ACT OF INCORPORATION. 21st. SESSION. AN ACT to incorporate the Firemen of the City of New York. PASSED March 20th, 1798. Whereas, The firemen of the city of New York, have, by Preamble. their petition to the Legislature, prayed to be incorporated, the more effectually to enable them to provide adequate funds for the relief of disabled and indigent firemen, and for the purpose of extinguishing fires; therefore, Firemen belonging to the engines of New York, Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly: That all such per- any of sons as now are, or hereafter shall be, engineers of the the city of Fire Department, or firemen, belonging to any of the fire- declared to engines of the city of New York, shall be, and hereby are ordained, constituted, and declared to be, and continue be and to continue until the year 1818, a body politic, by the name of Department New York." until the first Tuesday in April, one thousand eight hund- the "Fire red and eighteen, a body politic, in fact and in name, by of the City of the name of "The Fire Department of the City of New York ;" and that by that name, they and their successors, for the term aforesaid, shall and may have succession, and shall be persons in law, capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended, in all courts and places whatsoever, in all manner of actions, suits, complaints, matters, and causes whatsoever; and that they and their successors may have a common seal, and may change and alter the same at their pleasure; and also, that ing and con- they and their successors, by the name of the Fire Departveying any ment of the City of New York, shall be in law capable of And capa ble of hold estate not ex ceeding the ty thousand Sum of twen- purchasing, holding, and conveying any estate, real or dollars. personal, for the use of the said corporation, provided that the amount of the real and personal estate of the said corporation shall not, at any time, exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars. Apportionment of representatives And be it further enacted, That the engineers belonging to to be chosen. the said Fire Department shall, on or before the first day of December in every year, choose one representative; each company of eighteen firemen, two representatives; and under eighteen firemen, one representative; who shall have and exercise all such powers as are hereinafter committed to them. Powers of such sentatives. repre First repreStatives name i. And be it further enacted, That the said representatives shall choose, on the second Monday of December in every year, by ballot, out of their own body, a president and vice-president; and out of the whole body of the firemen, three trustees, a treasurer, secretary, and collector; that the first representatives shall be, Daniel Hitchcock, Thomas Tom, Nicholas Van Antwerp, James Parsons, jr., William Hardenbrook, Matthias Nack, Samuel Lord, Nicholas Roome, Leonard Rogers, Cornelius Brinckerhoff, Joseph Smith, Israel Haviland, John Pritchett, James Robinson, Robert McCullen, Augustus Wright, William Hunter, Elijah Pinckney, Isaac Hatfield, Garret Debow, Adam Pentz, John Perrin, Adam Hartell, Moses Smith, William Brown, John Lent, John Utt, Uzziah Coddington, jr., Peter Embury, James Van Dyck, Thomas Timpson, Joseph Arrange President, dent, Tris Treasurer, and Collec tor. Newton, William Degrove, William Baker, Thomas Demilt, William A. Hardenbrook, Isaac Tirboss, Henry Rogers, John Dominick, and Joseph Webb; that Daniel Hitchcock ment for first shall be the first president, that Thomas Tom shall be the Vice Presi first vice-president, that Frederick Devoe, Jacob Sherred, tees, James Stewart, John Striker, James Tylee, Benjamin Secretary, Strong, Thomas Brown, Stephen Smith, and Christopher Halstead shall be the first trustees; that Nicholas Van Antwerp shall be the first treasurer, and James Parsons, jr., the first secretary, and Martin Morrison the first collector; to hold their respective offices and places until others are appointed in their stead, agreeable to the provisions of this act. That the said trustees shall class themselves in three classes; number one shall go out of office the first year, number two the second year, and number three the third year; that the said trustees shall manage the affairs, and dispose of the funds of the corporation according to the by- President, laws, rules, and regulations of the said corporation, from time Representa to time made and established by the said representatives. That the trustees shall choose a president, who shall have a right to convene them when he thinks proper, at least once a year; that the treasurer shall give security to the trustees for the faithful performance of his trust; and shall, at every annual meeting of the representatives, render them an account of the state of the funds. That the representatives shall, at their meetings, have a right to inquire into, and control the application of their funds, and to displace any of the trustees and officers, if guilty of malconduct, and elect others in their stead. That a majority of the said representatives, and also of the said trustees, shall respectively be a quorum to do business; Duties of the Trustees, Treasurer, tives, &c. Vacancies in any of the offices, how that in case of a vacancy in the office of representative, such to be filled vacancy shall be filled up by the company from which he is deputed, for the remainder of the year, by a special election, to be held for that purpose; and that in case of a vacancy in the office of president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, collector, or any of the trustees, such vacancies shall be filled up by the representatives, for the remainder of the year, by a special election, to be held for that purpose. Two-thirds of the Repre be a quorum And be it further enacted, That two-thirds of a quorum of sentatives to the said representatives shall have full power to make and for business. prescribe such by-laws, rules, ordinances, and regulations as to them, from time to time, shall appear needful and proper, touching the management and disposition of their funds, for the purposes aforesaid, and touching the meetings of the said corporation, both special and ordinary, except the second Monday in December, in every year, which is hereby declared to be their annual meeting, and touching the duties and conduct of their officers and trustees, and touching all such other matters as appertain to the business, ends, and purposes for which the said corporation is by this act instituted, and for no other purpose whatsoever; provided that such by-laws, rules, ordinances, or regulations be not repugnant to the Constitution or the laws of the United States, or of this State. viso. With pro In case of neglect in And be it further enacted, That in case any election shall holding elec- not be made on any day, when, pursuant to this act, it ought certain day, to have been made, the said corporation shall not, on that tion not to be account, be deemed to be dissolved; but that it shall and tion on any the corporга dissolved. may be lawful, on any other day, to hold and make such election, in such manner as shall have been regulated by the by-laws and ordinances of the said corporation. to be ap And be it further enacted, That the funds of the said corpo- Funds, how ration which shall arise from chimney fines, certificates, and plied. donations, and from such other objects as may have been heretofore or may be hereafter agreed on by the respective fire companies, shall be appropriated to the relief of such indigent or disabled firemen, or their families, as may be interested therein, and who may, in the opinion of a majority of the trustees, be worthy of assistance; but if they shall amount to a greater sum than the trustees may think necessary to apply to the said purposes, then the said representatives shall have power to apply such surplus to the purpose of extinguishing fires, under such limitations and restrictions as they may, with the sanction of the Corporation of the City of New York, deem proper. And be it further enacted, That this act is hereby declared to be a public act; and that the same shall be construed, in all courts and places, benignly and favorably, for every beneficial purpose hereby intended. Declara tion, &c, |
