effects mentioned in the tenth section of said act; which said conveyance shall include the lands and lots remaining unsold, donated by the United States to the State of Illinois, to aid in the completion of the said canal; to be held in trust as in the said act stipulated. And it is expressly provided, that the subscribers to said loan may, and shall register their bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, upon which they may have made or may hereafter make their subscriptions, within one year after the appointment of trustees. And the said subscribers shall be entitled to priority in the payment of the respective advances to be made by them, and the interest thereon; also, a priority in the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds or other evidences of indebtedness to be registered by them, out of the proceeds of the said trust property; any thing in the said act above mentioned to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 2. The majority of the said board of trustees, shall have power and authority to act and decide in all cases, and their acts shall bind all parties; and in appointing the said trustees, each subscriber to the said loan shall be entitled to one vote for each sum of three hundred and twenty dollars subscribed; and such election may be held in the city of New York, under the direction of the district judge of the United States for that district, or such person as he for that purpose may appoint.

SEC. 3. In case a sufficient sum shall not be subscribed or paid to complete said canal, the said subscribers shall share, pari passu, with other persons, who may subscribe and pay the residue of the amount necessary to complete the canal: Provided, That the subscribers to said loan shall have the right to subscribe and fill up the amount necessary to finish said canal, in the first instance; and if they neglect so to do, then any other person may subscribe such amount: And, provided further, That such subscribers may register bonds upon such subscriptions, as hereinbefore provided, within one year after such subscriptions,

SEC. 4. When the amount due for arrears and difference of interest on the registered bonds and other canal indebtedness shall be extinguished, then the principal of said registered bonds and canal indebtedness shall be paid, and when the said principal shall have been paid, the said trustees shall proceed to pay the interest on the unregistered canal bonds and canal indebtedness.

SEC. 5. The preliminary expenses of the negotiation of said contract, with the expenses of the examinations of the canal property by the agents appointed by the authority of the bond-holders, shall be first paid by the said trustees, unless some other provision for their payment be made by the General Assembly. But no further expense shall be incurred by the State, by sending agents to Europe or elsewhere, in relation to the matter.

SEC. 6. If the said canal shall not be completed within three years, as is contemplated in the fourth section of the above recited act, the subscribers to said loan who shall have advanced money in pursuance of their subscription, shall not forfeit the priority of payment secured to them by this act, but shall share in the trust property, pari passu, with such other persons as will advance further sums if such should be necessary to complete the canal.

[AMENDATORY to Act 48, page 608.]

APPROVED: March 1, 1845,

ACT, NUMBER XLI.

AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO PROTECT THE CANAL LANDS AGAINST TRESPASSES;" APPROVED, MARCH 4, 1837; AND AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO PROTECT THE CANAL LANDS AGAINST TRESPASSES;” APPROVED, FEBRUARY 26, 1839.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That for the purpose of more effectually protecting the canal lands against trespasses, the acting commissioner of the Illinois and Michigan canal, shall, immediately upon the passage of this act, appoint such agent or agents as may be necessary, to protect the canal lands and property; who shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties specified in the acts to which this is an amendment, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.

SEC. 2. Each of said agents shall receive, as a compensation for his services, the sum of two dollars per day, for every day he may be actually employed in performing the duties of such agent, to be paid out of the proceeds of the sales of down or fallen timber and wood, and judgments recovered under the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is an amendment: Provided, The aggregate amount paid to such agents, shall not exceed the amount heretofore paid to the single agent employed for that purpose.

SEC. 3. Each of the said agents, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond to the State of Illinois, in the penalty of five hundred dollars, with one or more securities, to be approved by the acting commissioner of the Illinois and Michigan canal, conditioned that he will, well and faithfully execute all the duties required of him by law, and make full and true account and payment to the said acting commissioner, or such person or persons as may have charge of the affairs of said canal, of all moneys received by him as such agent; which said bond shall be filed and kept in the canal office.

SEC. 4. If any person shall cut, fell, box, bore, injure or destroy any tree or sapling of any description, standing or growing upon canal land, he or she so offending, shall pay five times the value of every tree or sapling, so cut, felled, boxed, bored, injured or destroyed, to be recovered by action of debt in the name of the State of Illinois, before any circuit court or justice of the peace having jurisdietion of the amount claimed; and shall also be liable to be indicted and punished ac cording to the provisions of an act, entitled "An act to prevent trespassing on the canal lands of this State," approved, February 9, 1835.

SEC. 5. If any person shall wilfully and knowingly receive or use any tree, timber or wood, of any description, except trees down or fallen timber or wood, as authorized to be sold under the provisions of the law of this State for the protec tion of canal lands, he or she shall be liable to pay for every tree, timber or wood so purchased, received or used, five times the value thereof, to be recovered by ac

tion of debt in the name of the State of Illinois, before any circuit court or justice of the peace having jurisdiction of the amount claimed.

SEC. 6. If any person shall, without permission from the acting commissioner or agent of the said canal lands, take or remove from the canal lands, any rock, stone or coal, he or she so offending, shall pay five times the value of such rock, stone or coal, so taken or removed as aforesaid, to be recovered as provided in the foregoing sections; and shall, moreover, be liable to be indicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the act, entitled "An act to prevent trespasses on the canal lands of this State," approved, February 9, 1835.

