ST. LOUIS & SOUTH EASTERN R. R. SEVEN PER CENT First Mortgage Convertible Bonds PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYABLE IN GOLD IN NEW YORK, FREE OF GOVERNMENT TAX, TWENTY-FIVE YEARS TO RUN. COUPON & REGISTERED. FOR SALE BY BANKERS AND FINANCIAL AGENTS OF THE COMPANY, 25 Nassau St, New York. 385 , 4 - Sa339s THE ST. LOUIS AND SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. President. GENERAL EDWARD F. WINSLOW. YICE—pRESIDENT ^ECRETARY. , - - ' - Equality, fIlinoaS^ REASURER. ‘ Snaw,neetown, Illinois. ^Auditor, AARON G. CLOUD, Esq., - McLeanShoro, Illinois. ^Attorney. , , THOMAS L, CASEY, Esq., - - - Mount Vernon, Illinois. T RUSTEE. BREVET MAJ.-GEN. JAS. H. WILSON, U. S. A., Keokuk, Iowa. JOSEPH J. CASTLES, Esq. 3 T ORVAL POOL, Esq, s v t> -S J^HIEF f- NGINEFR. COLONEL E. C. RICE, C. E. Ov jSOARD OF PlRECTORS, I' •4 i. ORVAL POOL, - Shawneetown, Illinois, " ; 2. JAMES H. WILSON, - - Brevet Maj.-Gen. U. S. Army. > 3. JOSEPH J. CASTLES, - Equality, Illinois. 4 . HON. SAM’L S. MARSHALL, M. C., - McLeansboro, “ 5. AARON, G. CLOUD, - - 6. RICHARD W. TOWNSHEND, 7. SAMUEL K. CASEY, - - Mount Vernon, “ 8. WILLIS D. GREEN, M. D., 9. THOMAS H. HOBBS, - “ 10. GEN. EDWARD F. WINSLOW, - Davenport, Iowa A PRIME SECURITY AT A LOW PRICE. First Mortgage Bonds OF * THE ST. LOUIS & SOUTH EASTERN R. R. OF' ILLINOIS. COUPON AND REGISTERED. PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYABLE IN GOLD. INTEREST SEVEN PER CENT. GOLD, PER ANNUM, PAYABLE IN NEW YORK MAY AND NOVEMBER. Price 92J and Accrued Interest in Currency. TWENTY-SEVEN MILES NOW IN OPERATION, LEAVING ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE MILES TO BE COMPLETED. In offering these securities for sale, we beg to refer investors to the annexed comprehensive exhibit of the enterprise and its promising future, signed by the President of the Company, General Edward F. Winslow, and by Brevet Major-General James H. Wilson, U. S. A., one of the Directors ; and also to the statement ^appended thereto, signed by W. Milnor Koberts, U. S. Civil Engineer, and one of the most distinguished rail¬ road constructors of the country. These gentlemen are well- known to the country and their friends for their ability, integrity and honor. The accuracy of their statements may, therefore, be confidently relied upon. Any one who will carefully study the following pages cannot fail to become convinced that this road, when completed, will control a large and profitable local business, to say nothing of its through traffic. It will, therefore, be able to pay, without fail, the interest on its bonds, and render the stock a very profit¬ able investment. Gross earnings at the rate of 3,000 dollars per mile per annum, will be ample to pay the interest on its debt, including the expense of operation and repairs. There is no completed road in the State of Illinois which is not earning much more than this sum per mile. The Company confidently expect their road to earn from seven to ten thousand dollars per mSe from the time of completion. This line, throughout its entire length, passes over the richest coal beds in Illinois, now being profitably and extensively worked at various points. In view of the large and increasing con¬ sumption of coal at St. Lous, and in the adjacent region, the profits upon the transportation of coal alone will, within the limit of three years, more than pay the interest upon the entire bonded debt. That part of the road already finished has been built with great economy, rapidity and skill, under the immediate super¬ vision of General Winslow, a practical railway constructor of experience, and it is the intention of the Company to complete the road in the shortest practicable time. These Bonds are issued under a Mortgage made to P. C. Cal¬ houn, President of the Fourth National Bank, New York, and George Opdyke, Trustees. It is carefully drawn and duly re¬ corded in all the counties through which the road passes. The total bonded debt on the entire line of 139 miles is limited to $2,250,000, equal to about $16,000 per mile, and they can only be issued as the construction and equipment of the road progresses. For the present we offer these prime securities at the low price of 921 and accrued interest in currency—the Company reserving to itself the right to advance the price whenever it may so determine. After a thorough investigation of the merits of this enter¬ prise, we confidently recommend these securities to our friends and the public as a safe and profitable investment. GEORGE OPDYKE & CO., Financial Agents of the Company, 25 Nassau St., New York. January 21, 1870. 4 St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 5th, 1870. Gen. E. F. Winslow, President St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway , Sir : Having carefully examined the profiles, &c., of the surveyed and partly-built route of your road, extending from the city of St. Louis to the Ohio River, at Shawneetown, and studied the report made to you, dated January 1st, by your able Chief Engineer, E. C. Rice, Esq., I proceed with pleasure to give you my views and opinion in relation thereto. It is proper to state that my attention was particularly called to this route more than a year ago by my friend, Major General J. H. Wilson, U. S. A., who has a lifetime familiarity with the southern portion of the State of Illinois, and at a later period by Mr. Rice, whose report, now before me, is under consideration. I may properly add, in this place, that I have been personally and in¬ timately acquainted with Mr. Rice more than fifteen years, and that I know him to be a very thorough, capable and reliable engineer, endowed with excellent judgment. He is a gentleman whose reports and estimates on other works in Iowa and Illi¬ nois and Indiana I have always found to be correct, and in whom I have great confidence. That portion of your line extending from Ashley , at the cros¬ sing of the Illinois Central Railroad (59 miles from St. Louis,) to the Ohio River, 80 miles, and especially the last 40 miles south-eastward from McLeanshoro to Shaivneetown , is very much more favorable than I had assumed prior to the prelimi¬ nary survey made under the direction of Mr. Rice. Indeed, the entire route is remarkable. The fact that you are enabled without deviating from a very direct course to grade down the valley of the north fork of the Saline River, with long tangents and very light work, is very important. Taking the whole length, one hundred and thirty-nine miles, into view, I know of no route in the State of Illinois or Indiana that offers so cheap a line. Its grades and curves are very much more favorable than those of the Ohio and Mississippi, the maximum being under 53 feet per mile, for short distances— the longest only one mile, and on most of the route the grades being under thirty feet to the mile. The graduation, bridging, &c., over a large portion of the distance will be very light, with only two or three miles of heavy work, and no hard curving. There is probably no other route of its length to be found in the general direction of your road from St. Louis, possessing so many advantages. The country it traverses is very fertile, and most of it is already highly cultivated and yielding large quan¬ tities of agricultural products annually, the great staple being wheat, so that its local trade, independently of the coal busi- ness, through travel, &c., will be very large as soon as it shall be opened to St. Louis at one end, and to the Ohio River at the other. This line will accommodate an extensive district which has not yet had the advantage of a railroad running through it, ample in area and productive capabilities for the handsome sup¬ port of the road. It is, however, much more than a merely local road, destined greatly to advance the prosperity of the region through which it passes, for it is demanded as the most direct and cheapest prac¬ ticable through route from St. Louis to Nashville , Tennessee, by the way of Shawneetoivn. It will also constitute an impor¬ tant part of a trunk line branching to Evansville and to Louis¬ ville, and it will come in connection with the chain of roads now in course of construction from Central Virginia down the Kan- hawa River, affording the shortest railroad route between St. Louis and the Atlantic, through Virginia, to Norfolk. Shaw- neetown and Evansville are highly flourishing business centers, in which the population is rapidly increasing, and Louisville is already metropolitan and growing very vigorously. A railroad connecting the city of Sfc. Louis, with its quarter million of in¬ habitants, with these thriving places, built at little cost, cannot fail of success. 