Election of directors.

What real

estate may be held.

Company authorized to make

supply of

water.

5. And be it enacted, That the affairs of the company shall be managed by seven directors, to be chosen by the stockholders annually, at such time and place in said city, in such manner, and upon such notice, as by the by-laws of said company may be directed, who shall serve for one year, and until others are chosen in their stead; and the said directors shall, from time to time, elect a president from their body, and shall also elect and employ such other officers as they may deem convenient and necessary, and make all by-laws, rules, and regulations as they may think proper, not inconsistent with the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States.

6. And be it enacted, That the said company shall have power to purchase, hold, and enjoy such real and personal estate as may be necessary for the object of this incorporation, or may be taken in payment of debts, and to construct, keep, and maintain such wells, reservoirs, aqueducts, pipes, water-works, fixtures, and apparatus as may be necessary or useful to supply the city of Rahway with good and wholesome water, in quantities sufficient for all the purposes which may conduce to the safety of said city, and to the health and comfort of the citizens.

7. And be it enacted, That the said company be and they contracts for are hereby authorized and empowered to make contracts with persons and corporations for the supply, use, and preservation of water, and to erect, construct, and maintain all works necessary or convenient to the purposes of this act, and to lay down pipes and other conduits, beneath the streets, alleys, lanes, and other places in the city of Rahway and vicinity, free of all charge, and to place such hydrants and fire plugs as may be necessary, subject to such regulations as the said company may from time to time agree upon and adopt, the tapping of the mains and insertion and placing of all branch pipes to be under the sole control of the said company, by such persons as they may employ and appoint; provided, that the public travel upon the streets, lanes, and alleys shall at no time be unnecessarily affected or impeded in the laying or repairing of pipes, or

Proviso.

the erection and construction of fire plugs or hydrants or other necessary or proper work; and after the completion of any work, the streets, side or cross walks shall be left in as good condition as before the commencement of any such work; and no private lands shall be in any way injured or defaced without permission first obtained from the owner or owners thereof.

injuring

8. And be it enacted, That if any person shall wilfully do Penalty for or cause to be done, any act or acts whatsoever to injure works. any engines, machine, reservoir, pipe, fire plug, hydrant, or structure whatsoever, or anything appertaining to the works of said company, or whereby the same may be ob structed, stopped, or injured, or shall wilfully and maliciously draw off or waste the water from any fire plug or hydrant, the person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and being thereof convicted shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both; provided, such criminal prosecution shall not in any Proviso. wise impair the right of action for damages by a civil suit; and the said corporation are hereby authorized to bring an action and recover for damages by a civil suit for any such injury aforesaid, by and in the name of said corporation, in any court in this state having cognizance of the same.

in case com

owners can

9. And be it enacted, That if it should become necessary, Proceedings in the opinion of said directors, to lay pipes through any pany and private lands in said city, or if any private lands shall be not agree. required for erecting reservoirs or other works thereon, and no agreement can be made with the owner or owners thereof as to the amount of compensation to be paid for the laying said pipes through said or the piece of such lands, as the case may be, by reason of the unwillingness of said. owners, or any of them, to accept such compensation or price as said directors may deem reasonable, or by reason of the absence or legal incapacity of said owners, or any of them, it shall be the duty of either of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county of Middlesex, upon application to him by said directors, and after ten days'

