Board of Supervisors thereof, including the "Scranton Abstract" in office of regis (so called), and all such abstracts as have otherwise been or here- ter of deeds. after may be provided for such use, shall be and remain in the office of the register of deeds for said county, and the same shall be taken and deemed to be public records of said county, and the register of Register to use deeds of said county shall use, preserve and protect the same, and his successor deliver the same to his successor in office, in all respects the same other records. as by law he is required to do with the other public records in his

office.

and deliver to

abstracts same as

conveyances,

books.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the register of deeds of said Register to enter county to enter in proper manner, and substantially as they are etc., on abstract now kept, on said abstract books, all conveyances, encumbrances, liens, and levies, as well as all other papers received by him for record upon the receipt of the same.

transcripts on

SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the register of deeds of said Register to make county, upon the payment or tender to him of his fees as herein tender of fees. provided, to make upon request a true and correct transcript of said abstracts so far as the same shall in any manner affect the title to any real estate, the description of which shall be given him by the person so making such request; and the said register of Fees. deeds shall be entitled to demand and receive for such transcript the following fees, to wit: One dollar for the first entry of description or conveyance, and fifteen cents for each additional entry in anywise pertaining to such description or the title thereof.

visors authorized

stracts.

SEC. 4. The Board of Supervisors of the county of Kent are Board of superhereby authorized, upon a vote of a majority of all the members to have copies elect of said Board, to appropriate, from time to time, out of the made of abtreasury of said county, such sums of money as shall be necessary for the purpose of copying any of said abstracts that shall be necessary to be copied for the preservation thereof.

purchase books

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of said county of Treasurer to Kent to purchase from time to time, with the money of said county, to continue upon the written order of the register of deeds of said county, abstracts, which order shall be first approved by the clerk of said county, such books as shall be necessary for the purpose of continuing or copying said abstracts.

moving or injur

SEC. 6. Any person who shall wilfully change, despoil, mutilate Penalty for reor otherwise injure the abstracts herein mentioned, and any person ing abstracts. who shall remove from said register's office any book or books containing such abstracts, with intent to injure or convert the same to his own use, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the State Prison for a period not exceeding ten years, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or both in the discretion of the court.

SEC. 7. This act shall take immediate effect.

Approved May 17, 1877.

When public highway on banks of lake, river, etc., be.

come reduced in width.

sioner when no

[No. 144. ]

AN ACT to protect travel on the public highways.

SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, That when any public highway which runs or passes along the bank of any lake, river, or other water-course in any township in this State shall, by the falling or washing away of the bank, or any other cause, become reduced to a width [of] less than fifty feet, it shall be Duty of commis. the duty of the commissioner of highways of such township, on tified in writing. being notified in writing by any person of adult age that any public highway in his township, not protected as hereinafter provided, has become less than fifty feet wide, such notice stating the place or places where such defect exists, to proceed within ten days and examine the same, and if he finds it to be less than fifty feet wide, he shall, within ten days thereafter, give notice in writing to the owner or occupant of the land over which said public highway passes, requiring said owner or occupant to remove within thirty days his or her fence back from the bank of such lake, river, or other water-course far enough to admit of the opening and working of a highway at least fifty feet wide, and if the owner or occupant of such land shall neglect to remove said fence as required by such notice, it shall be the duty of said commissioner of highways forthwith to remove such fence, doing the said owner or occupant no unnecessary damage in making such removal.

When commissioner may erect fence, etc.

Proceedings for widening high.

lake, etc.

SEC. 2. When any such public highway is less than fifty feet wide and more than thirty-five feet wide, the commissioner of highways may, in his discretion, on being notified as heretofore provided, instead of widening said public highway, erect near the edge of the bank of such lake, river, or other water-course, and thereafter maintain in good order, a substantial railing or fence, which shall be at least three feet high, and sufficiently strong to prevent vehicles, carriages, and animals from falling over said bank.

SEC. 3. When any dwelling house or other building shall stand way when build. So near such lake, river, or other water-course that there shall not ing stands near be room for a road at least thirty-five feet wide, then such commissioner of highways shall, within ten days after being notified of such fact, as provided in section one of this act, give thirty days' notice in writing to the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the land to be taken, and to the owner or occupant of such house or other buildings [building], of his intention to open a public highway in the rear of such house or other building, and if such house or other building shall, within the said thirty days, be moved back far enough to admit of a road being opened and worked at least thirty-five feet wide in front thereof, then said commissioner of highways shall widen such public highway in front of said house or other building; but if said house or other building shall not be so removed, he shall then proceed without further delay to lay out a public highway in the rear of said house or other building, not less than fifty feet wide.

awarded by

SEC. 4. Whenever any commissioner of highways, acting under Damages the provisions of this act, shall remove or cause to be removed any commissioner. fence, and shall take any land to widen a public highway, or shall lay out a public highway in the rear of any house or other building, he shall award such damages to the owner of the property taken, and for removing such fence when done by the owner, as to him shall seem just and reasonable, and shall tender to the person entitled thereto an order on the treasurer of his township for the amount of damages awarded to said person, but when no owner, occupant, or agent of the property taken resides or can be found in his township, then said commissioner of highways shall deposit such order with the clerk of his township, who shall deliver the same to the person entitled thereto when applied for: Provided, Proviso-appeal. That any person dissatisfied with the amount of damages awarded by the commissioner of highways in accordance with this act may, within ten days after such damages have been determined, appeal in writing to the township board of said township, whose duty it shall be, within thirty days thereafter, to hear such appeal and determine as to said damages, and if said township board shall increase the damages awarded by said commissioner of highway [highways], then the expense of the meeting of said township board shall be a charge against said township, but if said damages be not increased, then the expense of the meeting of said township board shall be paid by the appellant: And provided further, That no Appeal, etc., not claim for damages or appeal shall be allowed to cause delay in the ing of highway. removal of any fence and the widening of any public highway as provided in section one of this act, or of widening in front of or laying out in the rear of any house or other building a public highway, as provided in section three of this act.

