UC-NRLF 
 
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 TRANSLATION 
 
 POLICE LAW OF RAILROADS 
 
 PUERTO RICO, 
 
 AND 
 
 ,GULATIONS FOR ITS APPLICATIC M 
 
 PROMULGATED ON THE 17 OF FEBRUARY, 1888. 
 
 1SQ0. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 OVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 1800. 
 
GIFT OF 
 
 
TRANSLATION 
 
 OF 
 
 POLICE LAW OF RAILROADS 
 
 OF 
 
 PUERTO RICO, 
 
 AND 
 
 REGULATIONS FOR ITS APPLICATION, 
 
 PROMULGATED ON THE 17 OF FEBRUARY, 1888. 
 
 13 EF> ART ME NX, 
 18OQ. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 I8 99 . 
 

POLICE LAW OF RAILROADS OF PUERTO RICO. 
 
 [Promulgated in the Island on the 17th of February, 1888.] 
 
 TITLE I. 
 
 REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO PUERTO RICO FOR THE PRESERVATION OP 
 
 PUBLIC ROADS. 
 
 ARTICLE 1. The Laws and Regulations of the Administration as 
 to highways are applicable to 
 
 1. The preservation of trenches, drains, walls, buildings, and 
 other kinds of works. 
 
 2. The rights (servitudes) for the preservation of the roads 
 charged on the adjoining cultivated lands. 
 
 3. The servitudes on these same lands as to laying out lines, 
 constructions of all kinds v opening of ditches, free course of water, 
 planting, pruning of trees, working of mines, lands, places for 
 dumping refuse ore, quarries, and any other whatsoever. The 
 zone to which these rights extend is 20 meters 011 each side of the 
 railroad. 
 
 4. The prohibitions the object of which is to prevent all kinds 
 of damage to the road. 
 
 5. Prohibiting the placing of hanging or projecting objects 
 which may inconvenience or endanger persons or the road. 
 
 6. Prohibiting the establishment of deposits of materials, stones, 
 earth, manure, products or any other thing which may impede 
 free transit. 
 
 TITLE II. 
 
 REGULATIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ROADS WHICH REFER ESPECIALLY 
 
 TO RAILROADS. 
 
 ART. 2. Along the whole distance of the railroad neither the 
 ntry nor the grazing of cattle shall be allowed. If the railroad 
 s to cross a highway where cattle pass, the railroad shall always 
 ross without changing or stopping the progress of the trains, and 
 in the manner provided for as a general rule for that crossing. 
 
 ART. 3. In the future, in a zone of 3 meters on each side of the. 
 ailroad, only fencing walls shall be constructed, but no facades 
 having openings or projections. This Regulation does not refer to 
 buildings constructed before the promulgation of this Law, or. the 
 construction of a railroad which may be separated and maintained 
 in the condition in which they are, but can not be rebuilt. If it 
 
 (3) 
 
 2 
 
 crc 
 
 I 
 
be lit- "><) rv to demolish or change a building for the benefit of a 
 railroad, the proceedings shall be according to the provisions of 
 Article 11 of this Law. 
 
 ART. 4. Within the zone indicated in paragraph 3 of Article 1, 
 no buildings may be constructed, covered with thatch or other 
 combustible materials, when the railroad is operated by means of 
 locomotives. 
 
 ART. 5. The prohibition to establish deposits of materials, earth, 
 stones, or any thing mentioned in the sixth paragraph of Article 1, 
 in the case of railroads, includes 5 meters on each side of the road 
 as to objects not inflammable and 20 meters as to inflammable 
 objects. 
 
 ART. 6. The prohibition of the preceding Article shall not be 
 operative when 
 
 1. The deposits of combustible material shall not be higher than 
 the road when the latter is on an embankment. 
 
 2. The deposits of materials to be employed for fertilizing and 
 cultivating lands, and harvests during their gathering, are tem- 
 porary ; but in case of fire due to the passing of locomotives the 
 owners shall have no right to an indemnity. 
 
 ART. 7. The Governor of the Province may authorize, after 
 hearing the Engineers of the Government and of the Companies, 
 the deposit of uninflammable materials ; but the authorization shall 
 be revokable at his will. The Governor may not authorize deposits 
 of inflammable materials. 
 
 ART. 8. The railroads throughout their length shall be fenced 
 on both sides. The Secretary of the Colonies, after hearing the 
 Company, in case there be one, shall determine for each line the 
 manner in which and time when the fencing is to be made. 
 When railroads cross others on the same level, gates shall be 
 constructed which shall be closed and only opened when vehicles 
 and cattle cross as provided for in the regulations. 
 
 TITLE III. 
 
 REGULATIONS AS TO THE PRECEDING TITLES. 
 
 ART. 9. The distances fixed in paragraph 3 of Article 1, and in 
 Articles 3 and 5 of this law, shall be measured from the lower line 
 of the walls of the embankment of the railroads, from the upper 
 line of the clearing, and from the outer border of the trenches ; if 
 there be no such lines the measures shall be from a line drawn a 
 meter and a half from the outside of the railroad. The Regulations 
 will fix the minimum distance from the stations at which buildings 
 may be constructed or deposits established. 
 
 ART. 10. The Secretary of the Colonies, in special cases, may. 
 reduce the distances to which the preceding article refers, after the 
 
proper steps are taken showing the necessity or convenience of the 
 reduction, and if no harm is done to the regularity, preservation, 
 and free transit of the road. 
 
 ART. 11. Whenever there exist individual rights previous to 
 the construction of a railroad, or the. publication of this law, 
 which rights can not be enforced, or if it be necessary to abolish 
 these rights on account of the necessity or utility of the railroads, 
 the rules established in the Law of June 13, 1884, shall be observed 
 as to forcible condemnation by reason of public utility, and also 
 the provisions of the Laws of Public Works and the regulations 
 issued for their execution by the administration. 
 
 TITLE IV. 
 
 OFFENSES OF OWNERS OF CONCESSIONS AND LESSORS OF RAILROADS. 
 
 ART. 12. The owner of the concession or the lessor for the opera- 
 tion of a railroad who shall -not comply with the general document 
 of conditions, or the special ones of the concession, or the resolu- 
 tions for the execution of these clauses in everything referring to 
 the operation of the line, or of the telegraph, or as to navigation or 
 use of all roads or free course of waters, shall incur a fine of 100 to 
 1,000 pesos. 
 
 ART. 13. The owner of the concession or the lessor shall also be 
 obliged to make amends for the errors and damages caused within 
 the time fixed ; if he does not do so the administration shall do it, 
 demanding from him the amount of the expenses and attaching the 
 earnings of the stations. 
 
 ART. 14. The owners of the concession or lessors of the railroads 
 shall be responsible to the State and to individuals for damages 
 ' caused by the Managers, Directors, and other employees in the 
 'service and operation of the railroad and telegraph. If the rail- 
 road is operated by the State, the State shall be subject to the same 
 responsibility in regard to individuals. Let it be understood that 
 what has been stated in this Article is without prejudice to the per- 
 sonal responsibility which Managers, Administrators, Engineers, 
 and all classes of employees may incur, and the discretionary author- 
 ^ity which in cases of strikes, disturbances of public order, and 
 conspiracies, appertains to the Government. 
 
 ART. 15. The General Government, without intervening in the 
 appointment of the employees of the companies for the service of 
 operating the railroad, may require the company to dismiss the 
 employees whom it may consider dangerous to the safety of pas- 
 sengers and the maintenance of public order. 
 
 This dismissal shall be of a temporary character until it is 
 ratified by the Secretary of the Colonies. 
 
TITLE V. 
 
 TRANSGRESSIONS AND CRIMES AGAINST THE SAFETY AND PRESERVATION 
 
 OF RAILROADS. 
 
 ART. 10. He who shall willfully destroy or damage a railroad, 
 or place obstacles on it which shall obstruct the free transit or 
 cause the derailing of a train, shall be punished with imprisonment. 
 In case the train has been derailed, the imprisonment shall be in 
 the penitentiary. 
 
 ART. 17. In case the destruction or damage is caused in time of 
 rebellion or sedition, and the authors of the crime do not appear, 
 the principal authors or leaders of the sedition or rebellion shall 
 incur the penalty imposed in the previous article. 
 