previous notice in writing of such application to the persons interested, if known and in this state, or if unknown or out of the state, after publication thereof for any term not less than twenty days, in a newspaper published in said city of Rahway, to appoint three disinterested appraisers from the county of Middlesex, to determine the compensation to be paid for the laying of said pipes through said lands or the price to be paid for such lands, as the case may be; and it shall be the duty of said appraisers (after having taken an oath or affirmation faithfully and impartially to discharge the trusts herein reposed in them, and after having carefully viewed the premises), within twenty days after their appointment, to deliver to the said directors a written appraisement, under the hands and seals of them, or a majority of them, of the award they have made, containing a full description of the lands through which the pipes are to be laid, or of the lands required for the erection of reservoirs or other works as aforesaid, which appraisement the said directors shall cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county of Middlesex, or Union, or both, as the case may require; and upon payment or tender by the said directors to such owner or owners, as aforesaid, or some one of them, of the sum awarded in such appraisement, if any, then the said directors shall have the right to lay said pipes through the lands aforesaid, or the said directors. shall be deemed seized in fee simple of the lands required for the erection of the said reservoirs or other works, as aforesaid; and in case any owner or owners of such lands shall be feme covert, under age, non compos mentis, or out of this state, then and in that case it shall be sufficient for said directors to pay the amount which may have been appraised as aforesaid, into the court of common pleas of the counties of Middlesex and Union, or either of them, as the case may require, for the use of the party or parties entitled to the same, the costs of all which proceedings shall be taxed by some one of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county of Middlesex, and paid by the said directors.

satisfied

10. And be it enacted, That in case the directors or the Parties disowner or owners of the said land shall be dissatisfied with may appeal. the award of the appraisers named in the preceding sec tion, and shall apply to the judge of the circuit court of the county of Middlesex, or Union, as the case may require, at the next term of said court after filing of the said award, the said court to which application may be made shall have power, upon good cause shown, to set the same aside, and thereupon to direct a proper issue for the trial of the said controversy to be formed between the said parties, and to order a jury to be struck, and view of the premises to be had; and the said issue to be tried at the next circuit court to be holden in said county, upon the like notice, and in the same manner as other issues in said court are tried; and it shall be the duty of the jury to assess the value of said land or damages sustained, and if they shall find a greater sum than the said appraisers shall have awarded in favor of the said owner or owners, then judgment therefor, with costs, shall be entered against said company, and execution awarded therefor; but if the said jury shall be applied for by the said owner or owners, and shall find the same or a less sum than the directors shall have offered, or the said appraisers awarded, then the said costs to be paid by the applicant or applicants, and either deducted out of the said sum found by the said jury, or execution awarded therefor, as the court shall direct; but such application shall not prevent the directors taking or laying pipes through said lands upon the award of the appraisers, the value or damages being first paid or upon refusal to receive the same upon the tender thereof, or the owner or owners thereof being under any legal disability, the same being first paid into court as herein before directed.

authorized

premises in

11. And be it enacted, That the directors of said company, Company and all engineers, superintendents, or inspectors in their to examine service, are hereby authorized and directed, at all seasona- cases of ble hours, to enter any dwelling or other place where the water of said company is taken or used, and where un

waste, &c.

Repairs to works.

Proviso.

Penalty for polluting

water.

necessary waste thereof is known or suspected, and examine and inquire into the cause thereof; and the said directors, engineers, superintendents, and inspectors shall have full power to examine all service pipes, stopcocks, and other apparatus connected with the water supply or drainage works, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the same are of the character and dimensions, and fixed in the manner directed in the permits issued therefor; and if any person or persons shall refuse to permit such examinations, or oppose or obstruct such officer in performance of such duty, he, she, or they so offending shall be liable to such penalty, not exceeding ten dollars for each offence, as may be imposed by any magistrate of said city before whom complaint may be made, and the supply of water shall also be shut off until the required examination is made, and such alterations and repairs are completed as may be found

necessary.

12. And be it enacted, That whenever it shall become necessary to make any repairs or alterations in any pipes which may be laid through any private lands, it shall be lawful for the said directors, with their workmen and agents, and with necessary vehicles, tools, and implements, to enter upon said lands and make the necessary repairs and alterations, doing no unnecessary damage; provided always, that nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to protect the said company or their workmen or agents from any action that may be brought against them by the owner or owners of said lands for any damage which they may wilfully or wrongfully do.

13. And be it enacted, That if any person or persons shall wilfully pollute or adulterate the waters in any reservoir, aqueduct, conduit, or race-way erected, built, or laid down under the provisions of this act, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had.