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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmAs en comnienpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboies suivants apparaftra sur la dernldre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symboie V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, ate, peuvent Atre fllmte A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich«, 11 est film« d partir de I'angle sup«rieur gauche, de gauche d droits, . et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. rrata }elure. J 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 CANADA PUBLIC ARCHIVES ARCHIVES PUBLIQUES ■«■■■■■« ■ ' // // No. 303. IN ASSEMBLY, March 25, 1853. Introduced on notice by Mr. WEST-read twice and referred to the cotn- rnittce on canals-reported favorably from said committee, and commit- ted to tlie committee of the whole. Ar^ ACT To inrorpore' : the Niagara Ship Canal Company. midjfllows' '^^ ^'"^' ""^ ^"'"^°'"*' ^'F^senUi in Senate and Assembly, do * 1 Section 1. James S. Wadsworth, Franklin Townsend, William A. 8 Bird, Alfred Munson, Horatio J. Stowe, Sanford E. Church. Sherburne 3 B. Piper, Calvin Ilotchkiss. Orsamus Turner, John Townsend. Dean 4 Richmond, Russell Sago, lleman J. Redfield, Benjamin B. Pringle, 6 Alexis Ward. John Porter, Alexander Mann, Jonathan Child. Thomas 6 Kempshall, Nicholas E. Paine, James L. Barton, Parkhurst Whitney, 7 James Van Cleve, William Vanderwort, William P. Daniels. Thomas 8 H. Hyatt, Henry Van Rensselaer, George Law. George Reynall. Oliver 9 Phelps, Joseph Fellows, George H. McWhorter, Le Grand P. Carmen, li^^sembly, No. 363. J (G. O. 513.) 9 JO John Fisk, James B. Plumb, E. G. Merrick, Oidoon Hard and Nathan 11 Dayton, and such other persons as shall hereafter become subscribers 12 to the capital stock of the corporation hereby created, shall be and are 13 hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name of the 14 " Niagara Ship Canal Company." 1 § 2. The capital stock of the said corporation shall be five millions 2 of dollars, and shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each. 1 & 3. The said Nicholas E. Paine, James Van Cleve, James L. Bar- 2 ton, Calvin Hotchkiss and John Fisk shall be commissioners to open 3 books for subscription to the stock of the said corporation, and shall 4 open such books on or before the first day of June next, having first 5 given public notice of the time and place of meeting, by publishing the 6 same once at least in each week in a public newspaper printed and 7 published in each of the counties of Niagara, Erie and Monroe, in the 8 city of Albany, and in the city of New-York. The commissioners may d adjourn from time to time, and to such place as they may think fit, 10 until the requisite number of shares shall be subscribed for; and in 11 case a surplus of shares shall be subscribed for, they may apportion 12 them among the subscribers in such manner as they shall think for the 13 interest of the said corporation. I § 4. As soon as the requisite number of shares of stock shall have 3 been subscribed for and the requisite amount of money paid in accord- 3 ing to the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the said com- 4 missioners to call a meeting of the stock-holders for the purpose of 5 choosing directors at such time and place as. in their judgment, will 6 be most convenient for the purpose. Meetings of the stockholders shall B. N^athan icribers ind arc of the lilliona s each. L. Bar- open .d shall ng first * ing the :od and , in the rs may link fit, and in portion for the 11 have accord- 1 com- pose of nt, will rs shall 7 be held before the first Tnesday of June in each succeeding year, at 8 such time and place as shall bo, from time to time, fixed by the stock- 9 holders for the purpose, and in all cases, nt least four weeks' notice of 10 the time and place of meeting shall be published in the manner in 11 which the notice of opening the books for subscription is required to be 12 published by the third section of this act. 1 ^ 5. The affairs of the said corporation shall be managed by a board 2 of fifteen directors, who, with the exception herein after mentioned, 3 shall hold their ofliccs for three years, and until others shall be elected 4 in their places. 1 ^6. William A. Bird, James L. Barton and De: n Richmond, of the 3 city of Buflalo, county of Erie and state of New-York ; Benjamin Prin- 8 gle and Heman J. Redfield, of the village of Batavia, county of Gene- 4 see and state aforesaid; Calvin Hotchkiss and James Van Clene, of the 6 town of Lewiston, county of Niagara and state aforesaid; E. G. Merrick, 6 of the village of Clayton, county of St. Lawrence and state aforesaid; 7 Nathan Dayton and George Reynold, of Lockport, Niagara county and 8 stale aforesaid; George Law, of tlic city of New- York, Gideon Hard, of the village of Albion, county of Orleans and state aforesaid ; Nicholas 10 E. Paine and John Fisk, of the city of Rochester and state aforesaid; 11 Martin B. Scott, of the city of (Cleveland and State of Ohio, shall be 12 the first directors of the said corporation. They shall be divided by lot 13 into three classes of equal number and the term of office of those of 14 the first class shall end on the first Tuesday of June next succeeding 15 the due organization of the said corporation according to the provisions 16 of this act; of those of the second class on the first Tuesday of June 17 in the year next succeeding, and of those of the third class on the first 18 Tuesday of June thereafter. At each succeeding annual meeting of the 19 stockholders directors shall be elected to fill the places of those 20 whose term of office will expire on the first Tuesday of June of that year, 21 and on all questions subnutted to the, stockholder^or de>.rmination. 