AN ACT to provide for the appointment, qualification and duties of notares public, and certifying their official acts. [Approved April 5, 1872, In force July 1, 1872. L. 1871-2, P. 574.]

1. Appointment. SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the governor may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and commission as notaries public as many persons resident in the county in this State for which they are appointed as he may deem necessary, but no person shall be appointed a notary public who is under twenty-one years of age, is not a citizen of the United States, and has not resided in this State one year preceding the appointment. [As amended by act approved April 13, 1875. In force July 1, 1875; L. 1875, p. 88; R. S. 1845, p. 391, § 1; L. 1857, p. 144, §1; L. 1867, p. 134, § 1.

2. Petition. § 2. No person shall be appointed a notary public, except upon the petition of at least fifty legal voters of the city, town, village or precinct in which such person resides.

3. Term of office. § 3. Each notary public so appointed and commissioned shall hold his office for the term of four years, unless sooner removed by the governor. [R. S. 1845, p. 391, § 1.

4. Bond - oath of office. § 4. Before entering upon the duties of his office he shall give a bond, payable to the people of the State of Illinois, in the sum of $1,000, with sureties to be approved by the governor, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, and shall take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by the constitution. The oath and bond shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of State. [R. S. 1845, p. 392, § 7.

5. Appointment, etc., entered in county clerk's office. 5. He shall also, before entering upon the duties of his office, have a

memorandum of his appointment, and the time when his office will expire, entered in the office of the county clerk of his county, in a book to be kept for that purpose by said clerk, for which entry he shall pay a fee of twenty-five cents.

6. Certificate of magistracy. § 6. The county clerk of the county in which such memorandum is entered, or the secretary of State, may grant certificates of magistracy of notaries public. The certificate of a clerk shall be under his hand and official seal, and that of the secretary of State under the great seal of the State; the fee for such certificate shall be twenty-five cents.

7. Notarial seal. 7. Each notary public shall, upon entering upon the duties of his office, provide himself with a proper official seal, with which he shall authenticate his official acts, upon which shall be engraved words descriptive of his office, and the name of the place or county in which he resides.

[As amended by act approved May 1, 1873. In force July 1, 1873. Mason v. Brock, 12 Ill. 273; Booth v. Cook, 20 Ill. 130; Holbrook v. Nichols, 36 III. 163; Mineral Point, etc., v. Keep, 22 Ill. 17; Harding v. Curtis, 45 Ill. 253; Rowley v. Berrian, 12 Ill. 198; Stout v. Slattery, 12 Ill. 162; Theilman v. Burg, 73 Ill. 293.

8. Curative. 2. All notarial acts of notaries public in this State which may have been authenticated by a seal, as described in the [*722] first section of this act [§ 7 above], prior to the time that this act shall take effect, shall be held good and valid as if done and performed under this act. [Act of May 1, 1873.

9. Deposit of records on expiration of office. § 8. On the expiration of the term of office of a notary public, he, or in case of his decease, his legal representatives, shall deposit the records of his office in the office of the county clerk of his county: Provided, that when he is continued in office by reappointment, he may retain such records so long as he shall remain in office.

10. Notary's authority. 9. A notary public duly qualified shall have authority, while he resides in the same county in which he was appointed, to execute the duties of his office throughout the State. [L. 1869, p. 299, § 1; Edwards v. McKay, 73 Ill. 570; Keefer v. Mason, 36 Ill. 408; Dyer v. Flint, 21 Ill. 80.

11. Protests -notices. § 10. It shall be the duty of each and every notary public in this State, whenever any bill of exchange, promissory note or other written instrument, shall be by him protested for non-acceptance or non-payment, to give notice in writing thereof to the maker, and to each and every indorser of any bill of exchange, and to the maker or makers of, and each and every security or indorser of any promissory note or other written instrument, on the same day the said protest is made, or within forty-eight hours from the time of such protest. [R. S. 1845, p. 392, § 4.

12. Notices of protest. II. It shall be the duty of each and every notary public personally to serve the notice upon the person or persons protested against, provided he or they reside in the town, precinct, city or village where such protest was made, or within one mile thereof; but if such person or persons reside more than one mile from such town, precinct, city or village, then the said notice may be for

warded by mail or other safe conveyance. If the city where the protest is made contains ten thousand or more inhabitants, the notice may be forwarded by mail. [R. S. 1845, p. 392, § 6.

13. Record. § 12. Each notary public shall keep a correct record of all such notices, and of the time and manner in which the same are served, the names of all the parties to whom the same are directed, and the description and amount of the instrument protested.

[R. S. 1845, P. 392, § 5; Montelius v. Charles, 76 Ill. 303.

14. Evidence. 13. Said record, or copy thereof, duly certified, under the hand and seal of the notary public or county clerk having the custody of the original record, shall be competent evidence to prove the facts therein stated, but the same may be contradicted by other competent evidence.

[R. S. 1845, P. 392, § 5; Montelius v. Charles, 76 Ill. 303; Bond v. Bragg, 17 III. 70. 15. Curative. § 14. It shall not be an objection to the validity of any act of a notary public, done before the taking effect of this act, that the certificate thereof does not show the name of the city, town or county for which the notary was commissioned, if it shall appear from the certificate that the act was done within this State. [L. 1869, p. 299, $ 2.

15, repeal, omitted. See "Statutes," ch. 131, § 5.

AN ACT to revise the law in relation to notices. [Approved February 13, 1874. In

force July 1, 1874.J

1. Proof of publication. SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That when any notice shall be required by law, or the order of court, or by any contract, to be published in any newspaper, and no other mode of proving the same is provided, the certificate of the publisher, by himself or his authorized agent, with a written or printed copy of such notice annexed, stating the number of times which the same shall have been published, and the dates of the first and last papers containing the same, shall be sufficient evidence of the publication therein set forth.