 ART. 18. The provisions of the preceding articles shall be under- 
 stood to be without prejudice to the civil and criminal liability 
 which the giiilty parties may incur, for crimes of homicide, wounds, 
 and injuries of all kinds which may occur, and for those of rebel- 
 lion and sedition. 
 
 ART. 19. When two or more penalties concur, the Judges and 
 Courts shall impose the greater in its maximum degree. 
 
 ART. 20. Those who threaten the commission of a crime in- 
 cluded in Articles 16 and 17 shall be punished with the penalties 
 provided for in Article 512 of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico. The 
 scale therein established shall be observed, but always imposing 
 the maximum degree, and when the degree shall be fixed, the next 
 highest one in its minimum degree. 
 
 ART. 21. Whosoever through ignorance, imprudence, or by rea- 
 son of negligence or failure to comply with the Laws and Regulations 
 causes in the Railroad or its dependencies some damage which may 
 injure persons or property, shall be punished, according to Article 
 592 of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico, by reason of gross negligence. 
 
 ART. 22. The engineers, conductors, brakemen, station masters, 
 telegraph operators, and other employees charged with the service 
 and care of the line, who abandon their respective posts while 
 on duty, shall be punished with the same penalties. But if 
 some injury is occasioned to persons or things they shall be pun- 
 ished with the penalty of correctional imprisonment or minor im- 
 prisonment. 
 
 ART. 23. Those who interfere with the Railroad employees 
 while these are doing their duty, shall be punished with the penal- 
 ties which the Penal Code imposes on those who resist the agents 
 of the Government. 
 
 ART. 24. Those who violate the Regulations included in Titles 
 1 and 2 of this law, the Regulations of the Administration, and 
 the orders of the Governors as to police, safety, and operation of 
 
Railroads, shall be punished with a fine of 6 to 00 pesos, accord- 
 ing to the gravity and circumstances of the case and its perpetrator. 
 If according to the Penal Code they have incurred a graver penalty, 
 only the latter shall be imposed. In case of recurrence of the 
 crime, the fine shall be from 12 to 120 pesos. 
 
 ART. 25. Those not paying the fine imposed upon them shall ^be_ 
 liable to execution against the person, according to the provisions 
 of Article 49 of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico. 
 
 ART. 26. Without prejudice to the penalties stated in the pre- 
 ceding articles, those who shall have infringed the Regulations of 
 this Law, shall destroy the excavations, constructions, and covers, 
 take away the deposits of inflammable material, or of any other kind 
 which may have been made, and repair the damages occasioned in 
 the Railroads. The Mayors shall fix a time for the performance, 
 after hearing the representative of the Administration of the Rail- 
 road, or the Company itself. If within the time fixed this shall 
 not be done, the Government shall do it at the expense of the party 
 who shall have disobeyed. In this case the collection of the 
 expenses shall be made in the same manner as that of the taxes. 
 
 
 TITLE VI. 
 
 PROCEDURE. 
 
 ART. 27. Those who shall commit crimes piinishable under this 
 law shall be tried in the ordinary way, whatever be their right to 
 other trial. 
 
 ART. 28. Those who shall have only incurred a fine, shall be 
 excepted from the provisions of the preceding article. For the 
 imposition of the fines the following Rules shall be observed : 
 
 1. The right to inform belongs to the people. 
 
 2. The denunciations shall be made to the Municipal Judges 
 in whose districts the transgression was committed. 
 
 3. The proceedings and steps in these actions shall be the ones 
 provided for in cases of common transgressions. 
 
 4. The testimony of those in charge of the management of the 
 road and the sworn guards shall be sufficient, except when ther.e is 
 evidence to the contrary. 
 
 5. Municipal Judges shall see to the fulfillment of the penalties 
 imposed in these cases. 
 
 ART. 29. The penalties imposed on the owners of the concessions 
 or lessors of the Railroad in the cases mentioned in Article 12 may 
 only be imposed by the Governor after hearing the interested 
 parties, the Chief Engineer of Public Works, and the Council of 
 
8 
 
 Administration which hears disputes. The fines imposed by the 
 Governors on the owners of concessions or lessors of Railroads shall 
 "not be remitted but by the Colonial Department, after hearing the 
 Council of State. 
 
 Approved by the Royal Decree of this date. 
 
 BALAGUER. 
 MADRID, July 13, 1888. 
 
REGULATIONS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE POLICE LAW OF 
 RAILROADS OF THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO. 
 
 [Promulgated on the 17th of February, 1888.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ARTICLE 1. The inspection and supervision of the Railroad, not 
 only in its technical part but also in the business part, the direct 
 intervention in the different branches of its operation, its police 
 and good government, and everything concerning the safety of 
 persons and the development of the material interests, belong to 
 the Colonial Department. 
 
 ART. 2. The purely technical or professional parts shall be in- 
 trusted in each line to one or more Engineers of the Corps of Roads, 
 Canals, and Ports; the administrative and business part to the 
 officers elected by the Colonial Department. Of both branches two 
 inspections shall be created independent one of the other, and both 
 devoted to the best public service with different obligations and 
 duties. They may also be consolidated. 
 
 ART. 3. The organization, rights, and duties of the technical and 
 administrative inspections shall be in accordance with the pro- 
 visions of the special Regulations which may have been ordered 
 for the service of the same, or may be ordered in the future by the 
 Colonial Department. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ROAD AND ITS PRESERVATION. 
 
 ART. 4. The erection of dams, wells, and troughs at a distance 
 of less than 20 meters on each side of the Railroad is prohibited. 
 This distance of 20 meters shall be measured from the lower lines 
 of the walls of the embankments, from the upper line of the clear- 
 ing, and from the outer edge of the trenches when the Railroad is 
 on a level. When these lines do not exist, the distance of 20 
 meters shall be counted from a line parallel to the outer rail at a 
 meter and a half from it. 
 
 ART. 5. The farmers on the land adjoining the road shall incur 
 the penalty provided for in Article 24 of the Law whenever by their 
 plantings, works of cultivation, or in any other manner inclosures 
 or the supporting walls, the braces of the culverts, the abutments 
 of the bridges, and other works of the railroads are damaged. 
 
 ART. 6. Article 24 of the Law shall be applied equally, not only 
 to the farmers who, in the labor of improvements of their fields 
 
 (9) 
 
10 
 
 adjoining the Railroad, shall throw in the trenches eartlij manure, 
 leaves, or any other material which may prevent the free course 
 of the waters, but also to ranchmen who in the care, grazing, or 
 driving of their cattle, cause the same damage. 
 
 ART. 7. The owners or lessors of lands adjoining railroads shall 
 not 
 
 1. Obstruct the free course of waters proceeding from the Rail- 
 road by constructing ditches, roads, or bypaths, or by raising their 
 embankments. 
 
 2. Cut trees within a zone 20 meters on each side of the Railroad 
 without a previous license from the local authority, and examina- 
 tion by the technical experts. 
 
 3. Pull out roots or remove the earth in the slopes or lands 
 adjoining the road, which may cause a breaking of the land, and 
 
 "directly or indirectly may obstruct or embarrass the transit. The 
 work necessary for the repair of these damages shall be made at the 
 expense of the offender without prejudice to the penalties which 
 he may have incurred according to the previous articles. 
 
 ART. 8. The owners or conductors of vehicles, horses, or other 
 cattle may not, even to enter adjoining lands or to leave them, 
 cross the Railroads but by such points fixed for that purpose. 
 This prohibition includes also owners or drivers of carriages, 
 shepherds, and cattlemen who leave their horses or cattle at liberty, 
 and graze them in the zones adjoining the Railroad. 
 
 ART. 9. No sheds, covers, stands, or movable stands shall be 
 allowed in the zone of the Railroads, even for the sale of food, if 
 their owners have not previously obtained the proper license from 
 the competent authority. 
 
 ART. 10. Whosoever willfully or by omission or negligence, shall 
 damage or destroy, with his cattle or vehicles, the works or de- 
 pendencies of the Railroads, such as parapets, the copings or walls, 
 the kilometric posts, telegraph posts, wires and insulators, signal 
 posts, signs, time tables for the public, and the pipes and water 
 deposit, shall incur the penalty stated in Article 21 of the Law. 
 
