A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia of a Public and Permanent Nature as Have Passed Since the Session of 1801

No. II.

duplicate of which shall be entered on the said company's books: And at such yearly general meetings, after leaving in the hands of the treasurer such sum as the proprietors cr a majority of them shall judge necessary for repairs and contingent charges, an equal dividend of all the neat profits, arising from the tolls hereby granted, shall be ordered and made to and among all the proprietors of the Extra meetings said company, in proportion to their several shares: And upon any may be appoint- emergency in the interval between the said yearly meetings, the president, or a majority of the said directors, may appoint a general meeting of the proprietors of the said company, at any convenient town, giving at least one month's previous notice in the Winchester Gazette aforesaid, which meeting may be adjourned and continued as aforesaid.

Tolls demanda

9. And be it further enacted, That for and in consideration of the ble for the use of expenses the said proprietors will be at, not only in cutting the said this navigation, canals, erecting locks and other works for opening the different falls which is hereby of the said river, and in improving and extending the navigation stockholders, & thereof, but in maintaining and keeping the same in repair; the said forever exempt- canals and works, with all their profits, shall be, and the same are ed from taxation. hereby vested in the said proprietors, their heirs and assigns, fore

vested in the

ver, as tenants in common, in proportion to their respective shares, and the same shall be deemed real estate, and be forever exempt from payment of any tax, imposition, or assessment whatsoever.

10. It shall and may be lawful for the said president and direc tors, at all times forever hereafter, to demand and receive at Little's Falls on the said river, or any place below the same falls which the president and directors or a majority thereof shall fix upon for that purpose, the following tolls or rates, that is to say:

For every pipe or hogshead of wine, containing more
than sixty-five gallons,

every hogshead of rum or other spirits,
every hogshead of tobacco,

every cask between sixty-five and thirty-five gallons,
one half of a pipe or hogshead, barrels, one
fourth part, and smaller casks or kegs in propor-
tion, according to the quality and quantity of
their contents of wine or spirits.

casks of linseed oil, the same as spirits.
every bushel of wheat, peas, beans, or flax-seed,
every bushel of Indian corn or other grain, or salt,
every barrel of pork,

Dolls. Cts

every barrel of beef,

For every hundred barrel staves or barrel heading,

every hundred cubic feet of plank or scantling, every hundred cubic feet of other timber,

every gross hundred weight of all other commodities and packages,

every empty boat or vessel, which has not commodities on board to yield so much, except an empty boat or vessel returning, whose load has already paid at the aforesaid place the sum fixed, in which case she is to repass toll free,

Dolls. Cts

1 10

which tolls may be discharged in dollars and cents, or other coin. made current by law.

11. And in case of refusal or neglect to pay the tolls at the time Penalty for non. of offering to pass through the place aforesaid, and previous to the payment of tolls! vessel's passing through the same, the collectors of the said tolls may lawfully refuse passage to such vessels; and if any vessel shall pass without paying the said tolls, then the said collectors may seize such vessel wherever found and sell the same at auction, for ready money, which so far as is necessary, shall be applied towards paying the said tolls, and all expenses of seizure and sale, and the balance, if any, shall be paid to the owner: And the person having the direction of such vessel, shall be liable for such toll, if the same is not paid by sale of such vessel as aforesaid. Provided, That the Proviso. said proprietors, or a majority of them, holding at least three hundred shares, shall have full power and authority, at any general meeting, to lessen the said tolls, or any of them, or to determine that any article may pass free of toll.

clared free to all -subject to payment of tolls

12. And be it further enacted, That the said river and the works Navigation deto be erected thereon in virtue of this act, when completed, shall forever thereafter be esteemed and taken to be navigable as a public highway, free for the transportation of all goods, commodities, or herein mentionproduce whatsoever, on payment of the tolls imposed by this act, and ed. no other toll or tax whatever for the use of the water of the said river, and the works thereon erected, shall at any time hereafter be imposed by the General Assembly of Virginia.

acquired.

13. And whereas it is necessary for the making the said canal, Land requisite locks, and other works, that a provision should be made for con- for completion ofdemning a quantity of land for the purpose, Be it enacted, That it this work, how shall and may be lawful for the said president and directors, or a majority of them, to agree with the owners of any land through which the said canal is intended to pass for the purchase thereof, and in case of disagreement, or in case the owner thereof shall be a feme covert, under age, non compos, or out of the state, on application to any two justices of the county in which such land shall lie, the said justices shall issue their warrant under their hands, to the sheriff of their county to summon a jury of twenty-four inhabitants of his county, of property and reputation, not related to the parties, nor in any manner interested, to meet on the land to be valued, on a day to be expressed in the warrant, not less than ten, nor more than twenty days thereafter; and the sheriff upon receiving the said warrant, shall forthwith summon the said jury, and when met, provided that not less than twelve do appear, shall administer an oath or affirma

for valuinglands, &c. shall be Sworn.

mages, &c. conclusive.

