first obtained a license from the board of county commissioners of the proper county for that purpose, as hereinafter provided. [R. S. 173. G. S. 386.]

SEC. 2. [Notice of application.]-The person applying for such license shall produce satisfactory evidence to the board of county commissioners, by affidavit of the applicant or otherwise, of his having given notice by advertisement, set up in at least three public places in the precinct or neighborhood where the ferry is proposed to be kept, twenty days prior to the sitting of the board of commissioners, of his intention to apply to such board, at their next regular term, for license to keep such ferry.

SEC. 3. [County board may grant license.]-The board of county commissioners being satisfied that the notice hereby required has been given, that a ferry is needed at said place, and that the applicant is a suitable person to keep the same, are hereby authorized to grant to the applicant a license to keep the same for a term not less than one year nor more than ten years, on the applicant paying into the county treasury of the proper county, a sum to be fixed by the board of county commissioners, not less than two dollars nor more than five hundred dollars annually; and on the applicant producing the county treasurer's receipt for the sum so fixed he or she shall receive from the clerk of the said board of county commissioners, a license under the seal of said clerk, for which he or she shall pay the clerk the sum of fifty cents.

SEC. 4. [Exclusive rights.]-The person owning or possessing land on both sides of any stream, where a ferry is proposed to be established, shall have exclusive right to a license for a ferry at such place, and when the opposite banks are owned by different persons the right to a ferry shall be mutual; but if the owner does not apply to the board of commissioners, the board shall grant a license to any person applying for the same, except where either of the landings are not on a public highway, in which case the consent of the owner of the ground shall first be had in writing; Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any person from ferrying persons across a small stream in high water; and the board of county commissioners are hereby authorized to direct the county clerk to give any person a permit for that purpose, when in their opinion the stream is too small to justify the expense of a license; Provided, also, When any person shall apply for a renewal of his license, at the same place where he kept a ferry the preceding year, the same may be granted or renewed without notice or petition.

SEC. 5. [Renewal of license.]-When a license shall expire in vacation, and the person who obtained the same shall procure a renewal, the latter license shall include the time from the expiration of the former, as well as the time to which it shall extend in future, and the applicant shall pay a rateable proportion for the whole time therein mentioned, and shall thereupon be exonerated from any penalty to which he would be otherwise liable; Provided, however, That in all applications for license, the board of commissioners may grant or refuse the same at their discretion.

SEC. 6. [Boats-Penalties.]-Every person obtaining a license to keep a ferry, shall provide and keep in good repair a good and sufficient boat, for the safe conveyance of persons and property, and when the river or creek over which the ferry is kept is passable, shall, with a sufficient number of hands to work and manage the boat, give due attendance from daylight in the morning until dark in the evening; and shall, moreover, at any hour in the night of day that the creek or river can be passed, when called upon for that purpose, convey the United States mail or other public express across said ferry; and if any person having obtained a license as aforesaid, shall fail or neglect to perform the duties herein enjoined, or any of them, the person so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offense, a sum not exceeding five dollars, to be recovered before any justic of the peace of the proper county, at the suit of any person prosecuting for and making due proof of such failure or neglect; and if any keeper of a ferry as afore said, shall demand or receive a higher rate or sum for ferriages than shall be

allowed by the board of county commissioners of the county wherein such ferry is kept, the person so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offense, a fine not exceeding ten dollars, recoverable before any justice of the peace of the proper county, by any person making due proof thereof, to be disposed of as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 7. [Release from penalties.]-Should the county commissioners refuse to renew the license of a ferryman, he shall be exonerated from the penalties of this chapter, by paying into the county treasury, previous to any prosecution having been commenced against him, such sum for the time which may have elapsed between the expiration of his license and the next session of the board of county commissioners, as shall bear a rateable proportion to the amount charged for the previous year.

SEC. 8. [Rates of ferriage.-The board of county commissioners, at the same time they grant a license to keep a ferry shall also fix the rate of ferriages which the ferry keeper may demand and receive for the transportation of persons and property; and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the board of said county commissioners to furnish every person taking out a license to keep a ferry, with a list of the rate of ferriages, which list the ferry keeper shall post at the door of his ferry-house or in some conspicuous place convenient to said ferry.

SEC. 9. [List to be handed grand jury.-Every county clerk shall, on the first day of the term of the district court, deliver to the grand jury an accurate list of all persons holding license within his county; and it shall be the duty of the judge to give this chapter in charge to the grand jury, whose duty it shall be to make inquiry and give information of any violation thereof, except in cases where jurisdiction is given to justices of the peace.