 This Article is also applicable to those who, without proper au- 
 thority, shall cut or destroy trees planted in the zone fixed in Arti- 
 cle 4 on each side of the Railroad. 
 
 ART. 11. Nobody, without previous authorization, within the 
 zone of 20 meters, measured in the manner stated in Article 4, shall 
 construct dams or works, open canals for taking or leading waters, 
 erect buildings, walls, culverts, or other works. 
 
 This zone of 20 meters shall be measured at the stations from the 
 inclosure or boundary which limits the land belonging to the 
 station. 
 
11 
 
 ART. 12. The petitions for construction or rebuilding in the 
 Railroad zones shall be addressed to the Alcalde of the respective 
 towns, stating the place, object, and details of the proposed work. 
 
 The Alcalde shall send them immediately, with his report and the 
 observations which he may deem proper, to the Engineer in charge 
 of the technical inspection, and he, after an examination and ^ 
 hearing of the Company, shall determine the distance between, 
 the road and the work, fixing the alignment and the precautions 
 and technical conditions, which must be complied with in the 
 construction. 
 
 It is obligatory for the interested parties to submit the plans of 
 the work to the Engineer in charge of the technical inspection 
 whenever he shall deem it convenient to examine them. 
 
 ART. 13. If the Engineer and the Alcalde agree as to the pro- 
 posed constructions in the zones of the road, the Alcalde shall 
 immediately grant the license requested. 
 
 When they disagree, and the interested party objects to the con- 
 ditions proposed by the Engineer, the proceedings shall pass to the 
 Governor of the Province", who, after hearing the Executive Com- 
 mittee of the Provincial Deputation and the Chief of Public Works, 
 shall determine on what he may deem best. 
 
 In case any of the parties shall be dissatisfied wrth his decision, 
 the Secretary of the Colonies shall decide, finally, through the Gov- 
 ernment channel, without any further appeal. 
 
 ART. 14. After the report of the Engineer in charge of the tech- 
 nical inspection, the Alcalde shall order the works to be demolished 
 which may have been constructed in the zone of the Railroad with- 
 out the proper license, as well as those constructed after the grant- 
 ing of the license which do not fulfill the required conditions. 
 
 ART. 15. If the houses and other buildings erected in any part 
 within the zone of easement of the Railroad, measured in the form 
 provided for in. Articles 4 to 11, and especially if the wall at the 
 sides of the road shall threaten to fall, the Company shall immedi- 
 ately inform the Engineer, so that he may immediately proceed to 
 the examination. 
 
 If this examination shows its bad condition or uiisafety, the Engi- 
 neer shall inform the Alcalde, stating whether the ruin is or is not 
 imminent, and whether the building is among those the wall of 
 which must be moved back. 
 
 ART. 16. The prohibition imposed by Article 3 of the Law to 
 erect within 3 meters distance, any other construction but a wall or 
 fence, also includes a prohibition to open in it doors, windows, or 
 any other openings which may face the road. 
 
 ART. 17. The plans of those works which may cross the road or 
 impose an easement thereon more or less directly, shall be submitted 
 
12 
 
 to the approval of the Secretary of the Colonies, who shall decide, 
 after hearing the Company, the Engineer in Chief of the Public 
 Works, and the Governor of the Province. 
 
 ART. 18. By all possible means, the Company shall assure 
 
 1. The maintenance in good condition of the Railroad and all its 
 appurtenances. 
 
 2. The care and service of the gates in the level crossings. 
 
 3. The supervision and proper work of the switches in the changes 
 and crossings of the road, and in the signals adopted, in daytime 
 as well as at night. 
 
 4. The lighting of the stations and level crossings, which the 
 Governor General shall order from the setting of the sun to the time 
 of running the last train. 
 
 5. The lighting of the tunnels, which shall also be determined 
 by the Governor, and -which shall be constantly lighted while the 
 road is in operation. 
 
 ART. 19. For the more exact fulfillment of the previous article 
 there shall be, at all the points deemed necessary, road keepers, 
 switch tenders, and watchmen, day and night, in sufficient number 
 for the safety of the trains and the success of the service. 
 
 During the service of these employees, they shall never abandon 
 their post, without express authority of the chief on whom they 
 depend, and without having been substituted. 
 
 ART. 20. When, in the opinion of the Governor General, the means 
 employed by the Company are insufficient to assure the safety of 
 the service, he shall adopt, of his own accord, after hearing the 
 Company, the measures which in each case he may deem proper and 
 which public interests demand. 
 
 ART. 21. The technical inspection, in agreement with the com- 
 pany, shall organize in the most convenient manner the service 
 and police of the gates. 
 
 ART. 22. Whenever it is necessary for the maintenance of the 
 works, or safety of persons or merchandise, to open outer ditches, 
 erect defenses and trenches, or to commence other works of the 
 same nature, the company shall proceed immediately to make them 
 at the points designated by the Government. 
 
 ART. 23. The Engineer of Public Works, when the owner of the 
 concession or lessor within the fixed time shall not repair the dam 
 ages, or shall not have the works completed, shall, after the order 
 of the Governor General, repair said damages or injuries or do the 
 work necessary under the administration system. The Governor 
 shall order the attachment of the funds of the neighboring stations 
 to meet the payment of the said works or repairs. A receipt for 
 the funds attached shall be given to the station masters. These 
 documents shall be afterwards exchanged for the verified accounts 
 
13 
 
 of expenses in the form in which the works of the State are vouched 
 for. If there be opposition to the seizure of the funds, aid shall be 
 asked of the Governor of the Province, who shall give it, even if it 
 be with the troops at his command. 
 
 ART. 24. The division of the line in kilometers, the levels, the 
 radii and lengths of the curves, shall be fixed according to the pro- 
 visions ordered by the Secretary of the Colonies. They should bep 
 whenever possible, 011 the right of the road, and starting from San 
 Juan de Puerto Rico, and from the coast toward the interior. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 STATIONS. 
 
 ART. 25. Every station shall have on its principal facade an 
 inscription stating its name, and a clock for the regulation of the 
 service of the same and the movement of the trains. 
 
 All the clocks of the line shall be regulated daily by the time of 
 the meridian of. San Juan de Puerto Rico, whenever the line con- 
 nects with that Capital without a break ; and if there be a break, 
 they shall be regulated by that of the most important station. 
 
 All the crossings for pedestrians, vehicles, and horses shall also 
 have signs, so that all the bureaus, offices, warehouses, workshops, 
 and other dependencies of the Company may be known. 
 
 ART. 2(3. Any ticket with changes or erasures shall be refused 
 as worthless. 
 
 ART. 27. The Railroad administration, to insure the safety of 
 baggage, packages, or merchandise, shall issue to their owners, or 
 those in charge of them who may represent the owners, proper 
 receipts, stating therein the name and kind of package delivered, 
 the transportation rate charged, and any other matters which may 
 be considered necessary for the better carrying out of the service. 
 
 In these receipts the time, according to the Regulations, within 
 which the baggage, packages, or merchandise are to reach their 
 destination must be stated. 
 
 ART. 28. In the most public places in each station, the announce- 
 ment of the office hours, as well as the hours for the sale of tickets, 
 as also the time-tables and rates, shall be constantly on view. 
 
 ART. 29. All the stations shall have a superior chief, to whom 
 all the other employees of the stations shall be subordinate. 
 
 ART. 30. There shall be in the stations designated by the Gov- 
 ernor General 
 
 1. Departments for the officers of inspection and telegraph. 
 
 2. A depository in the manner determined by the Company, 
 where lost articles belonging to travelers shall be taken care of. 
 
 3. A medicine chest, bandages, and other things needed in case 
 of accident. 
 
14 
 
 ART. 31. The Governor General shall have power to adopt all the 
 proper measures for the best order and policing of the station, the 
 entry, movement, and stoppages in the yards of public and private 
 conveyances used to transport passengers and merchandise, and 
 must inform the Colonial Department, so that it shall confirm, 
 reform, or revoke the orders that have been issued. All privilege 
 and favor of common carriers as to entry, movement, and stoppage 
 in the neighborhood of the stations are prohibited. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MATERIAL EMPLOYED IN THE SERVICE. 
 