Jurors convened tion to every juryman who shall appear, "That he will faithfully, "justly and impartially, value the land, (not exceeding in any case, "the width of one hundred and forty feet) and all damages the own"er thereof shall sustain by cutting the canal through such land, according to the best of his skill and judgment, and that in such va"luation he will not spare any person, through fear or affection, nor Inquisition to be "any person grieve, through malice, hatred or ill-will." And the insigned by sheriff quisition thereupon taken, shall be signed by the sheriff and some and jurors & 1eturned to court & twelve or more of the jury, and returned by the sherim to the clerk recorded their of his county, to be by him recorded; and upon every such valuativaluation of da- on, the jury is hereby directed to describe and ascertain the bounds of the land by them valued, and their valuation shall be conclusive on all persons, and shall be paid by the said president and directors to the owner of the land, or his legal representative, and on payment thereof, the said company shall be seized in fee, of such land, as if conveyed by the owner to them and their successors by legal conveyance. Provided nevertheless, That if any farther damage shall arise to any proprietor of land in consequence of opening such canal, or in erecting such works, than had been before considered and valued, it shall and may be lawful for such proprietor, as often as any such new damage shall happen, by application to, and a warrant from any two justices of the county where the lands lic, to have such farther damage valued by a jury in like manner, and to receive and recover the same of the said president and directors: Further proviso. But nothing herein shall be taken or construed to entitle the proprietor of any such land to recover compensation for any damages which may happen to any mills, forges, or other water-works or improvements which shall be begun or erected by such proprietor, after such first valuation, unless the said damage is wilfully or maliciously done by the said president and directors, or some person by their authority.

Proviso.

President, &c.to 14. And be it further enacted, That the said president and direc purchase a piece tors, or a majority of them, are hereby authorised to agree with the of land near the proprietors, for the purchase of a quantity of land not exceeding one place of receiving toils, & pro- acre, at or near the place of receipt of tolls aforesaid, for the purceedings in case pose of erecting necessary buildings; and in case of disagreement or of disagreement any of the disabilities aforesaid, or the proprietor being out of the in the price

thereof.

of mills &c. with

state, then such land may be valued, condemned, and paid for as aforesaid, for the purpose aforesaid; and the said company shall, upon payment of the valuation of the said land be seized thereof in fee. simple, as aforesaid.

Company may 15. And whereas some of the places through which it may be notuse the water necessary to conduct the said canals, may be convenient for erectfor the purpose ing mills, forges, and other water works, and the persons possessors out consent of of such situations may design to improve the same; and it is the owners of land intention of this act not to interfere with private property, but for thro' which the the purpose of improving and perfecting the said navigation: Be it same is conduct enacted, That the water or any part thereof conveyed through any

canal cut or made by the said company, shall not be used for any purpose but navigation, unless the consent of the proprietors of the land through which the same shall be led, be first had, and the said president and directors, or a majority of them, are hereby empowered and directed, if it can be conveniently done, to answer both the purposes of navigation and water-works afcresaid, to enter into rea

sonable agreements with the proprietors of such situation concerning the just proportion of the expenses of making large canals or cuts, capable of carrying such quantities of water as may be sufficient for the purposes of navigation, and also for any such water-works as aforesaid.

16. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for Proprietors may every of the said proprietors to transfer his share or shares, by deed, sell and transier executed before two witnesses, and registered, after proof of the ex- their shares. ecution thereof in the company's books, and not otherwise, except by devise, which devise shall be exhibited to the president and di-, rectors, and registered in the company's books, before the devisce or devisees shall be entitled to draw any part of the profits from the said tolls. Provided, That no transfer whatsoever shall be made, Proviso. except for one or more whole share or shares, and not for part of such shares; and that no share shall at any time be sold, conveyed, transferred or held in trust, for the use and benefit, or in the name of another, whereby the said president and directors or proprietors of the said company, or any of them, shall or may be challenged or made to answer, concerning any such trust, but that every person appearing as aforesaid, to be a proprietor, shall, as to the others of the said company, be to every intent taken absolutely as such, but as between any trustee and the person for whose benefit any trust shall be created, the common remedy may be pursued.

