The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-09-29
A NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.


At the last session of our legislative as
sembly, in obedience to the repeated de.
mands of the people of all shades of politi.
cal opinion, the following resolution was
adopted;
Resoiued by the Senate aud House Of Repressn-
tatiues Of The State Of IRiHoia, wO-thirds Of the
members Of each house agrscing theretO,) That
the following amendment be, and the same is
hereby proposed 10 the constitution OF the state,
as an amendment 70 section seven Of the ninth
| article:
1.-THE general assembly shall have no power TO
| release the Illinois Central Railroad company
from its obligation to pay into the state treasury,
either the tax or the per eentum OF inc gross re-
| ceipts Of the Illinois Central Railroad and
branches, as stipulated in its charter
To give this effective expression, 1t Is
necessary that those who have the task Of
preparing ballots in November, should see
10 il that on all the tickets are these words {:
,For the Amendment of the State Constitu-
tion. forbjdding the General Assembly from re-
Isasinq the Illinois Central Railroad Company
from tax or per centVm imposed on them by the
charter
This is no political measure, but some.
thing in which the masses of either party
are equally interested.
Why the legislature passed the resolution
proposing the amendment, and why it
should be incorporated in the state constitu.
ton, beyond the power Of the general as.
sembly to change it, is thus explained by
the WAukegan Gazette:
The Illinois Central Railroad Company,
at the present time, in addition to its equi.
| table share Of taxes, pays per cent. OF ITS
! gross earnings into the state treasury, which
| is the consideration to Illinois for the land
grant by congress to the state by which that
| road was built. There is now no strife over
this matter, and its present managers have,
SO far, paid what was lawful without muir.
mur. The amount paid by the company to
the state, as the proceeds OF tho seven per
cent. tax oR its gross earnings, now approx.
mates to half a million dollars yearly, and
as the settlement and improvement Of the
land adjacent to the road rapidly progresses,
the amount is likely 10 greatly increase
Indeed, the ratio viii, probably, 50 nearly
approximate TO the expenses Of the state ad'
ministraton, that we may look to the time
when taxation for the purposes Of the com.
monwealth of Illinois will be merely nom
inRI.
There is danger that in the future so
great a temptation will bring undue infu.
ence on the part Of the Central Railway |
Company, or individual spectators, to in. |
duce the Legislature to barter away this |
source Of revenue. BY placing the matter |
beyond the power of the general assembly |
to NEEDLE with the present arrangements |
we wrong no one, and protect ourselves and |
our posterity. We do not take one penny |
from the Illinois Central to which that cor
poraton is entitled. We ask nothing more
han what we are entitled to. We simply |
secure to the state Of Illinois a source of
.evenue to which she has now undsputed
title, and remove from future legislatures
wen the opportunity of great temptation.
10 honest citizen Of any Farty can object
o such measure. We hove yet to hear Of
!. dissentitg voice on that subject.