the bridge now is, receiving the same tolls and subject to the same restrictions as to crossing without paying tolls as is provided in and by the laws relating to said bridge company. § 3. While such ferry exists, it shall be the duty of such com- Ferry boats. pany to provide and keep a sufficient number of ferry boats for the conveyance of passengers, animals and freight across said river. Repairs of § 4. If said bridge shall at any time hereafter need repairs, the board of directors of said bridge company are authorised to as- bridge. sess upon the shares of stock of the stockholders such sum as may be necessary to make such repairs, and on non payment of such assessment, the stock owned by the person so neglecting or refusing to pay, may be declared forfeited to said company by the board of directors. § 5. This act shall take effect immediately. Chap. 284. AN ACT to incorporate the Panama Railroad Company. Passed April 7, 1849. The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: § 1. William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens, Henry Chaun- created. cey, James Brown, Cornelius W. Lawrence, Gouveneur Kemble, Thomas W. Ludlow, David Thompson, Joseph B. Varnum, Samuel S. Howland, Prosper M. Wetmore, Edwin Bartlett, Horatio Allen, and their associates, successors and assigns, are hereby constituted a body corporate, by the name of the "Panama Railroad Company," for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a railroad, with one or more tracks, and all convenient buildings, fixtures, machinery and appurtenances, across the Isthmus of Panama, in the republic of New Grenada, under the grant made by the said republic to the said William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and Henry Chauncey, and of purchasing and navigating such steam or sailing vessels as may be proper and convenient to be used in connection with the said road, and for such purposes all the necessary and incidental power is hereby granted to said corporation. § 2. The capital stock of the said corporation shall be fixed by Capital the directors at a sum not less than one million of dollars, with stock. liberty to increase the same at any time to a sum not exceeding five millions of dollars. Said stock shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, and shall be deemed personal property, transferable in such manner as the by-laws of the said corporation shall direct. The said corporation may commence operations when five hundred thousand dollars shall have been sub Concerns how to be managed. Officers to be appointed. Calls on scribed and twenty per cent. on each share subscribed for paid in. The said William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and Henry Chauncey, shall be commissioners to receive subscriptions for the said capital stock, and if the whole capital stock shall not be subscribed at the time first appointed, other subscriptions may be at any time received, until the whole amount shall be subscribed, at such times and under such rules and regulations as they shall prescribe. § 3. The concerns of the said corporation shall be managed by thirteen directors, who shall be stockholders, and who (except the first directors hereby appointed,) shall hold their offices for one year and until others are chosen in their places. The persons named in the first section of this act, shall be the first directors, and shall hold their offices until the first Monday of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and until others are chosen in their places. The directors, except for the first two years, shall be annually chosen at such time and place in the city of New-York, and on such notice as shall be directed by the bylaws of the said corporation. In all meetings of the stockholders, each share shall entitle the holder to one vote, to be given in person, or by proxy. In case it should at any time happen that an election of directors shall not be made on the day appointed by the by-laws of the said corporation, the said corporation shall not for that cause be deemed to be dissolved, but such election shall be held on any other day which shall be appointed by the directors of said association. § 4. The directors (of whom five shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,) shall appoint one of their number to be president, and may appoint such other officers and agents as they shall deem necessary, and they may make and establish such by-laws, rules and regulations as they shall think proper and expedient, touching the disposition and management of the property, estate and effects of the said corporation, the transfer of shares, the duties and conduct of their officers and servants, the election and meeting of the directors, and all matters whatsoever which may appertain to the concerns of said corporation. When any vacancy shall happen among the directors, it may be filled by the remaining directors; and the directors may remove all officers appointed by them and appoint others in their places, and fill all vacancies in the offices. § 5. The directors may require payment of subscriptions to the stockholders. stock at such times and in such proportions as they may deem proper, under the penalty of forfeiting all stock and previous payments made thereon, and may sue for and recover all such subscriptions. Notice of the time and place of such payments, shall be published for four weeks previous to such time, at least once in each week, in two newspapers published in the city of NewYork. Contracts. § 6. The said corporation may have a common seal, and the same may alter or renew, at pleasure, and all contracts made may be either verbal or under the signature of the president, secretary or other officer or agent of the said corporation, and with or without the corporate seal. granted by da and for § 7. It shall be lawful for the said corporation to contract with Contract for the said William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and Henry the rights Chauncey, for the purchase of all the rights, privileges and im- New Grenamunities granted to them by the said republic of New Grenada, lands. and for the purchase of the lands granted to them by the said republic, and to receive a conveyance of and hold the same in like manner as the said William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and Henry Chauncey, now do or can do; and to lease or sell and convey any of such lands which the said corporation shall not deem it necessary to retain, and to build and construct all such buildings, piers, docks, basins and harbors on the said lands as the said corporation may deem expedient, in like manner as the said William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and Henry Chauncey, can do under the said grant. be borrowed. § 8. The said corporation may borrow from time to time, such Money may sum or sums of money as may be necessary to complete said road and for the other purposes authorised