 ART. 32. The number of locomotives, tenders, and other vehicles 
 to be used in the service shall be determined in the document of 
 the conditions of the concession. If, for the best public service, 
 it be necessary to increase the material, the Secretary of the Colo- 
 nies, after hearing the Company, shall take such action as may be 
 proper to obtain it. 
 
 ART. 33. The locomotive shall always be provided with all the 
 necessary apparatus to prevent all danger from fire, and shall never 
 be used until after examination by the technical inspection. When, 
 because of wear or any other cause, a locomotive shall have been 
 withdrawn from use, it shall not be again employed, even after 
 repairing it, without an examination by the technical inspection 
 and express permission. 
 
 ART. 34. The axles of locomotives, tenders, and other rolling 
 stock of the Company shall be wrought, strong and compact, of 
 smooth surface, without ridges or indentations, and perfectly 
 adapted to the service to be rendered. 
 
 ART. 35. In case cast wheels are used, they shall be massive, and 
 must be cast in a metal mold. The Government may prohibit the 
 use of such wheels when, after trial, it shall appear that they may 
 cause accidents imperiling the safety of the passengers. 
 
 ART. 36. All the Companies shall state, in a numbered registry, 
 the locomotives in use, stating the day they began service, the 
 work done, the repairs or changes made, and the successive renewal 
 of the different parts. In these statements shall also be included 
 the observations and remarks deemed necessary to form the sta- 
 tistics of the material in use by the Railroad. 
 
 ART. 37. In other special and difterent registries from those stated 
 in the previous article, a statement shall be made showing the de- 
 tails of the axles of the locomotives and tenders, stating in the 
 margin the number of each one, the manufacturer thereof, the day 
 they were first used, the tests to which they were submitted, their 
 constant and periodic work, and the accidents and various repairs. 
 For this purpose each axle shall have its number engraved thereon. 
 
15 
 
 These registries, made with the greatest possible care, 'shall be 
 presented by the Companies to the Engineers in charge of the tech- 
 nical inspection whenever they may deem it proper to examine 
 them. 
 
 ART. 38. Only the persons employed for the purpose by the Com- 
 pany shall fire locomotives. When ready for use, the engineer or 
 fireman shall constantly remain on the platform of the locomotive^ 
 wherever it may be, on the main line or branches. 
 
 ART. 39. The tenders, besides the conditions of solidity and 
 safety, shall have the necessary capacity to contain greater quan- 
 tities of water and fuel than those which the accompanying loco- 
 motives can consume during the run from one deposit to another. 
 They shall also have the necessary room to carry a box of such tools 
 and implements as may be determined upon. 
 
 ART. 40. The vehicles to be used for the transportation of pas- 
 sengers shall not be used without the authorization of the technical 
 inspection. This authorization shall be granted when, in accord- 
 ance with the provisions of the Government, they shall be 
 acknowledged to have all the requisites for the safety and comfort 
 of the passengers. 
 
 ART. 41. The place assigned to each passenger shall be at least 
 45 centimeters wide, 65 centimeters long, and 1 meter 45 centime- 
 ters high, measured from the seat. In the interior of all passen- 
 ger cars there shall be a sign stating not only the number and 
 letter of the car, according to its class, but also the number of its 
 seats, the divisions being clearly made ; and also a frame contain- 
 ing such part of these regulations as refer to passengers. 
 
 ART. 42. All locomotives, tenders, and cars of a train shall 
 have 
 
 1. The name or initials of the Railroad to which they belong. 
 
 2. Their regular numbers. 
 
 3. If they be passenger cars, the class to which they belong. 
 ART. 43. The Company shall constantly keep in good condition 
 
 the rolling stock, in proportion to the extent and especial needs of 
 the line. 
 
 ART. 44. The Administration shall have exclusive jurisdiction 
 of all appeals which may arise against the decisions of the tech- 
 nical inspection, the object of which shall be to abandon that part 
 of the stock which is useless, to order necessary repairs, and to 
 adopt such measures as may be required for the good order and 
 safety of the service. 
 
 f CHAPTER V. 
 
 FORMATION OF TRAINS. 
 ART. 45. The Governor General, at the request of the Company 
 and within the provisions of the concession, shall determine for 
 
10 
 
 the different points of the line, and as the circumstances may 
 require 
 
 1. The speed. 
 
 2. The maximum number of cars. 
 
 3. The maximum of weight to be carried in freight trains. 
 
 4. The number and weight of the cars with brakes, and the 
 place they are to occupy in the train, the last car in a train being 
 necessarily of this kind. The Governor shall report to the Colo- 
 nial Department concerning the carrying out of these provisions. 
 
 ART. 46. Every engineer running an engine shall have the nec- 
 essary means to make such signals as are provided for by the 
 Regulations. 
 
 ART. 47. The number of passenger cars of each train shall be in 
 accordance with the regulations governing the running of the 
 same. Nevertheless, all necessary trains shall be run so as to 
 enable all those who desire to travel to do so. A special order 
 shall determine the maximum number of cars which shall form a 
 train, in case there are two tracks. 
 
 At different points of the line depots of cars shall be established, 
 the trains being completed with these cars when the number of 
 passengers and the best public service demand it. 
 
 ART. 48. The locomotive shall always be at the head of the 
 train. Nevertheless this order may be changed, if convenient, in 
 order to facilitate and render safer the necessary movements in the 
 vicinity of the stations and in case of necessary aid to another 
 train. In these cases the speed shall not exceed 16 kilometers per 
 hour. 
 
 ART. 49. In placing the cars forming passenger and mixed 
 trains, the orders issued by the Governor General shall be carried 
 out, after hearing the Chief Engineer of Public Works of the 
 Island, and also the Company, and after informing the Colonial 
 Department. 
 
 ART. 50. Only in conformity with the instructions given by the 
 Colonial Department, and under such conditions as it may deem 
 proper, may the cars of common carriers form part of the trains. 
 
 ART. 51. The carrying in passenger cars of all material which 
 may cause explosions or fires is prohibited. 
 
 ART. 52. The cars and wagons which go to make up a train, 
 shall have couplings at the same height, and the centers of these 
 at equal distances, so that they may be coupled without difficulty. 
 
 ART. 53. The couplings of cars shall always be kept perfectly 
 clean and oiled. 
 
 ART. 54. Every train shall be drawn by a single engine, except 
 in cases of aid on account of damage or other serious reason, 
 
17 
 
 when another engine may be employed, as well as in cases where 
 the Company shall have been previously authorized by the Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 ART. 55. More than two fired locomotives shall never be placed 
 in a passenger train, and, in general, they both shall be placed at 
 the head of the train, although in special cases, and always with 
 the authorization of the Colonial Department, a different disposl-" 
 tion may be made. At the head and following the tenders, there 
 shall be one or two cars which do not carry passengers, according 
 to whether one or two locomotives are attached. At the end of 
 the train another car without passengers shall always be placed, 
 unless the company is authorized by the Government to leave out 
 the end car. 
 
 In the passenger trains there shall always be a car with a water- 
 closet. The end car may be omitted whenever continuous auto- 
 matic brakes are used on the whole train. 
 
 ART. 56. In a special registry, the causes which may have occa- 
 sioned the employment of two engines in the same train shall be 
 stated, whenever the Company is not authorized to do so, also 
 stating the time thus employed and the reasons justifying it. 
 Those charged with the surveillance of the service may examine 
 these reasons and other memoranda referring to it, whenever the 
 best public service demands it. 
 
 ART. 57. In due time and after full inspection, the engineer 
 shall satisfy himself that the locomotive and tenders in his care 
 are in good serviceable condition, and are provided with the 
 necessary spare parts. 
 
 ART. 58. The chief of the trains, immediately on receiving 
 them, shall examine them with the greatest care, so as to be sure 
 that they are ready for service. 
 
 ART. 59. When there is insufficient freight in the car of the 
 chief of the train, it shall be filled with ballast. The weight of 
 this ballast shall be fixed by the Governor General for each line, 
 after hearing the company and the Chief of Public Works. 
 
 ART. 60. The chief of the train, the brakeman, and the engineer, 
 shall be, as far as practicable, in communication during the run, 
 so as to be able to give the signal of alarm in case of accident. 
 
