within the limits of said society, are hereby empowered, when in legal meeting assembled, by a majority of the voters present, to enact such bylaws, not incompatible with the laws of this state, as they may deem necessary to promote the object of this incorporation. They shall elect annually, eight committee men, three of whom shall have been members of the previous board, if such can be found to serve, whose duty it shall be, to take the entire charge, management and supervision of the schools, subject to the by-laws of said society, and also discharge, so far as may be requisite, the duties at present devolving by law on school visitors and committee men. They shall assess upon the proprietors of the school, in proportion to the number of scholars that any person or persons may have sent, the excess of the expense of said school over the public money; the whole, or any portion of any of such assessment which they may deem proper they may abate if they deem it expedient. The said legal voters are further empowered, when in legal meeting assembled, by a majority of the voters present, to levy on the polls and estate within the limits of said society, taxes to purchase grounds on which to erect school houses, and build houses and appurtenances, to provide books and stationery for the use of said schools, and also to make up whatever deficiency may occur by the abatements which may be made by the committee men as aforesaid; all of which taxes, both that assessed by the committee as above specified, and also that levied by the legal voters on the polls and estate, may be collected in the manner prescribed by law for the collection of taxes by school societies. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to impair the claim which the inhabitants of said four districts, as members of said first school society, have to a portion of the donation fund, now amounting to $2,272.13, 3, which fund by an act of this assembly, passed in 1734, was placed in the hands of Giles Hall, George Philips and John Hamlin, as trustees of the same, and by virtue of said act is now in the hands of Jonathan Barnes, Richard Hubbard and Stephen Taylor, the present trustees; but their right and claims to the privileges and benefits of said fund shall be continued to them in the same manner as they at present enjoy them. Charles Woodward, Richard Rand and Stephen. Taylor are hereby empowered to call the first meeting of the legal voters of said society, in the manner prescribed by law for the calling of school societies, to be held at such time and place as they may designate in the call, for the purpose of organizing the society and carrying into effect the object of its incorporation; and said four school districts shall remain, until such organization is effected, as at present, a part of said first school society. All acts heretofore passed by this assembly are hereby repealed, so far as they are incompatible with the above, and no further.

CONFERRING CERTAIN PRIVILEGES ON THE CITY SCHOOL SOCIETY IN MIDDLETOWN.

PASSED 1840.

Resolved by this Assembly, That the powers and privileges conferred on school societies and school districts, by the act entitled "An act concerning schools," be and they hereby are extended to and conferred on the city school society of Middletown, and the school districts thereto belonging.

THE CITY SCHOOL SOCIETY OF MIDDLETOWN EMPOWERED TO PLEDGE THE CREDIT OF THE SOCIETY, NOT TO EXCEED $10,000, &c.

PASSED 1841.

Resolved, That the city school society of Middletown, and the freemen composing the same, be and they are hereby authorized and empowered, under the corporate name of the society, to pledge the credit of the same to an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars, for the purpose of enabling said society to raise the necessary funds to purchase a site and erecting thereon suitable buildings, with the necessary appurtenances for the accommodations of the high schools of said society.

Provided, that no debt or loan shall be contracted by said society for the above purpose, for a longer time than ten years from the rising of this assembly.

VALIDATING CERTAIN BONDS AND NOTES TO BE GIVEN BY THE CITY SCHOOL SOCIETY, IN MIDDLETOWN.

PASSED 1841.

Resolved, That all bonds, notes and other securities, which shall be executed and delivered by the city school society of Middletown, for the purpose of obtaining loans to erect buildings for their high school, agreeably to a resolution which has passed the legislature during the present session, said bonds and notes, and other securities which shall be executed and delivered as aforesaid, shall be obligatory on said society to all intents and purposes whatever, and may be enforced and collected in the same manner and to the same extent, that debts lawfully contracted by towns in this state may be enforced and collected according to the existing laws of this state.

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CONFIRMING CERTAIN BY-LAWS AND TAXES OF THE CITY SCHOOL SOCIETY OF MIDDLETOWN, AND EXTENDING THE POWERS OF SAID SOCIETY.

PASSED 1850.

Upon the petition of "The City School Society of Middletown," praying this assembly to pass a law confirming and validating certain by-laws of said society, therein recited, and also validating capitation taxes or assessments heretofore laid by the committee of said society; and further, to increase the powers of said society in respect to such taxes, as set forth in said petition:

Resolved by this Assembly, SEC. 1. That the several by-laws of the said "The City School Society of Middletown," respecting the assessment and collection of capitation taxes, passed and enacted at the meeting of said society, on the 11th day of September, 1848, be and the same are hereby, in all respects, confirmed and validated as legal by-laws of said society; and all assessments or capitation taxes, in all other respects conformable to law, which have been heretofore laid or assessed by the committee of said society, in pursuance of said by-laws, are hereby confirmed, and shall not be considered void or defective by reason of any want of power on the part of said society to enact the said by-laws.

SEC. 2. The said society are hereby authorized and fully empowered to modify or repeal said by-laws as they shall consider expedient, and to make such other by-laws as they may see fit in respect to the manner of raising money by assessment upon the parents or guardians of children attending school, to pay the expenses of the public schools in said society over and above the public money applicable thereto.

SEC. 3. Nothing herein contained shall be construed in such a manner as to affect any suit now pending.