6 A glance at any correct map showing the railroad lines of the West will also show that there is an unoccupied field here open for the profitable investment of capital, in connection with this road. Its direct general route, its light grades, easy curves and very moderate cost should commend it to the careful considera¬ tion of railroad capitalists, as eminently worthy of their atten¬ tion. In two years, or by the time this road can he opened to the Ohio River, the bridge across the Mississippi, at St. Louis, will be completed. This will add greatly to the value of this road, and the open¬ ing of the line across the southern portion of Illinois, along this route, will contribute largely to the business of St. Louis. I have no doubt that the statement of your engineer is well founded, and will be verified in future, “ that the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway possesses enough within its own limits to render it a very profitable investment.” By your connection with the Illinois Central Railroad at Ashley , there can be no question that that Company will find it advantageous to make a running arrangement to carry passen¬ gers and freight by your line, between St. Louis and Cairo. Wishing you the success which the intrinsic merits of your enterprize deserve, I am, very respectfully yours, W. M1LNOR ROBERTS, U. S. Civil Engineer, Consulting Engineer. The St Louis and Southeastern Railway Company. This Company was organized at Mount Vernon, Illinois on the 24th of March, 1869, in pursuance of a special charter granted by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, ap¬ proved by the Governor on the 10th of March, 1869. A certi¬ fied copy of this charter is appended hereunto, and it is believed that a careful examination of its provisions will show it to be one of the most liberal laws of the kind ever granted by the Legislature of the State. It was drawn and perfected by gen¬ tlemen of great experience in such matters, and contains all the powers which experience has shown to be necessary to the suc¬ cessful operation of the Company. On the day the Company was organized, they secured, by con¬ solidation and purchase, the perpetual control and use of all the rights, franchises and real estate owned by the Mount Ver¬ non and Ashley Railroad Company, and also those owned by the u Shawneetown and Eldorado” Kailroad Company. At the same time they granted to Gen. E. F. Winslow, their Presi¬ dent, full executive authority, and empowered him to make all the necessary arrangements for the construction and operation of their railway. Route of the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway. This Railway is intended to run from East St. Louis, in an easterly and south-easterly direction, to Shawneetown, a thriv¬ ing and important shipping point on the Ohio River. It passes through Belleville and Mascoutah in St. Clair County, Nashville, the county seat of Washington County, crosses the Illinois Cen- 8 tral Road at Ashley, 20 miles south of the Ohio and Missis¬ sippi Railroad, running thence through Mount Yernon, the county seat of Jefferson County, McLeansboro, the county seat of Hamilton County, and down the rich valley of the north fork of Saline River, to Equality, and thence by a natural de¬ pression along the old grade of the Shawneetown and Alton Road, to Shawneetown, At this place it is intended to con¬ nect with the Shawneetown and Madisonville Railroad, of which Gen. Winslow is also the President, thus giving, with the Hen¬ derson and Nashville Railroad, now nearly completed, the short¬ est and cheapest practicable route between St. Louis and Nash¬ ville , Tennessee. The length of this line between St. Louis and Shawneetown, as actually surveyed, is 141 miles, which may be varied one or two miles either way, by actual location. Much of the route, including one section of 26 miles, is on an air line, and all of it through a country remarkably favorable to the construction of railways. The entire line is only eight miles longer than an air line, and six miles longer than the shortest one which could be constructed, but, all things considered, it is by far the best that can possibly be obtained. The road will be divided into three divisions for the purpose of construction, as follows : The first division, extending from Nashville to Mount Yer¬ non, a distance of 27 miles, is now in the process of construc¬ tion, and will be finished and in operation by the first day of December. The second division, including that part of the road between East St. Louis and Nashville, is forty-eight miles in length, and will ultimately be merged into the first division. The third division, extending from Mount Yernon to Shaw¬ neetown, is sixty-five miles long, and will ultimately become the second division. A careful survey has been made of the entire route, under the direction of Col. E. C. Rice, Civil Engineer, late Chief Engineer of the Ohio and Mississippi Road, also of the St. Louis Yandalia and Terre Haute Railroad, and a detailed estimate ot cost has been prepared therefrom. 9 The entire distance from St. Louis to Nashville, Tenessee, by the way of the St. Louis and South-Eastern, Shawneetown and Madisonville Eoads, is 285 miles. The distance between these important cities by way of Louis¬ ville, the only completed railway line, is 460 miles. The com¬ pletion of that part of the Nashville and Henderson Road between Madisonville and Hopkinsville in Kentucky, will reduce this distance to 349 miles, while the construction of the Evans ville branch of the St. Louis and South-Eastern, will reduce it to 310 miles. The distance by the way of Johnsonville, Colum¬ bus, Cairo and Sandoval, is 381 miles. The distance by the Iron Mountain route is 377 miles. By the way of Union City, Paducah and Du Quoin, is 364 miles; but it is hardly necessary to consider this route, as it will be shown that that part of Illinois lying between Paducah and the Illinois Central Railroad, is so mountainous and broken as to render the con¬ struction of a line of railway through it, at any reasonable cost, entirely impracticable! But, should these difficulties be ulti¬ mately surmounted, it must be with such heavy gradients that the road could never compete with lines more favorably located. In addition to this, the latter route has the further disadvantage of crossing the Tennessee River once, the Cumberland twice, and the Ohio once, and all of them at places comparatively un¬ favorable for bridging, while the St. Louis and South-Eastern, in addition to being the shortest possible route, avoiding both the Big and Little Wabash, crosses only the Ohio and Cumber¬ land, the latter on a bridge already constructed, and the former at the most favorable place for a bridge below the falls at Louis¬ ville, the river at Shawneetown having a rock bottom. Character of the Road-Bed and Superstructure. It is a well established fact that much expense, not adding to the safety of passengers, or the economy of transportation, has been incurred in the construction of many of the American and nearly all of the foreign railways, and, as a consequence, they have been so loaded down with bonded debt, bearing heavy rates 10 of interest, that no amount of business within their capacity could enable them to pay dividends upon their stocks. In other words, large sums have been laid out in heavy grading, costly