opened

whose duty it shall be on or before the first Monday in August next, at some proper place in the village of Lewiston, or at such Books to be other place as they shall designate, to open books for the purpose of receiving subscriptions to the capital stock of the said company; and public notice shall be given by the said commissioners, of the time and place of opening the said books, in the newspaper printed in the county of Niagara, and in such other newspapers as the commissioners shall direct, for at least four weeks, which books shall be kept open for at least one week; and the said commissioners may prescribe the form of such subscription, so that the said shares, or any part thereof, may be paid for, in labour on the said canal, or in materials and provisions; and other parts thereof, may be payable in money, at such times as the said commisKirst election sioners may determine; and whenever the sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be subscribed to the said capital stock, it shall be the duty of the said commissioners, or a major part of them, to give at least thirty days notice of the time and place of holding an election for the choice of directors of the said company, by advertisements in the newspapers printed in the county of Niagara, and in such other newspapers as they shall deem necessary. And the said commissioners shall be inspectors of the first election of directors of the said company, and shall certify under their hands the names of the persons duly elected, and shall deliver over to them the subscription books; and the directors so chosen, shall hold their office for one year after their election, as aforesaid, and until others shall be chosen in their places; and that in the said election, and in all subsequent elections for directors of the said company, each share shall entitle the bolder to one vote.

Votes

Directors and eleations

President, se

treasurer

III. And be it further enacted, That there shall be nine directors of the said company, who shall be stockholders and citizens of this state; and all elections for directors, after the first, shall be holden at such times and places, as a majority of the directors shall appoint, and thirty days notice shall be given, by advertisements in the newspapers printed in the county of Niagara, and in such other newspapers as the directors shall direct; and the said election shall be made by the stockholders in said company, either in person or by proxy, by ballot, and the nine persons who shall have the greatest number of votes as aforesaid, shall be directors; and if two or more persons shall have an equal number of votes, then the said commissioners at the first election, and afterwards the directors in office at the time of such election, or a major part of them, shall, by plurality of votes, determine which of the said persons, so having an equal number of votes, shall be director or directors, so as to complete the whole number to be elected; and all vacancies in the direction, shall be filled for the remainder of the year in which they shall happen, by such person or persons as the residue of the directors, or a majority of them, shall appoint.

IV. And be it further enacted, That the directors shall choose cretary and a president, a secretary and treasurer, to hold their offices during the pleasure of the said directors; and six directors shall be a Forfeiture of quorum for the transaction of business; and the said directors shall have power to declare the stock of such persons, as shall neglect to pay the same, according to the terms of the subscription,

stock

and all previous payments thereon, to be forfeited to the use of the said company, or may sue for and recover from such delinquent subscribers and stockholders, the amount due on such shares, in an action of assumpsit, in any court having cognizance thereof, whether any payment shall have been made by such delinquent subscribers on such stock or not.

plore &c

V. And be it further enacted, That the directors shall have Power of di power to explore and designate the route of the said canal, be- rectors to ex tween the Niagara river, above the falls thereof, beginning at or near the mouth of Gill Creek, or at any other more convenient place in the vicinity thereof, and ending on the brow of the mountain near the village of Lewiston, and to enter upon and take possession of such improved or unimproved land, as shall be necessary for the said navigation, and the works thereunto appertaining, and for the convenient operation thereof, the said directors paying therefor in the manner hereinafter prescribed; and shall have power to use the water of the Niagara river for the purposes aforesaid, and construct all necessary locks, works and devices, for perfecting the said navigation.

VI. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall Railway have power to make and construct a railway, from the termination of the said intended canal, from the brow of the mountain, near the village of Lewiston, to the navigable water of the Niagara river, nearly opposite to Queenston, at such place as the directors of said company shall designate, for the purpose of raising and letting down property and effects, to and from the intended canal; and the said directors shall have power to enter into and upon all and singular the laud and lands, where they shall deem it proper to make and construct said railway, and lay out and survey such route as shall be most practicable for effecting the purposes aforesaid.

