intersect and enter upon the road hereby authorized to be constructed, at or near the village of Willimantic, and use the same between Willimantic and the said east line of the state, upon such terms as commissioners for that purpose, to be appointed by the general assembly, shall, upon due notice to the said parties, authorize and prescribe.

SEC. 8. This act may be any time altered, amended or repealed by the general assembly.

EXTENDING THE TIME FOR COMPLETING THE HARTFORD AND PROVIDENCE

RAILROAD.

PASSED 1849.

Resolved by this Assembly, That the time within which the Hartford and Providence Railroad Company is required to complete their railroad between Willimantic and the east line of this state, or to expend the sum of one hundred thousand dollars on the same, be and the same is hereby extended three years.

UNITING THE NEW YORK AND HARTFORD RAILROAD COMPANY WITH, AND AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE HARTFORD AND PROVIDENCE RAILROAD COMPANY, AND CHANGING NAME TO "THE HARTFORD, PROVIDENCE AND FISHKILL RAILROAD COMPANY."

PASSED 1849.

Resolved by this Assembly, SEc. 1. That the New York and Hartford Railroad Company be and the same is hereby united with, made part of, and merged in the Hartford and Providence Railroad Company; and when said union and merger shall have been completed by an acceptance of the provisions of this act, as herein after provided, said two companies shall constitute one united company, with a capital consisting of the present capital of the said Hartford and Providence Railroad Company, and to be increased from time to time to a sum not exceeding the joint capital allowed to said two companies, and to be from time to time issued in the manner herein after provided.

SEC. 2. Said Hartford and Providence Railroad Company shall, upon said union being completed, thereupon become and be possessed of all the estate and property, rights and interests already acquired, contracted for, or which shall hereafter be acquired, obtained or perfected under any proceedings already instituted or begun by both or either of said companies, and the same are hereby vested in said company to the same and as full extent as either of said corporations have or would, or might have had or enjoyed the same, under said proceedings, had not said union and merger taken place.

SEC. 3. Such union and merger being perfected by the acceptance of the provisions of this act, as herein after provided, shall forever there

after bar any action at law, or in equity, against the said New York and Hartford Railroad Company and the stockholders thereof, their representatives and assigns; and said stockholders, their representatives and assigns, shall thereupon be and they are hereby released and discharged from the payment for the stock by them subscribed in said New York and Hartford Railroad Company, and from all liability arising by reason of their said subscriptions. Provided, however, that said Hartford and Providence Railroad Company shall thereupon and thereafter be holden and liable to perform all the duties and obligations arising from any and all the acts, proceedings or contracts of either of said companies, done, commenced or made prior to said union, as fully and to the same extent as said companies respectively would have been had not said union taken place; and the same may be enforced by suit or otherwise against said company, as fully and to the same extent as if the same had been done, commenced or made by said Hartford and Providence Railroad Company. SEC. 4. That the Hartford and Providence Railroad Company shall thereafter be entitled "The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad Company," and their present powers are so extended that they are hereby authorized to build, equip, operate and use a single, double or treble railroad or way between the east and west line of this state, through the towns of Plainfield and Sterling, in the direction of Providence and Fishkill, on the most direct, practicable and feasible route, and to take and use the powers of their charter and its amendments, and of this act, for constructing the same and any other road or branch which the New York and Hartford Railroad Company is now authorized to construct; and may build the same in such sections, and expend their funds thereon at such time and in such manner as they shall deem most expedient, subject to the provisions herein after named. And said company may lay out their road, not exceeding six rods wide through its entire length, and for cuttings and embankments and procuring stone and gravel, and for depots and turnouts, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction, operation and security of said road. And for any other lawful uses of said road, said Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad Company may further take, in addition to the way originally prescribed by the charter of the New York and Hartford Railroad Company, such land or real estate, within the limits, and between the eastern and western termini authorized by the charter of said last mentioned company, as may be necessary therefor, not exceeding two hundred and fifty feet in width, and for a distance or distances in all not exceeding two thousand feet in length. And said company may locate their draw at the east end of their bridge across Connecticut river, and may build a branch in East Hartford to said river, at such place as may be deemed expedient; and also such other branch or branches as may be necessary to connect said road and its depots, machine shops and other necessary buildings, subject to the approval of the commissioners of said railroad.

