with the provisions of this act and they and their associates, successors and assigns by the name and style provided in said certificate shall thereafter be deemed a body corporate with power to have perpetual succession, to sue and be sued by its corporate name, to have powers of said a common seal, which it may alter at pleasure, to corporation. render the interests of its stockholders transferable, to exempt the private property of its members from liability for the corporate debts, to establish by-laws and make all rules and regulations deemed expedient for the management of their affairs in accordance with law, and not incompatible with an honest purpose.

Duties of corpora

der former act.

SEC. 4. That any company heretofore incorporated, or attempted to be incorporated under the provisions of an act entitled "An act to provide for the creation and regulation of corporations," passed August twelfth, tions instituted uneighteen hundred and fifty-eight, for the prosecution of any business, which can be conveniently prosecuted under the provisions of this act, may conform their certificate to the provisions of this act, and may refile the same with the Secretary of State as herein provided, and thereafter without any other act or ceremony shall become entitled to all the rights, benefits and privileges conferred by this act; and all grants, transfers and conveyances, by the State or any citizen or corporation to any such company heretofore made, are hereby confirmed unto such company, and shall upon the filing of their certificate under this act be deemed to accrue and enure to the benefit of such company or corporation as thus organized without any other act or ceremony whatever.

Rights of corporations under the

act.

SEC. 5. Any corporation organized under the provisions of this act or any company heretofore organized filing their certificate under the provisions of this act as heretofore provided for, may obtain the right to overflow by reason of any dam, lock, sluices or other provisions of this erection necessary for the convenient prosecution of their enterprise, all and any lands damaged thereby, and may obtain the right to the use of any land for a tow path, the erection of necessary buildings for the purpose of said business, and the right of way in and over the bed of any river, lake or water course and the banks thereof, together with the right to overflow,

sented to a judge

of any court of record-what to

contain.

injure or destroy any existing dams, mills or other property and to canal in and along the valley of any such river, stream, lake or water course, and to purchase and erect all necessary buildings for the ope ration and prosecution of any manufacturing business upon the water power incidentally created by such improvement, by proceeding as in this act provided.

SEC. 6. They shall present to the Judge of any court of record, in which jury trials are had in any Petition to be pre- county in which said improvements or any part thereof is or is to be located, or through which any river to be improved or canal is to be constructed runs or is to run, a petition signed by the president and secretary of said company or corporation, [setting forth] the description of the enterprise to be prosecuted by them, the termini thereof, the counties through which the same is to run, a general description of the land, property and real estate which it will be necessary to appropriate, take, use or overflow for the purpose of said enterprise, together with the names of the owners of any such property if known.

three disinterested

SEC. 7. Upon the presentation of such petition the Appointment of Judge shall appoint three disinterested residents of any persons to inquire of the counties named in said petition, commissioners into matters con- to meet at some point on the line of said improvement on a day specified by said Judge, and to inquire touching the matters contained in said petition, and the Judge shall fix the fees of said commissioners.

tained in said petition.

Power of commissioners.

To subscribe oath

for faithful per

SEC. 8. Said commissioners shall have power to adjourn from day to day and to such places on the line of such improvement as they shall deem proper.

SEC. 9. Before entering upon their duties the commissioners shall severally take and subscribe an oath formance of duty. before some person qualified to administer oaths, faithfully and impartially to discharge the duties of their appointment.

of time and place

SEC. 10. At least five days notice of the first meeting of said commissioners shall be given in all cases, Notices to be given and in case of infants such notice shall be served on of holding meeting their guardians or the persons with whom they reside; in case of idiots, lunatics or distracted persons, on their guardians, if they have one, and if not, then on the person in whose care or charge they may be found;

hear cases and as

in cases of femmes coverts, on the husband as well as the femmes coverts, but notices to the non-residents of the counties through which said improvements are to be constructed shall be published in some newspaper printed in one of said counties for three weeks in succession, previous to the meeting of said commissioners. SEC. 11. The commissioners shall meet at the time and place mentioned in the notice, and shall proceed to examine the entire line of said improvements or so much thereof as is described in said petition and all Commissioners to the lands, property or real estate which will be dam-sess damages. aged, overflowed, ten, appropriated or used by or for the purpose [of]l enterprise, and which is described in said petition, and hear the allegations and ppt testimony of all parties insted and shall proceed to make in each case a separate assessment of damages which will result to any person, corporation or company by reason of the construction of said improvement, and shall determine and appraise to the owners of said land, property, easement or any other right, proposed to be taken for said improvement, the amount of damages arising to them respectively from the taking thereof, after making due allowance for any benefit that such owner or owners may respectively derive from the taking such property, land, easement or other right, for the improvement aforesaid. Such amount after making such allowances shall be awarded to such persons respectively as their damages.

file petition and

office of the clerk

SEC. 12. Within three months after completing their said examination and the making of said appraise- Commissioners ment and assessments of damages, the said commis- full report in the sioners shall file the said petition, a copy of their ap- of the court. pointment and oath, together with a full report of their doings in the premises, accompanied by a map showing the route and location of the proposed improvement, in the office of the clerk of the court in the county where said application for the appointment of said commissioners had been made, and shall give the same notice of the filing of their report, as of their meeting.

