the obligors shall be bound jointly and severally, and upon twhich an action or actions may be maintained by the board of trustees of the proper township, for the benefit of any township or fund injured by any breach thereof; and joint action may be had for two or more funds. $12. The bond required in the foregoing section shall be in the following form, viz: STATE OF ILLINOIS, 88. .... Know all men by these presents, that we, A B, C D and E F, are held and Form of bond.! firmly bound, jointly and severally, unto the People of the State of Illinois, in the penal sum of .... dollars, to the payment of which we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, firmly by these presents. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this.... day of ......, A. D. 18.. The condition of the above obligation is such, that if the above bounden A B, county superintendent of the county aforesaid, shall faithfully discharge all the duties of said office, according to the laws which now are or may hereafter be in force, and shall deliver over to his successor in office all moneys, books, papers and property in his hands, as such county superintendent, then this obligation to be void: otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. A B, [SEAL.] And which bond shall be filed in the office of the county clerk. intendent liable to removal. Supervisors may require a new boud. 13. The said superintendent shall be liable to removal County superby the county board for any palpable violation of law or omission of duty; and if a majority of said board shall at any time be satisfied that his bond is insufficient, it shall be his duty, on notice, to execute a new bond, to be payable, conditioned and approved as the first bond, the execution of which shall not affect the old bond, or the liability of the security thereof; and when the office of county superinten- Vacancies. dent shall become vacant by death, resignation or otherwise, the county board shall fill the same by appointment, and the person so appointed shall hold his office until the next election of county officers; at which election the county board shall order the election of a successor. to be kept. 14. The said superintendent shall provide three well Books required bound books, to be known and designated by the letters A, B, C, for the following purpose: in book A, he shall record, at length, all petitions presented to him for the sale of common school lands, and the plats and certificates of valuation made by or under the direction of the trustees of schools, and the affidavits in relation to the same. In book B, he shall keep an account of all sales of common school lands; which account shall contain the date of sale, name of purchaser, description of land sold, and the sum sold for. In book C, he shall keep a regular account of all moneys received for lands sold, or otherwise, and loaned or paid out; the person of whom received, and on what account, and showing whether it is principal or interest; the person to whom loaned, the time for which the loan was made, the rate of interest; the names of the securities, when personal security is taken, or, if real estate is taken as security, a description of said real estate, and if paid out, to whom when, and on what account, and the amount paid out; the list of sales and the accounts of each township fund to be kept separate. Said books shall be paid for out of the county treasury of the counties in which they are used. To pass upon § 15. Whenever the bond of any township treasurer, sp bond of town- proved by the board of trustees of schools, as required by ship treasurer. law, shall be delivered to the county superintendent, he Appointment to townships. shall carefully examine the same, and if the instrument is found to be in ail respects according to law, and the securi ties good and sufficient, he shall indorse his approval thereon, and file the same with the papers of his office; but if said bond is in any respect defective, he shall return it for correction. When the bond shall have been duly received and filed, the superintendent shall, on demand, deliver to said township treasurer all moneys, bonds, mortgages, notes and securities, and all papers of every description, belong ing to said township; and the said township treasurer shall receipt for the same, which receipt shall be carefully filed and preserved by the county superintendent, and shall be evidence of the fact therein stated. § 16. Upon the receipt of the amount due upon the auditor's warrant, the county superintendent shall apportion said amount to the several townships and parts of townships in his county, in which townships or parts of townships schools have been kept in accordance with the provi sions of this act and with the instructions of the state and county superintendent, according to the number of children, under twenty-one years of age, returned to him, and shall pay over the distributive share belonging to each township and fractional township, to the respective township treasurers, or other authorized persons, annually: Provided, that Funds not to no part of the state, county, or other school fund shall be be paid till bond paid to any township treasurer, or other person authorized by said treasurer, unless said township treasurer has filed his bond, as required by the fifty-fifth section of this act, nor in case said treasurer is reappointed by the trustees, unless he shall have renewed his bond and filed the same as aforesaid. is filed. Report to state § 17. On or before the first Monday of November before superintendent. each regular session of the general assembly, or annually, if so required by the state superintendent, the county superintendent shall communicate to said state superintendent all such information and statistics upon the subject of schools in his county as the said state superintendent is bound to embody in his report to the governor, and such other informaLiable to re- tion as the state superintendent shall require; and any county superintendent so failing or refusing to report, shall moval. be liable to removal by the county board for such neglect of duty. §18. The county superintendent, upon his removal or resignation, or at the expiration of his term of service, (or in case of his death, his representatives), shall deliver over to his successor in office, on demand, all moneys, books, papers and personal property belonging to the office, or subject to the control or disposition of the county superintendent. $ 19. The county superintendent may loan any money, To loan county not interest, belonging to the county fund, before the same fund. is called for, according to law, by the township treasurer, at the same rate of interest, upon the same security and for the same length of time as is provided by this act in relation to the township treasurers, and apportion the interest as provided in section sixteen of this act; and notes and Interest appormortgages taken in the name of the "county superintend- tioned. ent" of the proper county, are hereby declared to be as valid gages in his fa as if taken in the name of "trustees of schools" of the proper Notes and morttownship, and suits may be brought in the name of "county vor. superintendents," on all notes and mortgages heretofore or hereafter made payable to the county superintendents. schools. § 20. It shall be the duty of the county superintendent, Visitation of if so directed by the county board, to visit, at least once in each year, every school in his county, and to note the methods of instruction, the branches taught, the