sessed

VII. And be it further enacted, That the directors of said Lands, how company shall have power to contract with the owner or owners of taken and as any land or lands through which the route of the said intended canal, and the said railway, shall pass, for the damages they may receive in consequence thereof; and in case of any disagreement between the said directors and any person or persons owning any land which the said directors may occupy as aforesaid, or which may be injured by the necessary operations to complete the said canal and the said railway, respecting the amount of damages sustained by such person or persons, such damages shall be appraised by two justices of the peace, and by the oaths of six respectable and disinterested freeholders, who shall be summoned by the sheriff of the county of Niagara, by virtue of a warrant to be issued by the said justices for that purpose; which warrant any two justices of the county of Niagara are hereby authorised to issue, upon the application of the directors of the said company, or of any person or persons pretending to be aggrieved; and at least fourteen days notice of the time and place of hearing before such justices, shall be given to the opposite party; and in case of infancy, coverture, insanity, or absence from this state, of any such owners, it shall be lawful for the directors to exercise the rights and powers hereby granted to them, with respect to the land so owned; but the damages sustained by such persons shall be assessed in manner afore

154

Surplus water

said, and notice of a hearing as aforesaid, shall be served on the district attorney of said county, whose duty it shall be to attend and defend the rights and interests of such owners; and whenever such damages shall be appraised as aforesaid, the same shall be paid by the said company, when lawfully demanded. herecompany VIII. And be it further enacted, That the said by incorporated, shall have full right, power, and authority, in addition to the powers hereby above granted, to take the surplus water which shall be contained in any lock, dam, pond, or embankment, or other improvement made by the said company, and make use of the same, either on their sole account, or in connection with any other person or persons, not being a member of said Mills, &e company, for mills or any other hydraulic works, which may be erected or constructed by the said company; or to lease, let, or grant and convey, for a limited time, the use of the water, to any and the rents and prolawful purpose, person or persons, for any fits resulting therefrom to take and receive, to and for the use of the said company, in addition to the tolls and profits hereinafter mentioned and allowed to be taken.

Entering on lands

may be lawful, IX. And be it further enacted, That it shall and to and for the directors of the said corporation, and their superintendents, engineers, artists, workmen, and laborers, with carts, waggons, and other carriages, with their beasts of draft and burthen, and all necessary tools and implements, to enter upon the lands contiguous or near the tract of the said intended canal and railway, first giving notice of their intentions to the owners thereof, and doing as little damage thereunto as the nature of the work will require, and repairing any breaches that may be made in the inclosures thereof; also, to enter upon, possess, and occupy, any lands near the north termination of said canal and railway, either on the side of the mountain or stoney flat below, that shall be necessary to erect mills for any hydraulic works, with full power to make all dykes, ponds, embankments, race ways, tail races, roads, bridges and gates; and to make use of any stone, timber, gravel, Stone timber or earth on the same, they making amends for any damages that may be sustained by the owner or owners thereof, by appraisement in the manner herein before directed.

&c

Tolls

X. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the directors of said company, as soon as the said canal and navigatiou, or any part thereof, shall be so far completed as to allow of the passage of boats, to appoint such and so many collectors of tolls, for the passage of boats and vessels in and through the same, and in such places as they shall think proper; and that it shall and may be lawful for such collectors of tolls and their deputies, to demand and receive of and from the persons having the charge of all boats and vessels, rafts of timber, boards, plank, and scantling, or shingles, passing through the said canal, such toll and rates as the said directors shall think proper, at any lock or other convenient place: Provided, That the amount of all the tolls accruing to said company, and arising from the use of the Rates of toll said navigation, shall not exceed in the whole fifty cents per ton, for all property carried on the said canal, through the whole dis tance thereof, no more than one cent per mile, per ton, on the capacity of any boat that may be used on said canal, nor a greater

Proviso

sum than three cents per mile for every one hundred feet of cubic measure of timber, and for one thousand feet measure of boards, plank, scantling, and for one thousand pipe staves and heading, and so in proportion for any other distance on the said canal: Provided always, That all boats of a burthen less than a ton used on the said canal, shall pay the toll for a ton.

Proviso

how obtained

XI. And be it further enacted, That in order to ascertain the Tonnage tonnage of boats used on the said canal, upon the request of the & marked owner or supercargo of such boat, or of the directors of the company, or of any collector of tolls, in their behalf, it shall and may be lawful for each of them to chose one man, to measure and ascertain the number of tons which the said boat or vessel is capable of carrying, and to mark the same in figures upon the head and stern of said boat, in colours mixed with oil; and that the said boat or vessel so measured and marked, shall always be permitted to pass through the said canal and locks, for the price per ton for which the number of tons so marked on her shall amount to, and if the owner or supercargo of such boat or vessel, shall decline choosing a person resident within two miles of the place where such tolls are payable, to ascertain the tonnage thereof, then the tonnage shall be ascertained and fixed by a person to be appointed for that purpose, by the said directors, or by a collector of tolls; and the tolls shall be paid according to such measurement, before any such boat or vessel shall be permitted to pass on the said canal, or places where such toll shall be made payable.