 ART. 61. The train once running, shall carry the lights and sig- 
 nals provided for in the Regulations of August 8, 1872, in force in 
 Spain, and which are now extended to Puerto Rico, or those Regu- 
 lations which may in the future be provided for by the Colonial 
 Department, after hearing the Companies. 
 
 ART. 62. The passenger cars shall be lighted inside at night,. and 
 also during the day, when going through the tunnels determined 
 
 20740 2 
 
18 
 
 by the Government, all preparations being made for that purpose 
 in the nearest station, according to the run. 
 
 ART. 63. Before a train moves, the employees who are to go 
 with it shall punctually occupy their proper places, and in due time 
 the chief of the station shall give the signal which advises them to 
 take their places, the engineer finally repeating it with a whistle. 
 
 ART. 64. At such points on the line as the Colonial Department, 
 after hearing the Company, shall designate, there shall be engines 
 for aid or in reserve, always fired and ready for service, by day 
 as well as by night. 
 
 
 
 ART. 65. A special Regulation drawn by the Government, after 
 hearing the Companies, shall determine the service of locomotives, 
 specially devoted to aid, without loss of time, the trains delayed, 
 or in difficulties, for any reason whatsoever. 
 
 At the point in the station where the auxiliary locomotives are 
 placed, there shall always be a repair car with the tools and outfit 
 which, in the opinion of the Governor, are considered necessary. 
 
 The trains which may" be used for the speedy aid of passengers 
 and train in case of accident, shall also have a repair car. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PROVISIONS AS TO THE RUN, AND STOPPAGE AT INTERMEDIATE STATIONS, AND 
 
 ARRIVAL OF TRAINS. 
 
 ART. 66. At the request of the Companies, the Colonial Depart- 
 ment shall determine the running of the trains, and of single 
 engines on double-track roads, as well as the turn-outs in single- 
 track roads. 
 
 ART. 67. No train shall start from the station before the hour 
 designated in the time-table. 
 
 ART. 68. The existing provisions, or those which may hereafter 
 be adopted by the Colonial Department, shall be enforced, as to 
 the- time which must elapse between the starting of a train, to the 
 next one which must follow according to the schedule. In the 
 time between the two trains, no other trains or single engines shall 
 be allowed to leave, except in cases of aid and succor, or when the 
 Company shall be properly authorized therefor by the Government. 
 In the vicinity of the stations, signals shall be placed, which shall 
 immediately inform the engineers whether or not they may bring 
 their locomotives into the station. The engineer shall stop the 
 train as soon as he observes the signal to do so. 
 
 ART. 70. Only in case of accident, or force majeure, or repair of 
 the line, shall the train stop on the line. 
 
19 
 
 ART. 71. The existing provisions, or those hereafter adopted by 
 the Colonial Department, shall be enforced, after hearing the Com- 
 panies, to determine 
 
 1. The special measures of precaution and safety which may be 
 deemed necessary for the running of trains on grades, tunnels, 
 and curves. 
 
 2. The highest speed of passenger and freight trains 011 the dif- 
 ferent sections of the line. 
 
 3. The time which must be employed to make the trip. 
 
 4. The precautions which should be adopted for the dispatch and 
 running of special trains. 
 
 ART. 72. When a company shall decide to run a special train, 
 and shall advise the engineer in charge of the inspection, stating 
 the reason of the run and the hour of departure, the company shall 
 be held responsible for any accident which may occur. 
 
 The departure of these special trains shall be announced by tele- 
 graph to all the stations. 
 
 ART. 73. Whenever for any reason the train or single engine 
 stops 011 the line, signals indicating it shall be placed 400 meters 
 on either side of this point. 
 
 ART. 74. The signal system, shall conform with the provisions of 
 the existing Regulations, or those which may hereafter be issued 
 by the Colonial Department, after hearing the Companies. 
 
 ART. 75. At a distance of 300 meters from a crossing with 
 another railroad or tramway, the engineer shall slow up so that he 
 may make a full stop before reaching that point, if the circum- 
 stances demand it. 
 
 ART. 76. The Colonial Department, after hearing the Company, 
 shall designate the points where signals are to be placed, showing 
 the direction in which switches are turned. 
 
 ART. 77. When the trains shall approach the stations where they 
 must stop, the engineer shall regulate the speed at such distance 
 as he may deem proper, so that it shall not pass the station plat- 
 form where the passengers are to alight. He may also, according 
 to circumstances, stop the locomotive before reaching said point, 
 afterwards reaching it by running it again. 
 
 ART. 78. The engineer shall slow up his engine, not only in large 
 cuts where there are curves, bat also at other points of the line 
 which do not permit a large surface of the road to be seen. 
 
 ART. 79. When, because of unavoidable accident, the locomotive 
 shall run with the tender ahead, whether alone or with the train, 
 the engineer shall take the greatest precautions, the speed in such 
 cases not exceeding 20 kilometers per hour. 
 
 ART. 80. When the engineer approaches stations, grade cross- 
 ings, curves, cuts, or tunnels, he shall sound the steam whistle to 
 
20 
 
 announce the approach of the train. The same signal shall always 
 be repeated when there is doubt as to whether the line is completely 
 clear. 
 
 ART. 81. On the arrival of the train at stations, their names, and 
 the time of stoppage, shall be repeatedly and loudly announced. 
 
 ART. 82. While the trains remain in the stations they shall be 
 in charge of the station master, who shall, therefore, be responsible 
 for whatever happens in the station. 
 
 ART. 83. The chief of the train, 011 the run, is chief of all the 
 employees thereon, including the engineer and fireman. 
 
 ART. 84. When two locomotives draw the same train, the person 
 who has charge of the first shall regulate the run. 
 
 The second locomotive shall act only as additional force, and as 
 a mere auxiliary. 
 
 ART. 85. The engineer who runs a locomotive without a train 
 shall always do so on his own responsibility, and the fireman shall 
 obey the signals ordered by him in accordance with the Regulations. 
 
 ART. 86. The engineer and fireman in charge of the service shall 
 be the only ones on the locomotive. 
 
 From this prohibition are excepted the Engineers in charge of 
 the technical inspection, their assistants who have an order or 
 authorization of a chief, and the agents of the Company duly 
 authorized for the purpose. 
 
 In every case special care shall be taken that the number of per- 
 sons shall never be in the way of the handling and best service of 
 the engine. 
 
 ART. 87. The Colonial Secretary shall designate the stations in 
 which records of the delays of trains shall be kept, as determined 
 by each Company. In these records the nature and make-up of the 
 trains shall be stated, the numbers of the locomotives drawing 
 them, the hours of departure and arrival, and the causes and dura- 
 tion of the delay. 
 
 The agents in charge of the inspections may examine these 
 records whenever they may deem it proper for the better fulfill- 
 ment of their duties. 
 
 ART. 88. By the quickest and most expeditious means at his 
 command, the chief of the train in operation shall advise the master 
 of the next station of any accident which may occur. 
 
 The station master shall immediately communicate with the 
 engineer in charge of the inspection of the line, or with his sub- 
 ordinate, and, in a proper case, with the superior authority of the 
 locality. 
 
 ART. 89. The urgent measures adopted by the Governor General, 
 proposed by the Chief of Public Works, and referring to the safety 
 
21 
 
 of tne trains, shall be obligatory for the Companies when said 
 measures shall have been communicated to the directors. 
 
 ART. 90. Thirty days before the date on which it is to go into 
 operation, a sufficient number of copies of the schedule of all trains 
 shall be sent to the Chiefs of the technical and administrative 
 inspection, who, with their report, shall send them to the Governor 
 General within the next ten days, for his approval, in order thatlie 
 may make the changes which he may deem proper. 
 
 ART. 91. Before approving a new schedule of trains for a line 
 the Railroad Companies which are affected thereby must agree, and 
 the consent of the Governor General must be previously obtained; 
 and he shall hear the Department of Communications in reference 
 to the service of the trains which are to carry the Government mail. 
 
 ART. 92. If the Governor General, on receiving the schedule of 
 the trains, shall allow the thirty days designated in Article 90 to 
 elapse without giving any answer whatever to the Company, the 
 latter shall put it in force, considering it approved. 
 
