PART I. Repeal. of the people, by the district attorney of any county bordering on the waters of that part of the said river on which the offence shall have been committed, to whom notice shall first be given of the commission of such offence. The penalty, when recovered, shall be paid into the county treasury of the county for which such district attorney shall have been appointed, for the use of the poor of the county. S3. The first and second sections of the act entitled "An act to regulate the speed of steamboats," passed April 15, 1839, are hereby repealed. To keep the centre of the river Penalty for violation. Steam ferry boats to be provided boats. CHAP. 321. AN ACT in relation to the navigation of the East river by steamboats. PASSED April 12, 1848. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: $1. All the steamboats passing up and down the East river, between the battery at the southern extremity of the city of New York and Blackwell's Island, shall be navigated as near as possible in the centre of the river, except in going into or out of the usual berth or landing place of such steamboat, and shall not be propelled at a greater rate of speed than ten miles an hour. $ 2. The master, pilot or engineer of any steamboat violating either of the provisions of the foregoing section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition thereto, the master, pilot and engineer of such steamboat, shall respectively be liable to the penalty prescribed in section nine, title ten, chapter twenty of the First Part of the Revised Statutes, to be sued for and applied as therein directed. CHAP. 411. AN ACT requiring Steamboats or vessels propelled or driven by steam to carry small boats for the protection of life in case of accident. PASSED April 11, 1849. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: S1. Every ferry boat driven or propelled by fire or steam navigating any of the waters of this state, shall be provided with small with at least one small row or life boat, at least fifteen feet in length, attached to the ferry boat in such a manner that it can be launched into the water for immediate use in case of need, or in case of accident. CHAP. XX. passengers life boat boat. S2. Every steam vessel, or steamboat, or vessel, or boat Steamboat s propelled or driven by steam or fire, navigating any of the carrying waters of this state, of five hundred tons measurement, and shall have a carrying passengers shall be provided with at least one first and row class life boat, and one row boat twenty-five feet long by seven wide, capable of carrying or supporting fifty persons each, and at least one row boat of the usual size and construction, in addition thereto; and every steamboat or vessel driven or propelled by steam and fire, and navigating any of the waters of this state, of the measurement of two hundred and fifty tons burthen, and not exceeding five hundred tons burthen, and carrying passengers, shall carry at least two ordinary row boats, so attached as to be capable of being launched into the water in case of need or accident. violating S3. Every violation of the provisions of this act shall be Penalty for punishable by fine, not less than two hundred and fifty dol- this act. lars, which may be sued for and recovered in any court of record in this state, in action against the captain of the boat or vessel, or the owner or owners, or either of them, to be sued for in the name of the treasurer of any county in which either the captain or the owner or owners, may be or shall reside. torney to S4. It shall be, and is hereby made the duty of the district District atattorney of the county in which any such captain, owner or prosecute. owners, may be or shall reside, to prosecute a suit for such penalty whenever there shall be presented to him a complaint showing a violation of this act, substantiated by the affidavit of the person so complaining, and the penalties so recovered shall be paid to the county treasurer for the support of the poor of said county. clause. $5. None of the provisions of this act shall be construed as Saving in any manner repealing the act entitled "An act requiring compensation for causing death by wrongful act, neglect or default," passed December 13, 1847, or any part of said act. CHAP. 556. AN ACT in relation to Steamboat Excursions. PASSED April 19, 1855; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: names of $1. That when a steamboat shall be employed for making List of an excursion of pleasure from the city of New York, on the passengers Sound or on the Hudson river, it shall be the duty of the to be filed. master of such boat to require of each male person who takes passage with him for such purpose, and who has arrived at the age of discretion, to give his name, and the place of his abode, namely: the number of the house, street and city in which he resides, and on his refusal so to furnish his name, PART I. Penalty for omission to not to permit him to take passage on such boat; and from the names so obtained, it shall be the duty of such master to make a list, and within five days after such excursion, to file the same in the office of the clerk of the city and county of New York, paying him for filing the same the sum of six cents; and it is hereby made the duty of such clerk to receive, file, and safely keep such list in his office, marking on the back thereof, the name of the steamboat, the date of the excursion, and the time of filing the same; provided, that this section shall not apply to any regularly plying ferry boat. S2. For a neglect by the master to comply with the direcmake list. tions herein before contained, he and the owner or owners of the boat, or either of them, shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars, to be sued for in any court having cognizance of the offence, by any person aggrieved in the matter, the one-half of which penalty, when recovered, to be paid to the plaintiff in such suit, and the other half to the overseers of the poor of the town in which the person aggrieved shall reside. Passengers not to tres pass. S3. Each and every person engaging in such excursion, who shall invade and enter upon the lands and possessions of any owner or occupant residing on or near the banks of the Sound or of the Hudson river, and shall roam about the grounds, orchards and gardens, and help himself to fruit or whatever may seem desirable, without previous leave obtained, shall, in addition to an indictment for the trespass, and to a personal action for damages, incur the penalty of ten dollars, to be sued for by the