Proviso. drawn by more than two horses, ten cents; and for all horses, mules, and neat cattle, two cents each; and for all sheep and swine, four cents for each dozen; and one person, and no more, shall be allowed to each team, as a driver, to pass free of toll: provided, always, that scholars, while going to or returning from school, shall be permitted to pass free of toll; and the toll shall commence on the day of first opening said bridge, and shall continue for the term of seventy years; and at the place where the toll shall be received, there shall be erected and constantly exposed to view, a sign-board, with the rates of toll fairly and legibly written thereon, in large letters provided, nevertheless, that the Legislature shall have the right, at any time after the expiration of fifteen years, to alter and regulate anew the rates of toll Town may pur- to be received by said proprietors: provided, also, that whenchase bridge. ever a majority of the inhabitants of the town of Gloucester, at a legal meeting warned and held for the purpose, shall determine so to do, they shall have the right to remunerate said proprietors for the expense of said bridge, with eight per cent. interest thereon, (deducting what may have been received for tolls,) and open said bridge free of toll; and said proprietors shall then be released from all their liabilities, any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding. Proprietors may SECT. 5. Be it further enacted, That the said proprietors make a road. be, and they hereby are authorized to lay out, make and maintain a good and sufficient road from said bridge to the highway on both sides of said cove; and if the inhabitants of the town of Gloucester, or the county commissioners for the county of Essex, shall refuse to lay out, make and maintain the same, the said proprietors shall be liable for all damages to be sustained by any person or persons whose land is taken for said road, the amount of damages, if the parties cannot agree, to be ascertained in the way prescribed by law for damages sustained by individuals whose lands are taken for public roads. Width of bridge, &c. Penalties for ries. SECT. 6. Be it further enacted, That said bridge shall be well built of suitable materials, at least twenty-two feet wide, and covered with planks, with sufficient railings on each side; and the said bridge shall be kept in good repair, and said corporation shall, within six months from the time they shall commence receiving tolls at said bridge, lodge in the secretary's office an account of the expenses of erecting the same; and they shall annually, in the month of January, exhibit to the governor and council a true account of the income or dividends arising from said tolls, with their necessary disbursements on said bridge; and the books of said corporation shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the governor and council, and to the Legislature when called for. SECT. 7. Be it further enacted, That if any person or permalicious inju- sons shall wilfully, maliciously, or contrary to law, take up, remove, break down, dig under, or otherwise mar or injure any part of said bridge, or any work or works connected with or appertaining to the same, or any part thereof, such person or per sons, for every such offence, shall forfeit and pay to said proprietors or corporation treble the amount of such damage as said corporation shall, to the justice or court and jury before whom trial shall be, make appear that they have sustained by means of said trespass, to be sued for and recovered with costs in any court proper to try the same; and such offender or offenders shall further be liable to indictment for such trespass or trespasses, and, on conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine to the use of the Commonwealth, of not less than ten, nor more than one hundred dollars. SECT. 8. Be it further enacted, That the stock of said Number of corporation shall be divided into sixty shares; said shares shall shares. be deemed personal property, and liable to be taken on mesne process or execution as the property of the owner or owners thereof, in the same way and manner as is now by law provided for taking the share or shares of individuals in banking corporations. And said corporation may make assessments on the Assessments. shares for the purpose of effecting the objects of the corporation : provided, however, that the whole amount of assessments on each share, after deducting the amount of all dividends previously declared thereon, shall not exceed the sum of fifty dollars; and, in case the amount so assessed on each share will not supply the necessary funds, the corporation may raise the funds required by selling any number of shares not subscribed for, or by creating any necessary number of shares over and above the said sixty; and if any proprietor of any share or shares shall refuse or neg- Sale of shares lect to pay any assessment for the term of sixty days after the to pay assesssame hath become due, the share or shares on which there is a delinquency may be sold at public auction, notice of the time and place of sale being given by the treasurer of said corporation in the Gloucester Telegraph, or some newspaper printed in Gloucester, and by posting up notifications in some public places within the town of Gloucester, ten days at least before such sale, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to the payments due on the share or shares so sold, with incidental charges, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the former owner, or his legal representative, on demand, and such sale shall give good and complete title to the purchaser or purchasers of such share or shares provided, however, that if, before the actual sale of any Proviso. such delinquent share or shares, the proprietor thereof pay the assessments due thereon, with interest from the time the same became due, and all necessary and reasonable charges, the sale shall not proceed. ments. SECT. 9. Be it further enacted, That if the proprietors Conditions of shall neglect, for the space of five years from the passing of this this act. act, to erect and finish said bridge, then this act is to be void and of no effect. [March 1, 1832.] Chap. 76. An ACT authorizing Daniel Howland, Jr., and Bradford Howland, to extend a wharf Extension of wharf author ized. Proviso. Persons incorporated. to the channel of Apponaganset River. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Daniel Howland, Jr., and Bradford Howland, be, and they hereby are authorized and allowed to extend the wharf now owned by them, running into Apponaganset river, in the town of Dartmouth, until it shall reach the northeast corner of the store formerly owned by David Thacher, and, from the said point, to extend the said wharf southerly, fifty feet, northerly, eighty feet, and westerly, ninety feet: provided, that this grant shall not authorize the extension of said wharf into the channel of said river: and provided, also, that it shall in no wise interfere with the legal rights of any other person or persons whatsoever. [March 1, 1832.] Boston. Chap. 78. An ACT to incorporate the President, Directors and Company of the Market Bank, in SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Josiah Marshall, David R. Griggs, John Kendrick, William F. Otis, Amos Binney, James Fullerton, and John A. McGaw, their associates, successors and assigns, shall be, and they hereby are created a corporation, by the name of the "President, Directors and Company of the Market Bank," and shall so continue until the first day of October, which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fiftyPowers and du- one; and shall be entitled to all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, liabilities and requirements, contained in an act passed on the twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, entitled "an act to regulate banks and banking," and to the further provisions contained in an act passed the twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, entitled "an act to continue the banking corporations therein named, and for other purposes." ties. 1828 ch. 96. 