Proviso laid out, the said commissioners shall have the like powers to sell and convey the same as they now have in relation to the unappropriated lands of this state: Provided, That in the sale of any lot or lots adjoining the Black-Rock basin or Niagara river, the commissioners of the land-office may grant or reserve the land under grants under water opposite such lot or lots, as they may judge most beneficial to the interests of the state: And provided also, That no grant of any struct naviga land under the said waters shall be made so as to obstruct the convenient navigation of the said basin or river. Relative to water Not to ob tion AN ACT to incorporate the Albany County Agricultural Society. Passed April 12, 1826. 1. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That Stephen Van Rensselaer, John Schuyler, junior, John Beekman, junior, Douw Fonda, Abel French, Jesse Buel, William James, Charles R. Webster, Joseph Alexander, Isaiah Townsend, John Townsend, John Walsh, Stephen Willes, Aaron A. Moore, Henry W. Snyder, William McKown, Teunis Van Vechten, Jeremiah Schuyler, Robert Dunbar, junior, John V. A. Lansing, Isaac Mark, Benjamin Knower, Richard Van Kleeck, Matthew Bullock, James B. Wands, Moses Smith, Rufus Watson, Jonathan Jenkins, Johan Jost Dietz, Christopher Dunn, Jacob Ten Eyck, William N. Sill, Matthew Henry Webster, William Chapman, John H. Burhans, Edward Haswell, Ambrose Spencer, Francis Bloodgood, Jacob Ten Eyck, Andrew Ten Eyck, William Warren, Stephen Van Rensselaer, junior, Israel Smith, Volkert P. Douw, Samuel M. Hopkins, Samuel Haines, Andrew Witbeck, John Gibbons, Malachi Whipple, John Dorman, Israel Shears, and such other persons as shall from time to time become members of the said society, shall be and hereby are ordained, constituted and declared to be one body corporate and politic, by the name and style of "The Albany County Agricultural Society ;" and by which name they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall be persons in law capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended, in all courts and places whatsoever, in all manner of actions, suits and complaints, matters and causes whatsoever, and that they and their successors may have a common seal, and may change and alter the same at their pleasure, and that they and their successors shall be enabled in law to purchase, take, receive, hold and enjoy any real or personal estate in fee simple, or for term of lives or otherwise, and the same to lease, sell, dispose of and convey for the purpose of better enabling them to carry into effect such measures as to the said society shall seem best calculated to encourage and promote agriculture and domestic manufactures within the said county of Albany: Provided, That the clear annual value of such real and personal estate shall not exceed five thousand dollars; and that they and their successors shall at all times have full power and authority to ordain, make and establish such by-laws, rules and regulations. as they shall judge proper for the better government and regulation of the officers and members of the said society, and for ascertaining and determining an equal annual rate of contribution to be paid by the members thereof in aid of the funds of the said society, and for prescribing the time and place of holding the annual fair of the said society. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the better carrying on Officers the business and affairs of said corporation, there shall be a president, two vice-presidents, a treasurer, secretary, an executive committee, and such other committees as shall from time to time be appointed, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall be appointed in their places; that the annual election of the said society shall be held on the second Tuesday of October, at such place in the city of Albany, and at such hour of the day, as shall be provided for that purpose; that Stephen Van Rensselaer shall be the first president, John Schuyler, junior, and John Beekman, junior, the first vice-presidents, Douw Fonda the first treasurer, and Matthew Henry Webster the first secretary. 3. And be it furtker enacted, That the legislature shall have the Right to re right, at any time hereafter, to alter, modify or repeal this act. CHAP. 161. AN ACT supplementary to an act, entitled "An Act to prevent injury by Dogs," passed March 24, 1801. Passed April 12, 1826. peal es 1. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, re- Tax on bitch presented in Senate and Assembly, That in all the counties in this state, except the city and county of New-York, and the county of Richmond, the owner or possessor of any bitch or bitches, of three months old or upwards, kept by any one person or family, shall pay a yearly tax of two dollars for the first, and five dollars for every additional one so kept. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever any one person or On dogs, family shall keep more than one dog, of six months old or upwards, other than such as are mentioned in the first section of this act, the owner or possessor of any such dogs shall pay a yearly tax of one dollar for the second dog, and a like tax of three dollars for every third and additional dog; and it shall be lawful for the assessors in each town in the said several counties, at the time of making their annual assessments, to enter in a book to be kept for that purporse, the name of every person in their respective towns owning or keeping any bitch or other dogs, and the number of each; and it shall be the duty of such assessors to deliver an abstract from the said books to the collector of each town, with directions for collecting the tax aforesaid on the same, and the said collector shall collect such tax, and pay the same as hereinafter directed. 3. And be it further enacted, That the owner or possessor of Description in any bitch, or of any other dogs above the number of one, shall, writing to be within six months after the passing of this act, and thereafter with given to as sessors Penalties Money recov ered, how to of in thirty days after he or she shall become the owner or possessor of such dog or dogs, deliver a description in writing of every dog by him or her owned or possessed, to one of the assessors of the town in which such owner or possessor shall reside, upon pain of forfeiting three dollars for every neglect or refusal so to do, to be sued for and recovered by the supervisor of the town in which such owner or possessor shall reside, in an action of debt, with costs of suit, in any court having cognizance thereof; which sum, when collected, shall be paid over to the county treasurers of the said counties respectively, to be applied and disposed of in the same manner as the taxes and assessments to be imposed and collected by virtue of this act. 4. And be it further enacted, That if the owner or possessor of any dog or dogs shall neglect or refuse to pay the tax on the same as aforesaid, after demand thereof made by the collector, such collector shall proceed to enforce payment in like manner as the payment of other taxes may be lawfully enforced; and every person in possession of, or who shall suffer any dog to remain about his or her house for the space of twenty days before demand made by the collector as aforesaid, such person shall be deemed the owner of such dog, and liable to pay the tax for the same, and such person may lawfully kill such dog if no other person, within the said twenty days, shall appear to claim him. 5. And be it further enacted, That the several collectors aforebe disposed said, may retain out of the money so to be collected, five per cent., as a compensation for their trouble, and shall pay the residue thereof to the treasurers of the said counties respectively, to be disposed of by the supervisors of the said counties respectively, by warrant upon the said treasurers, towards satisfying such damages as may arise in any year from dogs killing or injuring sheep, and the residue of the said tax, if any, after such damages are satisfied, shall be paid to the overseers of the poor of the respective towns in the said counties, in proportion to the tax so collected in each town, towards the support of the poor thereof: And further, If any collector aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse to do any thing herein before required of him to do, he shall for every offence forfeit and pay the sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents, to be recovered, by action of debt, with costs, before any justice of the peace of the said counties respectively, by any peason who shall sue for the same; the one half, when recovered, to belong to the prosecutor, and the other half to be applied to the uses aforesaid. Persons sus taining da to fence view ers 6. And be it further enacted, That when any person within the mage by dogs said counties respectively shall sustain any damage by any dog, by to give notice killing or hurting any sheep belonging to him, he may apply to any two fence viewers of the town in which he resides, and if it shall appear to their satisfaction, on view of the sheep, that the same were killed or hurt by one or more dogs only, they shall so certify in writing, and also the value of the sheep or damages sustained, and the number killed or hurt, which certificate, signed by them, shall be a sufficient voucher to the supervisors of the said counties respectively, for paying the value of the sheep or damages therein expressed, out of any monies remaining in his hands which shall have been raised by virtue of the provisions of this act: Provided however, If the owner or possessor of any such dog be known, and of suffi- cient ability, the party injured shall demand satisfaction of him or her, and if he or she neglect or refuse to kill such dog, and to make such satisfaction, the party injured shall get the value of the sheep or damages certified as aforesaid, and may thereupon recover the same, with costs of suit, of the owner or possessor of any such dog, without proving notice to such owner or possessor or knowledge by him, that such dog was mischievous and disposed to kill sheep, before any justice of the peace of the said counties respectively, or other court having cognizance thereof, in which case the owner of such sheep shall have no claim upon the supervisors aforesaid: And provided, That whenever the owner of such sheep shall have received compensation for such injury from the supervisor, and shall subsequently recover against the owner or possessor of such dog, for such injury, he shall refund and repay the amount so received by him, to the said supervisors; and in case of neglect so to do, such supervisor, or his successor, may maintain an action for the money thereof, with costs of suit. Dogs may killed if tax 7. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall refuse or neglect to pay the tax, by this act imposed, for thirty days after de- is not paid mand thereof, it shall be lawful for any person to kill any dog for which such tax shall not have been paid. CHAP. 162. AN ACT relative to the Gospel and School Lot and the Literature Lot in the Town of Owego in the County of Tiogo. Passed April 12, 1826. 1. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That James Pumpelly, William Camp and John H. Avery of the town of Owego, in the county of Tioga shall be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to take charge of the gospel and school lot in the said town until others shall be chosen in their places by the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town, and it shall be lawful for the said commissioners, together with the supervisor of the said town to sell and dispose of the said lot and apply the proceeds thereof to such school or literary purposes as shall be directed by a vote of the inhabitants of the said town in legal town-meeting assembled. Commission ers super visors and 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful Duty of for the supervisor and commissioners aforesaid of the said town to commission take possession of the literature lot in the said town for the benefit ers of the people of this state, and to institute such suits as may be necessary to obtain the possession thereof, or for the recovery of damages for any trespasses that heretofore have been or hereafter shall be committed thereon, which suits may be brought in the name of the people of this state: Provided, That the expense of such suit shall be discharged by the said supervisor and commissioners, and shall not in any event be chargeable to the people of this state, and any damages recovered in such suit shall be applied to the common school fund of the said town. Proviso) 1 Commission ers To take an oath Survey Their pay CHAP. 163. AN ACT to appoint Commissioners to lay out or alter a Road between Canandaigua in the County of Ontario, and Palmyra in the County of Wayne. Passed April 13, 1826. 1. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That Nathan Barlow of Canandaigua, Stimson Harvey of Farmington, and Thomas Rogers of Palmyra, or any two of them be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to lay out a public highway between Main-street in the village of Canandaigua and Palmyra aforesaid, by the shortest and most direct route. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, before they enter upon the duties aforesaid, shall take an oath before a justice of the peace of the county of Ontario or Wayne, to honestly and faithfully discharge the duties assigned to them, without favor or partiality; and they shall, after locating said road, cause to be made an accurate survey of so much of said road as lies within each town through which said road shall be laid out, and file the same in the clerk's office of such towns respectively; and it shall be and is hereby made the duty of the commissioners of highways in each of the towns through which said road shall be laid out as aforesaid, as soon as may be after the survey is filed, to cause to be opened and worked so much of the said road as may be within their respective towns, in the same manner and subject to the same regulations as other highways are improved, and the damages if any, shall be levied and collected in the same manner as if the road had been laid out by the commissioners of the respective towns. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall receive two dollars each per day for every day necessarily spent in exploring and laying out said road, which, together with the actual expense of surveying, shall be levied and collected in the several towns in the same manner as other town charges are levied, collected and paid, in proportion to the time spent in each of the said towns respectively, to be certified by the acting commissioners to the several boards of supervisors of the counties in which said towns are situated. Corporation created CHAP. 164. AN ACT to incorporate the Rye Academy in the County of Passed April 13, 1826. 1. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That Nehemiah Brown, William Bush, Nehemiah Brown junior, Henry Belden, Elisha R. Belcher, James Wilson, Henry L. Penfield and Philemon Halstead, together |