to delay widen

sioner as to dan

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of highways in Duty of commiseach township to see that all dangerous places on the public high- gerous places on ways in his township be so guarded by a sufficient railing, or in highways. some other manner, as to make travel upon the same convenient and safe at all times.

red by commis

SEC. 6. All proper expenses incurred by any commissioner of Expenses incurhighways in complying with the requirements of this act shall be by sioner reported him reported in writing to the supervisor of his township, on or to supervisor. before the first day of October in each year, and said supervisor shall levy the same upon the taxable property of his township in the same manner as other township taxes: Provided, That the amount Proviso-limit which may be so expended by a commissioner of highways in any one year shall not exceed one-half of one per cent on the assessed valuation of the property in said township, as appears by the last assessment roll.

of expense.

lect by commis

SEC. 7. Every commissioner of highways neglecting to perform Penalty for neg any of the duties required of him by this act, shall be punished by sioner. fine not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars, and any citizen of this State may prosecute said commissioner of highways in the name of the township where the defective road exists. SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of highways of

sioner as to

plank, gravel or toll roads.

Duty of commis- any township to see that all plank or gravel road companies, or companies owning or controlling any kind of toll road, maintain their roads in as safe condition for public travel as he is by this act required to keep the public highways of his township. And when Notice to repair. any such plank, gravel, or toll road shall become defective, he shall serve a written notice upon the president, secretary, gate-keeper, or other officer of the company owning or controlling the same, describing the locality where such defect exists, and requiring such company to repair such defect within thirty days from the receipt of such notice. And every such company failing to comply with the requirements of such notice shall, for every such offense, be subject to a fine of fifty dollars, to be sued for and recovered by the supervisor of the township in which such defect exists. Approved May 17, 1877.

Penalty when company fails to comply with requirements of notice.

Section amended.

Reception and

continuance of

pupils, and au.

thority of board

relation thereto.

[No. 145.]

AN ACT to amend section eleven of an act entitled "An act to establish a State Public School for dependent and neglected children," approved April seventeenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and to add one new section to said act, as amended by act number one hundred and forty-four of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and act number fifty-eight of eighteen hundred and seventy-five, to be known as section twenty-three.

SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, That section eleven of an act entitled "An act to establish a State Public School for dependent and neglected children," approved April seventeen, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, as amended by act number one hundred and forty-four of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and act number fifty-eight of eighteen hundred and seventy-five, be amended so as to read as follows:

SEC. 11. There shall be received as pupils in said school those children who are declared dependent on the public for support, as provided in this act, who are over three and under fourteen years of age, and who are in suitable condition of body and mind to receive instruction. That said board is authorized in admitting children to give preference to those under twelve years of age. That those admitted, unless sent from the institution as provided by this act, shall be retained until they are sixteen years of age, and may be retained after that age, in the option of said board, until a home is Return of chil. procured for them. That said board is authorized to return to the county sending it any child, when it shall become sixteen years of age, and no home has been procured, or whenever after its admission it shall be ascertained to the satisfaction of said board that the child was of unsound mind, or unsound body, at the time of its admission, or if for any other reason said board shall consider said

dren to county.

child an improper inmate of said school; that, in the case of the return of any child as herein provided to the county sending it, the guardianship of this board shall cease, and the child shall again become a charge on the county sending it. The said board of Report of reason control shall report in writing, to the superintendents of the county poor of the proper county, the reason for returning the child.

for return.

SEC. 2. That there shall be added to said act one new section to Section added. stand as section twenty-three of said act, to read as follows:

child by physi.

SEC. 23. That whenever on [the] examination provided for in this Examination of act the judge of probate shall determine that the child is dependent cian. on the public for support, he shall cause it to be examined by the county physician, if there be one, and if not, then by a respectable practicing physician, and shall in no case enter the order in his journal, showing the child is admissible to this school, unless the physician making such examination shall certify in writing, under oath, filed in said court, that the child examined by him is, in his opinion, of sound mind, and has no chronic or contagious disease, and in his opinion has not been exposed to any contagious disease within fifteen days previous to such examination before the judge of probate. That a copy of such certificate shall be attached to the other papers provided by this act, to accompany each child to this school.

SEC. 3. This act shall take immediate effect.
Approved May 17, 1877.

[No. 146.]

AN ACT to define and limit the term of office of officers and commissioners, appointed by the Governor, in cases not otherwise defined and limited.

of officers, etc., appointed by

SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, That Terms of office the term of office of officers and commissioners appointed by the Governor, in cases not otherwise provided, or where no term is Governor. specified in the act creating such office or commission, shall expire two years from the first day of January of the year when the appointment is made, unless the appointment shall be by the commission limited to a shorter term, in which case it shall cease as limited, or unless the appointment be to fill a vacancy, in which case it shall continue for the remainder of the term: Provided, Proviso. That in cases where by law the office does not expire with the term, such officers shall hold the office and continue to act until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Approved May 18, 1877.