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construct and finish a railroad in and upon the said route, and the beginning, courses, and distances thereof, and place of intersection of the main railroad, canal, or slack-water navigation, which shall be filed and entered of record in the said court, whereupon the said court shall appoint six disinterested and judicious men, resident in the said county, who shall view the said marked and proposed route for a railroad, and examine the same, and if they or any four of them shall deem the same necessary and useful for public or private purposes, they shall report in writing to the subsequent term of said court what damages will be sustained by the owner or owners of the said intervening land, by the opening, constructing, completing, and using the said railroad, and the report of the said viewers and appraisers shall be filed of record in the said court, and if not appealed from, be liable to be confirmed or rejected by the said court, as to right and justice shall appertain; and if either of the parties shall be dissatisfied with said report, he or they may appeal therefrom to the said court of common pleas within twenty days after such report has been filed in the prothonotary's office, and not after; and after such appeal, either party may put the cause at issue, in the form approved of by the court, and the said issue shall be placed first on the trial list of the next regular term of the said court, and be there tried and determined by the court and jury, and the verdict so rendered, and judgment thereon, shall be final and conclusive, without further appeal or writ of error; and it shall be the duty of the said viewers and jury to take into consideration the advantages which may be derived by the owner or owners of land passed (through) by the said railroad when making up their report or forming their verdict thereon.

SEC. 2. That the said court shall tax and allow such fees to the viewers and appraisers and officers of the court as are chargeable for such services under the existing fee bills, which shall be paid by the petitioners for the said railroad, and if necessary, their payment shall be compelled by attachment; and it shall be at the option of the petitioner or petitioners for the said railroad, either after the report filed or after the verdict of the jury, after paying the legal costs to be taxed as aforesaid, to abandon the further prosecution of the said rail

road, and, as evidence thereof, shall file his or their declaration of that intent in writing, in the said court, which shall terminate all further proceedings on the said petition.

SEC. 3. That the said railroad shall not exceed in breadth twenty feet, nor pass through any burying-ground or place of public worship, nor any dwelling-house or out-buildings, without the consent of the owner thereof; it shall be of single or double track, and formed of wood, stone, and iron, each or all of them, as the proprietors of the said road shall adopt; the streams of water over which it may pass shall be bridged with stone or wood, and the right of property in the said railroad shall be vested in him or them, his or their heirs and assigns, who shall have subscribed the said petition for the said railroad, and whose funds shall have been contributed and paid for the construction thereof, in such just proportions as each contribution and payment shall bear to the whole amount expended in the formation and completion of the said railroad, and the satisfaction of damages for lands and materials appropriated thereto; and the said railroad shall be jointly and severally enjoyed and used by the proprietors thereof; the proprietors of the said railroad, their workmen and agents, shall not break ground, or commence the construction of the said railroad, until the damages reported by the viewers, or awarded by the verdict of the jury, shall be tendered or paid to the party or parties entitled thereto, except in cases of their being unknown to the petitioners.

SEC. 4. That fifteen days' notice shall be given of the intention to file a petition for a railroad, in the court of common pleas, and of the time of viewing the premises by the viewers, to the owner or owners of the lands over which the route of the contemplated railroad shall pass, if the said owners shall be resident in this Commonwealth; and if in any case the owner or owners of said lands shall be unknown, an affidavit thereof being filed by any petitioner for said road, notice shall be given in one public newspaper, printed in the county where the land lies, for three successive weeks; and if there is no newspaper printed in the county where the land lies, then publication in any newspaper printed in the adjoining county shall be sufficient.

SEC. 5. That he or they who shall construct the said railroad, after having paid the damages ascertained as aforesaid, shall be entitled to use and apply all the said gravel, timber, and other materials on the route adopted, and within the breadth of twenty feet, to and for the formation and completion of the said road and bridges; and it shall be lawful for the petitioners for, and the proprietors of, the said railroad, his or their heirs and assigns, and their agents and persons employed by or under him or them, to enter upon any land near or adjoining said railroad, to search for stone, gravel, sand, wood, or other materials to be used in the construction of the said road; but no stone, gravel, sand, wood, or other materials shall be taken from any land for the purposes aforesaid until the rate of compensation therefor shall be ascertained and settled with the owners of the said lands; but if the parties cannot agree thereon, each party shall choose a man, who, if they cannot agree, shall choose an umpire, all of whom shall, under oath or affirmation, fairly and impartially estimate the same, and such award shall be final and conclusive; but if the owner or owners of such land, out of which the said materials shall be designed to be taken, shall be a feme covert, non compos mentis, out of the State or unknown, the court of common pleas of the proper county shall, in writing, appoint three impartial men, who, on oath or affirmation, shall fairly and impartially estimate the same materials, the amount of which said valuation shall be paid or tendered to the owner or owners thereof, if within the State and known, before they are ⚫ removed or applied to the construction of the said railroad.