23 each shall be entitled to one ^'oteVo^/ever'y "share of Ick hold by hin. I § 7. None but a stockholder shall be eligible to the office of director 8 of the said corporation, and when a director shall cease to be a stock- 3 holder, his office shall be deemed to be vacant. 1 s^ S. The directors shall have the power to regulate the manner in 8 which the stock of the company may be transferred; the manner in 3 which elections by the stockholders shall be conducted, and generally to 4 adopt such ordinances and by-laws as they may deem needful for the 5 orderly transaction of the business of the said corporation, the govcm- 6 ment of its officers and agents, and the safety of its property. 1 (i 9. Every stockholder who shall refuse or neglect for twenty days a to pay for his stock as required by the by-laws of the said corporation 3 may be compelled by action to make such payment, or may be notified 4 to make such payment within ninety days thereafter on pain of fbrfeit- 5 ing his stock and all previous payments thereon, and in default of such 6 payment the same shall be forfeited. 1 ^ 10. The said corporation shall have the power, and it shall be its 3 duty, to construct a ship canal of sufficient dimensions to allow vessels 3 of at least five hundred tons burthen to pass from Lake Eric to Lake 4 Ontario, and from Lake Ontario to Lake Eric, commencing at some con- •.--^■'■■^***w^ venicnt point on the Niagara rivnr above the falls, nnd terminating at 6 some eoiivcnient point below upon the same stream, and for that pur- 7 pose shall have power and authority by their engineers and agents to 8 enter upon any lands or streams of water for the purpose of making 9 the necessary preliminary examinations and surveys, and to enter upon 10 and appropriate to its own use, for the purpose aforesaid, any lands or 11 streams of water for the construction of the said canal with such dams, 12 guard-gates, wastc-weirs, locks, lock-houses, basins, bridges, toll houses 13 and other erections and fixtares as may be necessary for the safe and 14 convenient navigation of the said i anal and its preservation, and the 15 preservation of the works connected therewith. 1 §11. Before taking possession of any lands or streams of water for the 2 purpose ofconstructing the said canal and the works connected therewith, i it shall bo the duty of the said corporation to acquire the title to such 4 by purchase or voluntary cession from the owners if it can be done on 6 reasonable terms, but if that shall be found impracticable the said cor- 6 poration may apply to the supreme court, at any general or special term 7 to be held in the county of Erie or the county of Niagara, for the appoint- 8 ment of commissioners to fix the compensation to be paid by the said 9 coporation for any such lands to the owners thereof. 1 4 12. Such application shall be made on due notice to the parties 2 interested by petition, describing with reasonable certainty the lands 3 designed to be taken; and before proceeding to the hearing the court 4 shall appoint guardians for such of the parties interested as are minors", 5 and some suitable person or persons to represent the interests of such [Assembly, No 363.] 2 6 ati arc insane ur uthcrwbo incnpublc uf niunnging tiieir own an'iiir», tind 7 of such as are unknown or absent from tliu state. I § 13. Upon tlic lifaring tho court .shall appoint five disinterostod frco- 9 holders as commissioners of appniisal, whose duty it shall he to meet 3 at a time and place assigned by them for the purpose, after giving du« 4 notice to all the parties in interest, and to proceed to hear the proofs and 8 allegations of the parties, and if they shall deem it necessary to view 6 the said lands so proposed to bo taken, and thus to ascertain and fix 7 the compensation which the said corporation should pay therefor, and I to report their doings to the said court. I ^ 14. The said commissioners shall have power to administer oaths i to the witnesses, and to adjourn from time to time as convenience may 3 require. I § 15. The court may confirm the report of the commissioners or i recommit it to the samecr other commissioners, as Justine shall require, 3 who shall proceed in like manner and report their doings to the court. 1 ^ IG. Whenever tho commissioners shall have made n s;itisfactory 2 report, the court shall make an order coiifirniiug the satne, and shall 3 direct a summary of the petition and the report, with the order of con- 4 firjnation, to be filed and entered of record in the clerk's oflice of the a county of Niagara, in the book of miscellaneous records. 