party aggrieved, one-half thereof, when collected, to be paid to such party, and the other half to the overseers of the poor. Cuttings in ice to be surrounded bushes. CHAP. 20. AN ACT in relation to the cutting of ice in the Hudson river. PASSED February 11, 1860; three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: § 1. All persons and incorporated companies cutting ice in, or removing the same from the waters of the Hudson river in by fence of this state, and the tide waters of the Rondout and Catskill creeks, are hereby required to surround the cuttings and openings made by them, or their employees, with a fence of bushes or other guards at least four feet in height above the surface of the ice sufficient to warn all persons of such cuttings and openings: Such bushes and guards shall be erected at or before the time of commencing such cuttings and openings, and shall be maintained and kept up by such persons or incorpo CHAP. XX. Penalty for rated companies, until ice shall have again formed in such cuttings and openings, to the thickness of at least six inches. $2. Any person violating any of the provisions of this act, violation. shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be imprisoned in the county jail, for the period of not less than five, nor more than thirty days; or be fined a sum not less than ten, or more than one hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. CHAP. 121. AN ACT for the appointment of a commission for the preservation of the harbor of New York from encroachments, and to prevent obstructions to the necessary navigation thereof. PASSED March 30, 1855; three-fifths being present. Whereas, It is represented to the legislature that the harbor Preamble. of New York has become much obstructed by the erection of piers, wharves, and bulkheads, and by other causes, and that grants of rights to occupy land under its waters have been made, and are liable to be made, without sufficient information of the extent of the injury that may be inflicted by such occupation, by narrowing the channel, and otherwise; with the view, therefore, of obtaining the proper information to enable the legislature to control such erections, and prevent such injury: The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: sioners. $1. A board of commissioners, to be appointed by the Commisgovernor, to consist of five citizens of the United States, and of citizens who shall at any time hereafter be appointed in their place, or in the places of any of them, is hereby created, who shall have power, and whose duty it shall be: examina 1. To cause the necessary surveys and examinations of the Surveys and said harbor, and the adjacent lands, to be made by skillful tions. persons, and to obtain all needful information from other sources, in order to ascertain the present condition of the said harbor, particularly whether the navigation thereof is improperly obstructed, and whether, in reference to the present and probable future commerce of the cities of New York and Brooklyn, any further extension of piers, wharves or bulkheads, into the said harbor, ought to be allowed, and to what extent; and whether any grants already made by the legislature, or the commissioners of the land office, or the common council of the city of New York, for the filling up of any land under water of the said harbor, will, if executed, impair or obstruct the necessary navigation of the said harbor : 2. To report to the legislature from time to time, and as Report. PART L Exterior lines. Recommendations as to piers. slips, &c. Maps. Water line and boundary between counties. Land under water not to be granted. soon as practicable, and at least by the second Tuesday of January next, the result of the information thus obtained, and the evidence upon which the same shall be founded: 3. To recommend, submit and present to the legislature, the establishment of such exterior lines, in different parts of the said harbor, opposite and along the water fronts of the cities of New York and Brooklyn, the county of Kings and county of Richmond, and beyond which, no erection or permanent obstruction of any kind should be permitted to be made: 4. To recommend to the legislature such provisions as the said commissioners deem necessary, in respect to the enlarging or filling up of slips, coves and recesses; the size, position and extent of piers, wharves, bulkheads or other erections or improvements within the exterior water line, and a suitable rate of wharfage for vessels using the same, and the laying out and establishing such piers and wharves, and leaving open space between and under them, and in respect to any and every matter and thing calculated to preserve forever the free navigation of said harbor: 5. To have prepared and submit with their report, maps of the said harbor, exhibiting the exterior lines recommended by them, and the lines of the existing piers, wharves and bulkheads, and of any grants of land under water in the said harbor which have not been occupied, and also the original shore line, as far as the same can be ascertained, accompanied with such field notes, measurements and elucidations, as they shall deem necessary to a full exposition and understanding of the subject: 6. To enquire and report upon the propriety of laying out on the East river, a street on the permanent water line in the city of Brooklyn, to be called West street; also, to report upon the power, practicability and utility of establishing a boundary line for the counties of Kings, Queens and New York, in the East river. S2. No grants of land under the waters in respect to which the said commissioners are herein required to report, shall be made by the commissioners of the land office or of the common council of the city of New York, or by any board, officer or corporation, until the further direction of the legislature in the premises. And the said commissioners may, by their order in writing, restrain and stay all proceedings, until the further direction of the legislature, by virtue of any grant of land under the said waters heretofore made, and all permanent erections in, or obstructions of the said waters, which in their judgment may interfere with or embarrass the establishment of such exterior lines as they shall deem proper to recommend to the legislature, which order shall be enforced, and disobedience thereof shall be punished by the supreme court in the second judicial district, at any special or general term thereof, in the same manner and to the same extent as in cases of injuctions issued out of such court. And any per |