buildings, extravagant salaries and fancy equipment, which might have been saved to the stockholders, and otherwise profitably invested. It is the purpose of the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway Company to avoid this vital error, and to construct their road upon principles which are ap¬ proved by the best American practice. The extravagant and unnecessary outlay of capital will be avoided, as far as possible, by adopting undulating gradients, comparatively light iron, with an increased number of ties, light engines, and cheap but substantial bridging and buildings. Experience has shown that in the construction of roads through prairie country, where stone and gravel ballasting cannot be easily ob¬ tained, it is best for drainage to keep the road-bed above the natural surface of the ground, so that the ties may rest in all cases upon prairie mould, and not upon clay, which becomes saturated and semi-fluid during rainy weather. The surveys show that with but a few insignificant violations of this rule the road can be built so as to have no gradients of more than 50 feet to the mile, and for short distances only ; and that when through connections are made these can be cut down at trifling expense to 40 feet to the mile, or less if it is found to be ad¬ visable. The ascent from the American bottom, near East St. Louis, to the prairie plateau of Illinois, is along the valley of a small creek, which gives by far the easiest gradient that has yet been found from the Mississippi Valley, in the vicinity of St. Louis, while the approach to the Ohio river, is for 25 miles down the valley of the North Fork, to Equality, and thence 12 miles through a natural depression connecting the valley of the Saline with the Ohio by a gradient which nowhere exceeds 10 feet to the mile. The rise from the Ohio River on the eastern side is almost as favorable. The gauge will be 4 feet 8i inches ; em¬ bankments will be 12 to 15 feet wide on top, and have slopes of one and a half base to one perpendicular. The cuts are to be 26 11 feet wide at bottom, in earth, and 20 feet through rock, should any he encountered. The iron, which is to he of the best qual¬ ity and pattern, is to weigh 50 lbs. to the yard, and be laid upon 2,640 ties to the mile. The engines are not to exceed 25 tons in weight, and to be as nearly uniform in pattern as they can be made. The bridging and trestle-work, of which there will be an unusually small quantity, is to be substantially and durably constructed. The depots, stations and shops are all designed upon the basis of utility combined with economy. In short, the managers of this project are determined to con¬ struct a road which shall not only be as perfectly adapted to the requirements of the country through which it passes, as modern engineering can make it, but which shall also afford to its stock¬ holders a safe and profitable investment from the start. Connections of the Road. When the connections and proposed extensions of this road are considered, it will be seen that it occupies and commands the most valuable territory in the West yet unsupplied with railroad facilities. At Ashley it will cross and connect with the main trunk of the Illinois Central Railroad, thus giving for all south-eastern Illinois, western Kentucky and central Ten¬ nessee, the shortest and most direct route to Chicago, Gralena and St. Paul, as well as to St. Louis and the far West. In conjunction with the Illinois Central, it will also give a short and valuable connection for St. Louis, Cairo, Memphis, Mobile, and New Orleans. From Mount Yernon to St. Louis, a dis¬ tance of 75 miles, it will eventually form the main trunk of road coming from Mount Carmel and New Albany. This road has already been chartered, and as it forms an important link in an east and west line through Louisville, Paris, Frank¬ fort, Catlettsburg, the Kanawha Valley, Sulphur Springs and Richmond, to Norfolk, it must ultimately be built. When completed it will be a successful rival of the east and west lines farther north, for it will not only be south of the heavy snows, 12 but will have easier gradients over the mountains, and be the shortest route to the Atlantic coast. A Company has been chartered and organized for the pur¬ pose of making that part of the line in Illinois, and will either consolidate with the St. Louis and South-Eastern, or make sep¬ arate arrangements for building, as soon as the main trunk is finished between Mount Vernon and East St. Louis. This ex¬ tension to the State Line at the Wabash River, is 65 miles in length, and is estimated to cost $1,100,000. At McLeansboro the St. Louis and South-Eastern will make a junction with the contemplated road from that place to Evansville, a flourishing city of 30,000 inhabitants. The distance between these points is 53 miles, 30 of which are in Illinois. It is understood that the City of Evansville will build to and across the Wabash River, and it is estimated that $600,^00 will complete the section be¬ tween that river and McLeansboro. A charter has been obtained and a company organized for the purpose of putting this pro¬ ject on foot. Assurances have been received that this company will begin work, or make a consolidation on favorable terms, as soon as communication with St. Louis is rendered reasonably certain. This, connection will give all of south-western Indi¬ ana, and that part of Kentucky tributary to Evansville, direct and rapid communication with St. Louis and the Pacific Rail¬ roads. As before stated, the distance between St. Louis and Evansville by this route, which is aim st an air line, is only 154 miles, nearly 50 miles shorter than by the Evansville and Craw- fordville and Ohio and Mississippi Roads, the route now in use. The St. Louis and South-Eastern crosses the line of the Cairo and Vincennes Railway (now rapidly approaching completion) in the neighborhood of Eldorado, in Saline County, and in con¬ nection with that road will afford that section of Illinois rapid communication with the eastern cities, as well as with St. Louis. As before stated, the road connects with the Shawneetown and Madisonville Railway at Shawneetown, which, when built, will complete direct rail communication between St. Louis and Nashville. A glance at the map will show this to be an exten- 13 sion of great value, not only on account of its local advantages, but because it joins St. Louis and Nashville, with the vast in¬ terests of commerce and transportation centering in them, by the shortest practicable line By the construction of 185 miles of road, the entire railway system of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina is connected with that of the West and Northwest. The route selected for this connection is that which has heen used by the emigrants from East and Middle Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky, in traveling to Illinois and Missouri from the earliest days of the western settlements to the present time. When this is .con¬ sidered, the great wonder is that a railroad occupying this route has not already been built. Indeed, such a road to run from Shawneetown to Alton was commenced more than thirty years ago, but owing to the financial troubles of that period it was abandoned after much of the grading had been done. From the foregoing statement it will be seen that the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway will be the main stem of a through route, which, with its connections and extensions, will consti¬ tute the shortest and most direct lines between St. Louis and Nashville , St. Louis and Evansville , and St. Louis and Louis¬ ville. Touching the Mississippi River at the west, and the Ohio farther east, with the various steamboat lines plying on these streams, it will offer peculiar advantages for the shipment of flour, wheat, tobacco and pork to eastern and southern mar¬ kets Condition of the Work of Construction. First Division .