FIRST SCHOOL SOCIETY IN MIDDLETOWN TO HOLD MEETINGS AT THE

TOWN HALL.

PASSED 1841.

Resolved by this Assembly, That the first school society in Middletown be authorized, and it is hereby authorized, to hold in future its annual and other meetings at the Town Hall in the city of Middletown.

CONFIRMING DOINGS OF THE SCHOOL SOCIETY OF NEW HARTFORD, AND ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES, &C. OF THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT IN SAID SOCIETY.

PASSED 1851.

Upon the petition of the Northeast School District, in the school society and town of New Hartford, showing to this assembly that on the 2nd day of October, 1848, at the annual meeting of said society, upon petition, the North End School District was divided, and that part of said North End School District lying east of the Farmington river was constituted the said Northeast School District, and that said district was duly organized soon thereafter, by the appointment of the necessary and proper officers, at a meeting notified and held according to law for that purpose; that upon request of said northeast district, the committee of said school society examined, established and defined the boundaries of said district, and made their report in writing in due form, dated October 13th, 1849, and returned the same to the clerk of said school society, in which they thus defined the limits of said district, viz: beginning on the Farmington river, at the north line of Pine Meadow school district, thence running southeasterly on the east line of Pine Meadow school district, to the southwest corner of Charles B. Richards' lands, thence easterly on the south line of said Charles B. Richards' land, to the east line of New Hartford school society, thence northerly on the east line of said society to Barkhamsted south line, thence westerly on said line of Barkhamnsted to the west branch of said Farmington river, thence southerly on said river to the place of beginning; including all the lands within said limits excepting the farm known as the Messenger farm, which now constitutes the Pike district: that said district, at a meeting legally warned for that purpose, held on the 2nd day of March, 1849, appointed a committee to select and procure a site for and build thereon a school-house for said district; which duties were performed by said committee; and at a meeting of said district, held for that purpose and duly notified on the 14th day of December, 1849, the site so selected and procured, and the school-house built thereon, were, by said district, by a vote of fourteen to three, accepted and approved by said district: that said northeast district, at a meeting duly warned and held on the 12th day of October, 1849, voted to defray the expense of said site and school-house, by a tax on the list or assessment of 1848, and on the 14th day of December, 1849, voted to lay a tax of ninety cents on the dollar on the list of 1848, and appointed a collector of said tax: that it became necessary that an assessment of the property and persons liable to pay taxes in said district should be made, which assessment was duly made in the manner prescribed by law, and by the board constituted for that purpose, at a meeting duly notified and held, was, after hearing appeals and claims for abatements, by parties assessed therein, approved, established and perfected, and, by said board, as they supposed and believed, returned to the office of the town clerk in said town; and from which assessment list, so made and perfected, a tax or rate bill was made by the committee of said northeast school

district, and placed in the hands of said collector to levy and collect, and which rate bill has been mostly paid and satisfied :—that your petitioners now find that by some accident said assessment has become lost, and the same cannot be found, but that said rate bill contains the true rates or taxes as indicated by said assessment ;-and that Charles B. Richards, Miles Richards and Marquis Richards, of said New Hartford, are interested in the matters of this petition:-and praying this assembly to ratify and confirm the doings of said school society in establishing said northeast school district, and the boundaries and limits thereof as defined by the committee of said school society, and the doings of said northeast district in establishing a site and building a school house, aud accepting each of them by said district, and fully to validate the assessment on the persons and property so made as aforesaid, and which are set down in said rate bill, and said rate bill to establish and make effectual as the true rates or taxes to be made by the several persons set down therein, and to make valid and effectual said rate bill so far as the same has been levied and collected; and also for the further levying and collecting the residue of said rates or taxes therein, agreeably to the warrant annexed thereto, in as full and ample a manner as if all the proceeding of said school society, northeast district, committee of said society, and the assessment of taxes had been in all respects regular and lawful in every particular, and in conformity with the statute laws of this state; as per petition dated April 22nd, 1851, and which was duly served upon the respondents and returned to this assembly; and said respondents having been fully heard with their evidence and by argument of counsel, and having enquired into the truth of the facts herein set forth, do find them proved and true; and having further found that each of the respondents neglecting and failing to pay their said rates in said rate bill, the same was levied upon their property, which was sold to satisfy the same, and they have now severally suits pending before the superior court in Litchfield county, against the collector and the committee of said northeast district for so levying upon and disposing of said property: whereupon,

Resolved by this Assembly, That the acts and doings of the school society of New Hartford in setting off and constituting the northeast school district in said society, at their annual meeting held on the second day of October, A. D. 1848, and the doings of said committee of said school society in establishing and defining the boundaries and limits of said district as by their report dated October thirteenth, 1849, and that from thence forward, said boundaries shall be deemed the true and proper boundaries of said district; that the proceedings of said northeast district in procuring, establishing and accepting the site for a school house for their use, and in building and in accepting the school house on said site, are hereby severally ratified and confirmed and made effectual and conclusive upon the parties that are or shall be interested in the matters of said northeast district, or in the payment of taxes therein, and that the tax voted by said district, on the 14th day of December, 1849, to defray the expenses of said northeast district, and of said site and school house, as set down in the rate bill made by the district committee of said northeast district, pursuant to the vote of said district, made and passed on the 14th day of De