violation of the printed regulations of the company posted up at the time in a conspicuous place inside of its passenger cars then in the train, such company shall not be liable for the injury; provided said company at the time furnished room inside its passenger cars sufficient for the proper accommodation of the passengers.

§ 47. If any corporation formed under this act shall not, within two years after its articles of association are filed and recorded in the office of the secretary of state, begin the construction of its road, and expend thereon ten per cent on the amount of its capital or shall not finish the road and put it in operation in five years from the time of filing its articles of association as aforesaid, its corporate existence and powers shall cease.

§ 48. The legislature may at any time annul or dissolve any incorporation formed under this act; but such dissolution shall not take away or impair any remedy given against any such corporation, its stockholders or officers for any liability which shall have been previously incurred.

§ 49. All existing railroad corporations within this state shall respectively have and possess all the powers and privileges contained in this act; and they shall be subject to all the duties, liabilities and provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of their charter, contained in sections nine, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight (except subdivision nine), thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, of this act.

§ 50. The act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations," passed March 26, 1848, and the acts amending the same are hereby repealed; but all railroad companies formed under said act are hereby continued in existence, in the same manner as if said acts were not repealed; and such companies shall be subject to all the provisions, and shall have the same powers, rights and privileges, and be subject to the same duties as if they had been incorporated under this act; and the time limited by said act, for the expenditure of ten per cent of their capital stock, is hereby extended two years from the passage of this act; and the time limited in said section of said law for their completion, is hereby extended to five years from the passage of this act; and also the time for completing any railroad organized previous to March 27, 1848, whose road was under contract prior to February 1, 1850, to be completed within the time prescribed by its charter, is hereby extended for one year.

§ 51. Nothing in this act contained shall authorize or permit the New York and Erie Railroad Company to abandon the use of their road in the county of Rockland, east of Suffern's depot.

52. This act shall take effect immediately.

Section 29, relating to tolls, was repealed by act, chapter 497, Laws of 1851.

Chap. 19.

AN ACT in relation to railroad corporations.

Passed February 13, 1851. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. Whenever two railroad companies, shall, for a portion of their respective lines, embrace the same location of line, they may by agreement provide for the construction of so much of said line, as is common to both of them by one of the companies, and for the manner and terms upon which the business thereon shall be performed. Upon the making of such agreement, the company that is not to construct the part of the line which is common to both, may ålter and amend its articles of association so as to terminate its line at the point of intersection, and may reduce its capital to a sum not less than ten thousand dollars for each mile of the road proposed to be constructed in such amended articles of association.

§ 2. Whenever, after due examination, it shall be ascertained by the directors of any railroad company, organized under the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations and to regulate the same," passed March 26th, 1848, or under the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations and to regulate the same," passed April 2d, 1850, that a part of the line of their railroad proposed to be made between any two points in this state, ought to be located and constructed in an adjoining state, it may be so located and constructed by a vote of two-thirds of all the directors, and the sections of said railroad within this state shall be deemed a connected line, according to the articles of association, and the directors may reduce the capital specified in their articles of association to such amount as may be deemed proper, but not less than the amount required by law for the number of miles of railroad to be actually constructed in this state.

§ 3. Any railroad company formed under the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations," passed March 26th, 1848, and which is duly continued in existence, when at least

ten thousand dollars for every mile of its railroad proposed to be constructed in this state, shall be in good faith subscribed to its capital stock, and ten per cent thereof paid in, may apply to the court for the appointment of commissioners, and the court shall thereupon appoint commissioners, and all subsequent proceedings may be had to obtain the title to lands necessary for its construction, to the same extent and in the same manner as if the whole amount of the capital stock specified in its articles of association was in like manner subscribed.

§ 4. In case any railroad shall occupy or cross any turnpike or plank road, the railroad company shall pay such turnpike or plank road company all damages the turnpike or plank road company may sustain by reason of the occupancy or crossing such turnpike or plank road, the damages to be ascertained and paid in the same manner as is provided by law for the assessment and payment of damages in case of taking private property for the use of railroad companies. § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 53.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to railroad corporations," passed February 13, 1851.