—This division embraces that portion of the road lying between Nashville, Ashley and Mount Yernon, 27 miles in length. The right of way has been secured, and the graduation and bridging of this section are now substantially completed, the ties are contracted for and mostly delivered, the iron has been bought and shipped ; two engines and the necessary amount of rolling stock have been ordered, and it is 14 confidently expected that by the 1st day of December, at far¬ thest, this part of the road will be in successful operation. The Second Division —embracing that part of the road be¬ tween East St. Louis and Nashville, has not yet been begun, though the control of the route has been definitively secured, and the right of way is being obtained. Washington County has authorized and subscribed $200,000 to the Company's stock ; St. Clair County is to vote on the 2d of December, and will subscribe an at least equal sum. It is the expectation of the Company to construct and put this section in running order as early as possible next season. The Third Division —extends from Mount Yernon to Shaw- neetown. The Company has not yet begun work upon this division, but it has secured, by purchase, 12 miles of an excel¬ lent railway grade, extending from Shawneetown, to Equality ; ' a subscription * of $100,000 from Gallatin County, $25,000 from the City of Shawneetown and $200,000 from Hamilton County. As soon as the necessary arrangements for iron can be made, the section between Equality and Shawneetown will be completed and put in operation, and as soon thereafter as cir¬ cumstances will permit, connection will be made between the different sections, and the entire line completed. Resources and Financial Condition of the Company. The capital stock of the Company, which is to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, is $3,000,000, but this sum may be increased, when necessary, to $10,000,000, in¬ cluding thirty thousand shares of preferred stock and mort¬ gage bonds , in such amounts and value as may be deemed best. But in building the main line they do not contemplate the issu¬ ance of more than the minimum quantity of stock named above. * Note.— All the subscriptions obtained east of the Illinois Central Rail¬ road, are in the nature of donations to the Company, upon the condition that the road shall be built within a reasonable time. 15 The following subscriptions have been made and entered upon the Company’s books : From the City of Shawneetown, in City Bonds_$25,000 From Gallatin County, in 7 per cent. County Bonds.. 100,000 From Hamilton County, “ “ “ 200,000 From Jefferson County, in 8 per cent. County Bonds. _ 100,000 u “ “ 15,000 acres of land a $5_ 75,000 From Washington County, in County Bonds_ 200,000 In addition to this 12 miles of grading with the right of way in Gallatin County, and 16 miles of grading with the right of way in Jefferson County, have been acquired at a nominal price, which may be estimated at.... 200,000 $900,000 i It is confidently expected that St. Clair County, the city of Belleville, and the town of Mascoutah, will subscribe $200,000, and the city of St. Louis at least $100,000. The subscriptions, which are made in the nature of a bonus or donation, are payable in bonds generally on the completion of the road through the respective counties, or some particular part thereof, and in view of the fact that these counties have no debt whatever, and that the charter and the laws of Illinois provide for the assessment and collection of the necessary tax to provide a sinking fund and to pay the interest upon the bonds, they are regarded as being almost as good as cash. In this connection it may not be amiss to state that the last general assembly of Illinois enacted a law which, for the period of ten years, gives to any county, city, or town making subscriptions to railroads, all the taxes on the assessed values* in excess of those assessed in 1868, for the payment of the interest on their railroad bonds, and makes it the duty of Auditor of the State to collect and pay over to the bondholders the taxes thus arising. * The recent assessment of Hamilton County shows an increase on the valuation of 1868 of $228,627. Other counties not yet heard from. 16 The same act also remits all taxation for the period of ten years , which would otherwise accrue, upon the property of rail¬ roads begun subsequent to the passage of this law. No mortgage bonds, except $15,000 per mile on that part of the road now in progress, have yet been issued, and none will be issued hereafter except upon sections of the road actu¬ ally in the process of construction. In no event will the Com¬ pany issue more stock or bonds than are actually required to construct, equip, and put the road and its branches in success¬ ful operations. Earnings of the Road. From the earnings of other railroads in the West, less favor¬ ably situated, passing through regions less populous and pro¬ ductive, it may be safely assumed, as will be shown hereafter, that the gross receipts of this railway will not be less than ten thousand dollars per mile the first year, and that a steady annual increase may be expected thereafter. At $10,000 per mile the 140 miles from St. Louis to Shawneetown, will yield_$1,400,000 Against this must be charged— 60 per cent for operating expenses_$846,000 Interest on Bonds at 7 per cent, gold_ 199,850 Government tax on interest_ 9,993 -$1,049,843 Leaving as net earnings_ 350,157 From which deducting government tax we have left, 331,450 which, distributed as dividends, will amount to eleven per cent, on the entire capital stock of the Company ! The Resources of the Country through which the Road passes. In addition to the large freight and passenger traffic which already exists between Chicago and St. Louis on the one side, and Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia on the other, by various 17 roundabout lines, tbis road must command and largely develop a local trade in the rich counties through which it runs. An inspection of the map herewith, will show that there is but one line of railway completed in that part of the State lying south of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad ; in other words, that one-fourth of the State, or a region nearly twice as large as both Massachusetts and Connecticut, is almost entirely with¬ out railroad facilities. This region is mostly covered with prairie, except in a tier of counties bordering the Ohio and Wabash rivers, which were originally covered with dense forests of valuable timber. White oak, ash, black walnut, maple, sycamore, cypress, poplar, hickory, and pecan, are still more abundant than in any other part of the West, and must ulti¬ mately be in great demand both for local and foreign manufac¬ ture. The surface of the country is level, or gently undulating, offering no obstruction to the construction of railroads, except in the southern portion, which is broken into a series of pre¬ cipitous ridges and valleys by the eastern continuance of the Ozark Mountains, * which cross the Mississippi, near Grand Tower, running nearly due east to the Ohio, near Shawneetown. The soil of Southern Illinois is unsurpassed by that of any- other region for arability and fertility. The climate is like that of Virginia and Kentucky, mild in w r inter, (the snow rarely ever lying on the ground longer than three days), and not excessively hot in summer. Wheat, corn and oats are pro¬ duced in great quantities and cannot be surpassed in quality. Castor beans and tobacco are also grown in abundance and largely exported. The climate and soil seem peculiarly adapted to fruit growing. Apples, peaches, pears, grapes, and all kinds of berries flourish, and never fail to yield an ample re¬ turn to the producer. The country is well watered by streams of considerable size, affording admirable sites for mills and manufactories of all kinds. Coal, salt and other valuable minerals abound, while good lands and improved farms can be bought at lower rates per acre than any where else east of * A road joining Paducah and St. Louis must pass through this region, and must cost five to six times as much per mile as the St. Louis and South-Eastern. 