wealth before the first day of September next, and one copy in the offices of the clerks of quarter sessions of the respective counties in which the said road may be located; the said road shall be to all intents and purposes a public highway, and shall be opened to the breadth and repaired in all respects as road are opened and repaired which are laid out by the order of the courts aforesaid. HENRY K. STRONG, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WM. M. HIESTER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The eighth day of September, Anno Domini one . thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. JAMES POLLOCK. No. 655. AN ACT Supplementary to acts incorporating the American Steam Ship Company. approved seventeenth of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. two; the Philadelphia and Savannah Steam Navigation Company, approved eighteenth of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one; and the Union Steam Ship Company of Philadelphia. 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 capital stock of the American steam ship company, the Philadelphia and Savannah steam navigation company, and the Union steam ship company, when not declaring dividends, be and the same is hereby exempted from taxation under the provisions of the act of the twenty-ninth of April, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, entitled "An Act to reduce the state debt and to incorporate the Pennsylvania canal and railroad company." HENRY K. STRONG, WM. M. HIESTER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The tenth day of September, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. JAMES POLLOCK. No. 656. AN ACT To repeal the charter of the Erie and North East Railroad Company, and to provide for disposing of the same. WHEREAS, On the twelfth day of April, Anno Domini, one housand eight hundred and forty-two, an act was passed by the Preamble. general assembly of this commonwealth, entitled "An Act to incorporate the Erie and North East railroad company, and for other purposes," to construct a railroad from the borough of Erie to the east boundary line of the township of North East, being the New York state line: AND WHEREAS, By the tenth section of the said act, it was enacted, that "if the company aforesaid do not complete the said work, so as to bring into use within ten years after the passage of the said act, or shall suffer the same to go into decay," &c., then the charter shall become null and void; and by the eleventh section of the same act it is provided, that if the said company shall misuse or abuse any of the privileges thereby granted, the legislature might resume the rights and privileges so granted to the said railroad company: AND WHEREAS, It hath been judicially determined at the last September term of the supreme court of this commonwealth, sitting in and for the Western district thereof, that the said railroad company have not completed their said road between the points named and fixed in said charter, up to and at the time of said decision, although the period in which the same was to be finished and brought into use, had expired on the twelfth day of April, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and that the said company have violated its charter in assuming to make an unauthorized and illegal location of the said road; it is now therefore the solemn judgment of this legislature, that by reason of the omission to complete and bring into use the said road, within the period aforesaid, by reason of the said acts, in violation of the charter aforesaid, the said charter so granted to the Erie and North East railroad company, has become entirely null and void, and in pursuance of the right reserved to the commonwealth in the said act of incorporation, to resume all and singular the privileges and franchises granted to the same, now forfeit, for remedy whereof: 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 all and singular the rights and privileges heretofore granted Charter annulled to the Erie and North East railroad company, by the act of assembly authorizing the governor to incorporate the same, passed the twelfth day of April, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, or by any act of the general assembly supplementary thereto, be and the same are hereby rescinded, revoked and utterly and forever annulled. SECTION 2. That the governor of this commonwealth be and Governor to carry and he is hereby authorized and directed to take such measures this act into effect as may be deemed necessary for the enforcing and carrying into effect the provisions of the foregoing section, together with all and singular such incidents or consequences as may legy attach to the revocation aforesaid, and to take possession of, e Appoint an agent. cause to be taken possession of the said railroad, so far as the same has been constructed, and to appoint a suitable person et persons, to take the charge and custody thereof, until the same shall be further disposed of according to law; and the compessation of such person or persons so appointed as aforesaid, shall not exceed the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per annum. His pay. Duty of agent. SECTION 3. That it shall be the duty of such person or per sons so to be appointed by the governor, to take possession of, and keep in repair and good running order, the said railroad, for the accommodation of the public travel and business, at rates not greater than heretofore charged, and to deposit the net revenues thence to be derived, in such banks as may be Revenues to be designated by the governor, at least once in every week, not to be drawn thereout without checks countersigned by the governor; and any accumulations of such moneys shall be invested in the loans of the state of Pennsylvania in the name of the governor, Agent to give under the trust of this act; and such person or persons so to be invested. bond. Proviso. Duty of sheriff. Notice to president of road. appointed, shall give adequate security to cover any moneys that shall come into his or their hands: Provided, That the trust upon which such revenue or collections, or the invest ment thereof, made as aforesaid, shall be to hold and dispose of the same, as the legislature of the commonwealth may here after declare and enact, subject to any rights or obligations which may exist. SECTION 4. That it shall be the duty of any sheriff of any county of this commonwealth, and of all good citizens thereof, whenever warned or required by