When payment

SEC. 13. Upon the filing of said report, the petitioners, or any officers of or other persons duly appoint- may be made. ed by said corporation may make payment of the damages assessed to parties entitled to the same in manner following:

to

Manner of making paymentspayments to be made when persons refuse to receive-how.

Appeal may be ta

ken-notice may be served on the

appellee-twenty days' notice to be given-when appeal may not be taken.

appeal.

First. To parties laboring under no disability. Second. To guardians of infants, husbands or trustees of femmes coverts.

Third. To guardians, insane persons, idiots, lunatics and persons under other disability, and receipts for such payments filed in the office of the clerk aforesaid shall estop the parties receipting and their principals, when they shall act in a representative capacity, from all further claims or proceedings in the premises. Payments to parties residing in the State, but not in the county or counties through whic said improvement runs, as well as to infants, insane persons and other persons under disability, who have no guardians, and payments to parties residio out of the State, and to persons whose names are tarnown, and to persons who shall refuse to receive the payments when tendered, shall be made by depositing the same with the clerk of said court to be paid out under the direction of the Judge thereof, and such deposit shall have the same effect as the first mentioned receipts, unless an appeal be taken by the party entitled thereto.

SEC. 14. Appeals from the assessments made by the commissioners may be taken and prosecuted in the court when the report of said commissioners is filed by any party interested, and a written notice of such appeal shall be served upon the appellee, in the same manner as summons, in ordinary civil actions are served: Provided, That such notice shall be served at least twenty days before the hearing of said appeal, and Provided further, That no appeal under this act shall be taken after the expiration of thirty days from the time of the notification of the filing of the report aforesaid.

SEC. 15. The prosecution of such improvements, shall not be hindered, delayed or prevented by the No delay by the prosecution of any appeal: Provided, The corporation prosecution of any shall execute and file with the clerk of the court in which the appeal is pending, a bond to be approved by said clerk with sufficient surety or sureties conditioned that the persons executing the same shall pay whatever amount may be required by the judgment of the court therein, and abide any rule or order of the court in relation to the matter in controversy.

To file bond with

amount.

SEC. 16. The appellant shall file with the clerk aforesaid, a bond with security (to be approved by said clerk) in double the amount of the assessment appealed from, payable to the State for the use of all persons security-in what interested in the condition of which bond the proceeding appealed from shall be recited with condition for the due and speedy prosecution of said appeal and to abide the judgment that may be rendered therein, and pay the costs of the appeal, if adjudged so to do by the court in reference to the matter in controversy.

submitted to a jury

SEC. 17. Appeals shall bring before the appellate court, the propriety of the amount of damages in respeet to the parties to the appeal, and unless the parties otherwise argue [agree], the matter shall be submitted to a Damages may be jury and tried as other appeal cases are tried, and the court or jury, as the case may be, shall re-assess the damages aforesaid, making the verdict conform to the justice and facts of the case, but the rule for ascertaining and fixing such damages shall be upon the same principles that the commissioners are required to adopt in originally appraising and determining such damages.

tion when judgment rendered de

SEC. 18. Upon verdicts rendered by juries, or an assessment by the court, judgment shall be entered declaring that upon payment of the damages assessed by the court or the jury, as the case may be, and costs, if any, the right to construct said improvement, to over- Rights of corporaflow the lands, property and real estate, and do the act in controversy in said appeal, and to take, use and claring the right appropriate any property in controversy on said appeal for the purposes of said improvement, shall, as against the parties interested in such verdict be and remain in said company or corporation, their successors and assigns forever, and payments of such judgments may be made as payments of assessments by the commissioners are made, as hereinbefore provided.

to construct.

evidence-how.

SEC. 19. Any corporation organized under this act may perfect record-evidence of title to the property and estate taken for the purposes of any improvement To perfect recordauthorized hereby, by causing the clerk of the court when the report of said commissioners is filed, and after the same has been confirmed, and the award of damages paid, to make certified copies of such report or any part thereof, so far as it shall affect or relate to