Tresspases to

XII. And be it further enacted, That if any person or per- the canal sons whatsoever, shall wilfully and knowingly, do any act or thing whatsoever, whereby the said canal or the banks thereof, or any lock, gate or engine, machine, fence or device thereunto belonging, or whereby the said rail way shall be injured or damaged, he or they so offending, shall forfeit to the said company, fourfold damages by then sustained, by means of such wilful act, together with the costs of suit, to be recovered in any court having jurisdiction com Penalty petent to the sui due; and whenever an execution shall be issued, or served by virtue of such judgment, on the body of the person Persons in ex so offending, for want of goods and chattels, such person shall not entitled to be entitled to the liberties of the limits of any goal, in which he liberties may be confined.

ecution not

stopped till

ble delay or

XIII. And be it further enacted, That the collectors of tolls, du Vessels to be ly authorised and appointed by the directors of said company, may toll paid and stop and detain all boats, vessels and rafts, using the said canal penalty on toll gatherer and navigation, until the owner, commander, or supercargo, of the for unreasona same, shall pay the toll so as aforesaid fixed; and if any collector extortion of tolls, shall unreasonably delay or hinder any boat or raft at any of the locks, or shall demand or receive any more toll than is authorised by this act, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered, with costs of suit, before any justice of the peace of said county.

be dissolved

XIV. And be it further enacted, That the legislature may dis- When corpo solve the said company, when the income arising from the said ration may tolls, shall have fully compensated the said company for all necessary expenditures, together with an interest of fourteen per cent per annum; and this act shall not be construed so as to vest any banking powers, or any other powers, in the said company,

what case to

cease

not necessary to be the objects herein specified; and it shall be deemed a public act, and favourably and benignly construed for all the purposes thereby intended.

XV. And be it further enacted, That in case the said compaThis act in ny shall fail or neglect to complete the said canal, in such manner as to make it navagable for the passage of boats from the Niagara river, near the mouth of Gill creek, to the top of the mountain near Lewiston, within ten years from the passing this act, then and from thenceforth all and every right, privilege and immunity granted and secured by this act, shall cease and determine.

XVI. And be it further enacted, That the legislature may, at Right to re peal this act any time or times hereafter, repeal, modify or alter the act hereby passed.

CHAP. CXXXIV.

Duty of su pervisor and commission

and

lots

school

AN ACT relating to the Gospel and School Lands, belonging to the Town of Granby, in the County of Oswego. Passed April 11, 1823.

I. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, reers of gospel presented in Senate and Assembly, That the supervisor and and commissioners of gospel and school lots, or a majority of them, of the town of Granby, in the county of Oswego, in conformity to the "act relative to the lots of land reserved for the support of the gospel and schools, in the counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca," passed April the third, one thousand eight hundred and seven, may, and they are hereby authorised to lease the gospel and school land belonging to said town, by durable leases, under such conditions, and for such rents, to be paid annually, as they shall deem most beneficial to the said town: Provided, the freeholders and inhabitants of said town, at any annual towu meeting, shall so Rents &e direct. how applied

Proviso

II. And be it further enacted, That all the rents, issues, and profits of the aforesaid land, shall be applied according to the act Duty of su- above mentioned, and the law to which that act refers. pervisors and

overseers of

the poor,

III. And be it further enacted, That the supervisors and overseers of the poor of the towns of Lysander and Granby, may meet at such time and place as the supervisors shall name, and make a just and equitable division of the gospel and school lots, belonging to the said towns, and lying within the original towns of Lysander, in proportion to the number of lots of land of the original town of Lysander, now belonging to the respective towns of Lysander and Granby, to the end that the town of Granby may have its share of the gospel and school land in proportion to the number of lots included in the said towns of Lysander and Granby; any thing in the second section of the act to erect a part of the counties of Oneida and Onondaga, into a separate county by the name of Oswego, passed March 1, 1816, to the contrary notwithstanding.