such call was in part made, and such notice thereof given as is required; and it shall not be necessary for the Company to prove the appointment of the Directors who made such call or any other matter whatever, 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 such call exceeds the prescribed amount or that due notice of such call was not given, or that a meeting of the Stockholders was not expressly convened for the purpose of deciding on the time of payment, and the amount of such call in cases where such meeting is required. to be compe XXXV. And be it enacted, That in any action or suit brought by or against the Com- Stockholders pany upon any contract, or for any matter or thing whatsoever, any Stockholder shall tent witnesses. be competent as a witness, and his testimony shall not be deemed inadmissible on the ground of interest. XXXVI. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Directors to make annual dividends of so much of the profits of the said Company as to them or a majority of them shall seem advisable, and that once in each year an exact and particular statement shall be rendered of the state of their affairs, debts, credits, profits and losses, such statement to appear in the books, and to be open to the perusal of any Stockholder, at his or their reasonable request. XXXVII. And be it enacted, That whenever the said Tolls shal! in the annual receipts exceed in amount a sufficient sum to defray the expenses or maintaining and repairing the said Road, and to afford an annual income to the said Company of ten per cent um profit on the capital actually expended in the construction of the said Road from the commencement of its being travelled as aforesaid, then and in such case the increasing surplus revenue of the said Tolls shall be charged against the said Company as so much received by them in the nature of a sinking fund, by means whereof to purchase from the said Company the entire estate, use and property of the said Road to and for the use of the public, in such manner and form as the Legislature of this Province may by Legislative enactment hereafter provide. Directors to dividends. make annual to be charged a Surplus pofits against the Company in sinking fund the nature of may (urchase fom Company the Road, &c. on certain conditions. XXXVIII. And be it enacted, That the Legislature of this Province may at any Legislature time whatever purchase the entire estate, property and use of the said Road from the said Company, paying to the said Company the capital so as aforesaid actually expended, together with fifteen per centum advance thereupon, to the credit of which payment all revenue exceeding ten per centum upon the bone fide expenditure, and over and above the expense of maintaining and repairing the said Road, shall be charged and taken: And it is also hereby provided and declared, that if any deficiencies of the said ten per centum annual profit should occur at any time, such deficiencies shall also be chargeable against the increasing revenue of the subsequent years, so that the Company may fairly and actually receive ten per centum profit on their said bona fide expenditure for the whole time; they shall enjoy the estate, rights and privileges acquired under the authority of this Act: any thing herein contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. the to be XXXIX. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said Corporation and of Annual acperson entrusted with the chief direction of its affairs to lay annually before the counse three Branches of the Legislature of this Province, in the course of the first fifteen gislature attes days laid before Le ted on oath. days after the opening of the Session, a general statement, upon the oath of the President or Vice-President of the said Company, before any Justice of the Peace, of the affairs of the said Company, showing as well the amount of its liabilities as the assetts or means of meeting the same; and such President or Vice-President being charged before any competent Court with wilful false swearing in the matter of such statement shall be tried, and if found guilty be punished in like manner as if he had been charged and convicted of the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury. XL. And be it enacted, That notwithstanding the privileges that may be conferred by this Act, the Legislature may at any time hereafter in their discretion make such additions to this Act or such alteration of any of its provisions as they may think proper for affording just protection to the public or to any person or persons, body politic or corporate, in respect to their estate, property or rights, or any interest therein, or any advantage, privilege or convenience connected therewith, or in respect to any way or right of way, public or private, that may be affected by any of the powers given to this Corporation. XLI. And be it enacted, That if any action or suit shall be brought against any person or persons for any matter or thing done in pursuance of this Act, such action or suit shall be brought within twelve calendar months next after the fact committed, and not afterwards, and the Defendant or Defendants in such action or suit may plead the general issue only, and give this Act and the special matter in evidence on the