[R. S. 1845, P. 47, § 1; Harris v. Lester, 80 Ill. 307; Logan v. Williams, 76 III. 175; C. & A. R. R. Co. v. Smith, 78 fll. 97; Armstrong v. Chicago, 61 Ill. 353; Smith v.

C. A. & St. L. R. R. Co., 67 Ill. 192; Rue v. Chicago, 66 Ill. 258; Hermandez v. Drake, 81 Ill. 34; Barnett v. Wolf, 70 III. 76; Clark v. Marfield, 77 III. 258; Vairin v. Edmondson, 5 Gilm, 270; McDermaid v. Russell, 41 Ill. 489; Finch v. Sink, 46 Ill. 169: Waite v. Dennison, 51 Ill. 322; Haywood v. McCrary, 33 Ill. 460; Butler v. Chicago, 56 Ill. 341; Fox v. Turtle, 55 Ill. 377; Cariker v. Anderson, 27 Ill. 358; Pierce v. Carleton, 12 Ill. 364; Pile v. McBratney, 15 Ill. 318; Underhill v. Corwin, 15 Ill. 556; James v. Hambleton, 42 Ill. 309; Fergus v. Tinkham, 38 Ill. 407; Moore v. Niel, 39 Ill. 256; Scammon v. Chicago, 40 Ill. 146; Jenks v. Chicago, 48 Ill. 296; Weld v. Rees, 48 Ill. 428.

2. Plaintiff, etc., may direct in what paper. § 2. Whenever any notice is required by law to be published by any clerk, sheriff, master in chancery, or other officer, in a newspaper, the plaintiff or complainant, or his attorney shall have the right to direct in what newspaper the notice shall be published, and if such officer shall make publication contrary to such direction, shall not be allowed to collect the costs thereof. This section shall not apply to any case where the court directs in what newspaper publication shall be made.

3. Number of publications. $3. Whenever notice is required by law, or order of court, and the number of publications is not speci fied, it shall be intended that the same be published for three successive weeks. [R. S. 1845, P. 47, § 4.

$ 4.

4. When weekly newspaper sufficient — costs. When any notice is required by law or order of court, or any contract, and it is not otherwise provided, it shall be sufficient to publish the same in a weekly newspaper, and in no case shall any greater amount be chargeable as costs for the publication of such notice than will be sufficient to publish the same in such weekly newspaper.

[Wing v. Dodge, 80 Ill. 569.

5. Newspaper defined. § 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract,) it shall be intended to be in a secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the city, town or county, or some paper specially authorized by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town or county.

[Kerr v. Hitt, 75 Ill. 51; Hernandez v. Drake, 81 Ill. 37; Scammon v. Chicago, 40 Ill. 146; Jenks v. Chicago, 48 Ill. 296.

6. Computation of time. § 6. In computing the time for which any notice is to be given, whether required by law, order of court or contract, the first day shall be excluded and the last included, unless the last day is Sunday, and then it also shall be excluded.

[Cushman v. Stone, 69 Ill. 516; Forsyth v. Warren, 62 Ill. 68; Ewing v. Bailey, 4 Scam. 420; Vairin v. Edmonson, 5 Gilm. 270; Toledo, etc., Ry. Co. v. Coomes, 40 Ill. 37; Harper v. Ely, 56 Ill. 189; Bowman v. Wood, 41 Ill. 203.

7. Expense, how paid and taxed. $7. When any notice relating to any cause, matter or thing depending in any court of record, shall have been duly published, it may be paid for by the party [*724] at whose instance the same was published, and the expense, or

so much thereof as shall be deemed reasonable, may be taxed as costs, or otherwise allowed in the course of the proceedings to which such notice shall relate. [R. S. 1845, p. 47, § 2.

8. Expense of public notices, how paid. § 8. When any notice shall be required by law to be published by a public officer in relation to public business, in pursuance of law, the reasonable expense thereof shall be allowed and paid out of the State or county treasury, as the case may require. [R. S. 1845, p. 47, § 3.

AN ACT to revise the law in relation to oaths and affirmations. [Approved Feb. 25, 1874. In force July 1, 1874.]

1. Who may administer oaths to witnesses, etc. SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all courts now established, or that may hereafter be established, and each judge, justice, master in chancery, and clerk thereof, and all justices of the peace, police magistrates and notaries public, shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses and others, concerning any thing commenced or to be commenced, or depending before them respectively.

[R. S. 1845, p. 393, $3; Allen v. People, 77 111. 486.

2. Who may administer to officers, etc.-depositions. 2. All courts, the judges, justices, masters in chancery, and the clerks thereof, the secretary of State, justices of the peace, police magistrates and notaries public, shall have power in their respective districts, circuits, counties or jurisdictions, to administer all oaths of office and all other oaths authorized or required of any officer or other person, and to take affidavits and depositions concerning any matter or thing, process or proceeding commenced or to be commenced, or depending in any court or before any justice of the peace, or on any occasion wherein any affidavit or deposition is authorized or required by law to be taken.

[R. S. 1845, P. 393, § 3; Van Dusen v. People, 78 Ill 645; T. W. & W. R. R. Co. v. Baddeley, 54 Ill. 19. See chap. 99, § 7, ante.

3. Form of oath. § 3. Whenever any person shall be required to take an oath before he enters upon the discharge of any office, place of business, or on any other lawful occasion, it shall be lawful for any person empowered to administer the oath to administer it in the following form, to wit: The person swearing shall, with his hand uplifted,