sions of law as to public contracts in the city of New York. The comptroller is authorized and required to pay, on the requisition of such board, the amount certified, from time to time, to be due, in such manner as he shall direct, and the amount appropri ated shall not be exceeded in incurring expenditures under this provision; such commissioners of the sinking fund may also, in their discretion, appropriate any plot or plots of land belonging to the city and not already appropriated to some other public use, as locations on which armory buildings may be erected. All repairs to armories in the city of New York shall be made by said city and all the utensils, materials and supplies certified by the auditing board of an organization quartered therein to be necessary for the cleaning, care and preservation of the portion of the armory used or occupied by said organization or of the arms, uniforms, equipments and furniture used or kept by said organization in such armory shall be supplied by said city and the board of estimate and apportionment of said city shall annually include in the final estimate for the tax levy for the next ensuing year such an amount of money as may be required to make such repairs and furnish such supplies.

§ 8. Section one hundred and seventy-six of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 176. Control of armories.-Every armory shall be under the control and charge of the ranking line officer commanding an organization therein quartered. Commanding officers shall deposit in the armories provided for their organizations all military property received by them from time to time for the use of their respective commands. The chiefs of the general staff depart ments of the state, and division and brigade commanders and their respective staff officers shall at all times have access to such armory whenever, in their judgment, .the exigency of the service may require it. On the application of one or more posts of the Grand Army of the Republic, or other veteran organiza tions of honorably discharged union soldiers, sailors or marines. of the late war, approved by the commanding officer of the brigade of the national guard in whose jurisdiction armorics, the prop erty of the state, are located, and the officer in charge of such armory, subject also to the approval of the adjutant-general and under such restrictions as he may prescribe, the officer in charge of any state armory designated by the adjutant-general shall pro

vide a proper and convenient meeting room or rooms in such armory where such posts or other veteran organizations may hold regular and special meetings, without the payment of any expense therefor.

§ 9. That section one hundred and seventy-seven of said act be divided into three sections and amended to read as follows:

§ 177. Armorers, janitors and engineers.-There shall be allowed for each armory and for the headquarters of each brigade one armorer, and if the armory be heated by steam one engineer, and an assistant engineer, if the commanding officer of the brigade within whose district such armory is located and the officer in charge of such armory shall certify to the disbursing officer of the county in which such armory is located that the ser vices of an assistant engineer are necessary; there shall also be allowed for an armory occupied by a regiment, by a battalion not part of a regiment, by a battery of light artillery, by a troop, by a signal corps, or by two or more separate batteries or companies, one janitor; and the armorer, the engineer and the janitor thus authorized shall be appointed by the ranking officer of the organization or organizations quartered in the armory. Where a signal corps, troop, battery of light artillery, or the headquarters of a brigade occupies a portion of an armory, such sig nal corps, troop or battery of light artillery shall also be entitled to an armorer and a janitor, and such signal corps or brigade headquarters shall also be entitled to an armorer, who shall be appointed by its respective commanding officer, and such headquarters and quarters shall be considered an independent armory, upon the approval and certificate of the commanding officer of the brigade within whose district such armory is located. The armorer shall, under the direction of the officer appointing him, take charge of the armory, arsenal and place of deposit of the regiment, battalion, troop, battery, company signal corps and brigade headquarters, and of all uniforms, arms equipments, and other property issued under the provisions of this chapter therein deposited, and discharge all duties connected therewith as shal! be from time to time prescribed by such commanding officer. The special duty of the engineer and assistant engineer shall be to take charge of the heating apparatus, and the janitor shall take charge of the armory, the cleanliness thereof and of the furniture, fixtures and property therein.

§ 178. Laborers.-To provide for the proper care and cleanliness of armories and arsenals and of the property therein deposited, the commanding officer of a regiment, battalion not part of a regiment, troop, battery, company, signal corps, or brigade, or the ranking commanding oflicer, where two or more separate batteries or companies are quartered in an armory, may appoint laborers as follows: For armories or arsenals having ten thousand square feet of floor surface, one laborer; where the floor surface exceeds twenty thousand square feet, two laborers; and for each twenty thousand square feet in excess of twenty thousand, an additional laborer; such computation of square feet to include all drill rooms, administration and meet. ing-rooms, drill sheds, hallways, rifle range and lavatories, but excluding such cellar-rooms, boiler-rooms and store-rooms as are not included in the foregoing classification, and excluding armorers' and janitors' quarters. Before any such appointment is made, the necessity for the employment of such laborer or laborers shall be certified by the commanding officer of the brigade, and such certificate shall be filed in the office of the dis bursing officer of the county in which the armory is situated. A certificate of the number of feet of floor surface of each armory in which laborers are appointed shall be made by the engineer of the brigade and approved by the commanding officer of the brigade within whose district such armory is located, and filed in the office of the disbursing officer of the county in which the armory is located.