trial. XLII. And be it enacted, That this Act shall be taken to be a Public Act, and as such shall be judicially noticed by all Judges, Justices of the Peace and other persons, without being specially pleaded. MONTREAL :-Printed by STEWART DERBISHIRE & GEORGE Desbarats ANNO DECIMO ET UNDECIMO VICTORIE REGINE. CAP. XCVI. An Act to authorize Augustin Norbert Morin to build a Toll Bridge over the River du Nord, in the Parish of Saint Jérome, to fix the rates of Toll for passing thereon, and to provide Regulations for the same. WH [ 28th July, 1847. ] HEREAS the convenience and the facility of intercourse of the inhabitants of Preamble, the Parish of Saint Jérome, and of the Township of Abercrombie, in the County of Terrebonne, and of the public in general, would be much promoted by the erection of a Toll Bridge over the River du Nord, in the said Parish of Saint Jérome, at the place commonly called La Grande Pointe; And whereas Augustin Norbert Morin, of the City of Montreal, Esquire, hath, by his petition in this behalf, prayed for leave to build a Toll Bridge over the said River at the aforesaid place: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and intituled, An Act to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That it shall be lawful for the said Augustin Norbert Morin, and he is hereby authorized and empowered at his own costs and charges to erect and build a good and substantial Toll Bridge over the said River du Nord, in the Parish of Saint Jérome, at some convenient point, at or near the place commonly called La Grande Pointe, and to erect and build one Toll House, Toll Gate and Turnpike, with other dependencies, on or near the said Bridge, and also to do, perform and execute all other matters and things requisite and necessary, useful or convenient for erecting and building, maintaining and supporting the said intended Bridge, Toll House, Turnpike and other dependencies, according to the tenor and true meaning of this Act. A. N. Morin authorized to Bridge over the River du Nord, within certain limits. build a Toll A. N. Morin use land on each side of authorized to work up structing ma II. And be it enacted, That for the purpose of erecting, building, maintaining and supporting the said Bridge, the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators and assigns, shall, from time to time, have full power and authority to take and use the land on either side of the said river, and there to work up or cause to be River, and to worked up the materials and other things necessary for erecting, constructing or re- terials for conpairing the said Bridge accordingly, the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, Bridge. executors, curators and assigns, and the persons by him or them employed, doing as Making comlittle damage as may be, and making reasonable and just satisfaction to the respective the proper owners pensation to Bridge, &c. vested in A. N. Morin, his heirs and as signs, for fifty years. And then in the Crown on payment of value. owners and occupiers of all such lands and grounds as shall be altered, damaged or made use of, for the value of such land as well as for that of the alteration or of the damages which they may cause to the proprietors, by means of or for the purpose of erecting the said Bridge and the said House, as above designated, and in case of difference of opinion and dispute about the quantum of such satisfaction, the same be settled by Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench for the District of Montreal, after a previous visitation, examination and estimation of the premises shall have been made by Experts to be named by the parties respectively, and in default of such nomination by them or either of them, then by the said Court, in manner and form prescribed by law; and the said Court is hereby authorized and empowered to hear, settle, and finally determine the amount of such compensation in consequence: Provided always, that the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators and assigns, shall not commence the erection of the said Bridge and other works by which any person may be deprived of his land or part thereof, or may suffer damage, before the price or value of the said land and damages, estimated and settled in manner before prescribed, shall have been paid to such person, or such price or value shall have been offered to him, and that on his refusal thereof, the said Augustin Norbert Morin shall have deposited it at the office of the Prothonotary of the Court of Queen's Bench for the said District of Montreal III. And be it enacted, That the said Bridge and the said Toll House, Turnpike and dependencies to be erected thereon, or near thereto, and also the ascents or approaches to the said Bridge, and all materials which shall be from time to time found or provided for erecting, building or maintaining and repairing the same, shall be vested in the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs and assigns, for the term of fifty years from the passing of this Act, and at the end of the said term of fifty years, the said Bridge, Toll House, Turnpike and dependencies, and the ascents and approaches thereto, shall be vested in Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and be free for public use, and it shall then be lawful for