SEC. 10. [Unauthorized ferries.]-If any person shall keep a ferry without being duly authorized, the person so offending shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, to be recovered by indictment.

SEC. 11. [Neglect of officers.]-If any justice of the peace or other officer shall neglect or fail to comply with the requisitions of this chapter, the person so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offense a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, at the discretion of any court of competent jurisdiction before whom the same may be recovered, for the use of the county.

SEC. 12. [Suits how brought.]-All actions or suits brought under the provisions of this chapter, shall be in the name of the state of Nebraska, and the court taking cognizance thereof shall keep a record of all fines and forfeitures recovered under the same; and sheriffs, constables and other officers shall pay all moneys, within thirty days after receiving the same, into the county treasury. Justices of the peace and clerks of courts, before whom any fine is recovered, shall present an accurate account thereof to the county clerk, on or before the first Monday of July annually; and it shall be the duty of the county clerk to inform against and prosecute all offenders against this statute, especially such offenses as are cognizable before justices of the peace.

SEC. 13. [Vested rights.]-Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to conflict or interfere with any vested right heretofore acquired or secured under any law of this state.

SEC. 14. [Foot passengers.]-It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, ferry or transfer company, engaged in ferrying or transferring persons across any river in this state, or any river forming the boundary line thereof, to charge, demand of, or receive from any footman, or foot passengers, more than ten cents for any such ferriage or transfer across any of said rivers. [1871, § 1, 123.]

SEC. 15. [Penalty.]-If any person or persons or company engaged in the business aforesaid, shall demand, charge, or receive a greater sum than ten cents for such transfer, such person or persons or company, shall incur a penalty of ten

SECS. 14-15. "An act to limit the amount of ferriage to be charged for ferrying footmen.' Laws 1871, 123. Took effect April 1, 1871.

dollars for such offense, which penalty may be collected by civil action before a justice of the peace whenever service of process can be made; one half of the said penalty shall be for the use of the plaintiff in any such action, and the other half shall be paid to the county treasurer, and constitute a part of the school fund of such county. [Id. § 2.]

CHAPTER 30.-FIRE COMPANIES.

SECTION 1. [Exemption from jury duty.] - All members in good standing in any fire company, or hook and ladder company in this state, and all persons who have been members of such company in good standing for five consecutive years, in the state of Nebraska, shall be exempt from serving upon grand and petit juries, of justice of the peace courts of this state, and from militia duty in time of peace, and from the assessment of any poll-tax. [1867, 12 Sess. Ter., 16. Amended 1873. G. S. 390.]

SEC. 2. [Number of members.]-No fire company shall have upon its rolls at one time, more than seventy-five persons, and no hook and ladder company shall have upon its rolls at any one time more than fifty members; and the foreman and secretary of every such company shall, on the first days of April and October in each year, file in the office of the clerk of the district court, in and for the respective counties, a certified copy of the rolls of their respective companies, so as to obtain for the members thereof the privilege of the exemption herein named; Provided, That no organization shall be deemed to be a bona fide fire, or hook and ladder company, until it shall have procured for active service, appa ratus for the extinguishment or prevention of fires, in case of a fire company, to the value of $1,500, and of a hook and ladder company to the value of $500.

SEC. 3. [Dues.]-Members in good standing are hereby defined to be those who keep their dues promptly paid up, and are present and render active service when called out for the legitimate purposes of their organization.

SEC. 4. [Exemption from execution.]-That all fire-engines, hose, hosecarriages, ladders, buckets, and all vehicles, machinery and appliances of every kind, used or kept by incorporate cities, villages or fire companies, for the purpose of extinguishing fire, be, and the same is hereby exempt from execution and sale, to satisfy any debt, judgment or decree arising upon contract or otherwise; Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not affect any voluntary lien created by bill of sale, mortgage or otherwise, on such property, by the proper owner; Provided, further, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to, or in any way affect, the remedy upon any contract now existing, or judgment rendered upon any contract in any court of this state. [1869 § 1, 17.]

