessary for the management of the said canal, locks, dams and other improvements, and prescribe their compensation, powers and duties, and remove them at pleasure, and may employ all such agents and servants as may be necessary in the performance of the duties of their office.

Second-To prescribe reasonable rules and regulations in respect to all matters connected with the navigation and use of the said canal, locks and dams, and transportation on or through the same; and whoever shall willfully or negligently refuse or neglect to comply with such rules may be fined in any sum not exceeding $50 for each offense, to be recovered in the name of the People of the State of Illinois before any justice of the peace of the county, and paid over to said commissioners, and said commissioners may prohibit all persons who willfully refuse or neglect to comply with such rules from using said canal, locks and dams. Printed copies of such rules and of this article shall be posted for public inspection in the offices of the collectors of tolls. The power granted in this article shall apply as well to that part of the south branch of the Chicago river within 1,000 feet of the lock at Bridgeport, and to the canal basin at and near the termination of the canal on the Illinois river, and to that part of the Illinois and Little Wabash rivers above and below the several locks and dams within 1,000 feet thereof, and to all feeders, basins and laterals, as to the canal, locks and dams.

Third-To establish and collect reasonable rates of toll for the passage and rs3 of the said canal and the said locks: Provided, that the use of the said canal and locks shall be free for the transportation of any property of the United States, or persons in their service passing through the same.

Fourth-To sell and dispose of any machinery, fixtures, stone, debris, material or personal property unnecessary for the proper management, construction, repair or use of said canal, locks, dam or other improvements.

Fifth-To lease from time to time any of the canal lands or lots owned by the state: Provided, no lease shall be for a period exceeding ten years.

Sixth-To lease from time to time, to the highest bidder therefor, any waterpower and lands or lots connected therewith. Before any such lease shall be made, at least thirty days' public notice of the intended letting shall be given by publication in some newspaper published in the neighborhood, and such other notice as the commissioners shall deem best. The commissioners shall have power to require that bids be accompanied by security, and may reject all bids not satisfactory to them, and re-advertise until they shall receive satisfactory bids. No lease shall be for a period exceeding ten years, but the commissioners may provide for the extension of any lease from time to time, not exceeding ten

years at any one time, at a rent to be fixed by an appraisal to be made by three disinterested appraisers to be appointed by the governor, and such appraisal shall be subject to the approval of the commissioners. All leases of water power and extensions thereof shall be subject to the right of the commissioners to resume, without compensation to the lessee, the use of any such water power, for the purposes of the canal, and also wholly to abandon or destroy the work by the construction of which the water privilege shall have been created, whenever, in the opinion of the legislature, such work shall cease to be advantageous to the state. Seventh-To lease from time to time, to the highest and best bidder (after publishing notice in some newspaper published in the county where the ice privilege to be leased may be) in sections not exceeding one thousand feet, lineal measure, upon such terms as not to interfere with the proper use and management of the canal, the right to take and harvest ice therefrom, or from any of its feeders, basins and appurtenances, and to prohibit all persons from taking and harvesting ice therefrom without such lease: Provided, no such lease shall be for a longer time than five years.

Eighth-To sell and convey, whenever, in their judgment, the interest of the state will be promoted thereby, any canal lands or lots now owned by the state, other than those connected with water power upon the said canal, and the ninety feet strip along the canal, and the real estate situated in the city of Chicago, and the property formerly connected with the hydraulic works in Chicago. But before making any such sale, they shall obtain the approval of the governor thereto, and to the time, place and manner of making the same.

Ninth-To execute in due form and deliver any conveyance that may be neces sary to comply with the conditions of any bond, contract or agreement heretofore made by those lawfully authorized to sell any of the real estate known as canal lands, whenever the purchaser shall have complied with the conditions of such bond, contract or agreement, and the commissioners are satisfied that he is justly entitled to such conveyance.

9. DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS.] § 9. The duty of the commissioners shall be: First-To take all necessary proceedings on behalf of the state to establish the title of the state and recover the possession of any canal lands or real estate owned by the state which may be claimed by or be in the adverse possession of another person or party, and when necessary for that purpose, to cause appropriate suits, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, to be instituted and prosecuted therefor.

Second-To cause the said canal, locks and dams and appurtenances to be kept in good and sufficient repair and condition for use, and whenever it shall be necessary for that purpose, they may, by themselves or their agents, enter upon and use, overflow or damage any contiguous lands, and procure and appropriate all such material as in their judgment may be necessary or proper to be used in making such repair, build or construct any dam, lock, or other improvement, and may take proceedings in their official name to ascertain the compensation therefor in the manner at the time provided by law for the exercise of the right of eminent domain: Provided, that the damages, cost of materials and improvements shall in all cases be paid out of the net proceeds derived from tolls.

Third. To cause suits to be commenced and prosecuted against all persons. trespassing upon the said canal, locks or dams or any of the canal lands belonging to the state, and for that purpose they may require the services of the state's attorney of any county in which such suits may be prosecuted. They may also appraise or cause to be appraised and adjust all claims for damages growing out of the negligence or carelessness of the persons in charge of said canal by means whereof parties navigating said canal shall sustain damages, and when so appraised or adjusted they may pay the same from the tolls collected, and make report thereof: Provided, that such claim for damages and appraisement thereof in no single case shall exceed the sum of $100. If in excess of that sum they shall report the same to the governor for further legislation.

