the officers of the preceding year shall continue to hold their respective offices until others are elected in their stead, and that this charter shall not be defeated nor avoided by reason of irregularity or want of such election. of road. 11. And be it enacted, That it shall and may be lawful Description for the said company to construct and make a turnpike road from Florence to Jobstown, in the county of Burlington, beginning at low water mark of the Delaware river at Florence, thence by the most convenient and direct route to Jobstown; which said turnpike road shall not exceed sixty-six feet in width, and sixteen feet of the same shall be sufficiently bedded and faced with stone, gravel, or other material, to make a solid, firm, and even road at all seasons of the year; and the said sixteen feet shall be so graded, that in its progress no part of it shall rise above an angle of six degrees with the plane of the horizon; and the said company shall construct, keep in repair, maintain, and make good and sufficient bridges along the line of said road, not less than sixteen feet in width; and whenever said road shall be raised so much at the margin or side as to render carriages passing thereon liable to overset, the said company shall cause good and sufficient railing to be erected and maintained at the side, so as to prevent horses and carriages from running off; provided, that before the Proviso." said company shall construct the said turnpike road as aforesaid, they shall pay to the respective owners of the land over which the same may pass all damages which the said owners shall sustain by reason of the construction of said turnpike road; and in case said owners and said company cannot agree upon the amount of said damage, then the damages shall be ascertained and determined, as nearly as may be, in the manner hereinafter provided for ascer taining and determining the damages which any land owner or owners may sustain by the taking of stone or gravel, sand or clay, from his lands for the construction. or maintaining of said turnpike road. in case com 12. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Proceedings company, their officers, superintendents, engineers, and pany and owners cannot agree. workmen, with carts, wagons and other carriages, and with beasts of burthen and draft, and all necessary materials and tools, to enter upon all lands contiguous or near to the route of said road, doing as little damage thereto as possible, repairing any breach they might make in the enclosures thereof, and to make all ditches and under drains across and through such lands necessary for properly draining said road; and that when the said company or its agents cannot agree with the owner or owners of said lands or materials for the use or purchase thereof, or when, by reason of the legal incapacity or absence of such owner or owners, no such agreement can be made, a particular description of the lands or materials so required for the use of the said company in the construction of said road shall be given in writing, under the oath or affirmation of some engineer or proper agent of the company, and also the name or names of the occupants, if any there be, and of the owner or owners, and their residence, if the same can be ascertained, to one of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county of Burlington, who shall cause the said company to give notice thereof to the persons interested, if known or in this state, or if unknown or out of the state, to make publication thereof, as he shall direct, for any term not less than twenty days, and to assign a particular time and place for the appointment of the commissioners hereinafter named, at which time, upon satisfactory evidence to him of the service or publication of such notice aforesaid, he shall appoint, under his hand and seal, three disinterested, impartial, and judicious freeholders commissioners to examine and appraise the said lands and materials, and to assess the damages, upon such notice to the persons interested as shall be directed by the judge making such appointment, to be expressed therein, not less than twenty days; and it shall be the duty of said commissioners (having first taken and subscribed an oath or affirmation before some person duly authorized to administer an oath or affirmation, faithfully and impartially to examine the matter in question, and to make a true report, according to the best of their skill and understanding), to meet at the place and time appointed, and to view and examine the said lands and materials, and make a just and equitable appraisement of the value of the same and assessments of damages, to be paid by the said company for such lands or materials and damages aforesaid, and to make report thereof, under the hands and seals of said commissioners, or any two of them, and file the same within ten days thereafter, with the aforesaid description of the lands. or materials and the appointment and oaths or affirmations aforesaid, in the clerk's office of the county of Burlington, to remain on record therein, and shall be recorded by the said clerk; which report, or a copy of it, certified by the clerk of said county, shall at all times be considered as, plenary evidence of the right of said company to have, hold, use, occupy, possess, and enjoy the said lands or materials after payment of the value and damages so assessed, and of the right of said owner or owners to recover the amount of said valuation, with interest and costs, in an action in any court of competent jurisdiction, in a suit to be instituted against the company, if they shall neglect or refuse to pay the same for twenty days after demand being made of their treasurer, and shall constitute a lien upon the property of the company in the nature of a mortgage; and the said judge shall tax and allow such costs, fees, and expenses, to the judge, clerks, commissioners, and other persons performing any of the duties prescribed in this section, as he shall think equitable and right, which shall in all cases be paid by the company. 13. And be it enacted, That as soon as the said company Rates of toll. shall have constructed, in a workmanlike manner, the said road, according to the several directions in the eleventh section, and the true intent and meaning of this act, it shall and may be lawful for the said company to erect gates or turnpikes across the said road, and to demand and receive toll for travelling each mile, and all fractions over half a mile of said road, not exceeding the following rates: Proviso. Mile-stones to be erected. Penalty for injuring works. For every carriage, sleigh, or sled drawn by one beast, one cent. For every additional beast, one cent. For every horse and rider, or led horse or mule, five mills. 14. And be it enacted, That before the said company shall receive toll for travelling said road, they shall cause milestones or posts to be erected and maintained, one for eachand every mile in use on said road; and on each post or stone shall be fairly and legibly marked the distance the said post or stone is from Florence; and shall cause to be fixed and always kept up at the gates or turnpikes aforesaid, in some conspicuous place, a printed list of the rates of tolls which may be lawfully demanded, and also a board, on which shall be painted, in large letters, "Keep to the right, as the law directs." 15. And be it enacted, That if any person shall wilfully break, throw down, or deface any of the mile-stones or posts so erected on the said road, or wilfully tear down or deface any of the printed rates of toll or directions, or shall cut, break down, or destroy, or otherwise injure, any gates, turnpikes, or bridges, that shall be erected pursuant to this act, or shall forcibly pass the same without paying the legal toll at such gates or turnpikes, such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars, besides being subject to an action of damages for the same, to be recovered by the said company, by action of debt or other proper action, in any court of competent jurisdiction, with costs of suit; and if any person, with his or her carriage, team, or horse, turn out of the said road to pass a gate or gates on private grounds adjacent thereto, and enter again on the said road, with intent to avoid the toll due by virtue of this act, such person or persons shall forfeit and pay three times as much as the legal toll would be for passing through said gate, to be recovered by the said company, for the use thereof, in an action of debt, with costs of suit. taking ille 16. And be it enacted, That if any toll-gatherer shall un- Penalty for necessarily delay or hinder any traveller passing at any of gal toll. the gates or turnpikes, or shall demand and receive more toll than is by this act established, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars, with costs of suit, to be prosecuted by and recovered for the sole use. of the person so unreasonably hindered or defrauded. obstructing 17. And be it enacted, That all the drivers of carriages, Penalty for sleighs or sleds, of every kind and description, whether of passage. burthen or pleasure, or persons on horseback, using the said road, shall keep their horses, carriages, sleighs or sleds, on the right hand of said road free and clear for other carriages, sleighs, or persons on horseback to pass; and if any person shall offend against this provision, such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars to any person who shall be obstructed in his or her passage, and will sue for the same, and shall also be subject to an action for damages for every such offence, to be recovered with costs of suit. in case road are not kept 18. And be it enacted, That if the said company shall not Proceedings keep the said road and bridges in repair, and complaint and bridges thereof shall be made to any judge of the court of common in repair. pleas of the county of Burlington, he shall immediately appoint, by writing, three disinterested freeholders of said county, who shall view said road, and report in writing under their hands and seals, or under the hands and seals of two of them, whether the said road so complained of be in such a state as the law requires it to be kept; and if the |