text books used, and the discipline, government, and general condition of the schools. He shall give such directions in the science, official advice. art and methods of teaching as he may deem expedient and necessary, and shall be the official adviser and constant assistant of the school officers and teachers of his county, and shall faithfully carry out the advice and instructions of the state superintendent. He shall encourage the formation and assist in the management of county teachers' institutes, and labor in every practicable way to elevate the standard of teaching, and improve the condition of the common schools of his county. In all controversies arising under the school law, the opinion and advice of the county superintendent shall first be sought, whence appeal may be taken to the state superintendent, upon a written statement of facts, certified by the county superintendent. Controversies appeal. tees to furnish intendent to 8 21 In all cases where the township board of trustees Failure of trusof any township shall fail to prepare and forward, or cause statistics. to be prepared and forwarded, to the county superintendent, the information and statistics required of them in this act, it shall be the duty of said county superintendent to employ County supera competent person to take the enumeration and furnish employ a comsaid statistical statement as far as practicable, to the superintendent; and said person so employed shall have free access to the books and papers of said township, to enable him to make such statement: and the township treasurer, or petent person other officer or person in whose custody such books papers may be, shall permit said person to examine ent books and papers, at such times and places as such pers may desire for the purposes aforesaid; and the said count superintendent shall allow, and pay to the person so er ployed by him, for the services, such amount as he m judge reasonable, out of any money which is or may come into said superintendent's hands, apportioned as the share of, or belonging to such township; and the said county superintendent shall proceed to recover and collect the amount so allowed or paid for such services, in a civil action before any justice of the peace in the county, or before any court having jurisdiction, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, of and against the trustees of schools a the trustees as said township, in their individual capacity; and in such sati or suits the said county superintendent and township tre surer shall be competent witnesses; and the money s recovered, when collected, shall be paid over to the county superintendent for the benefit of said township, to replac the money taken as aforesaid. Individuals. May re-sell real estate. School township. be consolidated. 22. When any real estate shall have been taken for debts due to any school fund, the title to which real estate has become vested in any county superintendent, or trus tees of schools, for the use of the inhabitants of one or more townships, the county superintendent, or trustees of schools, may re-sell such real estate for the benefit of said township or townships, under the provisions of this act regulating the the sale of the common school lands, and the said superin tendent, or trustees of schools, is hereby authorized to exe cute conveyances to purchasers. TOWNSHIPS-TRUSTEES OF SCHOOLS. § 23. Each congressional township is hereby established a township for school purposes, but when any fractions! township contains less than forty persons under twenty one years of age, the trustees thereof, upon petition of a majority of the inhabitants of such fractional township, may, by written agreement entered into with the board of trustees of Fractional any adjacent township, consolidate the territory, school townships may funds and other property of such fractional township with such adjacent township, and thereafter shall cease to exercise the functions of school trustees for such fractional township; and such territory, school funds and other property aforesaid shall thereafter be managed by the board of trustees of the adjacent and consolidated township, in accordance with the terms of agreement aforesaid, in the same manner as is or may be provided by law for the management of the territory, funds and other property of school townships. The business of the township shall be done by three. trustees, to be elected by the legal voters of the township, Trustees body politic. 8 who, upon their election, as hereinafter provided, shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "Trustees of Schools of Township...., Range....," according to the number. The said corporation shall have perpetual existence; shall have power to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded in all courts and places where judicial proceedings are had. Said trustees shall continue in office Term of office. three years, and until others are elected and enter upon the duties of their office. At the first regular election of trustees, after the passage of this act, a successor to the trustee whose term of office then expires shall be elected, and thereafter one trustee shall be elected annually. 24. No person shall be eligible to the office of trustee of schools, unless twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the township. Age and resi dence. § 25. The election of trustees of schools shall be on the Election. second Saturday in April, annually; but in townships where such election has not been heretofore had, or where there are no trustees of schools, the election of trustees of schools may be holden on any Saturday, notice being given as hereinafter in this section required. The first election shall be ordered, if in townships already incorporated, by the trustees of schools of the township, the township treasurer giving notice of the time and place by posting notices of the same at least ten days previous to the day of election, in not less than five of the most public places in the township. If there are no trustees of schools in a township, the county clerk shall cause the notice to be given as aforesaid, and in such case the trustees elected at their first meeting shall draw lots for their respective terms of office for one, two and three years, and thereafter one trustee shall be elected, annually, to fill the vacancy occurring. For all subsequent elections, the like notices shall be given by the trustees of schools, through the township treasurer: Provided, that if, Judges may upon any day appointed as aforesaid, for election aforesaid, Po the said trustees of schools, or judges, shall be of opinion that, on account of the small attendance of voters, the public good requires it, or if the voters present, or a majority of them shall desire it, they shall postpone said election until the next Saturday, and at the same place and hour; at which meeting the voters shall proceed as if it were not a postponed or adjourned meeting: And, provided, also, that if notice shall not have been given as above required, then, and in that case, said election may be ordered as aforesaid, Election on any and holden on the first Saturday in May, or any other Saturday. Saturday; notice thereof being given as aforesaid: And, provided, also, that if the township treasurer shall fail or refuse to give notice of the regular election of trustees, as aforesaid, and if, in case of a vacancy, the remaining trustee or trustees shall fail or refuse to order an election to fill such vacancy, as required in section twenty-nine of this act, then, postpone elec |