No. 140.

AN ACT

To protect Fruit and punish Trespass in this Commonwealth.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen tatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assem bly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the wilful and malicious taking and carrying away of fruit, vegetables, plants, fruit or ornamental trees, vines or shrubs in this commonwealth, whether attached to the soil or not, shall be deemed and the same is hereby declared a misdemeanor, and may be prosecuted and punished as such under the laws of this commonwealth.

SECTION 2. That any person or persons who shall wilfully and maliciously enter or break down, through or over any orchard, garden or yard fence, hot-bed, hot or green-house, or who shall wrongfully club, stone, cut, bark, break or otherwise mutilate or damage any nut, fruit or ornamental tree, shrub, bush, plant or vine, trellis, arbor, hot-bed, hot or green-house, or who shall wilfully and maliciously trespass upon, walk over'. beat down, trample or in any wise injure any grain, grass, vines vegetables or other growing crop, shall and may, on conviction thereof in action of trespass before any mayor, burgess, alder. man, justice of the peace, or in any court of law, have judg ment against him, her or them for treble the amount of damage proven to have been done, with costs of suit; one-half the damage or penalty to go to the use of the poor of the district wherein the premises lie, the other half of the damage or pe nalty to the use of the owner of the premises on which the said trespass shall or may be committed, and in default of payment of the said fine or judgment, with costs of suit, the party convicted may and shall be committed to the jail of the proper county for not less than three nor more than twenty days; said complaint or action to be made in the name of the commonwealth, and the testimony of the owner or occupant of the premises shall be admitted as evidence to prove the trespass. SECTION 3. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent here with, be and the same are hereby repealed.

RICHARDSON L. WRIGHT, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

WM. M. PIATT,

Speaker of the Senate.

APPROVED-The fourteenth day of March, Anno Domini one

thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.

JAMES POLLOCK.

No. 141.

AN ACT

To increase the Revenue of the borough of Columbia, in Lancaster county.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the chief burgess and town council of the borough of Columbia, in the county of Lancaster, be and they are hereby empowered to assess upon all real property lying within the limits of said borough, and upon all other property now by law taxable for borough purposes, such amount as may be necessary to meet the expenses of said borough, and pay off existing debts: Provided, That the said assessment shall not in any one year exceed the sum of forty cents in each hundred dollars of the valuation for county rates and levies: And provided further, That the land which lies within the limits of the said borough and not laid out into town lots, shall be assessed as first rate farm land, and not as town property.

Additional tax authorized.

How to be appro

SECTION 2. That the whole amount of the excess over and above the present rates of taxes which may hereafter be levied, priated. shall be specially appropriated to pay the debt now existing against the said borough, until the same shall be paid off in full; and that after the said debts shall be so paid in full, that then the assessment shall not in any one year exceed the sum of thirty cents in each hundred dollars as aforesaid; and that all laws or parts of laws heretofore passed, conflicting with the provisions of this act, be and the same are hereby repealed. RICHARDSON L. WRIGHT, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

WM. M. PIATT,

Speaker of the Senate.

APPROVED-The fourteenth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.

JAMES POLLOCK.

No. 142.

AN ACT

To incorporate the Butler House Hotel Company.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen tatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That George G. Presbury, Jr., S. K. Hoxie, Charles Macalester, Caleb Cope, C. Leland, Charles Henry Fisher, R. J. Ross, Joseph R..

Corporators.

Style.

Powers.

Capital stook.

Annual meeting.

gers.

Curtis, F. M. Drexel, Samuel Branson, G. M. Lauman, James
W. Brown, Pierce Butler, and their associates, and all persons.
who may now or hereafter may be holders of the stock here in-
after mentioned, shall be and they are hereby declared to be
constituted a body politic or corporate, by the style of the But-
ler House hotel company, to have perpetual succession, to be
capable in law of suing and being sued, to have a common seal,
and the same to alter and renew at pleasure, and to have, hold,
receive, enjoy and take, either by absolute conveyance, in fee
simple, or upon ground rent, and in case of a conveyance upon
ground rent, with power to execute the necessary covenant for
the securing the payment thereof, such real estate as may be
necessary and proper for the construction of a hotel in the city
of Philadelphia, with such supplementary buildings as may be
adapted to and form part of the general plan and design thereof,
for the accommodation and use of any parties who may be de-
sirous of renting and occupying the same, and the said real
estate or any part thereof, when, in the opinion of the said cor-
poration, it may be proper so to do, to sell and convey to any
person or persons who may be desirous of purchasing the same:
Provided however, That if the said company or their lessees,
with their knowledge, shall knowingly permit any intoxication
or gambling in their said house, the privileges hereby granted
shall cease; and that said company shall not themselves engage
in the business of hotel keeping.