18 the Mississippi River. In fact, Southern and South-eastern Illinois needs nothing but railways to make it one cf the most flourishing and prosperous regions in the United States. The St. Louis and South-eastern Railway running through it in its longest direction, will divide it into two nearly equal parts. The aggregate area of St. Clair, Washington, Jefferson, Hamil¬ ton, Saline and Gallatin counties, is nearly three thousand square miles, the aggregate population in 1868, was 104,374, and cannot be less than 115,000 now. Their aggregate taxable values were $17,942,160, and are now estimated at $20,500,000. The real values are in excess of $50,000,000. Opposite St. Louis there are immense deposits of superior bituminous coal, which are worked in veins from six to eigdit feet thick, for 20 miles east, and the present railroad from Belleville transports annually over six million of bushels to the river. The line of this road will pass over the richest and most available beds of this coal, which will be immediately opened. Within five years the profits upon carrying coal will pay the interest on the ivliole debt of the Company. The Missouri iron will be worked almost entirely by these coal deposits. St. Louis now consumes, annually, 20,000,000 bushels from this same coal field. •The line of this road passes through the centre of that cele¬ brated wheat region, in Illinois, from which the extensively known and highly valued St. Louis flour is obtained. Within 20 miles of Belleville are located, and in daily operation, the best flouring mills in the West, manufacturing above 150,000 barrels each month. The city of Belleville has 12,000 inhabitants, is increasing rapidly, and is largely engaged in manufacturing. The rail¬ road connecting it with St. Louis, only 14 miles in length, earns yearly from $200,000 to $300,000 after paying all expenses. Mascoutah has 3,000 inhabitants, and mills producing from 800 to 1,000 barrels of flour per day. Nashville has about 2,000 inhabitants, and three mills pro¬ ducing daily from 600 to 800 barrels of flour. Mount Vernon is a thriving town, handsomely situated and 19 noted for its mineral springs, good society, and excellent schools. It has a population of 1,800, and is rapidly improving. The supreme court of the State for the southern district hold 5 its sessions here. McLeansboro’ , the county seat of Hamilton County, is the centre of a rich agricultural region, and has a population of about 1,000. Equality has a population of 800, is situated on the north fork of the Saline river, in a region abounding in salt and coal. The salt works near that place, and on the line of the road, owned by Messrs. Castles & Temple, have been in operation over 60 years, are now turning out 800 barrels of salt per month, to supply local demand, and when cheap transportation can be had, their capacity can be developed, without sinking new ivells, to any 'possible extent . Shawneetown is an incorporated and growing city of 2,500 inhabitants, situated on the Ohio river, 8 miles south of the mouth of the Wabash, 250 miles below Louisville, and 125 above Cairo. It has a good steamboat landing and paved levee, and with excellent coal, kaolin, iron, plastic clay and valuable timber in its vicinity, offers unusual facilities for manufacturing. It annually ships immense quantities of produce and provisions, all of which is at present hauled from the surrounding country upon wagons. From 8,000 to 10,000 hogsheads of tobacco alone are thus brought yearly to this place, and shipped by water to eastern markets. This brief enumeration of the resources of the country is enough to show that the estimate of earnings for the first sea¬ son after the opening of the road is not exaggerated, but may be confidently relied upon. When we consider in addition the great natural advantage of the route as a u through line/' the vast mineral resources, salubrious climate, and surpassing attrac¬ tions offered to immigration and enterprise by the country trib¬ utary to the road, it will be easy to perceive that its completion will greatly augment the increase of trade, population and pro¬ ductions, and that the Company may safely count upon a cor¬ responding increase of business and earnings. 20 The following table, showing the annual earnings of the Chicago and North-Western Eailroad for the last five years, will illustrate the foregoing : Years. Earnings. No. of Miles Operated. Rate per Mile. 1864-5 $6,820,749 861 7.921 1865-6 8,243,840 936 8.807 1866-7 10,161,735 1,021 9.952 1867-8 12,610,492 1,151 10.956" 1868-9 14,000,000 1,151 12.163 Attention is also invited to the following table, showing the increase of tonnage on four prominent western roads for the past five years, which shows that the above illustration of in- crease is not an exceptional one : Illinois Central Chicago, Alton Chicago, Bock ;Chicago, Burling- Illinois oentrai. i & st. Louis. Island & Pacific. , j ton & Quincy. 1865. 1,034,946 1 511,011 472,657 737,511 1866. 1,153,175 636,360 459,986 821,883 1867. 1,300,835 , 750,657 598,714 971,374 Mortgage Bonds. The first and only Mortgage Bonds are limited to $15,000 per mile, and are secured by a mortgage upon the entire road and superstructure, and amount, in the aggregate, to two million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; but they will be sold for the different divisions separately, and only as the work progresses. They will constitute the only incumbrance upon the road, and no more of them will be sold than are actually re¬ quired, in addition to the capital stock of the Company, to build and equip the main line from East St. Louis to Shawneetown. The Bonds run twenty-five years, from the first day of October, 1869, are payable in gold coin, are convertible at any time into the capital stock of the Company, and have the benefit of a sinking fund. They bear interest at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum, pay¬ able semi-annually, at the agency of the Company, in New York, on the first day of May and November of each year, in gold coin, free from government tax. EDWAKD F. WINSLOW, President. J. H. WILSON, Bv’t Moj.-Gen. U. S. A ., Director. August 31st, 1869. 21 -A. I s 3E* 23 3NT 33 I 2SI. -A.. St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway. CHIEF ENGINEER’S OFFICE, Ashley , 7 Z£s v August 20th , Gen’l E. F. Winslow, President St. L. Sf S. E. R. W. Sir : I have the honor to present the following brief Eeport upon the St. Louis and South-Eastern Eailway : This line offers the most direct railroad line possible between St. Louis, Nashville and the South-East, and eventually will form a part of an East and West line, through Louisville, Frankfort and White Sulphur Springs, to the East, which, when completed, will be a successful rival of East and West lines North, for it will have the advantages of being South of the snow line, of light grades over the mountains, and of being the shortest route to the Atlantic coast. The St. Louis and South-Eastern Eailway, commencing at East St. Louis, passes through the flourishing towns of Belle¬ ville, Mascoutah, Nashville, Mt. Yernon, McLeansboro and Equality to Shawneetown on the Ohio Eiver, and through a very fine farming region. It will be sustained by the local trade and travel of over 3,000,000 acres of rich agricultural land, and by the rich and extensive coal veins existing at the termini of the road. As a local road, alone, it possesses enough within its own limits to render the money it will cost a safe and profitable investment. The short road from Belleville to East St. Louis, now in opera¬ tion, pays yearly about $14,000 per mile net. At Ashley the St. L. & S. E. E. W. crosses the Illinois Cen¬ tral Eailroad, which gives a connection with Chicago, Northern Illinois and Iowa, and Cairo, and the South. At Mt. Vernon the Louisville road will commence. This, when done, will command the carrying business of central Ken¬ tucky, and will give a good St. Louis and Cincinnati line. Louisville and Indiana will build to the Wabash Eiver. 