CHAPTER 31.-FISH.*

SECTION 1. [Fish commissioner-Appointment.]-That the governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate appoint three resident citizens of the state of Nebraska, who shall constitute a board of fish commissioners, who shall hold such office for the term of three years from the date of such appointment and until the appointment of their successors; Provided, That the persons first appointed under this act shall hold such office one, two, and three years respectively, whose respective terms of office shall be designated in such appointment, and thereafter the governor shall in like manner fill all vacancies in said board during the remainder of the term. [1879 § 1, 154.] SEC. 2. [Same-Government.]-The board may adopt by-laws for its government not inconsistent with the laws of the state. The person whose unex

SECS. 1-3. "An act to exempt firemen from jury, militia and road duty." 12 Sess. Ter., 1867, 16. Took effect Feb. 18, 1867. SEC. 4. "An act to exempt from sale on execution, property used and kept to extinguish fires." Laws 1869, 17. Took effect Jan. 22, 1869.

NOTE.-"An act creating a board of fish commissioners for the propagation and distribution of fish in the public waters of Nebraska." Laws 1879, 154.

pired term of office is the shortest shall preside at the business meetings of the board. In the determination of all questions by the board two members must

concur.

SEC. 3. [Compensation-Expenses.]-The members of the board shall receive no compensation for services performed, but they shall be reimbursed actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of the duties of the commission, not to exceed the sum of $500 in any one year, out of money appropriated for that purpose.

SEC. 4. [Powers-Duties.]-The board shall have the entire charge and supervision of all public waters pertaining to the collection, propagation, cultivation, distribution, and protection of fish in this state. It shall have control of all property of the state obtained or held for the purposes contemplated by this act. It shall receive all fish and fish spawn donated to the state by the United States fishery commission, or from other sources or persons, or purchased by the state. It may establish hatching boxes, etc., for the preservation and hatching of spawn and fry, and in the most practical and economical manner procure and distribute fish in the public waters of this state, and adopt such other means as shall, in its judgment, best promote the increase and preservation of food fishes.

SEC. 5. [Same.]-The commissioners may take or cause to be taken, under the direction of the board, any fish at any time for the purpose of fish culture or for scientific observation. They shall give special attention to the enforcement of the laws of the state relative to the protection of fish and fisheries in the state.

SEC. 6. [Report to governor.]-The board shall annually, on or before the first day of January in each year, report its transactions, with an account in detail of all its receipts and expenditures, to the governor, also of all spawn and fish taken or received and distributed, giving time, place, and sources from which received, and such other matters as appertain to the fishery interests of the state.

CHAPTER 32.-FRAUDS.

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES AND CONTRACTS RELATIVE TO REAL ESTATE.

SECTION 1. [When void.]-Every conveyance of or charge upon, any estate or interest in lands, or the rents and profits thereof, made or created with intent to defraud prior or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, shall, as against such purchasers, be void. [R. S. 292. G. S. 391.]

SEC. 2. [Subsequent purchaser.]-No such conveyance or charge shall be deemed fraudulent, in favor of a subsequent purchaser, who shall have actual or legal notice thereof at the time of his purchase, unless it shall appear that the grantor in such conveyance, or person to be benefited by such charge, was privy to the fraud intended.

SEC. 3. [Conveyance to be in writing.]-No estate or interest in land, other than leases for a term not exceeding one year, nor any trust or power over or concerning lands, or in any manner relating thereto, shall hereafter be created,

SEC. 1. Statute does not render contract void but voidable. 8 Neb. 114. 11 1d. 227. Exempt property not susceptible of fraudulent alienation. 8 Neb. 174. 10 Id. 117. 13 Id. 403.

Bona fide purchasers for valuable consideration without notice protected. 6 Neb. 99. But one who purchases with notice, though for a valuable consideration full and adequate is not bona fide Id.; 11 Id.328. And fraudulent intent must have been participated in or at least known to purchaser: 9 Neb. 47. 13 Id. 514. But where purchaser has notice of fraudulent intent or such facts as would put men of ordinary prudence upon inquiry, he is not bona fide: 13 Neb. 514. 15 Id. 404. 12 Id. 456. Burden of proof on purchaser: 15 Neb. 289. SEC. 3. Parol testimony inadmissible to prove surrender of leased premises. 7 Neb. 75. Payment of a small portion of purchase money is not such part performance as takes the contract out of the statute. 1 Neb. 53. Whether payment of considerable portion sufficient quaere. 13 Neb. 306. Part performance by the vendor including delivery of possession and full performance by the vendee, will take the case out of the statute. Neb. 138. Parol agreements held not within the statute. 9 Neb. 384. Under this section acknowledgment and record of deed not necessary to pass title. 12 Neb. 155. Statute no defense in action to recover price of land conveyed. 12 Neb. 634. 14 Id. 177. Authority of agent to sell must be in writing unless there is subsequent ratification of his acts. 14 Neb. 292. Memorandum of contract which contains names of the parties, description of property, price, and refers to ten year terms of the seller as the terms of sale, is sufficient. Memorandum signed by agent in his own name binding on principal. 15 Neb. 131. Agreement need only be signed by him to be charged. 12 Neb. 552.