 ART. 93. When a new system in the service of the Railroad shall 
 be adopted, or the one established shall be partly changed, the 
 public shall be notified at least eight days in advance not only as 
 to the hours of departure of the trains and of their arrival at the 
 stations, but also of the points at which they are to stop. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROVISIONS AS TO PASSENGERS AND PERSONS NOT IN THE RAILROAD SERVICE. 
 
 ART. 94. The entrance into Railroads is generally prohibited to 
 all persons not employed in the service. From this provision are 
 excepted 
 
 1. The superior authorities of a Province. 
 
 2. The local authorities. 
 
 3. The engineer and other employees charged with the surveil- 
 lance of the road. 
 
 4. Soldiers and customs officers and police agents, when they 
 come with the express permission of the proper authority in order 
 to perform some service. 
 
 5. Persons obtaining permission from the Company. 
 
 ART. 95. The passenger who does not present his ticket entitling 
 him to occupy a seat in the train, or, having one of a lower class, 
 occupies one of a higher class, shall in the first case pay double 
 fare, according to the schedule of rates, and in the second case 
 twice the difference between fares, computed from the station at 
 which he entered the train to his destination. If the passenger 
 does not prove where he entered the train, the double fare shall be 
 estimated by the distance from the place in which the last exami- 
 nation of tickets was made. 
 
22 - 
 
 ART. 96. In case a passenger goes beyond the place indicated 
 in his ticket, he shall only pay the excess corresponding to the 
 greater distance traveled, provided he. informs the chief of the 
 train before starting from the station stated in his ticket. 
 
 If this notice shall not have been previously given, he shall pay 
 double the amount of the excess of the distance which he may 
 have traveled without a ticket. 
 
 ART. 97. The passenger who, on account of the lack of cars, 
 shall be obliged to go into one of a higher class than the one to 
 which he is entitled by his ticket, shall pay nothing to the Company 
 on account of the higher fare. 
 
 If, on the contrary, he may be obliged to occupy a seat of a lower 
 class, the Company shall refund to him the amount of his ticket as 
 soon as his trip ends. 
 
 ART. 98. It is absolutely prohibited 
 
 1. To enter or leave the cars by any other exit than that opening 
 onto the platforms. 
 
 2. To go from one car to another, unless there be a connection 
 between them ; or to lean out of the car while it is in motion. 
 
 3. To enter or leave the cars except at stations and when the 
 train shall have come to a complete stop. 
 
 4. To enter the cars while the train is in motion. 
 
 5. To admit into the cars more passengers than can be provided 
 with seats. 
 
 ART. 99. No intoxicated person shall be permitted to enter the 
 cars, nor anyone carrying loaded firearms, or packages which, 
 because of their shape, size, or bad odor, may inconvenience the pas- 
 sengers ; nor shall any person with a firearm be permitted on the 
 platform, without first proving that it is not loaded. 
 
 ART; 100. Passengers have a right to compel the ejection from 
 the car, by the employes of the Company or of the Government, of 
 anyone misbehaving, or who, by word or action, is offensive, or 
 shall interfere with the orders established, or occasion disturbances 
 or quarrels, as well as those who smoke in a car not reserved for 
 smokers. 
 
 ART. 101. The Company shall always reserve one or more first- 
 class sections in passenger trains for ladies who, traveling alone, 
 may request it, and another section in which smoking shall, be 
 allowed. 
 
 These sections shall be designated by signs stating their reserva- 
 tion. 
 
 ART. 102. Dogs ar'e not allowed on passenger cars ; nevertheless 
 the Company may admit, in special cars, persons who do not desire 
 to part from their dogs, whenever the latter are muzzled. 
 
23 
 
 ART.*103. If any passenger violates the provisions of these Regu- 
 lations, the agent of the administrative inspection, or in his absence 
 the station and train chief, shall warn him in due season, and when 
 the gravity of the case demands it, institute the proper investiga- 
 tion, in order to establish the facts. 
 
 ART. 104. In order that the passengers may make their claims, 
 not only against the Company, but against its agents and employees, 
 there shall be in each station a registry, which shall be inspected 
 every month by those in charge of the administrative and business 
 inspection. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RECEIPT, TRANSPORTATION, AND DELIVERY OF BAGGAGE AND MERCHANDISE. 
 
 ART. 105. The objects which are transported by Railroads are 
 classified, for the purposes of these Regulations, as follows: 
 
 1. Baggage. 
 
 2. Parcels. 
 
 3. Merchandise. 
 
 4. Cattle of all kinds. 
 
 ART. 106. Baggage is understood to include clothing, or things 
 for immediate use, destined for the shelter, ornament, or cleanliness 
 of passengers ; books or tools of trade or profession, contained in 
 trunks, chests, valises, small chests, boxes, hat boxes, satchels, sad- 
 dlebags, hand bags, pillows, or under any covering whatsoever, 
 or unpacked. 
 
 ART. 107. Baggage shall be transported in the same trains which 
 carry its owners, and shall be delivered to them at the end of the trip. 
 
 ART. 108. Parcels are understood to be all the packages which, 
 without being subject to a declaration of contents, require special 
 care and are transported with the same speed as passengers. 
 
 ART. 109. All the things which are not included in the classifi- 
 cation of the previous articles, are designated under the general 
 name of merchandise. 
 
 ART. 110. The fourth classification comprises cattle, hogs, sheep, 
 goats ; draft, burden and saddle animals ; dogs, and other domestic 
 animals, and domestic and pet birds in cages or boxes with slats. 
 
 ART. 111. Whosoever sends merchandise to the railroad stations 
 shall make a previous declaration as to the number of packages, 
 weight, class, and quality. 
 
 Special precautionary measures shall be adopted for the trans- 
 portation of such merchandise as may cause explosions or fires, or 
 the deterioration or contact of which may damage others, more or 
 less. 
 
 ART. 112. Every delivery made in the place designated for the 
 proper employees of the company to receive articles to be trans- 
 ported shall be considered as a proper delivery and legally made. 
 
24 
 
 The subordinate employees exclusively occupied in manual labor 
 and the mechanical laborers in the offices and stations shall not be 
 considered as such proper employees. 
 
 ART. 113. The Company shall be obliged to make a bill of lading 
 of the parcels brought to it; and for this purpose the Company 
 shall keep numbered stub books ; one in which the articles to be 
 transported with the same speed as passengers shall be noted; 
 another in which a record shall be kept of the articles to be carried 
 in freight trains. 
 
 In both, the weight and the rate of transportation of the articles 
 shall be stated, in the same order of dates as they are entered in the 
 registry, unless the sender willingly consents to waive this privilege. 
 
 At the time of delivery a stub shall be given to the sender or the 
 person in charge of the article, in which the number, class, weights, 
 rate of transportation, and time in which it is to be delivered shall 
 be stated. 
 
 ART. 114. The responsibility of the Company as to delivery, to 
 which the previous article refers, commences from the moment in 
 which the Company has taken charge of the merchandise, in the 
 place where it is to be received, although the person in charge of 
 this service may not have entered it in the books of registry. 
 
 ART. 115. The Government, in accord with the Companies, and 
 after the information which it may deem convenient, shall desig- 
 nate the stations where tickets for passengers are to be sold, and 
 merchandise billed to all the points connected with the Railroads, 
 even when these points belong to other Companies, as for the pur- 
 poses of transportation all are to be considered as one line, and for 
 such cases the Royal Decree of the Treasury Department of January 
 10, 1863, shall be in force and considered a part of these Regulations. 
 
 ART. 116. The passenger carrying in his baggage jewels, precious 
 stones, bank notes, money, stocks of industrial companies, bonds 
 of the national debt, or other valuables, shall state it, exhibiting 
 them before the record is made, declaring the total amount repre- 
 sented by these articles, either as to their selling price or the price 
 at which he estimates them. 
 
 The failure to comply with this requisite shall relieve the Com- 
 pany of all liability in case of theft or loss. 
 
 ART. 117. When the Company, suspicious of the falsity of the 
 declaration of the contents of a parcel, shall determine to examine 
 it, the Company shall proceed to do so before witnesses, and in the 
 presence of the sender or the consignee. If the latter, invited by the 
 Company, are not present at the time, they shall be cited for that 
 purpose by a Notary Public who shall be requested to do so by an 
 expressed order of the proper authority. If even then they do 
 not appear, the parcel shall be opened in the presence of the Notary 
 and the witnesses. 
 