22 Estimate of Cost of Road from tlie Wabash River to Mt. Vernon. Distance 65 miles. Earthwork, 600,000 cubic yards.. Pile bridging, 4,000 lineal feet— Truss “ 500 “ “_ 70 miles of track superstructure. Water stations, fixtures, &c- Depots_ Engine house, machine shops, &c Engineering_ Land damages_ Contingencies__ _at 30c.,..$180,000 _“ $8_ 32,000 _“ $40_ 20,000 at $10,000_ 700,000 _ 6,000 _ 12,000 __ 50,000 _ 20,000 _ 10,000 _ 70,000 Total, $1,100,000 A road is proposed from Evansville to McLeansboro, the city of Evansville building west to the Wabash River. Estimated Cost of Road from the Wabash River to McLeansboro. Distance 30 miles. Earthwork, 500,000 cubic yards. Pile bridging, 2,000 lineal feet.. Truss “ 500 “ “ 33 miles of track superstructure. Water stations_ Depots_ Engine house, &c_ Engineering_ Land damages_ Contingencies_ _at 30c.,..$150,000 _“ $8_ 16.000 _“ $40_ 20,000 at $10,000_ 330,000 _ 3,000 _ 6,000 _ 20,000 _ 10,000 __ 5,000 _ 40,000 Total, $600,000 From Shawneetown to Madisonville there is about 45 miles of road to be built to connect with the Henderson and Nashville Railroad, Tenn. Estimate of Cost. Distance 45 miles. Earthwork, 600,000 cubic yards.. Pile bridging, 5,000 lineal feet_ 50 miles of track superstructure. Water stations- Depots_ Engine house, machine shops, &c Engineering___ Land damages_ Contingencies_ _at 30c.,.. $180,000 _“ $8_ 40,000 at $10,000_ 500,000 _ 5,000 _ 20,000 ... 50,000 _ 20,000 _ 10,000 ._.... 75,000 Total, $900,000 Respectfully submitted, E. C. RICE, Chief Engineer . 23 APPENDIX B. An Act to incorporate the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway Company ; Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly : That Orval Pool, James H. Wilson, Joseph J. Castles, Samuel S. Marshall, Aaron G-. Cloud, Richard W. Townshend, Samuel K. Casey, Willis D. Green, Thomas II. Hobbs, and Edward F. Winslow, and such other persons as they may associate with them for the purpose of this Act, are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of The St. Louis and South- Eastern Bailway Company, with perpetual succession, and by that name and style shall be capable, in law, of taking, pur¬ chasing and holding, leasing, selling and conveying estate and other property, whether real, or personal, or mixed, so far as the same may be necessary to carry into full effect the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and, in their corporate name, may sue and be sued, have a common seal, and may have and exercise all powers, rights, privileges and immunities which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the objects and purposes of this Act, as the same are herein set forth. Sec. 2. The said railway company shall have full power to locate, construct, furnish, maintain and operate a railway, with one or more tracks, across the whole State of Illinois, from the bank of the Mississippi River, opposite the City of St. Louis, in Missouri, thence to Mt. Vernon, in Jefferson County, Illinois, thence to McLeansboro, in Hamilton County, thence to Equal¬ ity, and thence to Shawneetown, on the Ohio River, and for this purpose are authorized to lay out their said road, or railway, not exceeding one hnndred and fifty feet through its whole length, and for the purpose of cutting embankments, depot grounds, and other necessary uses, including sidings and branches not exceeding ten miles in length, may take as much more land as may be required for the construction, security and business of the said railway. Sec. 3. The capital stock of said railway company shall be three millions of dollars, which may hereafter be increased by a vote of the majority in interest of the stockholders at any meeting called for such purpose, to any amount, not exceeding ten millions of dollars, and such capital stock shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each : No stockholder 24 shall he held liable for the debts or other liabilities of the com¬ pany beyond the amount of stock for which they may have subscribed. Sec. 4. The stock of said company shall he deemed per¬ sonal property, and may he issued, certified, transferred and registered in such manner, and at such place as may he ordered and provided by the hoard of directors, who shall have power to require the payment of stock subscribed, in the man¬ ner, at the time, and in such sums, as they may direct, and on the neglect or refusal on the part of the stockholders, or any of them, to make payment on the requisition of the hoard of di¬ rectors, the shares of stock delinquent or so unpaid, may, at the option of said board of directors, after thirty days public notice, be sold at public auction, under such rules as the direc¬ tors may adopt ; the surplus money, if any remains, after de¬ ducting the payment due, with interest and cost of sale, to he paid to the delinquent stockholder ; or the directors may com¬ mence proceedings at law for the collection of any and all amounts duly subscribed and unpaid. Sec. 5. The immediate government and direction of said company shall he vested in ten directors, who shall be chosen annually by the stockholders, and hold their offices until a new hoard is chosen and qualified. Until a first choice of directors, the corporators above named shall constitute the hoard of directors, with power to fill vacan¬ cies and discharge all the duties which might he vested in a hoard of directors, as herein provided, and six of the corporators shall he a quorum, and may, at any time after the passage of this act, cause hooks to he opened for subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, at such time or times, and place or places, according to such conditions and regulations, and under the supervision of such persons as they may direct. The corporators and directors shall choose one of their number as president, and select a secretary, and treasurer, each of whom shall he a stockholder in the company. Sec. 6 . All the corporate powers of said company shall he vested in, and exercised by, the hoard of directors, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business, and shall have power to appoint such other officers, agents, or servants, as they may deem necessary. Vacancies in the board may be filled by a majority of those remaining, such appointees to remain in office until the success¬ ors of the then board shall he qualified. The annual election of directors shall be held on the second Tuesday in February in each year, or on such other day as may be ordered by the board, at such place as may be provided by 25 the directors, thirty days' notice being given by publication in one or more newspapers published on the line of said railway. Sec. 7. At any election for choosing directors, or for other purposes, each share of stock, unless otherwise directed and pro¬ vided by the board of directors, after due notice and action thereon, by three-fourths cf the whole number of directors, shall be entitled to one vote, to be given either in person or by proxy, and those persons receiving the, highest number of votes, each being voted for directly, shall >be ’declared duly elected, and shall hold their offices until the next- annuel election, and until their successors are elected and qualified. All elections of directors shall be conducted by three stock¬ holders chosen by those present. Sec. 8. The board of directors are hereby authorized, for and in behalf of said company to borrow money-fro^o. time to time, on the credit of the company, at any rate of*interest not exceeding ten per centum per annum, for the purposes-e>fcon¬ struction, equipment, and machinery, and other purp6se&, -as necessities may arise, and may issue its corporate bonds therefore in denominations not less than one hundred dollars, with coupons attached for the interest, and , to secure the payment thereof, with the interest that may accrue thereon, may mortgage their corporate property, or, franchises, or both, or may convey the same by deed of trust, for said purposes. And the directors