NEW HAVEN, HARTFORD AND SPRINGFIELD RAILROAD COMPANY.*

PASSED 1845.

Resolved, That the resolutions of this assembly, passed May session, 1840, providing for the union of the Hartford and Springfield Railroad Company, in Connecticut, with the Hartford and Springfield Corporation, in Massachusetts, shall be extended and applied to the Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company; and that when the Hartford and Springfield Corporation, in Massachusetts, shall be united with the Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company, the united companies shall be called The New Haven, Hartford and Springfield Railroad Company, and by that name shall enjoy all the privileges and be subject to all the liabilities of such company.

INCORPORATING THE NEW HAVEN AND NEW LONDON RAILROAD COMPANY.

PASSED 1848.

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Resolved by this Assembly, SEC. 1. That Charles J. McCurdy, Charles C. Griswold, Richard S. Griswold, Thomas W. Williams, Henry L. Champlin, Gilbert Pratt, George Dickenson, Amos Sheffield, Ely A. Elliott, Timothy V. Meigs, Frederick R. Griffing and Levi S. Parsons, with such other persons as shall associate with them for that purpose, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name of the New Haven and New London Railroad Company, and by that name to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in any court in this state, to make and have a common seal, and the same to break, alter or renew at pleasure. And the company is hereby vested with all powers, privileges and immunities which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the poses and objects of this act herein after set forth. And said company is hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct and finally complete a single, double or treble railway or railroad, from some suitable point in the city of New Haven, thence extending easterly through the towns on the shore of Long Island Sound, across the Connecticut river to some suitable point in the city of New London, in such route as shall be deemed most expedient; and to transport, take and carry property and persons upon said railroad or way, by force and power of steam, or of animals or of any mechanical or other power, or of any combination of them, which said company may choose to apply. And for the purpose of constructing said railroad or way, the said company is hereby authorized to lay out their road not exceeding six rods wide through the whole length, and for the purposes of cutting and embankments and for the purpose of necessary

• See Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company, page 901.

station houses, turnouts and for obtaining stone and gravel, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said road. And said company is also hereby authorized and empowered to make any lawful contract with any other railroad, corporation or bridge company or ferry in relation to the business of said company, and also to make joint stocks with any other railroad corporation. Provided, that all damages which may be occasioned to any person or corporation by the taking of any such land or materials aforesaid, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be paid for by said company in manner herein after provided.

SEC. 2. That the capital stock of said company shall be five hundred thousand dollars, with the privilege of increasing the same to one million five hundred thousand dollars, and to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, which shares shall be deemed personal property, and be transferable in such manner and at such places as the by-laws of said company shall direct.

SEC. 3. That the persons named in the first section hereof, or a majority of them, shall open books to receive subscriptions to the capital stock of said company, at such times and places as they or a majority of them. may appoint, and shall give such notice of the times and places of opening such books as they may deem reasonable, and shall receive said subscriptions under such regulations as they may adopt for the purpose; and if more than five thousand shares of stock shall be subscribed, they shall have the power to make the shares so subscribed the capital stock of the company; provided they shall not exceed fifteen thousand shares; and in case the subscription shall exceed fifteen thousand shares, the same shall be reduced and apportioned in such manner as may be deemed most beneficial to the corporation.

SEC. 4. That the immediate government and direction of the affairs of the company shall be vested in a board of nine directors, who shall be chosen by the stockholders of the said company in the manner herein after provided, and shall hold their offices until others are duly elected and qualified to take their places as directors; and the said directors (four of whom, the president being one, or a majority of whom, shall be a quorum for the transaction of business) shall elect one of their number to be president of the board, who shall be also president of said company; they shall also choose a clerk, who shall be sworn to a faithful discharge of his duty, and a treasurer, who shall give bonds with surety to said company, in such sum as the said directors may require, for the faithful discharge of his trust.

SEC. 5. That the persons authorized by the third section of this act to open the books for subscriptions to the capital stock of said company, are hereby authorized, after the books of subscription to said capital stock are closed, to call the first meeting of the stockholders of said company, in such way and at such time and place as they may appoint, for the choice of directors of said company; and in all meetings of the stockholders of said company, each share shall entitle the holder thereof to one vote, which vote may be given by said stockholder in person or by lawful proxy; and the annual meeting of the stockholders of said company for the choice of directors shall be holden at such time and place, and upon such notice as said company in their by-laws may prescribe.

SEC. 6. That in case it shall so happen that an election of directors shall not be made on any day appointed by the by-laws 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 said directors shall have power to fill any vacancy which may occur by death, resignation or otherwise.

SEC. 7. That the directors shall have full power to make and prescribe such by-laws, rules and regulations as they shall deem needful and proper, touching the disposition and management of the stock, property, estate and effects of said company, not contrary to this charter or the laws of this state or of the United States, the transfer of shares, the duties and conduct of their officers and their servants, touching the election of and meeting of the directors, and all matters whatsoever which may appertain to the concerns of said company. Said company is also hereby empowered to purchase and hold, and use, anywhere upon the line of said road or otherwise, materials, engines, cars, steamboats and other necessary things, in the name of said corporation, for the use of said railroad, and for the transportation of persons, goods and merchandise; and to purchase, receive and hold such real estate as may be necessary and convenient in accomplishing the object for which this incorporation is granted; and may, by their agents, surveyors, engineers and servants, enter upon such route or places, for the purpose of surveying the same, as may be designated by the directors, and when so surveyed the same shall be approved by three commissioners to be appointed by the general assembly for that purpose, who shall have no interest in said railroad, and who shall, prior to such approval, give such notice as they shall deem reasonable to the persons whose lands may have been taken, to enable them to present objections which they may think proper to make to such location of such road. And it shall be lawful for said company to enter upon and use all such franchises, lands and real estate as may be necessary for them, in the manner and for the purposes set forth in the first section hereof; and said company shall be holden to pay all damages that may arise to any person or persons; and if the person or persons to whom damage may so arise and said company cannot agree as to the amount of such damages, it shall be the duty of said company to apply to the superior court of the county in which the real estate damaged is situated, and to cause notice to be given to the adverse party of such application, and thereupon the superior court shall appoint three disinterested and judicious freeholders to assess the amount of such damages, and said freeholders, after being sworn, 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 enquire into the extent of the damages, and shall assess just damages to the person or persons whose real estate may be taken or injured, which assessment shall be in writing, under the hands of said freeholders, and the same shall be returned to the clerk of said superior court, who shall record it, and when so returned and recorded, said assessment shall have the effect of a judgment, and execution may be issued after sixty days from the time when such assessment shall be so 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 worked upon or opened across the lands of any person, until