SEC. 6. That the proprietor or proprietors of the said railroad, on the completion of the same, shall file in the court of common pleas a full statement and account of all the expenses incurred in the formation and completion of the said road, under the oath or affirmation of some one or more who shall have had knowledge of the same, within three months after the same shall be completed and put in use, under the penalty of one hundred dollars, to the end that the said road, and the privileges appurtenant thereto, may be resumed by this Commonwealth whenever the legislature shall enact the payment to the proprietors of such railroad, their heirs and assigns, of the principal money expended in the construction of the same.

SEC. 7. That the said railroad shall and may be used by any person or persons transporting anything thereon, in such cars, wagons, and vehicles as are adapted to and used thereon by the proprietor or proprietors of the said railroad or their agents, and no other, he or they using the same paying four cents per mile on each and every ton weight of the article transported thereon; and on all single articles weighing less than a ton, it shall be lawful to charge and receive an advance not exceeding twenty per cent. on the rate as above established.

SEC. 8. That the said railroad shall be so constructed as not to obstruct or impede the free use and passage of any public road or roads which may cross or enter the same, being now laid out or hereafter to be laid out; and in all places where the said railroad may cross or in any manner interfere with any public road, the proprietors of the said railroad shall make, or cause to be made, a good and sufficient bridge or bridges, causeway or causeways, to enable all persons passing or traveling such public road to cross and pass over said railroad; and if the proprietor or proprietors of said railroad shall refuse or neglect to make such bridge or bridges, causeway or causeways, or when made to keep the same in good repair, they shall be liable to pay a penalty of ten dollars for every day the same shall be so neglected, or refused to be made or repaired, to be recovered by the supervisor of the township, with costs, for the use of the township, as debts of like amount are by law recoverable, and the service of process on any one of the proprietors of the said railroad shall be as good and effectual as if made on all of them.

SEC. 9. That for the accommodation of all persons owning or possessing land through which the said railroad may pass, and to prevent inconvenience to such persons in crossing or passing over the same, it shall be the duty of the proprietors of the said railroad, if required, to make, or cause to be made, a good and sufficient bridge or bridges, causeway or causeways, whenever the same may be necessary to enable the occupant or occupants of said land to cross or pass over the same with wagons, carts, and implements of husbandry, as occasion may require: Provided, That the proprietors of the

said railroad shall in no case be required to make, or cause to be made, more than two such causeways through each plantation or lot of land, for the accommodation of any one person owning or possessing land through which the said railroad shall pass and where any public road shall cross the said railroad, the person owning or possessing land through which the said railroad shall pass shall not be entitled to make such requisition on the proprietors of the said railroad; and the said bridge or bridges, causeway or causeways, when so made, shall be maintained and kept in repair by the proprietor or proprietors of the said railroad; and if they shall refuse or neglect to make such bridge or bridges, causeway or causeways, or when made to keep the same in good repair, the said proprietors shall be liable to pay any person aggrieved thereby all damages sustained by such person or persons, in conseqence of such neglect or refusal, to be sued for and recovered before any magistrate or court having cognizance thereof, and the service of process on any one of the proprietors of the said railroad shall be as good and effectual as if made on all of them.

SEC. 10. That no suit or action shall be brought or prosecuted by any person or persons, for any penalties incurred under this act, unless such suit or action shall be commenced within twelve months after the offense committed or the cause of action shall have accrued; and the defendant or defendants in such suit or action may plead the general issue, and give this act and the special matter in evidence, and that the same was done in pursuance and by authority of this act.

SEC. II. That if any person or persons shall willfully and knowingly break, injure, or destroy the said railroad, or any part thereof, or any work or device, or any part thereof, to be erected by the proprietors of the said railroad, or shall willfully place any obstruction in and upon the said railroad, he or they so offending shall forfeit and pay to the proprietor or proprietors of the said railroad three times the actual damages so sustained, to be sued for and recovered with costs of suit, before any justice of the peace or court having cognizance thereof, by action of debt, in the name and for the use of the proprietor or proprietors of the said railroad.

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