Reminiscences of the Early Bench and Bar of Illinois (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Reminiscences of the Early Bench and Bar of Illinois It is perfectly natural, at least it has always been, from the dawn of creation, and will doubtless be (as Governor Reynolds used to say, "till eternity in the afternoon") the case that people will reverence the past and desire to be fully posted as to the men and the events of by-gone periods; and this is particularly the case in reference to what are called the "transition periods" in the history of a people. Illinois has, within the last forty years, been passing through that period. Forty years ago she had not to exceed 140,000 inhabitants, and not a mile of railroad; now she has a population of at least 3,000,000, and more miles of railroad than any other State in the Union. She produces more of the means of subsistence than any territory of equal extent in America. In 1838, she was in debt more than $18,000,000. She has paid, to the uttermost farthing, that debt, principal and interest, with the exception of a small sum - not yet due - but which she could this day discharge without occasioning the slightest embarrassment. She is in receipt from the Illinois Central railroad of an annual stipend, varying between half and three-quarters of a million of dollars - enough almost to run the State government. She has cut no mean or inconsiderable figure in the political history of the country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.