venient place within the bounds of said corporation, on the first Saturday in April, 1838, and on the first Saturday in April annually thereafter, at such place as the town council may direct, and then and there proceed, by a plurality of votes, to elect a mayor, recorder, and five trustees, who shall have the qualification of electors, and shall reside within the limits of said. corporation; and the persons so elected shall hold their offices one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified: Provided, That a failure to elect on said day shall not forfeit the charter of said corporation. Sec. 3. That at the first election to be holden under this act, two judges and a clerk shall be chosen, viva voce, by the electors present, and shall take an oath or affirmation faithfully to discharge the duties required of them by this act; and at all subsequent elections, the mayor, or any two of the electors, shall sit as judges, and the recorder shall sit as clerk, if present; and if the recorder is absent, the judges shall proceed to appoint a clerk of the election; and at all such elections, the polls shall be opened between the hours of one and two in the afternoon, and close by the hour of four the same afternoon; and at the close of the polls the votes shall be counted, and a statement thereof proclaimed at the door of the house in which the election shall be held; and the persons elected shall, within ten days. after their election, take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United, and of this State, and an oath of office, a certificate of which shall be deposited with the recorder, and by him preserved. Sec. 4. That the mayor, recorder, and trustees of said town, shall be a body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession, to be known and distinguished by the name of the town council of Hockingport, and shall be capable in law to acquire, receive and hold, any estate, real or personal, for the use of said town; and may have a common seal, and alter the same at their discretion; and may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, in any court of law or equity in this State; and when any suit shall be commenced against said corporation, the first process shall be a summons, an attested copy of which shall be left with the recorder at least ten days before the return day thereof. Sec. 5. That the mayor, recorder and trustees, or a majority of them, shall have authority to make, ordain, and publish all such by-laws and ordinances, consistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, and of this State, as they may deem necessary for the regulation, interest, safety, health, cleanliness and convenience of said town, and the inhabitants thereof; they shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen by resignation, death or removal, in any of the different offices herein named; they shall also have power to appoint a treasurer, town marshal, and such subordinate officers as they may deem necessary, to prescribe their duties and to require of them such securities as they may deem necessary, to secure the performance; to remove them at pleasure; to fix and establish the fees of the officers of said corporation not established by this act; to impose such fines, not exceeding two dollars, as they may deem just, for refusing to accept any office in said corporation, or for neglect or misconduct therein; they shall have power to audit and settle the accounts of the town, to appropriate and draw the money in the hands of the treasurer, to establish and regulate the markets, to establish and erect wharves and docks, to regulate the landing of steamboats, flat-boats, and other crafts and rafts: Provided, That no tax shall be collected of any steamboat, flat-boat, craft or raft, until such times as a suitable wharf is erected and power granted by the Legislature of this State. Sec. 6. That the mayor shall be a conservator of the peace within the limits of said corporation, and shall have all the powers of a justice of the peace therein, both in civil and criminal cases; who shall give bond as required by justices of the peace, and in all his acts as justice of the peace he shall be governed by the laws defining the duties of justices of the peace, and shall be entitled to receive the same fees for similar services; and an appeal may be had from any final decisions or judgments of the said mayor of said corporation, to the court of common pleas of the county of Athens, in the same manner as from that of a justice of the peace. Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the recorder to make and keep an accurate record of all the laws and ordinances, made and ordained by the town council of said town, and of all proceedings in their corporate capacity; which record shall be open at all times to the inspection of the electors of said town; and the recorder shall preside at all meetings of the corporation and of the town council. Sec. 8. That all processes issued by the mayor shall be directed to the marshal, and in the service and execution thereof, the marshal shall have the same power as is or may be given to constables, and shall be entitled to receive the same fees as are or may be allowed to constables for similar services. Sec. 9. That the town council shall have power to assess for corporation purposes, an annual tax on all property in said town, made subject to taxation by the laws of this State for