same manner as now is or hereafter may be provided for the election of a mayor in and for said city. Said trustees shall devote two (2) days in each year to an investigation of the affairs of such corporation, and receive an annual salary of ten dollars, to be paid by said city, and said trustees shall have power to call upon the officers of such corporation and compel an investigation of its books and papers.

5. The city council shall annually levy a tax upon all Taxes. the taxable property listed for taxation in said city, to pay the interest and principal of such bonds as may be issued under the provisions of this act; which tax, when collected, shall be deemed a special tax, and shall be used for no purpose other than the payment of said principal and interest.

§ 6. In case any proposition submitted in conformity Adoption of with the provisions of this act shall not be adopted upon proposition. the first vote, it shall be lawful for the mayor and aldermen to submit the proposition, or any other proposition in relation to the same subject, in the same manner, to a vote of the people, whenever they shall deem it to the interest of the city so to do, but in no case shall the said city own or be liaale for any stock exceeding the said sum of forty thousand dollars, under the provisions of this act.

§ 7. This act shall be deemed a public act, and be in force from and after its passage.

APPROVED February 28, 1867.

AN ACT to authorize the city of Belleville and the town of Mascoutah to In force March

issue bonds.

5, 1807.

bonds.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the city Amount of the council of the city of Belleville, of the county of St. Clair, State of Illinois, may authorize the mayor and register to issue bonds in such amounts as the said city council may determine upon by ordinance, payable in not less than ten years nor more than twenty years, and bearing ten per cent. interest per annum. The proceeds of said bonds shall be applied as subscription to stock of any plank, macadamı or railroad now being built or hereafter to be built, leading to or from the city of Belleville. Said bonds shall not be sold or disposed of for less than par: And, provided Proviso. further, that no such bonds shall be issued unless a majority of the tax-payers to whom the question shall be submitted shall have decided in favor thereof.

Vol. I-74

§ 2. This act shall also apply to and be in force for the use and benefit of the town of Mascoutah, in the county of St. Clair.

§ 3. The town of Nashville, in the county of Washington, and to the county court of Washington, are hereby authorized to avail themselves of the benefit of this act.

4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

APPROVED March 5, 1867.

7, 1867.

In force March AN ACT to authorize cities, towns or townships lying within certain limits to appropriate moneys and levy a tax to aid the construction of the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes railroad.

Payment of.

Proviso.

Taxes.

Taxes legalized and valid.

Conditional votes.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all incorporated towns and cities and towns acting under the township organization law, which lie wholly or partly within 20 miles of the east line of this state, and also between the city of Chicago and the southern boundary of Lawrence county, be and the same are hereby severally authorized to appropriate such sum of money as they may deem proper to the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes railroad company, to aid in the construction of the road of said company, to be paid to said company as soon as the track of said road shall have been located and constructed through said city, town or township respectively: Provided, however, that the proposition to appropriate moneys to said company shall be first submitted to a vote of the legal voters of said respective townships, towns or cities, at a regular, annual or special meeting, by giving at least ten days notice thereof; and a vote shall be taken thereon by a ballot at the usual place of election; and if the majority of votes cast shall be in favor of the appropriation, then the same shall be made, other

wise not.

§ 2. The authorities of said townships, towns or cities respectively, are hereby authorized and required to levy and collect a tax, and make such provisions as may be necessary and proper for the prompt payment of the appropriation under the provisions of this law.

§3. And be it further enacted, That all the taxes heretofore voted in any and all of the townships, towns or cities along the line of the aforesaid road, in aid of the construction of said road, are hereby legalized and declared valid.

§ 4. And be it further enacted, That any and all of said townships, towns or cities within the county of Iroquois and along said line of road as aforesaid, may vote for or

against such taxes conditioned, that the town of Watseka in said county shall be made a point on said road, and in case a sufficient amount of such conditional taxes be voted in said Iroquois county to build the additional length of road required to make said town of Watseka a point in the same, then and in that case said road shall be so located as to run through or adjoining said town of Watseka.

5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

APPROVED March 7, 1867.

9, 1867.

AN ACT to enable the city of Sterling and certain towns in Whiteside In force March county to issue bonds and raise money by taxation to establish a free bridge across Rock river at the city of Sterling.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Bonds. city of Sterling and towns of Coloma, Montmorency, Hume, Hahnaman, Tampico and Prophetstown, in the county of Whiteside, or any number of said towns, not less than five, including the city of Sterling, which shall vote to accept the provisions of this act, may and it shall be lawful for them respectively to issue bonds to run for a term or terms, not exceeding five years and upon interest at the rate of ten per cent. per annum; and, also, to raise and collect such a tax or taxes, not exceeding two per cent. of the assessed valuation of the said city and towns respectively for the purpose of opening and maintaining free communication across Rock river, between the towns of Sterling and Coloma, either by the purchase of the Sterling bridge or the erection of a new bridge at some point opposite to the city of Sterling.

supervisors.