SECTION 2. That the capital stock of said corporation shall not exceed six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, divided into thirteen hundred shares, of five hundred dollars each, and that it shall be held as personal property, and as such be transferred, under such regulations as the corporators shall judge convenient.

SECTION 3. That a general meeting of the corporators shall be annually held on the first Monday of January for the election of five managers, and the transaction of other business; but if such meeting or election shall not then take place, the corporation shall not for that cause be dissolved, but such meeting or election shall take place as soon thereafter as may be, one week's public notice thereof being first given in at least three daily newspapers in the city of Philadelphia.

SECTION 4. That the election of managers shall be by ballot, Election of mana- from among the corporators, and that in the enactment of bylaws for the government of the corporation and its officers, and in the decision of all questions, whether of election of officers or disfranchisement of corporators, either because of their delinquency in paying for the amount of stock by them purchased of the corporation, or for other causes, and on all questions at the meetings of the corporation, the corporators present, either in person or by proxy, shall severally vote once for each share of stock held by them.

Votes.

Vacancies.

SECTION 5. That the managers shall continue in office until their successors be elected, shall elect a president from among themselves, shall supply vacancies in their number, whether occasioned by death, resignation or refusal to act, and shall have the general and entire control of the affairs and interests of the company, except so far as may be otherwise provided by the corporators; three members shall be a quorum at these meetings.

SECTION 6. That until other officers shall be duly elected, the persons named in the first section of this act shall be held to be

managers of the said corporation, and shall have power and authority as such.

SECTION 7. That if the said corporation shall at any time Limitation. hereafter misuse or abuse any of the chartered privileges hereby granted, the legislature may at any time resume all and singular the rights, liberties, privileges and franchises hereby granted to the said company.

RICHARDSON L. WRIGHT,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

APPROVED-The fourteenth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.

JAMES POLLOCK.

No. 143.

A SUPPLEMENT

To an act to incorporate the borough of Reading, Berks county, into a city, approved March sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passage of this act the qualified voters of the city of Reading, at their annual elections for municipal, ward and district officers, may vote for said officers upon two written or printed tickets or slips of paper, one of which shall be headed city officers," and contain the names of the candidates for mayor, select and common council, treasurer and auditors for which the voter desires to vote, and the other shall be headed "ward officers," and contain the names of the candidates for aldermen, constables, judges of elections, inspectors, assessor and school directors for whom the voter may desire to

vote.

RICHARDSON L. WRIGHT,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

WM. M. PIATT,

Speaker of the Senate.

APPROVED-The fifteenth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.

JAMES POLLOCK.

No. 144.

AN ACT

To widen Palmer street, between Beach street and Delaware avenue, in the city of Philadelphia.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That Palmer street, in the Eighteenth ward of the city of Philadel phia, shall be widened at the south-eastern line of Beach street, in the said city, to the width of fifty feet, and thence extend south-eastwardly regularly narrowing on the south-western side thereof to the south-eastern line of Delaware avenue, in said city, two hundred and forty-six feet four and three quarter inches, to the width of forty feet; the ground above taken having been dedicated by the owners thereof to public use. RICHARDSON L. WRIGHT, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

WM. M. PIATT,

Speaker of the Senate.

APPROVED-The fifteenth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.

JAMES POLLOCK.

No. 145.

AN ACT

To establish a public ferry on the Susquehanna river, between Safe Harbor, in Lancaster county, and Lockport, in York county.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That John Kendig, his heirs and assigns, shall have the right and Ferry authorized. privilege, at his or their own proper cost and charges, to make good and convenient landings on each side of the Susquehanna river, at or near the mouth of the Conestoga creek, in Lancaster county, and Lockport, at or near the out-let lock in York county, and to use said river between the said landings as a public ferry, and shall receive for conveying each person the sum of twelve and a half cents, and for each hundred pounds of baggage over fifteen pounds the sum of twelve and a half cents: Provided, That no private property be occupid without the consent of the

owner.