17. And be it further enacted, That if the said capital and the o- Number of ther aids already granted by this act, shall prove insufficient, it shall shares for raising and may be lawful for the said company, from time to time, to en- by this act, may capital proposed crease the said capital by the addition of so many more whole shares, if necessary, be as shall be judged necessary by the said proprietors, or a majority augmented. of them, holding at least four hundred shares, present at any general meeting of the said company; and the said president and directors, or a majority of them, are hereby empowered and required, after giving at least one month's notice thereof in the Winchester Gazette, aforesaid, to open books at the before mentioned places, for receiving and entering such additional subscriptions, in which the propri- Original propri etors of the said company, for the time being, shall and are hereby ference in subetorsto bave predeclared to have the preference of all others for the first thirty days scriptions for after the said books shall be opened, as aforesaid, of taking and sub- such increase. scribing for so many whole shares as any of them shall choose: And Same rules to be the said president and directors are hereby required to observe in obscrvedin other all other respects the same rules therein, as are by this act prescrib- respects, which ed, for receiving and adjusting the first subscriptions, and in like governed in receiving the fist manner to return, under the hands of any four or more of them, an subscriptions. exact list of such additional subscribers, with the sums by them respectively subscribed, into the district court aforesaid, as aforesaid, to be there recorded, and all proprietors of such additional sums shall and are hereby declared to be from thenceforward incorporated into the said company.

18. And be it hereby declared and enacted, That the tolls herein Tells not deman before allowed, to be demanded and received at the place or places dable unless the to be affixed as aforesaid, are granted, and shall be paid on condition navigation is completed. only, that the said Shenandoah Company shall make the river well capable of being navigated in dry seasons by vessels drawing one foot water, from the highest navigable places on the north and south branches of the said river, to the place aforesaid.

Benefits of this

case of failure to commence and complete the work in a certain

19. And be it hereby provided and enacted, That in case the said act done away in company shall not begin the said work within nine calendar months after the company shall be formed, or if the navigation shall not be made and improved as aforesaid, in the manner herein before mentioned, within three years after the said company shall be formed, that then the said company shall not be entitled to any benefit, privilege or advantage under this act.

time.

Commencement

20. Thi act shall commence and be in force from and after the passage thereof.

Preamble

ed in Potowmac company.

CHAP. XXII.

An Act authorising the Potomac Company to open the Shenandoah

River.

(Passed January 13, 1802.-Acts of 1801, ch. 64, pa. 33.)

1. WHEREAS the extension of the navigation of the river Shenandoah will be of public utility, for which purpose it may be necessary to cut lands and erect locks and other works on both sides of the river, and the legislature of Virginia being impressed with the importance of the object, and desirous of encouraging so useful an undertaking; And whereas it is in proof before the legislature, that the endeavors to form a company for that purpose, under the act of the legislature, passed January the twenty third, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, have been ineffectual, and the Potowmac company having by their board of directors, communicated to the present legislature their willingness to undertake that important work;

Profits from o- 2. BE it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That for and pening Shenan- in consideration of the expenses the said company will be at, not doah river, vest- only in cutting the said canals, erecting locks and other works, for opening the different falls of the said river, and the north and south branches thereof, to wit: The north branch up to the mouth of Smith's creek in the county of Shenandoah, and the south branch, to a place called Carthrae's in the county of Rockingham, where the said south branch forks, and in improving and extending the navigation thereof, but in maintaining and keeping the same in repair, the said canals and works with all their profits, shall be and the same are hereby vested in the stockholders of the Potowmac company, their heirs and assigns forever, as tenants in common, in proportion to the shares held by them respectively, and the same shall be deemed real estate, and be forever exempt from payment of any tax, imposition or assessment whatsoever; and the said president and directors shall be entitled to demand and receive at such place or places on the said river, as they shall think proper, the same tolls which were allowed the Shenandoah company under the act of the general assembly, passed the twenty third day of January one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight, entituled, "An act for opening and extending the navigation of the Shenandoah river,” but which tolls shall be subject to a reasonable deduction by the legislature, after the end of seven years from the completion of the said navigation, and they shall demand the said tolls immediately after they have rendered the mouth of the said river Shenandoah navigable, which tolls may be discharged in dollars and cents and other coin made current by law.

Tolls.

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A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia of a ...