§ 2. The members of the county board of supervisors Election of who shall be elected at the first annual town meeting after the passage of this act, by the respective towns accepting the provisions hereof, should said city accept the same, and their successors in office, shall be, ex officio, commissioners for the purchase or erection and maintenance of a free bridge; and as such commissioners shall have authority, in case they shall deem a new bridge to be expedient, to select and decide upon its location, which shall be fronting to some one of the streets leading in a direction to the said river in said city of Sterling; and shall have power to make any and all contracts necessary for its erection and completion, and for the maintaining and keeping the same in repair and shall have authority to employ any agents, mechanics or laborers for that purpose. And the said commissioners

President,

treasurer

duties of.

shall make all by-laws, rules and regulations necessary to be observed by persons passing over said bridge.

§ 3. The said board of commissioners shall annually in secretary and the month of May choose one of their number president, and shall also select a secretary and a treasurer, who shall keep full and accurate minutes of the proceedings of the said commissioners in their respective offices. The books and records of the said commissioners shall be kept in some house or office in Sterling or Coloma, and shall be open to the inspection of any of the legal voters of the city or towns acting under the provisions hereof.

Estimates of

amount of bonds.

Name and style of bridge commissioners.

Suits at law.

Purchase of bridge.

§ 4. The said commissioners shall at their first meeting, or as soon thereafter as shall be practicable, make an estimate of the amount of bonds, not to exceed sixty (60) thousand dollars, necessary to be issued for the purpose of purchasing or building a bridge, as they shall decide, and also the amount that the city of Sterling and the respective towns should issue according to their assessed value respectively, and shall certify the city clerk of the city of Sterling and the town clerks of the respective towns the several amounts allotted to them; and it shall be the duty of the said clerks of the said respective townss and city, upon notice in writing from the said commissioners that they are ready to use said bonds, to issue the same to the amounts so certified, which said bonds shall be signed by the clerks of the said town respectively, and shall be countersigned by the supervisors of the said towns respectively and placed in the hands of the treasurer of the said commissioners; but the said bonds shall not be negotiated at less than their par value. The said commissioners shall furnish a uniform style of blanks for such bonds.

§ 5. The said bridge commissioners shall be known as "The Sterling and Coloma Free Bridge Commissioners;" and by that name and style are hereby made capable to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in all courts of law and equity, and may do and execute all acts, matters and things which may be necessary to the building, maintaining and preserving of such bridge..

$6. In case of a suit at law or in equity aginst the said commissioners, service may be had upon the president or secretary, and when both are absent from the county of Whiteside, upon any member of the board of commissioners.

$7. Should the said commissioners determine to purchase the present bridge at Sterling, and the same should thereafter become useless by decay, destruction by the ice or otherwise, the said commissioners may re-build the same or build a new bridge at that or any other point opposite the said city of Sterling, in accordance with the provisions of this act.

CITY INDEBTEDNESS.

8. The said commissioners shall at all times keep such Repairs. free bridge in good order and repair, and in case the same should be injured by high water, or otherwise, they may speedily repair or rebuild the same.

streets.

89. The said commissioners may use, alter or grade Grading of such portion of any street in the city of Sterling, opposite to which they may build such bridge, as may be necessary to connect the roadway of the said bridge with said street, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to obtain the right of way over any intervening lots or banks, shores or bed of said river, between such street in the city of Sterling opposite to which they may construct such bridge, and the nearest public road to the southern terminus of said bridge which is or may be hereafter opened as a public highway in the town of Coloma, and may condemn any land, earth or stone along the location of such bridge that may be necessary for its construction and use, but shall pay for the same to any party or parties injured thereby, and upon failure of agreement as to the amount of any such damages, the same shall be ascertained and determined in the manner prescribed by law for ascertaining the amount of damages upon obtaining the right of way for laying out public roads; but the work upon or construction of the said bridge shall not be obstructed or burdened by delay in determining the amount of such damages.

mencement of

10. If the said commissioners decide to build a new Time of combridge the same shall be commenced before the first day of building new June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred bridge, etc. and sixty-nine, and shall be completed within six years And said bridge shall be from the passage of this act. built in a manner not materially to obstruct the navigation of Rock river.

§ 11. The said commissioners shall have authority to Donations. receive donations from any person, persons, firms, companies or corporations which may in that manner favor the building or maintaining a free bridge, all of which donations shall be strictly applied for that purpose.

§ 12. Whenever the said commissioners shall deem it Taxation. necessary to raise a tax for the purpose of paying any indebtedness arising from the purchase, building or keeping such bridge in repair, they shall make a statement of the sums necessary to be raised in each of said towns and said city of Sterling, according to their assessed valuation respectively, and shall certify the same to the board of supervisors of Whiteside county. The respective sums so certified shall by said board of supervisors be levied on the taxable property of the said towns respectively and of said city of Sterling, and collected by the collectors thereof in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected; and all such moneys, as soon as collected, shall be paid by the col