SEC. 5. And it shall be lawful for said company and any other railroad company or companies, to contract together for the building, working and management of their roads or either of them, and the transportation of persons and property thereon; and any other railroad company or companies may enter into such contract or contracts without in any respect impairing, varying or prejudicing the charter or privileges of said compa

nies or of either of them; provided, that no part of said road shall be operated or opened for use between the line of the Housatonic railroad and the line of the state of New York, until either said road is fully completed and in operation between said Housatonic railroad and the city of Hartford, or a railroad or roads shall be fully completed and in operation from the Hudson river to the east line of the state of New York, and so located as to connect, at said state line, with the road hereby authorized to be constructed between Hartford and said state line.

SEC. 6. Said company may, by its directors, from time to time add to their capital stock, by increasing the same to an amount not exceeding the amount herein before limited, and open books for subscription thereto, at such times and places, upon such notice given, and in such manner, and upon such terms and conditions, and under such regulations as they may adopt for that purpose; provided, that the subscriptions to the shares or stock of the New York and Hartford Railroad Company, shall constitute no part or portion of the capital of said company, and that no subscriber to the stock, or shareholder of said New York and Hartford Railroad Company, shall in virtue thereof or by reasons of the union of the two companies, become or be deemed a stock or shareholder in the said Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad Company.

SEC. 7. In case it shall so happen that an election of directors shall not be made on the day appointed by the by-laws or charter of said company, said company shall not for that cause be deemed to be dissolved, but such election may be holden on any day which shall be appointed by the directors of said company; and four of the directors (the president being one) shall be a quorum for the transaction of business.

SEC. 8. Whenever the location of said railroad or any part thereof shall have been designated and finally located, the said company shall be holden to pay all damages that may accrue to any person or persons, corporation or corporations, by taking their lands or real estate for said railroad, when the same shall not have been obtained by voluntary agreement; and whenever the person or persons to whom damage may so arise, shall not have previously relinquished in writing all claims for damages, the said company may apply to the superior court of the county in which the real estate damaged may be situated, or to any judge of the superior court, who may by law judge between the parties, causing notice to be given to the adverse party of such application, and thereupon said superior court, or such judge, shall appoint three disinterested and judicious persons to assess the amount of such damages, and said persons shall give notice to the parties of the time and place of their meeting on the business of their appointment, at which time and place they shall proceed to hear the parties, and to inquire into the extent of the damages, and shall under oath assess just damages to the respective owners or parties interested in the premises so required and taken for the purposes of, and by, and in consequence of, making and constructing any of the works of said company-which assessment shall be in writing under the hands of said persons-and the same shall be returned (with the application) to the clerk of said superior court, who shall record it; and when so returned and recorded, such assessment shall have the effect of a judgment, and execution may issue at the end of sixty days from the time when such assessment shall be returned, in favor of the persons respectively to whom

damages may be assessed, for the amount so to them assessed. Provided, that said railroad shall not be opened across the lands of any person until the damages so assessed to such person shall have been paid, or secured to be paid to his satisfaction, or deposited with the treasurer of the county; and that the said damages shall be so paid, or deposited with such treasurer, within sixty days after the same shall have been finally determined; or in default thereof, said execution may issue; provided, also, that it shall not be necessary in order to the location of said road by the directors, and the approval thereof by the commissioners, that the width thereof shall be definitely established by said directors or commissioners previous to said location; but before the damages shall be assessed to any landholder, by the said appraisers, the width of said road shall be definitely fixed and established by said directors over and across the land so taken; and the commissioners may prescribe such form and manner and time of giving notice of any location of said railroad, in whole or in part, to the parties interested therein, as they shall deem reasonable, whether by publication or otherwise. And in any case it shall be sufficient notice, when the lands or other property or estate of any feme-covert, infant or person non compos mentis shall be needed for said railroad, to notify the husband of such feme-covert, or guardian of such infant or person non compos mentis, under oath.