25 
 
 A proper statement shall be drawn of the examination and its 
 result, signed by all those present and certified to by the Notary, in 
 case this officer is present. The place and date of examination shall 
 be set forth, the notice given to the sender or to the consignee, his 
 presence or refusal to attend, the kind of merchandise, its condition 
 and number, details according to the declaration, and everything 
 which may appear and be shown from the examination at the time 
 the parcel containing it is opened ; the names, residence, profession, 
 or business of the witnesses. 
 
 ART. 118. After the statement of the examination shall be 
 drawn, according to the provisions of the preceding article, the 
 Company shall send it to the Governor of the Province, so that the 
 proper steps may be taken by the Government without prejudice 
 to the right of sending it also to the competent court in case of a 
 civil or criminal action. 
 
 ART. 119. The Company shall not delay the time designated for 
 forwarding the parcels agreed to with the shippers, not even giv- 
 ing as an excuse the examination of the parcels, on account of 
 suspicions of fraud or any other reason, as the examination can 
 always be made at the point of delivery. If the examination 
 shows that the shipper has not made a false declaration, the Com- 
 pany shall pay all the expenses of again closing the parcels and 
 putting them in their original condition. 
 
 ART. 120. Whosoever shall make a false declaration when ship- 
 ping merchandise to the stations, in order to pay a lower rate than 
 that of the schedule, shall pay the Company twice the excess, and 
 indemnify the Company for all damages and losses. 
 
 ART. 121. When the Company shall receive articles under a 
 sealed cover, it shall be exempt from all liability when delivering 
 them with the seals intact and in the original form to the shipper 
 or to the consignee. 
 
 ART. 122. If cash payment is not made in advance for the 
 transportation charges as per schedule, the Company may refuse 
 to carry empty cases, as well as merchandise which may be dam- 
 aged, or that requiring additional cover to preserve it ; and finally, 
 that which, on account of its small value, will not cover the cost of 
 transportation. 
 
 ART. 123. The Companies have a right to refuse parcels badly 
 made up, and all. those not sufficiently packed so as to preserve 
 the merchandise they contain. Nevertheless, if the sender should 
 insist that they be admitted, the Company shall be obliged to 
 forward them, exempt from all liability, if the Company records its 
 opposition, according to existing provisions, in the receipt issued. 
 
 ART. 124. When the receipt or voucher given to the interested 
 parties by the Company does not state the opposition to receive the 
 
26 
 
 merchandise to which, the preceding article refers, the Company 
 shall be liable for the damages proved at the time of delivery at 
 the point of destination ; but 'even in this case it may evade the 
 liability if it proves that the damages can not be ascribed to it. ' 
 
 ART. 125. Animals, merchandise, or any other articles to be 
 transported at great speed, shall leave in the first train which 
 includes cars of all kinds, provided they have been presented for 
 record three hours before the time of departure of the trains. 
 They shall be at the disposal of the persons to whom they are 
 addressed two hours after the arrival of the train. If there be no 
 trains with cars of all kinds which run to the place of destination, 
 they are to be transported in the first one leaving, whether it be an 
 express or mail train. 
 
 When the transportation is to be made at slow speed, they shall 
 be forwarded, forty-eight hours at the latest, after the entry of the 
 articles, which shall be at the disposal of the consignees twenty-four 
 hours after the arrival of the train. For the transportation of 
 draft and saddle animals, the number of hours' notice shall be given 
 provided for by the schedules. 
 
 ART. 12G. The shipping papers delivered by the Company to the 
 conductors of the freight trains shall serve as proof in favor of the 
 owners who may have lost their receipt, whenever they are 
 identified. 
 
 ART. 127. The regular schedule rates shall be applicable to all 
 packages or parcels, which, although packed separately, con- 
 stitute a remittance of more than 50 kilograms, provided it is made 
 by one individual and addressed to a single person. 
 
 The parcels and excess of baggage, under similar conditions, 
 shall be considered as a single remittance for the collection of the 
 rates fixed by the special schedule. 
 
 The Express Companies and other carriers shall not enjoy these 
 benefits unless the articles forwarded by them are packed in a 
 single parcel. 
 
 ART. 128. As for the payment of transportation charges on mer- 
 chandise, animals, and other articles not included in the schedule, 
 they may be included in the class to which they are most similar, 
 which classifications may be made temporarily by the Company 
 itself, but always submitting them to the Colonial Department, 
 which may change, admit, or refuse them, as it may deem best. 
 
 ART. 129. Whenever a parcel contains merchandise of different 
 kinds, the rate of transportation to be charged shall be that for 
 the highest class. 
 
 ART. 130. The Companies may establish, within the maximum 
 schedules which they may have been permitted to make, and with- 
 out damage to the national ports and manufactures, other special 
 
rates, in favor of foreigners, between given points on the line ; but 
 the privilege to enjoy these rates shall not extend to transportation 
 between other points. 
 
 ART. 131. The Companies may reduce the schedule rates in favor 
 of the shippers who may accept a longer time of delivery than 
 those fixed for slow speed, and of those who shall obligate them- 
 selves to forward a minimum number of tons, or those who shall 
 offer any advantage for the transportation ; but in no case can the 
 Companies evade the liability imposed on them by these regu- 
 lations for bad service. 
 
 AKT. 132. Any special reduction or condition granted in favor of 
 one or more shippers shall be extended to all those demanding it, if 
 they comply with identical conditions. 
 
 ART. 133. "Whenever a Company grants to one or more shippers 
 a reduction of the schedule rates, the Company shall inform the 
 Government of the conditions under which it has been made. 
 
 The Companies shall open a registry in which these conditions 
 shall be recorded, and said registry shall be shown to persons who 
 may request it. The registry shall be numbered by pages and 
 rubricated by the chief of the business inspection. 
 
 ART. 134. When there are special schedules for the transporta- 
 tion of certain merchandise, notice shall be given the shippers 
 at the time it is shipped, so that they may select the one most 
 advantageous. 
 
 ART. 135. The rates fixed for the transportation of merchandise, 
 under special schedules, can not be increased until after one year 
 has elapsed from their publication. 
 
 ART. 136. The rates fixed for the transportation of merchandise, 
 by virtue of special schedules, can not be increased until after the 
 expiration of one year from the time of their publication. 
 
 ART. 137. The' delay in transportation shall give a right to an 
 indemnity for damages, except in cases of force majeure. 
 
 ART. 138. The burden of proof in cases of force majeure is on 
 the Company; and until the Company shall have proved it, its 
 liability shall stand. 
 
 ART. 139. Robbery shall not be considered a case of force majeure, 
 except when the Company proves that it did everything in its 
 power to prevent it ; nor fire, unless it be proved that it was due 
 to the negligence or to the carelessness of the employees ; nor the 
 insufficiency or bad condition of the means of transportation. 
 
 ART. 140. The Railroad Companies having terminals at the mari- 
 time ports, provided they comply with the formalities and condi- 
 tions prescribed by the custom-houses, may use instead of a bag- 
 gage depot for the examination of the baggage, the trains by which 
 it is carried. 
 
28 
 
 ART. 141. The Company which may have carried merchandise, 
 without founding any claims whatever, shall have a right of action 
 for the expense of the transportation and care of the merchandise 
 kept in good condition, against the consignees or the shippers. 
 
 In default of payment, proceedings shall be instituted in accord- 
 ance with the Commercial Code. 
 
 ART. 142. The consignee shall pay the expenses of repacking 
 whenever the Company shall prove that it was done to preserve the 
 merchandise which would otherwise have decayed or been lost. 
 
 ART. 143. Every action, the object of which is commercial, 
 against the Company and in regard to transportation, shall be 
 brought in the Courts. 
 
 ART. 144. The provisions of law which submit to proof the weights 
 and measures of merchants and manufacturers in their warehouses, 
 stores, and shops open to the public, are applicable to Railroad 
 Companies in all matters referring to transportation. 
 
 ART. 145. The Companies shall always be liable for the loss 
 and damage of articles intrusted to their care, whether the damage 
 is due to the employees themselves or to strangers who may 
 frequent the offices. 
 