may cause to be issued, when in their judgment the same may be necessary, certificates of stock, which shall be duly registered, signed and executed, which shall be called and held preferred, and to which stock certificates, and to the holders thereof shall be given such rights, privileges, and immunities, as may be deemed best for the interests of the railway. Provided the whole amount of such preferred stock shall not exceed thirty thousand shares of one hundred dollars each. And they may, through their President, or other officers or agents, sell, dispose of, or negotiate such bonds, or stock, or both, within or without this State, at such times, and at such prices as may be deemed expedient, either before, during, or after the construction of said railway, and all such sales and ne¬ gotiations shall be held legal and valid. Sec. 9. The said company shall annually, or semi-annually, make such dividends as they may deem proper of the net income, profits, or receipts of the said company among the stockholders, according to the value of their interests. The company shall have power to contract for the building of said railway, or any portion thereof, by their president, with the consent or approval of the board of directors, or a majority 26 of them, and power to contract for, purchase, and place on said railway, all machines, machinery, rolling stock, and other prop- perty which they may deem necessary for constructing, equip- ing and operating said railway ; also power to transport or carry upon said railway, by force of sfeam, animals, or a com¬ bination of them, passengers and property of all kinds, and may fix, establish and receive, such rates of toll therefor as the directors shall, from time to time,;establish, and shall carry and transport the mails at agreed i^es. Sec. 10. The said company shall have power to consolidate and connect its railway, ^vjth any other continuous line of rail¬ road, now authorizod x *Qr hereafter authorized, within or without this State, to he constructed upon such terms as may he agreed upon, and fin; that purpose full power is hereby given to make and execute such, contracts as will secure the objects of such consolidation or connection. &ECJ.-T1. The said railway may be constructed in sections, ..of any prescribed length, and any portion so constructed may be p'ut in operation, with the full powers of collecting tolls given in section nine (9). The board of directors shall have powpr to control and regu¬ late the manner of transportation of persons and property, and shall have power to make, ordain, establish and execute all such by-laws, rules and regulations as they may deem necessary and expedient to fulfill the purposes, and carry into effect the pro¬ visions of this Act, and for the well ordering and securing the affairs, business and interests of the company. Sec. 12. Whenever it shall be necessary for the construc¬ tion of said railway to intersect or cross the -track of any other railroad, or to cross any stream of water, or water-course, or road, or highway, lying on the route of said railway, it shall be lawful to construct said railway across, upon, or by the side of the same, Provided , that said company shall restore the said road, stream, or water-course, in a sufficient manner not to materially impair the same in its usefulness ; and it shall be lawful for the incorporate authorities of any incorporate city or town through which said railway shall be located, to donate or lease to said railway company, as a right of way, the right to lay one or more tracks through said city or town, or any portion thereof, on any street, or highway, or alley. Sec. 13. The said company, and under their direction, their servants, engineers, agents, or workmen, are hereby authorized to enter upon and into the lands and grounds of the State, of any person or persons, or bodies politic or corporate, and survey and take levels of the same, or any part thereof, and to lot out 27 and ascertain such parts as they may deem necessary for build¬ ing said railway, with one or more tracks, sidings, and branches, and for all the purposes connected with said railway, to take, appropriate and use any lands, to cut down all timber, and other trees within seventy-five feet of the centre line of said railway, and, also, to erect, build, and set up, in and upon the route of said railway, or upon the lands adjoining the same, all such works, banks, ways, roads, and conveniences as may be required for the purposes of said railway, and to widen, amend, repair and improve the same, from time to time, as may be found necessary, and for materials to build, ballast and repair the same, or any of them, and the right of way to said materials, the said company are hereby authorized and empowered to take, con¬ demn, and use the same, under the provisions of an act to amend the law condemning the right of way for purposes of in¬ ternal improvement, approved June 22, 1852, and any other laws of this State that may be in force, and in estimating damages for the right of way, or other rights affected under this act, commissioners or juries shall take into consideration the benefits to be derived by the owner or occupier of said land from the construction and operation of said road. Sec. 14. The said company is hereby authorized to receive and use any subscriptions, donations or gifts, whether made in connection with the capital stock or otherwise, either in money, land or other values, or property, and may issue shares of capi¬ tal stock therefor. Sec. 15. The several counties in which any part of said rail¬ way may be located, or that may lie on or near the line of the railway, and the several townships in such counties, which have adopted, or may hereafter adopt township organization, and the cities and incorporated towns in the said counties, are hereby authorized to subscribe and take stock in said company, upon the application of said company, for such an amount as they may think proper, payable in bonds, lands, or right of way, and subject to such agreements and stipulations as to the route of said railway, the time of delivery and payment of the bonds, as may be agreed upon. Provided , that no subscription shall be made by any county court, nor by the legal authorities of any incorporated city or town, or township, until after the question of such subscrip¬ tion shall have been submitted, by order of the county court, or the legal authorities of said city, town, or township, to the legal voters thereof, at a general or special election, to be called, con¬ ducted, and returns made, canvassed, and published in the usual manner of conducting elections in said county, incorpo¬ rated city, or town, or township ; all such notices shall state the 28 amount of such subscriptions, that would be submitted at such elections, at which election each voter shall vote a ticket upon which is printed or written “For Subscription/' or “Against Subscription/' and if a majority of the ballots cast at such election shall be “ For Subscription," it shall be the duty of the county court, or the legal authorities of such incorporated city, town, or township, to subscribe the amount stated in the order of election, to the stock of said company. Sec. 16. Elections may be held in any such county, incor¬ porated city, or town, or township, upon the question whether such county, city, town, or township shall subscribe for any specified amount of the capital stock of said railway company, whenever a petition shall be presented, as hereinafter described, and as often as may be required by petitioners, whenever a pe¬ tition shall be presented to the county clerk, signed by fifty legal voters of any such county, setting forth the amount of stock to be taken by such county, and specifying the time for holding such an election, it shall be the duty of the county clerk of any such county, to give thirty days' notice of the time for holding such election, which time shall be the same as that spec¬ ified in such petition ; and whenever a petition shall be pre¬ sented to the supervisor of any such township, or to the corpo¬ rate authorities of any such city or town, signed by twenty-five legal voters of any such township, city, or town, setting forth the amount of stock proposed to be taken by any such town¬ ship, city or town, and specifying the time for holding such election, it shall be the duty of the supervisor of every such township, and the duty of the clerk of every such city or town to give thirty days' notice of the time of holding such elec¬ tion in such township, city or town, which time shall be the same as that specified in such petition, and all such notices shall be given in the same manner, and such elections shall be con¬ ducted, and returns made, canvassed and published in the same way, and at the places provided for holding general elections in such counties, townships, cities and towns, at which elections the qualified voters of the respective counties, townships, cities, and towns shall vote “ For Subscription," or “ Against sub¬ scription," and if a majority of the votes cast at such election, or elections, by voters voting on that subject, be “For Subscrip¬ tion," it shall be the duty of the county court, or board of su¬ pervisors, of every such county, the supervisor and clerk of such township, and the corporate authorities of such city, or town, to subscribe at once upon the request of the directors or corpo¬ rators of said company, the same amount so voted for, and to issue and deliver to said company the same amount as the stock so subscribed, of the bonds of such county, township, city or 29 town, as the case may be, payable at any time specified, not ex¬ ceeding twenty years from date, or sooner, at the option of the county, township, city or town issuing the same, with interest coupons attached to the same, at a rate not exceeding eight per cent., payable annually, or semi-annually. Which said bonds shall be of such denominations, and the principal and interest payable at such place or places, either within or without the State, as may be agreed upon. Provided , That at any election held under the provision of this act, at any other time than the time for holding general elec¬ tions for State and county purposes, it shall not be necessary for the several boards of registry to make a new register of the several voting precincts, but the register made of the legal vo¬ ters at the last general election of State and county officers, may be used ; and provided that the vote of any legal voter whose name does not appear on the said register, shall be re¬ ceived and taken in the same manner that unregistered legal voters are taken at any general election. Sec. 17. Any incorporated city, town, or township, or any county through or near which the said railroad shall run, is hereby authorized to donate and give, as a bonus to the said railway company, any amount they may deem proper, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by and between said city, town, township or county and the said railway company, to secure the building of said railway. Provided , That the authorities of said city, town, township, or county, shall submit the question when such donation or bonus shall be given, to the legal voters thereof, at a regular or special election, held after at least thirty days' notice, and conducted, canvassed, and returns made in the usual manner and places; the amount proposed to be donated being stated in the order for such election, and the tickets voted at such election shall have written or printed on them, “ For Donation," or “ Against Do¬ nation," and if at such election the majority of the legal votes cast shall be in favor of such donation, it shall be the duty of the proper authorities of such city, town, township or county, to provide for the payment of such donation or bonus. And to provide the means for the payment of any such sum as may be given, or agreed to be given, in pursuance of the pro¬ visions of this Act, the said city, town, township or county shall issue bonds to said railway company, in sums of not less than one hundred dollars each, bearing interest at any rate not ex¬ ceeding eight per cent, per annum, and payable at such times and places, either within or without the State, as may be agreed upon, which bonds may run for any period not exceeding twenty years. 30 Sec. 18. It shall be the duty of the respective authorities of the several counties, townships, cities and towns which may make such subscriptions and donations, and they are hereby required, to levy and collect a sufficient special tax on all of the taxable property, both real and personal, in such counties, townships, cities and towns, to pay the interest annually or semi¬ annually, accruing on such bonds, and to discharge the princi¬ pal and interest, respectively, thereof. Sec. 19. The county courts of the several counties through which said railroad shall pass, are authorized and empowered, upon such terms and conditions as they may deem best for the public good, to grant and convey to said railway company the swamp lands, or any other lands or property, real or personal, belonging to such counties, to aid in the construction of said railway. Provided , That in no case shall such lands be conveyed to said company, or the title thereto vest in said company, until said railroad shall be completed into or through the county granting the same, as may be agreed upon by and between said county and said railway company. Sec. 20. And the said company may lease, or purchase, upon such terms as may be agreed upon, any other railroad, or parts of railroad, either wholly or partially constructed, which may constitute or be adopted as part of their main line, and, by such lease or purchase, they shall acquire and become vested with all the rights and franchises pertaining to such road or part of road, in the right of way, construction, maintenance and work¬ ing thereof. And the county court of Gallatin county is hereby authorized and empowered to subscribe to the capital stock of this company the one hundred thousand dollars, or any part thereof, hereto¬ fore voted by a majority of the legal voters of said county, to the Shawneetown Branch of the Illinois Central Railroad Company ; and the county court of Hamilton county is hereby authorized and empowered to subscribe to the capital stock of this com¬ pany the two hundred thousand dollars, or any part thereof, heretofore voted by a majority of the legal voters of said county to the Shawneetown Branch of the Illinois Central Railroad Company; and the county court of Jefferson county is hereby authorized and empowered to subscribe to the capital stock of this company the one hundred thousand dollars, or any part thereof, heretofore voted by a majority of the legal voters of said county, to the Mt. Yernon Railroad Company, and it shall not be necessary to submit the question of making the several subscriptions in this section mentioned to the vote of the legal voters of the said respective counties, 'provided that nothing 31 herein shall he so construed as to prevent either of the counties mentioned in this section subscribing any other or larger amounts to the capital stock of this company than the amount mention¬ ed in this section. Sec. 21. This Act shall be deemed a public act, and shall be liberally construed for all the purposes therein expressed and declared, and shall be in force from and after its passage. F. CORWIN, Speaker of the House of Bepresentatives. J. DOUGHERTY, Speaker of the Senate. Approved March 10th, 1869. ' JOHN M. PALMER, Governor. United States of America, State of Illinois. Office of Secretary. I, Edward Rummel, Secretary of State of Illinois, do here¬ by certify that the foregoing is a true copy of an Act to incor¬ porate the St. Louis and South-Eastern Railway Company, approvod March 10th, 1869, now on file in this office. In witness whereof, I hereto set my hand and affix the Great Seal of State, at the city of [Seal.] Springfield, this 21st day of June, A. D. 1869. EDWARD RUMMEL, Secretary of State.