1830 ch. 58. Transfer of stock. Capital stock. [Increase of capital, 1836 ch. 280.] First meeting. SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the stock in said bank shall be transferable only at its banking-house, and in its books, and no part thereof shall be transferred by way of security for the performance of any obligation whatsoever, until two years from the payment of the first instalment into said bank. SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That the capital stock of said corporation shall consist of the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, to be paid in such instalments, and at such times as the stockholders may direct provided, the whole be paid in, within one year from the passing of this act. SECT. 4. Be it further enacted, That the said bank shall be established and kept in the city of Boston, and that any three of the persons before named, shall be authorized to call the first meeting of said corporation, by advertising the same in any newspaper published in the city of Boston, ten days, at least, before said meeting. [March 1, 1832.] Add. act, 1836 ch. 280. Chap. 79. An ACT in addition to an Act to incorporate the Franklin Rail-road Company. SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 1829 ch. 93. resentatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of 1830 ch. 17. the same, That, at all meetings of the Franklin Rail-road Company, Right of voting. each stockholder in said company shall be entitled to as many votes as he holds shares provided, they do not exceed one tenth part of the whole number of votes. chase of road. SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the time, within which Extension of the state have reserved the right to purchase the interests and time for the purproperty of said company in the rail-road which they are authorized to construct in the manner prescribed in the fourteenth section of the act to which this is in addition, be, and the same is hereby extended to the term of twenty years. allowed for completing SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That the additional term of Additional time four years be allowed to said company, for the purpose of locating, constructing and finally completing said rail-road. [March road. 1, 1832.] Chap. 80. An ACT to establish the Berkshire and New York Rail-road Company. SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Henry W. Dwight, Cyrus Williams, Horatio Persons incorByington, Theodore S. Pomeroy, Robbins Kellogg, Walter porated. Laflin, Eli Ensign, Robert F. Barnard, Parker L. Hall, John Whiting, David Ives, Lyman Brown, William Porter, Charles M. Owen, Caleb Hyde, Henry B. Boynton, Melancton Lewis, Henry W. Bishop, Lester Filley, Alonzo N. Dewey, Joseph Tucker, Ralph Taylor, Edward F. Ensign, Wilbur Curtis, and Chester Goodale, Jr., their associates, successors and assigns, be, and they hereby are made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Berkshire and New York Rail-road Company, and by that name shall be, and hereby are made capable in General powers. law, to sue and be sued to final judgment and execution, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court of record, or in any place whatever; to make, have and use a common seal, and the same to break, renew or alter at pleasure; and shall be and are hereby vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this act, as herein after set forth. And the said corporation are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct, and finally complete a rail-road, with a single, double or treble track, to transport, take and carry persons and property on the same, by the power of steam, of animals, or of any mechanical or other power, or of any combination of them, which the said corporation may choose to apply. To commence at the line of the state of Connecticut, at the point Route of railwhere the contemplated rail-road from the city of New York to Albany, or the branches thereof, shall strike said line. Thence through the town of Sheffield, and thence on the most eligible road. Capital stock, &c. Powers of the president and directors. route to the village of West Stockbridge, there to unite with the West Stockbridge Rail-road route, with a view of having the same extended by the inhabitants of the state of New York, to the city of Albany, from the western line of the state of Massachusetts; and the said company shall have liberty to construct a branch to their rail-road, connecting with the above rail-road as a part of the same concern, and to be constructed by the same company, to commence at Great Barrington or West Stockbridge, near Housatonic ville, at the most convenient point of intersection, thence in the most convenient route, to the village of Stockbridge, thence through South Lee, Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, to the head waters of the Hoosac river at or near Pittsfield, or to intersect with the contemplated rail-road petitioned for by David Anthony and others. And for this purpose the said corporation are authorized to lay out their road, not exceeding six rods wide through the whole length; and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, and stone and gravel, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said road: provided, however, that all damages that may be occasioned to any person or corporation, by the taking of such land or materials for the purposes aforesaid, shall be paid for by said corporation, in manner herein after provided. SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the capital stock of said corporation shall consist of eight hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, which shall be deemed personal property, and transferable in such manner as the by-laws of said corporation shall direct. And the said corporation may from time to time increase said capital stock, by new subscriptions, in such manner and form as they may deem expedient, under the same regulations as may be imposed on the original subscribers, if such increase shall be found necessary to complete said road: provided, that such capital stock shall not be enlarged so as to exceed in the whole amount one million of dollars; and the immediate government and direction of the affairs of the said corporation shall be vested in a board of not less than five directors, who shall be chosen by the members of the corporation, in the manner herein after provided, and shall hold their offices until others shall be duly elected and qualified to take their place as directors; and the said directors, a majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall elect one of their own number to be president of the board, who shall also be president of the corporation. And it shall be the duty of said corporation, annually, or oftener, to choose a clerk, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duty, and a treasurer, who shall give bonds to the corporation, with sureties to the satisfaction of the directors, in a sum not less than twenty thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of his trust. SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That the president and directors for the time being are hereby authorized and empowered, by themselves or their agents, to exercise all the herein granted to the corporation, for the purpose of locating, |