the damages assessed to such person shall have been paid or secured to be paid to his satisfaction, and the said damages shall be so paid or deposited with the treasurer of the county, within sixty days after the same shall have been finally determined. Provided, 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 appraisers, the width of said railroad shall be definitely fixed and established by said directors over and across the land so taken, upon one or both sides of the line of the road so located. And the said company may at any time before the completion of said road, alter and change any part of the location thereof, or discontinue such part thereof as in their opinion convenience or necessity may require to be changed or discontinued, subject to the approval of the commissioners on said road, and the other requirements of said charter. Provided, further, that in case the persons required by this section to be notified shall have no place of residence in this state, known to the occupant of the land over which said road passes, or to any of the directors or commissioners of said company, then a notice published three weeks successively in two newspapers printed one in New Haven and the other in New London, stating what proceedings are intended by said company to be instituted, shall be sufficient notice to such non-resident landholder; and when the place of residence of any such landholder is known to the occupant of the land, or to any director or commissioner aforesaid, and is out of this state, then a duplicate original notice or a true and attested copy of the original notice, deposited in the post office, post-paid, directed to such person four weeks before the hearing is to be had, shall be sufficient notice according to said charter; or any judge may give an order of notice, as in case of a bill in equity, in any of the cases aforesaid.

SEC. 8. That when the lands or other property or estate of any femecovert, infant or person non compos mentis, shall be necessary for the construction of said railroad, said lands may be taken, notice being given to the husband of such feme-covert and the guardian of such infant, or person non compos mentis, and the said husband and guardian may respectively release all such damages to any lands or estate taken and appropriated as aforesaid, as they might do if the same were holden in their own right respectively.

SEC. 9. That said company is hereby authorized to construct, erect, build, make and use a single, double or treble railway or road, of suitable width and dimensions, to be determined by the directors of said company, on the line or course by them designated, and shall have power to regulate the time and manner in which goods and passengers shall be transported, taken and carried on the same; and shall have power to erect and maintain toll houses and other buildings for the accommodation of their concerns, as they may deem suitable to their interests. Provided, that the commissioners on said railroad, within three days after approving the route thereof within said cities of New Haven and New London respectively, shall lodge with the clerks of said cities respectively, a written description of the route so approved of by them within the limits of said respective cities, which shall be and remain the route of said railroad,

unless within thirty days after said description is so lodged with said clerk, either of said cities, at a city meeting legally warned for that purpose, shall appeal from the doings of said commissioners to a judge of the superior court, who, upon a hearing of said city and railroad company, shall have power to set aside the aforesaid doings of said commissioners, in case said city is aggrieved thereby. And in case said judge, upon said hearing, shall not set aside said doings of said commissioners, the route so approved by them shall be and remain the route of said road; and in case said judge shall set aside said doings of said commissioners, the route of said railroad within said city shall be designated and approved anew, in the manner prescribed in said charter, with the same right of appeal.

SEC. 10. That whenever it shall be necessary for the construction of their single, double or treble railroad or way to intersect or cross any stream of water or water-course, or any road or highway, it shall be lawful for said company to construct said railroad across or upon the same; but the said company shall restore the said stream or water-course, or road or highway thus intersected, to its former state or in sufficient manner not to impair its usefulness. And in all cases when any road or public highway is so located that said railroad cannot be judiciously laid out and constructed across or upon the same without interfering therewith, in such case or cases said corporation may, by their engineers, cause such road or roads to be changed or altered in such manner that said railroad may be made on the best site of ground for that purpose; provided, that said corporation shall put such road in as good repair as at the time of chang ing or altering the same. And said corporation may apply to any judge of the superior court, who by law may judge between the parties, who, after notice given, may appoint three disinterested persons to determine whether said corporation have complied with the provisions aforesaid; and if approved by them, their decision shall be final.

SEC. 11. That it shall be lawful for the 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 single, double or treble railroad or way aforesaid, hereby authorized to be constructed, erected, built or used, or upon any part thereof.

SEC. 12. That if any person shall willfully do or cause to be done any act or acts whatever, whereby any building, construction or works of said company, or any engine, machine, steamboat or structure, or any matter or thing appertaining to the same shall be stopped, obstructed, impaired, weakened, injured or destroyed, the person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall forfeit and pay to said corporation double the amount of damages sustained by means of such offense or injury, to be recovered in the name of said corporation, with costs of suit, by action of debt.

SEO. 13. That as soon as the amount of said capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars shall be subscribed, notice shall be given for a meeting of the stockholders for the purpose of choosing directors.

SEC. 14. That the directors of said company may require the payment of the sum or sums subscribed to the capital stock of said company, at such times, and in such proportions, and upon such conditions, as they may deem fit; and in case any stockholder shall refuse or neglect to make payment, pursuant to the requisition of the board of directors, the stock of