State and county purposes, not exceeding in any one year, one per centum on the value thereof, which value shall be ascertained by an assessor to be appointed by the town council for that purpose, a duplicute of which shall be made out and signed by the recorder, and delivered, to the collector; they shall have the power of equalizing any injudicious assessment thus made, on complaint of the person or persons aggrieved. Sec. 10. That the town marshal shall be collector of any tax assessed; and he is hereby authorized and required, by distress and sale of property as constables on executions, to collect and pay over said tax to the treasurer, within three months of the time of receiving the duplicate thereof, and the treasurer's receipt shall be his voucher: the town marshal shall make personal demand of every resident charged with tax, and shall give ten days' notice, by advertisement in two of the most public places in said corporation, of any tax; and if the tax on any lot or part of a lot, on which no personal property can be found, shall remain unpaid three months after the expiration of the time by this act allowed the collector for the collection of the tax, then the said town marshal shall give notice by written or printed hand bills stating the amount of such tax, and the number of lot on which it is due, and that the same will be sold to discharge. such tax unless the payment thereof be made within three months from the date of such advertisement; and if such tax be not paid within that time, the town marshal, after giving thirty day's notice of the time and place of sale, at three of the most public places in said town, shall proceed to sell at public auction such lot or part of lot as will discharge said tax: Provided, That if the owner or owners of said lots, shall appear at any time within two years after such sale, and pay the purchase money, with interest, and ten per centum penalty thereon, he or they shall be entitled to the right of redemption: And provided, also, That nothing in this section shail affect the right of others, in law or equity, to the benefit of the right of redemption when they shall arrive at full age. Sec. 11. That said corporation shall be allowed the use of the county jail of said county, for the confinement of such persons as may be liable to imprisonment under the laws and ordinances of said corporation, and also for the confinement of such persons as may be arrested, or be in custody, either in civil or criminal cases; and all persons so imprisoned shall be under the charge of the sheriff of the county, as in other cases. C. ANTHONY, Speaker of the House of Representatives. January 30, 1838. AN ACT To incorporate the Sandusky Steam Navigation Company. Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That David Smart, Thomas J. Titus, William Townsend, Samuel M. Lockwood, David Campbell, Alexander H. Barber and Lucas S. Beecher, and such other persons as have, or shall have, or shall be associated with them for the purpose of navigating the rivers and waters of Lake Erie, and the contiguous Lakes with steam boats, and constructing the same, and their successors be, and they are hereby constituted and declared to be, a body corporate by the name and style of the "Sandusky Steam Navigation Company," and by that name they and their successors shall have for the period of twenty years' succession, and shall be capable in law of sueing and being sued, contracting and being contracted with, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended, in all courts and places whatsoever; and may have a common seal, and may change and alter the same at pleasure, and that they and their successors, by the name of the "Sandusky Steam Navigation Company," shall, in law be capable of purchasing and holding any real or personal estate necessary for the objects of this incorporation. Sec. 2. That the capital stock of said company shall be two hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of fifty dollars each, and that the said stock shall be deemed and considered personal estate, and be transferable. Sec. 3. That the stock, property, affairs and concerns of said corporation, shall be managed and conducted by seven directors being stockholders, which directors, shall hold their offices from the first Monday in January in every year, and shall be elected on the first Monday in January at such time and place, at the town of Sandusky, Huron county, as a majority of said directors, for the time being, shall appoint, and public notice thereof shall be given by the said directors, not less than twenty days previous to the time of holding such election, by an advertisement to be inserted in some public newspaper printed in said town of Sandusky, and said election shall be made by such of the stockholders of said corporation as shall attend for that purpose, either in person or by proxy, and each share of stock shall entitle the holder to one vote; and all elections for directors shall be by ballot; and the seven persons who shall have the greatest number of votes shall be directors for the ensuing year, and shall Continue in office until other directors are chosen in their stead; and if it shall happen that at any election two or more persons shall have an equal number of votes, then the directors in office, at the time of such an election, or a majority of them, shall proceed by ballot, and by plurality of votes determine which of