the governor, or the person or persons so by him appointed as aforesaid, to aid and assist in the discharge of the aforesaid service; and they shall be and are hereby indemnified by the commonwealth, in all they shall lawfully do under and in obedience to such requisition and command. SECTION 5. That as soon after the governor shall have caused possession to be taken of said road under this act as praeticable, he shall cause notice of the same to be served on the president of said company, personally, or by copy to be left at the office of the same, and it shall be lawful for him, and he is hereby authorized to restore the possession of the said road to said company, on the following conditions, which said conditions the said company on accepting the same, shall by a vote thereof enter on their books, as conditions of the renewal of their charter, and in consideration of the privileges hereby granted to them: I. The said company shall, by a proper divergence of not less than one mile east of the limits of the city of Erie, con struct and extend their road to the harbor of Erie, on such level, and in such manner, as to permit sidelings or tracks to the wharfs or docks, convenient for the transportation of merchandize and freight to and from vessels and steamboats. II. That said road so extended, shall be constructed and finished by the time fixed by law, wherein the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula railroad company, are bound by law to extend the track or tracks of their road to the harbor aforesaid, and to be commenced within three months from the date of this act. III. That the said company shall, on the completion of the ad to the harbor as aforesaid, change the guage thereof, from ence to the New York state line, to a uniform guage of four et eight and a half inches, or six feet at their option, and aintain the same thereat. tions. IV. That the said company may maintain the said road as it now located at and in the city of Erie, until the time fixed saforesaid for the completion of their road to the harbor oresaid, when they shall remove the same, together with all idges, embankments and superstructures from the said point divergence to the present terminus of the said road, leaving e ground, streets and alleys free and clear from the same. SECTION 6. That on the acceptance of the terms of this act Charter to be rehereinbefore provided, and in a manner satisfactory to the stored on condiovernor, then and in that case, all the rights, privileges and anchises granted and conferred on said company, by the act incorporation, passed the twelfth day of April, Anno Domini he thousand eight hundred and forty-two, are hereby re-enacted nd conferred on the same, as fully as by said act they were iginally granted and conferred, and the said company may at y time after commencing work to extend their road as aforetid, to the harbor of Erie, increase their capital stock to the xtent of four thousand shares; but before doing so, the said ompany by its president, shall cause to be certified under the eal of said company, and filed in the auditor general's office, he acceptance of this act by the company, and its resolution greeing to be bound by the same. SECTION 7. That from and after the expiration of the time Connections regumited for the completion of the Erie and North East railroad lated. o the harbor aforesaid, all connection south of said harbor with ny road running westwardly, shall at once cease, and no such onnection shall be permitted at any other point than at the arbor aforesaid. SECTION 8. That no action heretofore brought or hereafter to Actions not to e brought by or against said company for cause of action ex- abate. ting before the passage of this act, shall abate because of this et, but the same shall be prosecuted with like force and effect though this act had never been passed. SECTION 9. That from and after the passage of this act, there Tax to commenhall be charged and paid to the commonwealth, a tax of five wealth. ents on each passenger, and ten cents per ton on all freight assing east on said road, to be returned and paid in the same anner as the tax on tonnage on the Pennsylvania railroad is ow returned and paid to the commonwealth. SECTION 10. That if the governor takes possession of said ad, then and in that case he is hereby authorized and required > apply the net proceeds of the same, after paying ordinary penses, towards the liquidation of the existing indebtedness of e said Erie and North East railroad company. HENRY K. STRONG, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WM. M. HIESTER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The sixth day of October, Anno Domini one housand eight hundred and fifty-five. JAMES POLLOCK. Appropriation of revenues. May vote one ticket. Proviso. Proviso. Fraudulent vo ting punished. No. 657. AN ACT Regulating the manner of voting at the General Elections in the county of 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 from and after the passage of this act it shall be lawful for the qualified electors of Northampton county to vote at their gen eral elections for all candidates for state officers, including the president judge of the court of common pleas of said county and the candidates for congress and state senator, upon one slip or ticket, and all county officers also upon one separate slip or ticket: Provided, That the office for which every candidate is voted for shall be designated as required by the existing laws of this commonwealth: And provided further, That the state and county tickets shall each be so folded as to conceal the names of the persons voted for, and on the outside fold of the state ticket shall be written or printed the words "state off cers," and on the outside fold of the county ticket shall also be written or printed the words "county ticket." SECTION 2. That any fraud committed by any person voting in the manner aforesaid, shall be punished as similar frauds are punished by the existing laws of this commonwealth. APPROVED-The eighth day of November, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. JAMES POLLOCK. No. 658. A FURTHER SUPPLEMENT To an act to incorporate the North Western Railroad Company, passed ninth February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. 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 in all cases where from any cause whatever, the North Western railroad company, and the owner or owners of lands and mate rials proposed to be taken, cannot agree upon the price to be 5 |