Fourth.-Such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

10. DEEDS, ETC.—RECORD—EVIDENCE.] § 10. All deeds, title papers, agreements and contracts affecting the title to real estate in this state, heretofore executed by the board of trustees of the Illinois and Michigan canal, under the seal of said board, or which have been heretofore or may hereafter be executed by the canal commissioners under their official seal, shall be admitted to record, and the same or a certified transcript of the record shall be admitted in evidence in all courts without acknowledgment or further proof.

11. COPIES OF BOOKS AND ENTRIES OF SALES, ETC., EVIDENCE.] § 11. Copies of the books and entries of the sale or conveyance of any lands or lots that have been sold or conveyed by the trustees of the Illinois and Michigan canal, or have been or may be sold or conveyed by the canal commissioners, under any law of this state, certified to be true and correct copies of such books or entries, by the secretary of the canal commissioners, under the official seal, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated in such books or entries, and of the title in the party to whom such lands or lots appear by such certified copies to have been sold or conveyed, his heirs or assigns.

12. ACCOUNT-QUARTERLY SETTLEMENTS.] § 12. The said commissioners shall keep an accurate account of all moneys received from tolls and all other sources, and of all expenditures of every kind, and at the end of each quarter shall transmit to the auditor of public accounts an account of all moneys received during the quarter, accompanying the same with proper vouchers for the moneys expended during the quarter. They shall also, at the same time, pay into the state treasury the balance of all moneys in their hands, except such sums as shall be necessary to be retained by them for the purpose of making repairs upon said canal, locks and dams.

13. ANNUAL REPORTS.] § 13. Said commissioners shall, on or before the tenth day of December of each year, make a report to the governor, showing a summary of all their official action for the year ending on the first day of December, and containing an exhibit showing the amount of all moneys received by them, and the sources from which the same was received, and for what purpose, and when paid into the state treasury, and showing, also, all amounts received from the state treasury, with dates thereof, the times and purposes of disbursing the same, and the amount on hand, together with such other matters as the commissioners may deem advisable or the governor may require.

14. ADMINISTERING OATHS.] § 14. Said commissioners, collectors of tolls, deputy collectors and their clerks, and canal inspectors appointed by said commissioners, may administer oaths and affirmations required of owners and masters of canal boats.

PENALTIES.

15. REMOVING STONE, ETC.-TRESPASS.] § 15. Whoever, without permission of the canal commissioners, shall take or remove from the canal lands any rock, stone, coal or other mineral, or shall commit any other trespass thereon, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $200. [Cutting timber. See crim. code, ch. 38, § 269.

16. DIGGING DRAIN, ETC.] § 16. Whoever, without the written consent of the canal commissioners, digs any drain or ditch, or removes or deposits any earth, sand, gravel or other material, or causes the same to be done, whereby any substance is washed into the canal to the injury of the same, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $100.

17. CONSTRUCTING WHARF, ETC.-TAKING WATER, ETC.] § 17. Whoever, without the written permission of the commissioners, constructs any wharf, basin, or watering place, or makes or contrives any device whatever, for the purpose of taking any water from the canal, or omits to conform to the directions of the commissiouers granting such permission, shall, for each offense, forfeit the sum of $25.

18. USING BANKS OF CANAL.] § 18. Whoever shall lead, ride or drive any horse, ox, ass, mule or cattle on either bank of the canal, except for the towing of boats upon the canal, or for conveying articles to and from the same for transportation, or delivery at their place of destination, shall, for each offense, be fined $5.

19. OBSTRUCTING NAVIGATION.] § 19. Whoever, by moving, loading, unloading or misconducting any boat, shall obstruct the navigation of the canal, and will not immediately remove the same, upon being required by a superintendent or any person incommoded, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $25.

20. SAME.] 20. Whoever, by willfully sinking any boat, timber, stone, earth, or other material in the canal, or placing any obstruction on the tow-path or on the opposite bank of the canal, interferes with the proper use of the same, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $100.

21. OPENING GATES, ETC.] § 21. Whoever shall wantonly or maliciously open or shut, or cause to be opened or shut, any lock, paddle or culvert gate, or waste gate, or drive any spike, nail, pin or wedge into either of such gates, or take any other mode of preventing the free use of such gates, or shall break down or destroy any bridge, lock, bank, waste-weir, dam, aqueduct, culvert, or any other device or structure upon the canal, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $200.

22. OFFENSIVE MATTER, ETC.] § 22. Whoever shall put, or cause to be put, any dead animal or offensive matter into the canal, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $20.

23. FAST DRIVING OVER BRIDGE. § 23. Whoever shall ride or drive over any bridge across the canal faster than a walk, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $5.

24. UNLAWFULLY CONSTRUCTING BRIDGE OVER.] § 24. Whoever shall construct, or attempt to construct, any bridge across the canal without having first submitted the plan thereof to the canal commissioners, and obtained their consent thereto, shall, for each offense, be fined not exceeding $100, and the commissioners may remove the same, or any part thereof constructed, at the expense of the persons or authorities causing the same to be constructed.

25. "BOAT" DEFINED.] § 25. The word "boat," as used in this act, shall include every boat, vessel, raft, craft or floating thing navigated or moved on the canal.

26. APPLICATION OF ACT.] § 26. The eleven preceding sections shall apply as well to all locks and dams that are or may be constructed upon the Illinois and Little Wabash rivers and all feeders, as to the canal known as the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

27. DISPOSITION OF FINES.] § 27. All fines and penalties herein provided for may be recovered before any justice of the peace of the proper county, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, and when collected shall be paid to the commissioners, and by them paid into the state treasury as other revenues of the canal.

28. DAMAGES.] § 28. Whoever is guilty of any offense created by this act, shall also be liable for all damages occasioned thereby.