the said persons so having an equal number of votes shall be director or directors of said company, so as to complete the whole number, and the directors elected as soon as may be thereafter, shall proceed in like manner to elect by ballot one of their number, who shall be their president, and if any director shall cease to be a stockholder, his office shall be considered as vacant, and whenever any vacancy or vacancies shall happen among the directors, or in the office of president, by death, resignation or otherwise, such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the year in which the same shall happen, by such person or persons as the remainder of the directors for the time being or a majority of them, shall appoint; and in case of the absence of the president, the board of directors shall have power to appoint a president pro tempore, who shall have and exercise such powers and functions as the bylaws of said company may provide; and the seven persons first named in the first section of this act shall be the present directors, and shall hold their offices respectively until the first Monday of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and until other directors shall be chosen. Sec. 4. That subscription books for the capital stock of said company shall be opened under the direction of the directors herein above named, and at any time the said directors may appoint after the passage of this act, and shall be kept open until the whole amount of the said stock, or such number of shares thereof shall be subscribed for, as in the opinion of the said directors or a majority of them, will be sufficient to complete, furnish and put in operation one steam boat; and every subscriber at the time of subscribing shall pay unto such one of the directors as a majority of them shall appoint for that purpose, the sum of five dollars for each share so subscribed, and after such sum as may be deemed sufficient as aforesaid shall be subscribed, the books, moneys and papers shall be delivered to the president of said company, and the first president shall be chosen by a majority of the persons named in the first section of this act at any time after the passage thereof. Sec. 5. That any four of the said directors for the time being shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, and shall have power to make and subscribe such by-laws, rules and regulations as to them shall appear needful and proper, touching the management and disposition of the stock; and all payments which may be due thereon, the business, property, estate and effects of the said company, and the duties, conduct and com pensation of the officers, engineers, mariners, servants, agents, clerks, and workmen employed by said company; and shall also have power to employ and appoint so many officers, clerks, servants, and agents for carrying into effect the objects of said company, and with such salary and al lowance as to them shall seem meet: Provided, that such by-laws, rules and regulations shall not be repugnant to the constitution and laws of the United States and of this State. Sec. 6 That no transfer of stock shall be valid or effectual until such transfer shall be registered in a book or books to be kept by the president and directors for that purpose; and further, that all such transfers of stock shall be made subject to the debts or demands due from the person transfering to the said company at the time of making such transfer; and the personal and real property of each and every stockholder, shall be liable for the payment of any debt due by said corporation to the full amount of stock by them respectively subscribed or owned: Provided, that said corporation shall not at at any time contract or owe any debt over and above the capital stock subscribed, and in case of any such excess, the directors, at the time of contracting such excess, shall be liable in their private and individual capacity. Sec 7. That in case it shall at at any time happen that an election of the directors shall not be made on any day when, pursuant to this act, it ought to have been made, the company shall not for that cause, or for any non-user, be deemed to be dissolved, but that it shall and may be lawful on any other, to hold an election for directors in such manner as shall be provided by the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation. Sec. 8. That it shall not be lawful for the said corporation to engage in banking or to discount any evidence of debt, or to issue any note, or bond, or bill for the purpose of loaning the same. Sec. 9. That this act shall be deemed a public act. January 31, 1838. AN ACT Speaker of the Senate. To legalize the elections of the Mayor and Trustees of the town of Franklin, in the county of Warren. Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the election of one mayor and six trustees, held in the town of Franklin on the first Monday of March, 1837, in pursuance of "An act to amend an act entitled an act supplementary to the act entitled an act to incorporate the town of Franklin, in the county of Warren, having been held before said act was regularly signed, but after the same had passed both houses, shall be deemed and is hereby declared to be valid and legal, and of the same force and effect as if said election had been held on the proper day, and after the act under which it was held, had been finally consum mated at the time of said election. |