1 ^ 17. Upon the payment of the compensation specified in the report, 8 or upon depositing tho same in such bank, or other institution, as the 3 court shall designate for the purpose, the title to such lands shall be 4 vested in the said corporation. 1 § 18. Whenever one-half of the capital utock of the «aid eorpomtion 3 shall have been subseribed for, and the subscribers shall huve paid ten 3 per cent upon the stock hubscribed for by tlicni respectively, the said 4 corporation .shall be deemed to be duly or;?anized and may. at any time 6 within five years from the firNt day of Juno next, eommitice the con- 6 struction of the said cpnai; ami in case the said corporation .shall fail 7 so far to complete said canal as to admit the passage of boat.s and vcs.sel» 8 through its whole length within ten years from the pas.sage of this net, 9 then the franchise hereby created shall cease and bo of no further 10 effect. 1 § 19. The said corporation shall have the right to demand toll on 3 all vessels, floats, rafts and other craft, and the property transported 3 thereby, and on all timber and logs passing through the said canal at 4 and after the following, that is to say, for rates: 6 Steamers and other vessels, per ton measurement, two and one-half 6 cents; 7 For passengers, each ten cents ; 8 For brick, liine. clay and stone, per ton, twenty cent.s; 9 For mirbl.-, slate, gypsum, cemeat, water-lime, salt, coil, b.irk, 10 hemp, tobacco (unmanufactured), ores, potatoes, apples and onion.s, per 11 ton, twenty cents; 13 For bran, shipstulfs, barley, rye, oats, beans, Indian corn, corn and 13 oat meal, clover, grass and flax seed, hay, straw and broom corn, oil 14 and oil cake, cattle, sheep and hogs, horns, hoofs and bones, pig iron 15 and broken castings, thirty cents ; 16 For beef and pork, bacon, hams, lard, fish, domestic spirits, glass, 17 stone ami i-iirflicn wan;, horses, riiniidirc and luijfrju^rr, voliu-Ics, ngri- 18 (Milturiil implornonts nnd rnilroatl iron, forfy-fivo crnfs; 10 For aslics, flour, buttrr, cIiochp, biscuit, tallow, boor, cider, vinegar, SO whoat, fruit (diiod), other H|,'ri(;iilfiir:il produrts, .sii^'ar, niolasscs and 21 roffop, iron, mills, spikes and castings, window glass, copperas, raw »-2 liidtvs uiid skins, rags, trunks and rnanilla, sixty cents; t3 All other goods and niercliandisj-, not specially cnunu rated, one t4 dollar. TIMBER. Square, in vessels or boats, per thousand < ubie feet, four dollars; In rafts, per thousand cubic feet, six dollars; Round or flatted, in vessels, per thousand cubic feet, three dollars; In rafts, per thousand cubic feet, four dollars ; Boards, plank and other sawed lumber, per thousand feet, inch 30 measure, and passing in boats, fiAeen cents ; 81 Boards, plank and other sawed lumber, per thousand feet, inch measure and passing in rafts, fifteen cents; Pipe, staves and heac'.ig, per thousand, two dollars; AVest India staves and heading, per thousand, sixty-eight cents; Barrel staves and heading, per thousand, forty cents; Shingles, per thousand, twenty-four cents; Fire wood, per cord, twenty cents; Sawed logs of twelve feet each, number, twenty-three cents; Mahogany, except veneering, per thousand feet, seventy-two cents; 40 "* Empty barrels, each two cents; 41 Other woods per Jton, measurement of forty cubic feet, forty cents ; 42 and may refuse to permit such vessels, floats, rafts and other craft, tim- ts f« t7 38 29 88 83 34 85 36 87 88 39 % t^^ 43 bcr and logs to puss into or through uny portion o( the s.iid cunul until 44 Huch tollH be paid. 1 § JO. Jn times of war or of uny civil commotion, VfsselH of the United 9 States, or those bearing mimitions of war, or troops of the Fnifed States, 3 or of this state, shall be entitled to the preference over ill other vessels 4 in passing through the suid oanal unJ may pass free of toll. 1 ^ 21. Whoever shall willfully injure or destroy any ot the embank- 8 ments, dams, guard gate.s, waste weirs, locks, lock hou.ses, basins, 3 bridges, toll houses, or other works, or fixtures appertaining to the -(aid 4 canal, shall be linl)le to indictment and punishment by confinement in a state prison for a term not exceeding thr ^ears, or by Hue, or impris- 6 onment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year in the discre- 7 tion of the court, and shall also be liable to pay double the amount of 5 damages sustained by the corporation, to be recovered with costs of suit 9 ia any court of competent jurisdiction. 1 § 22. The said corporation may accept from the government of the » United States, or of any state, any grant.s of land or money which may a be made to it for the purpose of constructing the canal and the works 4 connected therewith, and may hold and dispose of such lands for that 5 purpose. The state of New- York reserve the right to purcha.se said 6 canal and make it a state work by paying ten per cent over cost. 1 ^ 23. This act shall take effect immediately. [Assembly, No. 368.] .^/. -J^C \^Ttt./i-- /- ••' t^' ' > 1 1 • .- . V -■ • <: ^' ^./^f^t-'ju-i^.*- ry /A. ^ 1 r K' "*-^^-irfx «r^. c*-k^ •oty^iaiL- ^' i i