§ 179. Compensation of employes in armories. The persons appointed under the provisions of the two preceding sec tions shall receive compensation for the time actually and necessarily employed in their duties, to be fixed by the commanding officer appointing such persons as follows: When employed in armories or arsenals located in cities, armorers, jani tors and engineers not to exceed four dollars per day, un.ess tho city has a population of less than two hundred thousand, in which case such compensation shall not exceed three dollars per day, and two dollars per day in armories not located in cities; laborers not to exceed two dollars per day, which compensation, as certified to by the commanding officer appointing such persons, under the pro visions of the two preceding sections, shall be paid semi-monthly upon the certificate of such officer, and shall be a county charge

upon the county in which such armory or arsenal is situated, and shall be levied, collected and paid in the same manner as other county charges are levied, collected and paid. A commissioned officer shall not be eligible for appointment to, and shall not hold the position of, armorer, janitor, engineer or laborer in any arsenal or armory.

§ 10. That section number one hundred and seventy-eight of the military code be renumbered as section number one hundred and eighty-one.

§ 11. The said act is hereby amended by adding thereto new sections to read as follows:

§ 19. Hospital corps.-The commander-in-chief may, in his discretion, organize hospital corps, to be composed of men especially enlisted for said corps, or enlisted men who may, with his consent, be transferred to said corps upon the request of the senior medical officer, and the approval of the commanding officer of the organization in which such men are enlisted. The hospital corps shall consist of twelve men for each regiment, eight for each squadron and each battalion not a part of a regiment, and two for each separate troop, battery, company or signal corps, and shall be, in addition to the strength provided by section fifteen of this act. The commanding officer of an organization to which a hospital corps is attached, may appoint and warrant from the members thereof, corporals at the rate of one for each litter squad of four men.

§132. Pay and care when injured or disabled in service.member of the national guard who shall, when on duty or assembled therefor, in case of riot, tumult, breach of the peace, insurrection or invasion, or whenever ordered by the commander-in-chief, or called in aid of the civil authorities, receive any injury, or incur or contract any disability or disease, by reason of such duty or assembly therefor, which shall temporarily incapacitate him from pursuing his usual business or occupation, shall, during the period of such incapacity, receive the duty pay provided by this chapter and actual necessary expenses for care and medical attendance. The period of such incapacity, and the sum allowed for such expenses shall be determined by a board of three surgeons, to be appointed upon the application of the member claiming to be so in capacitated by the commanding officer of the brigade to which such member is attached. Such board is hereby invested with all

the powers of the examiners and boards provided by section one hundred and thirty-one of this chapter. The sum certified by such board to be due such member shall be a charge upon and be paid in the manner provided by this chapter, by the county in which such duty was rendered, in every case where a county is by this chapter made liable to pay for the performance of military duty. In all other cases such sums shall be paid by this state, in like manner as other military accounts are paid.

§ 180. Armorers and employes for naval militia.- On any vessel used as an armory of the naval militia, in accordance with section two hundred and ninety-four of this act, the ranking commanding officer of the organization or organizations quartered on said vessel shall have the right to appoint as many employes of the same classes described in the three preceding sections as, in his judgment, the care and safety of the vessel, its equipment, armament and stores demand, and to establish their respective duties, ratings and compensation, always provided, however, that the gross compensation of such employes shall not exceed the amount per day authorized and established by section one hundred and seventy-nine of this chapter. The duties of the aforesaid employes shall include service on boats which are under the command of the ranking officer of such naval militia organization. § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 855.

AN ACT to amend chapter five hundred and sixty-five of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act in relation to railroads constituting chapter thirty-nine of the general laws," and the several acts amendatory thereof, in relation to 'surface railroads.

BECAME a law May 22, 1896, with the approvel of the Governor. Passed, three-fifths being present.

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

Section 1. Section ninety-one of chapter five hundred and sixtyfive of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act in relation to railroads," constituting chapter thirty-nine of the general laws, as amended by chapter six hundred and