SEC. 9. The amount of money which said company may borrow at seven per cent., on an issue of the bonds of the company, is hereby extended to any amount not exceeding at any time one-half of the amount expended for the construction and equipment of their said road. And it shall be sufficient and legal notice to all persons whatsover, of any and all incumbrances on the real and personal estate of said company, (and said company may, without presumption of fraud arising therefrom, retain possession of such real or personal estate,) under any deed of pledge, hypothecation or mortgage of the same, in whole or in part, whether executed or to be executed, if the deed or deeds of the same shall be deposited for record in the office of the secretary of this state, whose duty it shall be to record the same. And the bonds of the company may be from time to time renewed, and may be made convertible into the stock of the said company, and may be disposed of, at such times and rates, and on such conditions, as shall be fixed by the directors; and all bonds heretofore or hereafter issued and made thus convertible, shall be to all intents and purposes binding and obligatory on the company, in the same manner as if they had been made and issued under the provisions of this act; provided, that no such bonds shall be issued by said company of a denomination less than five hundred dollars; and that the amount so expended on said railroad shall be ascertained by oath of the principal engineer of said

company.

SEC. 10. It shall be lawful for said company, from time to time, to fix, regulate and receive the tolls and charges by them to be received for transportation of persons or property on their said road, or upon any part thereof; provided, that a uniformn rate per mile shall be charged for the transportation of such passengers or freight, as shall be received from or delivered to, the several railroads in this state, with which said railroad may be connected, and on which the same rule or regulation as to a uniform rate per mile for such passengers and freight shall be reciprocally

adopted towards said company; and provided also, that it shall be the duty of said company to run their trains each way for passengers, at such times and in such manner as to afford reasonable facilities for receiving passengers from, and delivering them to, each of the other railroads in this state, with which said road may be connected, and which afford to said company reciprocally like facilities.

SEC. 11. In any action or suit to be brought by the company against any subscriber or shareholder, to recover any money due for any call, it shall not be necessary to set forth the special matter, but it shall be sufficient for the company to declare that the defendant is the holder of, or the subscriber to, one share or more in the company, (stating the number of shares,) and is indebted to the company in the sum of money to which the calls in arrear shall amount, in respect of one call or more, upon one share or more, (stating the number and amount of each of such calls,) whereby an action hath accrued to the company by virtue of the charter of said company, and the amendments thereto.

SEC. 12. On the trial or hearing of such action or suit, it shall be sufficient to prove that the defendant, at the time of making such call, was a subscriber to, or holder of, one share or more in said company, and that such call was in fact made, and notice thereof given, (so far as may be required by the charter or by-laws of said company,) and it shall not be necessary to prove the appointment of the directors who made such call, nor any other matter whatsoever; and thereupon the company shall be entitled to recover what shall be due upon such call, with interest thereon, unless it shall appear either that any call exceeds the prescribed amount, or that due notice of said call was not given, or that the prescribed interval between two successive calls had not elapsed, or that calls amounting to more than the sum prescribed for the total amount of calls within any limited time had been made within that period, or that any condition of said subscription had not been reasonably complied with."

SEC. 13. If there shall not have been expended the sum of half a million of dollars on the said railroad within one year, and the additional sum of half a million of dollars within three years from the rising of this assembly, then and thereupon, the privileges and powers granted in this act shall be null and void; provided, that said company shall retain their franchise over any portion or portions of their road which they may actually construct in conformity with the provisions of their charter and the amendments thereto provided also, that unless a railroad shall be constructed and ready for use throughout its entire length, from the east to the west line of this state, on or before the expiration of eight years from the rising of this assembly, the right to construct any unfinished portions thereof shall thereafter cease and expire; and unless a railroad between Hartford and Winsted, through New Hartford, shall be constructed and ready for use within four years from the rising of this assembly, the right to construct any unfinished portions thereof shall thereafter cease and expire.

SEC. 14. And this act shall take effect when the same shall have been accepted at a meeting of the stockholders of the Hartford and Providence and of the New York and Hartford Railroad Companies, respectively, any provisions, acts or parts of acts to the contrary of the same or any part