Chapter 17
pages 69 - 79

CITY ORGANIZATION, TAXATION, ETC.

     Peoria was governed as a town, by a board of trustees, as is above set forth, until the 5th of May, 1845, when it assumed the style and forms of a city.
     The legislature had passed "An act to incorporate the City of Peoria"; but the Council of Revision, either because they did not approve it or because they forgot it, did not sign it. Afterward, Thompson Campbell, as Secretary of State, appended to it the following certificate: "This bill having been laid before the Council of Revision, and ten days not having intervened before the adjournment of the General Assembly, and said bill not having been returned with the objections of the Council on the first day of the present session of the General Assembly, the same has become a law." This statute and certificate are both without date. But there is a statement prefixed to the copy before me, which says it was "In force December 3d, 1844"; from which I infer that that ought to be the date of the certificate.
     By the first article of this charter, the people living within the following boundaries, viz., "fractional section nine, fractional section ten, the south half of section four, and fractional section three, in township eight north, of range eight east of the fourth principal meridian, and to the middle of the Illinois river and Lake Peoria," were incorporated into a body corporate and politic, to have perpetual succession.
     The second article provided for the election of eight aldermen for two years, but they were to be divided into two classes by lot, so that one-half should vacate their seats at the end of the first year, and their successors to be then elected; and ever after, four to be elected every year. All the qualifications they were required to have were six months' residence in the city, and to be twenty-one years of age.
     The third article provided for the election of a mayor for one year at a time, and whose qualifications should be one year's residence in the city, and to be twenty-one years of age.
     The fourth article provided that "All free white male inhabitants, over the age of twenty-one years, who are entitled to vote for state officers, and who shall have been actual residents of said city six months next preceding said election, shall be entitled to vote for city officers."
     The fifth article enumerates and confers all the usual powers that are conferred on cities, with these important provisos: "provided that no sum or sums of money shall be borrowed at a greater interest than six per cent, per annum, nor shall the interest on the aggregate, on all the sums "borrowed and outstanding, ever exceed one-half of the city revenue arising from taxes assessed on real property, within the limits of the corporation."
     The sixth article confers on the mayor the usual executive authority, and in addition provides that "He shall be commissioned by the governor as a justice of the peace for said city, and as such shall be a conservator, of the peace in said city, and shall have power and authority to administer oaths," etc. "He shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases arising under the ordinances of the corporation, and concurrent jurisdiction with all other justices of the peace in all civil and criminal cases within the limits of the city, arising under the laws of the state."
      The seventh article provides a mode of opening streets, and assessing damages in favor of those injured. Also, it authorizes them to assess a special tax on lots to pave streets and sidewalks in front of them.
     The eighth contains various ordinary provisions, and winds up by a provision that this charter shall be submitted to a vote of the people, with a provision that if a majority of the people should vote for it, it should immediately take effect, as a law; but if a majority of the votes should be against it, it should be void.
     On the 22d of April, 1845, find the following entry in the old Peoria town records: "Whereas, it appears by the returns of the election, held at the court-house on the 21st of April, A. D. 1845, that one hundred and sixty-two votes were received in favor of the adoption of the city charter, entitled an act incorporating the City of Peoria, and thirty-five votes against the adoption thereof, which election was held in pursuance of the 16th section of article 8th of said act, said charter is therefore adopted by the citizens of said town:
''Resolved, That an election be held at the court-house, on Monday, the 28th instant, being the 4th Monday of April instant, for one Mayor and eight Aldermen, for the City of Peoria, agreeably to the provisions of the city charter."
     And afterward, without date, on page 379, I find this entry:
     "At an election held at the court-house, on the 28th day of April, A. D. 1845, for the purpose of electing one Mayor and eight Aldermen for the City of Peoria, to serve until their successors are chosen, the following persons, having received the greatest number of votes, were declared duly elected, to wit:
     "For Mayor, William Hale.
     "For Aldermen, Jesse L. Knowlton, Peter Sweat, Charles Kettelle, Clark Cleveland, Chester Hamlin, John Hamlin, Hervey Lightner. Jacob Gale and A. P. Bartlett each received 168 votes, they being the next highest candidates: consequently there was no choice."
     On the 5th day of May, 1845, Hale was sworn in as Mayor, and all the others, excluding Gale and including Bartlett, as Aldermen. This was done, as the record afterward explains, because the Mayor drew lots between Messrs. Gale and Bartlett, and Bartlett drew the office.
     At the same term, Jesse L. Knowlton was appointed City Clerk.
     On the 13th of February, 1847, the charter was amended, and, among other things, the boundary was changed, and in future the boundary was to be as follows: "All that district of country in fractional section sixteen, fractional section nine, fractional section ten, and the south half of sections three and four, in township eight north of the base line, and of range eight east of the fourth principal meridian, and to the middle of the Illinois river and Lake Peoria, are hereby declared be within the bounds of the City of Peoria."
     When the city government, under the said charter, went into operation, in May, 1845, they went to passing ordinances for every imaginable thing, until, in five or six years, those ordinances had become so numerous and complicated that a revision and compilation was deemed necessary.
     Accordingly, on the 15th of April, 1851, an ordinance was passed entitled "An ordinance establishing the Revised Ordinances of the City of Peoria." This ordinance is divided into twenty-nine chapters, called ordinances, and it occupies 96 octavo pages; but as it contains only the usual provisions concerning the internal police of the city, such as grades, markets, licenses, taxes, etc., it is perhaps unnecessary to detail those provisions here. The whole, when examined carefully, forces upon the reader the idea that the mania for taxation, that has greatly afflicted our country, particularly the Northwest, had most violently seized our aldermen. They seem to look upon taxation as the great business of life, and the ability to squeeze the greatest amount of taxes out of a given amount of property as the highest evidence of political ability.
     When our city was first organized, the taxes were laid on lightly; but, as it was found that people would stand it, they were increased, until now, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, we have actually paid taxes to considerably over a quarter of a million dollars. W e have paid

Taxes assessed for general city purposes ................... $60,129.46
To pay interest on railroad bonds ........................... 26,724.21
One-mill school tax, to pay interest on school bonds......... 7,002.94
School tax assessed for school purposes ..................... 33,889.71
Bounty tax to redeem & pay interest on bounty bond........... 21,008.83
Taxes assessed to pay interest on water bonds................ 26,724.21
Taxes to pay coupons on bonds taken by Wm. Smith............. 700.00
Tax levied on city for state purposes ....................... 59,405.60
Road and bridge tax ......................................... 6,150.79
Tax levied on the city for county purposes................... 56,403.78 
Dog tax, .................................................... 133.00
Total, ...................................................... 298,272.53

For the water works....................................... $320,000
For railroads.............................................. 360,000
School bonds...............................................  84,000
Bounty bonds............................................... 136,000
3/5 of the bonds issued to Peoria and Hannibal RR..........  45,000
3/5 of the bonds issued by the county to build jail........  49,500
3/5 of the bonds by same to build almshouse................  21,000
3/5 of the bonds voted for the Peoria & Rock Island RR.....  60,000
Ninety-five one-hundredths of bonds voted by township of 
Peoria, for Peoria, Atlanta and Decatur R. R...............  95,000