10

granted, assigned, or surrendered or declared, unless by act or operation of law, or by a deed or conveyance in writing, subscribed by the party creating, granting, assigning, surrendering or declaring the same.

SEC. 4. [Wills and trusts.-The preceding section shall not be construed to affect in any manner the power of a testator in the disposition of his real estate by a last will and testament, nor to prevent any trust from arising or being extinguished by implication or operation of law.

SEC. 5. [Lease.]-Every contract for the leasing, for a longer period than one year, or for the sale of any lands, or any interest in lands, shall be void unless the contract, or some note or memorandum thereof, be in writing, and signed by the party by whom the lease or sale is to be made.

SEC. 6. [Specific performance.]—Nothing in this chapter contained shall be construed to abridge the powers of the court of chancery to compel the specific performance of agreements in cases of part performance.

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES AND CONTRACTS RELATIVE TO GOODS, CHATTELS AND THINGS IN ACTION.

SEC. 7. [When void.]-All deeds of gift, all conveyances, and all transfers or assignments, verbal or written, of goods, chattels, or things in action, made in trust for the use of the person making the same, shall be void as against the creditors, existing or subsequent, of such person.

SEC. 8. [Contract to be written.]-In the following cases every agreement shall be void, unless such agreement, or some note or memorandum thereof, be in writing, and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith: First. Every agreement that, by its terms is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof. Second. Every special promise to answer for the debt, default or misdoings of another person. Third. Every agreement, promise or undertaking made upon consideration of marriage, except mutual promises to marry. Fourth. Every special promise by an executor or administrator to answer damages out of his own estate.

SEC. 9. [Same.]-Every contract for the sale of any goods, chattels, or things in action, for the price of fifty dollars or more, shall be void, unless-First. A note or memorandum of such contract be made in writing, and be subscribed by the party to be charged thereby; or, Second. Unless the buyer shall accept and receive part of such goods or the evidences, or some of them, of such things in action; or, Third. Unless the buyer shall, at the time, pay some part of the purchase money.

SEC. 10. [Public auction.]-Whenever goods shall be sold at public auction, and the auctioneer shall, at the time of sale, enter in a sale book, a memorandum specifying the nature and price of the property sold, the terms of the sale, the name of the purchaser, and the name of the person on whose account the sale is made, such memorandum shall be deemed a note of the contract of sale within the meaning of the last section.

SEC. 11. [Sale void unless accompanied by delivery.]-Every sale made by a vendor of goods and chattels in his possession or under his control, and every assignment of goods and chattels, by way of mortgage or security, or upon any condition whatever, unless the same be accompanied by an immediate delivery, and be followed by an actual and continued change of possession, of the

SEC. 5. Contracts of agents how signed. 3 Neb. 213. Lease good between parties although not witnessed or acknowledged. 15 Neb. 170. So is written contract of sale. 11 Neb. 196. Parol lease for two years void but good for one year if tenant enter into possession. 13 Neb. 6.

SEC. 7. Decisions relative to assignments. See chap. 6.

SEC. 8. Promises held good under the statute. 12 Neb. 70. 14 Id. 201. 15 Id. 101, 131. 9 Id. 384. Promises held void. 10 Neb. 368 16 Id. 17. And see 13 Neb. 306.

SEC. 9. Object of section stated. 9 Neb. 180. Defense cannot be interposed by strangers. 10 Neb. 417. SEC. 11. Question of fraud can only be raised by creditors and purchasers; creditors must obtain judgment; purchasers must establish their own bona fides. 2 Neb. 151. 13 Id. 77. Effect of retention of possession and power of sale in mortgagor. 3 Neb. 75. 6 Id. 219, 333, 397, 400. 11 Id. 120, 122. 7 Id. 138, 433. 8 Id. 377. 9 Id. 50, 12 Id. 5-6. 13 Id. 264. 14 Id. 393. 16 Id. 439. See also 12 Id. 456.