HE 2710 74 1815 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by ALLEN, LANE & SCOTT, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. NOTE. In several instances acts and parts of acts repealed or supplied, and so noted, are introduced in their proper order, so that comparisons and references may be made in this book. Passed 28th March, 1820. (Smith's Laws, vol. 7, page 320.) SECTION 1. All power to vote by proxy in any association incorporated by any authority in this Commonwealth, or by the former proprietary government, shall be obtained and dated within six months previously to the time of holding the election or meeting of stockholders at which such proxy shall be presented, and shall not be used for any purpose or purposes except those therein expressed, nor shall any such proxy be given in blank, nor substitution thereof to a third person be admitted, any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding: And provided, also, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to alter or affect the provisions of the act entitled “An act regulating banks," so far as relates to the dates of proxies. SEC. 2. In all elections of officers in an association or company (incorporated as aforesaid) hereafter to be held by virtue of any law of this Commonwealth, whenever any person shall offer to the judges of such election any vote or votes, as attorney, proxy, or agent for any other person, such person being required thereto by any judge of such election, or any stockholder in such association or company, shall, before his vote or votes shall be received, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:-"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have no interest, directly or indirectly, in the share upon which I shall vote at this election; that those shares are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, truly and in good faith (3) M203624 CVTTLOBHIV owned by the persons in whose names they now stand, and that in voting at this election I have not transferred any of the said shares, or caused them to be transferred in trust or otherwise, for the purpose of increasing the votes at this election, and that I shall not violate in any manner, directly or indirectly, any provision of the act of incorporation which limits the number of votes a stockholder may give in his own right;" and the judges of such election are authorized to administer the aforesaid oath (or affirmation), and the said oath and all authorities or powers of attorney to vote by proxy, or as agent, shall be filed and preserved in the office of such association or company, and if any person shall willfully and absolutely swear or affirm falsely in taking any oath or affirmation prescribed by this act, such person so offending shall, upon due conviction thereof, be subject to the pains and penalties which are by law prescribed for the punishment of willful and corrupt perjury. AN ACT REGULATING LATERAL RAILROADS. Approved 5th May, 1832. (P. L., 1831–2, pages 501 to 506.) SECTION 1. That if any owner or owners of land, mills, quarries, coal-mines, lime-kilns, or other real estate, in the vicinity of any railroad, canal, or slack-water navigation, made or to be made by any company or by the State of Pennsylvania, and not more than three miles distant therefrom, shall desire to make a railroad thereto over any intervening lands, he or they, their engineers, agents, and artists, may enter upon any lands, and survey and mark such route as he or they shall think proper to adopt, doing no damage to the property explored, and thereupon may present a petition to the court of common pleas of the county in which said intervening land is situated, setting forth his or their desire to be allowed to construct and finish a railroad in and upon the said route, and the beginning, courses, and distances thereof, and place of intersection of the main railroad, canal, or slack-water navigation, which shall be filed and entered of record in the said court, whereupon the said court shall appoint six disinterested and judicious men, resident in the said county, who shall view the said marked and proposed route for a railroad, and examine the same, and if they or any four of them shall deem the same necessary and useful for public or private purposes, they shall report in writing to the subsequent term of said court what damages will be sustained by the owner or owners of the said intervening land, by the opening, constructing, completing, and using the said railroad, and the report of the said viewers and appraisers shall be filed of record in the said court, and if not appealed from, be liable to be confirmed or rejected by the said court, as to right and justice shall appertain; and if either of the parties shall be dissatisfied with said report, he or they may appeal therefrom to the said court of common pleas within twenty days after such report has been filed in the prothonotary's office, and not after; and after such appeal, either party may put the cause at issue, in the form approved of by the court, and the said issue shall be placed first on the trial list of the next regular term of the said court, and be there tried and determined by the court and jury, and the verdict so rendered, and judgment thereon, shall be final and conclusive, without further appeal or writ of error; and it shall be the duty of the said viewers and jury to take into consideration the advantages which may be derived by the owner or owners of land passed by the said railroad when making up their report or forming their verdict thereon. SEC. 2. That the said court shall tax and allow such fees to the viewers and appraisers and officers of the court as are chargeable for such services under the existing fee bills, which shall be paid by the petitioners for the said railroad, and if necessary, their payment shall be compelled by attachment; and it shall be at the option of the petitioner or petitioners for the said railroad, either after the report filed or after the verdict of the jury, after paying the legal costs to be taxed as aforesaid, to abandon the further prosecution of the said railroad, and, as evidence thereof, shall file his or their declaration of that intent in writing, in the said court, which shall terminate all further proceedings on the said petition. SEC. 3. That the said railroad shall not exceed in breadth twenty feet, nor pass through any burying-ground or place of public worship, nor any dwelling-house or out-buildings, |