SEC. 7. If any person or persons shall wilfully remove, injure or destroy any materials furnished for the construction of the canal, or any machinery surrendered to the State by contractors; or shall in any manner injure the canal or the embankments, walls or structures thereof, he, she or they, shall be liable to pay five times the amount of the damage occasioned thereby, and shall moreover be subject to indictment; and on conviction, shall be fined in any sum not more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned, not exceeding ninety days, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the judges holding courts in the counties of Cook, Will, Grundy and La Salle, to give the provisions of this act in especial charge to the grand juries of said counties respectively; and all justices of the peace and constables of said counties, are hereby required to cause this act to be enforced as far as the same lies in their power.

SEC. 9. The actions commenced in the circuit court under the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, shall not be dismissed on account of any error, defect or cmission in the pleadings or process, but the act entitled "An act concerning amendments and jeofails," approved, January 11th, 1827, shall be deemed applicable to such actions, and no suits commenced as aforesaid shall be dismissed because prosecuted by persons other than States' attorneys or the attorney general.

SEC. 10. That for the purpose of carrying this act into effect, the acting commissioner of the said canal shall have all the powers conferred upon the board of commissioners, by the acts of which this is amendatory, and he shall require the said agents to make report of their proceedings to him at such times as he shall appoint therefor, under oath, stating the amount of money he has received for the use of the State under the provisions of this act, for what and of whom he has received the same, the amount of judgments that have been received, and from whom, and the number of days he has been actually engaged in such business.

SEC. 11. That so much of the act entitled, "An act to protect the canal lands against trespasses," approved, March fourth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty seven, and the act entitled, "An act to amend an act to protect the canal lands against trespasses," approved, February twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, as comes in contact with the provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby repealed; but all suits commenced under the provisions of the above recited acts, and now pending, shall be prosecuted to judgment in accordance with the provisions of said acts; and trespassers on canal lands prior to the passage of this act, against whom no suits have been commenced, may be prosecuted as heretofore provided by law.

SEC. 12. The acting commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to sell and dispose of all refuse stone, timber and all other materials and machinery be

longing to the State, which is not to be used, or which are, in his opinion, unsuitable to be used in the construction of the canal; which sale shall be made for the highest prices which he can obtain therefor, either at public or private sale, and to be sold for gold and silver, or canal indebtedness.

SEC. 13. It shall be the duty of the canal commissioner, or other authorized agent of the State having charge of the canal and canal property, on the first Wednesday of April next, and annually thereafter, to offer for sale at public auction, at the canal office in Lockport, all lands and town lots except the town lots in the city of Chicago, which shall be sold in said city as soon as may be after the sale of lands and other town lots at Lockport, which have been heretofore sold and forfeited, and which may be hereafter forfeited to the State by the non-payment of instalments, or interest. Said commissioner or agent, shall give at least thirty days' notice of such sale, by publishing a description of the lands and lots to be offered for sale, in a newspaper, printed in Ottawa, and at least one of the papers printed in Chicago. Said lands and lots shall be sold in conformity with the general provisions of "An act to amend the several laws in relation to the Illinois and Michigan canal," approved, February twenty-third, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine: Frovided, Said lands and lots shall not be sold for less than their value as heretofore appraised: And, provided further, That it shall be lawful for any person to redeem such lands or lots by making payment of the instalment or interest due, at any time previous to the day of sale.

SEC. 14. This act to take effect from and after its passage.

APPROVED, February 27, 1845.

ACT, NUMBER XLII.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DONATION OF LOTS, IN TOWNS SITUATED ON CANAL LANDS TO PUBLIC PURPOSES.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That any religious society to whom a lot has been donated or granted under the "Act to provide for the dedication of lots, in towns situated on canal lands, to public purposes," for the purpose of erecting a house of worship thereon, shall have the right to erect a parsonage and school-house upon such lot, and to use such parts thereof as may not be immediately occupied by the house of worship, for such parsonage, school-house and garden, and yard connected therewith.

SEC, 2. That any such religious society, which finds it more convenient to occupy for worship some other lot or building until the said society is able to erect a suitable house of worship upon such lot so donated or granted as aforesaid, shall have the right to lease the said lot to any person or persons, to be occupied as the lessee or lessees shall desire, until such time as such society may be able to build

thereon: Provided, That the rents received therefrom shall be expended in improving said lot, or for the purposes of said society.

SEC. 3. Nothing in this act, or the one to which this is an amendment, shall be so construed as to cause such society to forfeit such lot, or said lot to revert to the State, by reason of the occupancy or leasing of said lot as is provided for in the first and second sections of this act.

APPROVED: February 28, 1845.

ACT, NUMBER XLIII.

AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN COUNTIES THEREIN NAMED.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the acts of the county commissioners' courts of the several counties of this State, in loaning out at interest that portion of the internal improvement fund, which fell due said counties under the act of February twenty-seventh, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, establishing a general system of internal improvements, be, and the same is hereby legalized.

SEC. 2. That said county commissioners' courts are also empowered to collect the money so loaned, as is provided for by law for the collection of other indebtedness.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of said county commissioners' courts, and they are hereby required, to cause to be renewed, all bonds given as evidence of indebtedness to said fund, with good and sufficient security.

SEC. 4. That upon the debtor's compliance with the third section of this act, no higher interest shall be collected from said debtor from and after the renewal of any such bond, than six per cent. per annum: Provided, That this provision shall not extend to any portion of said funds which have, by law, been constituted a portion of the common school fund of any county in this State.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the county commissioners of the several counties of this State, may apply all such money, when collected, to any and all purposes they may think proper. This act to be in force from and after its passage.

APPROVED, February 28, 1845.