the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators and assigns to claim and obtain from Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, the full and entire value, which the same shall at the end of the said fifty years bear and be worth exclusive of the value of any Toll or privilege, and the said value to be ascertained by three Arbitrators, one of whom to be named by the Governor of the Province for the time being, another by the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators or assigns, and the third by the said two Arbitrators; Provided Before the ex- that at any time before the expiration of the said term of fifty years, it shall and may be lawful for Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors to assume the possession of the said Bridge, and of the dependencies thereof, and the Tolls thereon, upon paying to the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs or assigns, the full and entire value which the rights and privileges hereby granted to him and them be worth, for that portion of the said term of fifty years then remaining unexpired, such value to be ascertained in case of difference of opinion in the manner provided by law with regard to property taken by the Commissioners of Public Works, for the public service, the said payment not to be less than the value at the time of the Bridge and dependencies exclusive of the Tolls and privilege: Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be conassume posses- strued to prevent any number of inhabitants interested in the said Bridge, from assuming, at any time, the possession and property of the said Bridge, Toll House, Turnpike and dependencies, and ascents and approaches thereto, upon paying to the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators and assigns, the full and intrinsic piration of fifty years, Her Majesty may assume possession of Bridge, on certain conditions. Proviso: Inhabitants may sion of the Bridge, &c. on certain conditions. ` value which the same shall at the time of such assumption bear or be worth, with an addition of twenty five per cent. upon such intrinsic value, and that after such assumption of the said Bridge, it shall become a free Bridge. a IV. And be it further enacted, That in erecting the said Bridge, which shall be of single arch, with an additional pillar near the water side if necessary, there shall be left between the abutments or pillars thereof, one opening of at least fifty feet in width, at the deepest part of the river, so that canoes, scows and rafts may meet with no kind of obstruction. V. And be it enacted, That when and so soon as the said Bridge shall be erected and built, and made fit and proper for the passage of travellers, cattle and carriages, and that the same shall have been certified by any two or more Justices of the Peace for the District of Montreal, after the examination thereof by three Experts, to be appointed and sworn by the said Justices, and shall have been advertised in one of the public newspapers published in Montreal in both languages, it shall be lawful for the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators and assigns, from time to time, and at all times, to ask, demand, receive, recover and take, to and for his or their own proper use, benefit and behoof for Pontage, as or in the name of a Toll or Duty, before any passage over the said Bridge shall be permitted, the several sums following, that is to say: Opening to be the pillars for kept between rafts, &c. When the to certain Pontage. Tolls. For every Winter or Summer vehicle, drawn by a single horse or other beast, three The rates and pence currency; For every horse or other additional beast, two pence currency; For every saddle horse and rider, two pence currency; For every horse, mare, foal, ass, mule, ox, cow, bull, heifer, or other live cattle, one VI. Provided always, and be it enacted, That no person, horse or carriage employed Exemptions in conveying a mail or letters under the authority of Her Majesty's Post Oflice, nor the from Toll. horses, or carriages, laden or unladen, and drivers, attending officers and soldiers of Her Majesty's Forces or of the Militia, whilst upon their march, or on duty, nor the said officers or soldiers, nor any of them, nor carriages and drivers, or guards sent with prisoners of any description, as well going as coming, provided they are not otherwise loaded, shall be chargeable with any Toll or Rate whatsoever: Provided also, that it shall and may be lawful for the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators or assigns, to diminish the said Tolls, or any of them, and afterwards, if he or they shall see fit, again to augment the same, or any of them, so as not to exceed in any case the rates hereinbefore authorized to be taken: Provided also, that the said Augustin Norbert Morin, his heirs, executors, curators or assigns, shall affix or cause to said. be affixed in some conspicuous place at or near such Toll Gate, a Table of the rates Table of Tolls payable for passing over the said Bridge, and so often as such rates may be diminished to be posted or augmented he or they shall cause such alteration to be affixed in manner aforesaid. Proviso: Tolls may be reduwards aug ced and after needing mented, not the rates afore Proviso: up. |