and wire fence of requisite height shall be deemed a lawful fence, within the provisions of this section; but no lessees of a railroad corporation shall be required to fence the sides of said roads except when such fence is necessary to prevent horses, cattle, sheep and hogs from getting on to the track of the railroad, from the lands adjoining the

same.

§ 3. Every railroad company whose line of road shall exceed forty continuous miles in length, shall, for the better comfort of passengers, provide in such passenger car a suitable receptacle for water, with a cup or drinking utensil attached upon or near such receptacle, and shall keep the said receptacle, while said car is in use, constantly supplied with cool water; and any company failing to obey the provisions of this section, shall, for each offense of omission as aforesaid, forfeit as a penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars; one-half of said penalty to be paid to the informer, and the remaining one-half to the overseer of the poor of the county in which judgment shall have been recovered. And any railroad company whose main route of road does not exceed fifteen miles, may elect seven of its stockholders as a board of directors to manage its affairs at any annual election after the passage of this act.

§ 4. Section sixteen of the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations, and to regulate the same," passed April second, eighteen hundred and fifty, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 16. The commissioners shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the twelfth article of the constitution. Any of them may issue subpoenas and administer oath 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 allegations of the parties, and reduce the testimony taken by them, if any, to writing, and after the testimony in such 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 interested, 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 ought to be paid to the general or special guardian or committee of an infant, idiot, or person of unsound mind, or to an attorney appointed by the court to attend to the interests of any unknown owner or party in interest, not personally served with notice of the proceedings, and who has not appeared, for costs, expenses and counsel fees. The said commissioners shall make a report of their proceedings to the supreme court, with the minutes of the testimony taken by them, if any; and they shall be entitled to five dollars for services and expenses for every day they are actually engaged in the performance of their duties, to be paid by the company, except where the owners or persons interested in the real estate fail to have awarded them more than the amount of compensation offered them by the company before the appointment of commissioners, then to be paid by the said owners or persons interested, or if not paid by them, to be paid by the company and deducted from the amount awarded.

§ 5. Section forty-seven of chapter one hundred and forty of the Laws of 1850, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

47. If any corporation formed under this act shall not, within five 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 its road and put it in operation in seven years from the time of filing its articles of association as aforesaid, its corporate existence and powers shall cease.

This extension of time shall apply to all corporations whose articles of association have been filed within five years before the passage of this act.

§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 259.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act empowering railroad companies to employ police force," passed April 29th, 1863, so as to include steamboat companies.

Passed March 30, 1866.

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

SECTION 1. Section one of chapter three hundred and forty-six of the laws of one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Any railroad corporation on which road steam is used as the motive power, and any steamboat company, may apply to the governor to commission such person or persons as the said corporation may designate, to act as policemen for said corporation; but no more than one policeman shall be appointed at any one station of such company.

§ 2. Section three of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Every policeman so appointed shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe the oath prescribed in the twelfth article of the constitution; such oath, with a copy of the commission, shall be filed with the secretary of state, and a certificate thereof, by said secretary, be filed with the clerk of each county through or into which the railroad or steamboat for which such policeman is appointed may run, and in which it is intended the said policemen shall act; and such policemen shall severally possess all the powers of policemen in the several towns, cities and villages in which they shall be so authorized to act as aforesaid.

§ 3. Section four of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Such police shall, when on duty, severally wear a metallic shield, with the words "railway police," or "steamboat police," as the case may be, and the name of the corporation for which appointed, inscribed thereon, and said shield shall always be worn in plain view, except when employed as detectives.

Chap. 560.

AN ACT for the preservation of the health of animals for human food.

Passed April 13, 1866.

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

SECTION 1. No railroad company in this state, in the carrying and transportation of cattle, sheep or swine, shall confine the same in cars for a longer period than twenty-eight consecutive hours, unless delayed by storms or other accidental causes, without unloading for rest, water and feeding, for a period of at least ten consecutive hours. In estimating such confinement, the time the animals have been confined without such rest on connecting roads from which they are received shall be computed, it being the intention to prevent their continuous confinement beyond twenty-eight hours, except upon the contingencies herein stated. Nothing in this act contained shall require the unloading of cattle, sheep or swine from the cars of the Buffalo and State Line railroad before their arrival at Buffalo, and the Atlantic and Great Western railroad, before they arrive at Salamanca.

§ 2. Provided the owner or person in charge of said animals refuses or neglects to pay for the care and feed of animals so rested, the rail. road company may charge such expense to the owner or consignee, and retain a lien upon the animals until the same is paid; and provided further, that no claim of damages for detention shall be recovered by the owner or shipper of any animals for the time they are detained under the provisions of this act.

§ 3. Any railroad company, owner, consignee, or person in charge of said cattle, sheep, or swine, who shall violate any provision of this act, shall, for each and every such violation, be liable for and forfeit and pay a penalty in the sum of one hundred dollars, to be sued for and collected in any court having jurisdiction, by any person, in the name of the people of the state of New York; one-half of the penalty, when collected, to belong to the informer, and the balance to be paid to the state treasurer of the state of New York.

§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 697.

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

Passed April 20, 1866.

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

SECTION 1. It shall be lawful for any number of persons, not less than ten, to form themselves into a company for constructing, maintaining, and operating a railway for public use, in the conveyance of persons and property, by means of a propelling rope or cable attached to stationary power, and upon compliance with the provisions of the first three sections of the act to which this is supplementary, they shall become a body corporate and politic, according to the provisions of said act; Provided, That the directors of any such company may be limited to any number not less than five, to be specified in the articles of association.

§ 2. Any such company may style itself by the name of the inventor or patentee of the particular method of propulsion used, together with such local designation as the associates may seem desirable, and shall, by such name set forth in their articles of association, have and enjoy all the powers and privileges and be subject to the liabilities mentioned in the aforesaid act, passed April second, eighteen hundred and fifty, so far as the same are comprised in the first twenty-six sections and the twenty-eighth section thereof.

§ 3. Companies formed under the provisions of this supplementary act may fix and collect rates of fare on their respective roads, not exceeding five cents for each mile or any fraction of a mile, for each passenger, and with right to a minimum fare of ten cents.

§ 4. It shall be lawful for any company formed under this act to construct and operate and maintain a road or roads in any other state or country in which the same does not conflict with the laws of such state or country; provided the assent of inventors or patentees are first obtained in the same manner and extent as would be necessary within the United States.

§ 5. Any company heretofore formed, or hereafter to be formed under the provisions of the act entitled "An act to authorize the formation of railroad corporations, and to regulate the same," passed April second, eighteen hundred and fifty, or the acts amendatory thereof, may extend the time for the continuance of such company