by this act, in the whole not exceeding the amount of the capital stock actually paid in, and may issue and dispose of their bonds for any amount so borrowed; and are hereby authorised to mortgage any part of their corporate property and privileges to secure the payment of such bonds. And the said directors may confer on the holder of any bond they may issue for any money so borrowed, the right to convert the principal due thereon into stock of the said corporation at any time not exceeding five years from the date of said bond, under such regulations as the directors may see fit to adopt, and for such purpose the said corporation are authorised to increase its capital stock to the amount so borrowed, whenever the persons, or any of them, to whom such money is due, shall elect to convert the same into stock; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorise an increase of the capital stock of said company beyond the sum of five millions of dollars. § 9. Each and every stockholder shall be individually liable to Liability of the creditors of said corporation for all debts that may be due stockholders. and owing by said corporation to their laborers and servants for services performed, and for all other debts and liabilities of the said corporation, to an amount equal to the amount of stock held by him, until he shall have paid in full the amount of such stock so held. But no stockholder shall be personally liable for the payment of any debt contracted by the said corporation which is not to be paid within one year from the time the debt is contracted, nor unless a suit for the collection of such debt shall be brought against said corporation within one year after the debt shall become due, and no suit shall be brought against any stockholder in said corporation for any debt so contracted unless the same shall be commenced within two years from the time he shall have ceased to be a stockholder in said corporation, nor until an Appropriations. To be paid. execution against the corporation shall have been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part. No person holding stock in said company as executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, and no person holding such stock as collateral security, shall be personally subject to any liability as a stockholder of said company, but the person pledging such stock shall be considered as holding the same and shall be liable as a stockholder accordingly, and the estate and funds in the hands of such executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, shall be liable in like manner and to the same extent as the testator, or intestate, or the ward, or person interested in such fund would have been if he had been living and competent to act and held the stock in his own name. Every such executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, shall represent the shares of stock owned by him as such administrator, guardian or trustee, at all meetings of the company, and may vote as a stockholder, and every person pledging his stock as aforesaid, may in like manner represent the same and vote accordingly. § 10. This act shall take effect immediately. Chap. 285. AN ACT making an appropriation for the Western House of Refuge. Passed April 9, 1849, "three-fifths being present." The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: § 1. The following sums of money are hereby appropriated for the use of the western house of refuge, to be applied to the several purposes herein specified, to wit: twenty-five hundred dollars to supply the deficiency in appropriations for finishing basement, and for extra work done and to be done; two hundred dollars for finishing dormitories; eight hundred dollars for stoves and for cisterns; seven hundred dollars for flagging kitchen and washroom floor; four hundred dollars for wainscotting the basement and second story of the wing; five hundred dollars for division fence in yard, partition in shops, and recitation rooms; three thousand dollars for a stookade fence, enclosing farm. § 2. These several appropriations shall be paid by the treasurer, on the warrant of the comptroller, to the commissioners of the western house of refuge, out of any moneys not otherwise appropriated. § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. SEVENTY-SECOND SESSION. Chap. 286. AN ACT in relation to common schools in the village of Passed April 9, 1849, "three-fifths being present." The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: how to be elected, § 1. There shall hereafter be elected in school district number Trustees twelve, formed partly out of the town of Ridgeway and partly out. of the town of Shelby, in the county of Orleans, and lying principally within the village of Medina, in the manner now provided by law, three trustees, who shall, respectively, hold their offices three years. Christopher Whaley, Silas M. Burroughs, John Ryan, Daniel Starr, Isaac W. Swan and Archibald Servoss, are hereby appointed trustees of said district, and shall, respectively, hold said office as follows, namely: the term of office of Christopher Whaley and Silas M. Burroughs shall expire at the same time that the term of office of Roswell Starr, as trustee of said district, shall expire. The term of office of John Ryan and Daniel Starr shall expire at the same time that the term of office of Isaac K. Burroughs, as trustee of said district, shall expire; and the term of office of Isaac W. Swan and Archibald Servoss shall expire at the same time that the term of office of Nathan Bancroft, as trustee of said district, shall expire. § 2. The trustees of said district, and their successors in office, shall constitute a board of education for the village of Medina, and for the certain purposes of this act, in addition to the present powers and duties of trustees, are hereby constituted a corporation, by the name of "The Board of Education of the village of Medina." Board of ed ucation. and other officers to be § 3. Said board of education shall appoint one of their number President president of said board, who shall preside at the meetings of said board when present; when absent a president pro tempore shall appointed. be appointed in his stead. They shall also appoint one of their number secretary, who shall record all the acts, doings and resolutions of said board; and in the absence of the secretary a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge such duties. They shall also appoint a collector, librarian and treasurer of said district, who shall, respectively, hold their offices one year from their appointment, and until others are appointed in their places, unless sooner removed by said board; such collector, librarian and treasurer shall each, within ten days after notice of their appointment, in writing, and before entering upon the duties of their office, execute and deliver to said board of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiv 27 |