Passed March 25, 1853.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The third section is hereby amended by inserting after the word "1848" the words or "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations and to regulate the same," passed April 2, 1850, so that said section as amended shall read as follows: Any railroad company which, prior to the passage of this act, has been duly formed under the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations," passed March 27, 1848, or "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations and to regulate the same," passed April 2, 1850, and which is duly continued in existence, when at least ten thousand dollars for every mile of its railroad, proposed to be constructed in this State, shall be in good faith subscribed to its capital stock, and ten per cent, thereof paid in, may apply to the court for the appointment of commissioners, and all subsequent proceedings may be had to obtain the title to lands necessary for its construction,

to the same extent and in the same manner as if the whole amount of the capital stock specified in its articles of association was in like man ner subscribed.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 282.

AN ACT to amend the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations, and to regulate the same," passed April 2, 1850.

Passed April 15, 1854.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The fifth section of the said act is hereby amended, so as to read as follows:

§ 5. There shall be a board of thirteen directors of every corporation formed under this act to manage its affairs; and said directors shall be chosen annually, by a majority of the votes of the stockholders voting at such election, in such manner as may be prescribed in the by-laws of the corporation, and they may and shall continue to be directors until others are elected in their places. In the election of directors, each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote, personally or by proxy, on every share held by him thirty days previous to any such election; and vacancies in the board of directors shall be filled in such manner as shall be prescribed by the by-laws of the corporation. The inspectors of the first election of directors shall be appointed by the board of directors named in the articles of association. No person shall be a director unless he shall be a stockholder, owning stock absolutely in his own right, and qualified to. vote for directors at the election at which he shall be chosen; and at every election of directors, the books and papers of such company shall be exhibited to the meeting, if a majority of the stockholders present shall require it. And whenever the purchaser or purchasers of the real estate, track and fixtures of any railroad corporation which has heretofore been sold, or may be hereafter sold, by virtue of any mortgage executed by such corporation, or execution issued upon any judgment or decree of any court, shall acquire title to the same in the manner prescribed by law, such purchaser or purchasers may associate with him and them any number of persons, and make and acknowledge and file articles of association, as prescribed by

this act, such purchaser or purchasers and their associates shall thereupon be a corporation, with all the powers, privileges and franchises, and be subject to all the provisions of said act.

§ 2. The fifteenth section of the act aforesaid is hereby amended, and shall read as follows:

§ 15. On presenting such petition to the supreme court as aforesaid, with proof of service of a copy thereof and notice as aforesaid, all or any of the persons whose estates or interests are to be affected by the proceedings may show cause against granting the prayer of the petition, and may disprove any of the facts alleged in it. The court shall hear the proofs and allegations of the parties, and if no sufficient cause is shown against granting the prayer of the petition, it shall make an order for the appointment of three disinterested and compe. tent freeholders, who reside in the county or some adjoining county where the premises to be appraised are situated, commissioners to ascertain and appraise the compensation to be made to the owners or persons interested in the real estate proposed to be taken in such county for the purposes of the company, and to fix the time and place for the first meeting of the commissioners.

§ 3. The sixteenth section of said act is hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 16. The commissioners shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the twelfth article of the constitution. Any one of them may issue subpoenas and administer oaths to witnesses; a majority of them may adjourn the proceedings before them, from time to time, in their discretion. Whenever they meet, except by the appointment of the court or pursuant to adjournment, they shall cause reasonable notice of such meetings to be given to the parties interested, or their agent or attorney. They shall view the premises described in the petition, and hear the proofs and alllegations of the parties, and reduce the testimony taken by them, if any, to writing, and after the testimony in each case is closed, they or a majority of them, all being present, shall, without any unnecessary delay, and before proceeding to the examination of any other claim, ascertain and determine the compensation which ought justly to be made by the company to the owners or persons interested in the real estate appraised by them; and in fixing the amount of such compensation, said commissioners shall not make any allowance or deduction on account of any real or supposed benefits which the parties in interest may derive from the construction of the proposed railroad, or the construction of the proposed improvement connected with such road, for which such real estate may be taken. They, or a majority of them, shall also determine what sum