 ART. 146. If the Company leases a space in one of the cars of its 
 trains, and does not directly nor indirectly interfere in the hand- 
 ling of the freight, the Company shall not be liable for the loss and 
 damage which may result, being exempt from all responsibility. 
 
 ART. 147. In case of loss or damage of the article transported, 
 the Company first charged with its handling can not claim, against 
 the others who were charged with the transportation, unless it 
 prove that the merchandise was delivered to them in good condi- 
 tion. All the Railroad Companies are considered to be connected 
 without a break, as if they were a single line, for the purpose of 
 transportation contracts. 
 
 ART. 148. The Companies are not responsible for the natural 
 wear and tear on the merchandise when it is greater than ordinary, 
 nor can it be for fraud or carelessness. 
 
 ART. 149. In case the merchandise does not arrive at its destina- 
 tion in good condition at the stated time, the owner or consignee 
 has the right to insist on the liability of the Company which may 
 have failed in carrying out the conditions. 
 
 In the same way it may be insisted on when the parcels, clearly 
 and distinctly marked so that no doubt can arise, are delivered to 
 a person different from the one who was to receive them. 
 
 ART. 150. Unjustifiable delay of passenger trains shall always 
 be punished by fine, in accordance with Article 12 of the Railroad 
 Police Laws, when the delay shall exceed ten minutes for a run of 
 100 kilometers for express and mail trains, and twenty minutes for 
 the same distance in case of mixed trains. 
 
29 
 
 The Companies shall also be punished by fine, without prejudice 
 to their civil liability, when in the freight service the loss or dam- 
 age in handling the merchandise shall be due to negligence or 
 carelessness, and when the delays exceed from one-fourth to double 
 the time provided for in the Regulations or agreed upon for the 
 delivery . 
 
 ART. 151. If only part of the merchandise is delivered by the 
 Company within the time provided by these Regulations, the other 
 part shall be the basis for damages ; but the damages shall cover 
 both, when the consignee shall prove the impossibility of using 
 one without the other. 
 
 Exceptions are made in cases of accident and of force majeure, 
 which must be proved on the same day and place on which they 
 may occur, and not by certificates obtained subsequently, and once 
 the proceedings have been begun, unless a disturbance of public 
 order may have prevented the authorities from freely performing 
 their duties. 
 
 ART. 152. If the owner of parcels or packages temporarily mis- 
 laid shall have been indemnified for their loss, the Company may, 
 when the parcels are found, cite the owner to be present at the 
 opening ; and once the delivery is made, the company shall recover 
 the amount it paid, making amends for the damage due to the 
 delay. If from the investigation of the articles a fraud shall 
 appear to have been committed in the declarations made by the 
 owner, the Company shall in turn have a right to collect damages, 
 giving information of the fraud to the Courts of Justice. 
 
 ART. 153. The Companies may establish ordinary transportation 
 service in order to facilitate the communication between towns and 
 the neighboring stations. 
 
 The interested parties shall nevertheless be at liberty to carry 
 the goods in their own vehicles or send them by trustworthy per- 
 sons should they prefer it ; but in such case, when the parcels are 
 delivered to the stations, this fact must be stated. 
 
 The Companies shall then advise the consignee of the arrival of 
 the trains, so that he may send for the merchandise belonging to 
 him. Forty-eight hours are allowed for such purpose, and if he 
 does not remove the merchandise from the station storage shall be 
 charged. 
 
 ART. 154. The Companies may also establish schedules in com- 
 bination with other land or maritime transportation companies, 
 with the condition that on its lines the same rates shall be charged 
 as when the articles are sent to the points favored by the schedule, 
 even though the shippers, at their own expense, shall transport the 
 merchandise, by land or water, employing their own vehicles or 
 vessels. 
 
30 
 
 ART. 155. The consignee of merchandise can not refuse to receive 
 it, even on a holiday, if he be in his house when the merchandise 
 is brought there. 
 
 ART. 156. The consignee who may desire to prove the weight of 
 the merchandise delivered to him shall pay the expenses of re- 
 weighing, provided that the result shall be the weight stated in 
 the receipt, as provided for by article 148. 
 
 If they do not agree, the expense shall be defrayed by the Company. 
 
 ART. 157. The examination of the parcels shall be made judi- 
 cially when the consignee so demands it. 
 
 Experts called for this purpose shall state in their report the out- 
 ward condition of the parcels, their weight, marks and numbers, 
 the nature and amount of the merchandise therein contained, their 
 quality, whether they have been wet or suffered any damage, the 
 time when, in their judgment, the damage occurred, the probable 
 cause thereof, and, finally, the amount of the damage. 
 
 ART. 158. The receipt for the articles transported, signed by the 
 consignee, and the payment of the transportation shall extinguish 
 all right of action against the carrier. 
 
 ART. 159. The claims against the Companies for loss or damage 
 of articles transported shall be deducted in the manner and time 
 provided for by the Commercial Code. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PROCEDURE FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST THE 
 SAFETY AND PRESERVATION OF RAILROADS. 
 
 ART. 160. The Governor General shall have power 
 
 1. To see that, fully exercising all his powers and with con- 
 stant supervision, the Alcaldes, in so far as they relate to them, 
 shall in all respects carry out the provisions of the Railroad Police 
 Law and of these Regulations. 
 
 2. To impose fines for the offenses stated in Article 12 of the Law, 
 on complaint of the inspectors. 
 
 ART. 161. The ordinary tribunals shall have jurisdiction of the 
 crimes committed, on Railroads, according to the procediire and 
 provisions of the Railroad Police Law, and other provisions explan- 
 atory of the same. 
 
 ART. 162. The supervision of the Railroads shall be mainly exer- 
 cised by the officers of inspection and the Companies' employees, 
 both having for this purpose the character of sworn guards. 
 
 ART. 163. According to Titles 2, 3, and 4 of the Railroad Police 
 Law and the provisions of these Regulations, any violation of these 
 articles shall be complained of to the Municipal Judges of the juris- 
 diction where they may be committed, whether by the employees 
 of the inspection or those of the Company. 
 
31 
 
 ART. 164. The complaint authorized by the title and signature 
 of the complainant shall be made in duplicate, declaring therein 
 the place where the act complained of occurred, its date, the date 
 of the complaint, the name and description of the offender, his 
 residence and domicile, if they be known. On one of the two 
 copied of the complaint, the Judge shall acknowledge receipt thei^ef 
 and return it to the complainant, keeping the other as the origin 
 and basis of his future proceedings. 
 
 ART. 165. Immediately after hearing the interested party, the 
 Judge shall demand that this Law and these Regulations be com- 
 plied with, imposing the fines in a proper case, collecting them as 
 soon as possible. The trial being ended and the sentence executed, 
 the Judge shall inform the inspectors of "the line of the result 
 of the proceedings. 
 
 ART. 166. The offenses committed by the owners of concessions 
 or lessors, in the cases mentioned in Article 12 of this Law, shall be 
 punished by the Governor General, on official complaint of the 
 inspectors, who shall specify them as clearly as possible, and classify 
 them according to their importance and consequences. 
 
 ART. 167. The Governor, after hearing the owners of the con- 
 cessions, or the lessors of the Railroads, and the Administrative 
 Council which hears disputes, shall impose on them the penalty 
 which he may deem proper, according to the Railroad Police Law. 
 If the owners of the concessions or the lessors seek the remittance 
 of the fines, they shall petition the Colonial Department through 
 the Governor, who shall send the same, with his own report, for the 
 proper decision. The decision shall always state the reasons, after 
 hearing the authorities or corporations deemed proper, that of the 
 full Council of State being indispensable. From the decision of 
 the Secretary there shall be no appeal. 
 
 ART. 168. The authors of the crimes or offenses mentioned in 
 the Railroad Police Law shall be turned over to the competent tri- 
 bunal, whether by the employees of the Inspectors, or of the Com- 
 pany, or by any other authority, sending mutual assistance in order 
 to fufill their duty. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 ART. 169. The owners of concessions, or lessors, may freely 
 appoint and discharge their employees; but the Governor General, 
 by the authority of Article 15 of the Police Law and in the cases 
 mentioned therein, may order the Company to discharge any of its 
 employees, communicating the order through the Chief Inspectors, 
 who shall see that the employees are immediately discharged with- 
 out any appeal. 
 
32 
 
 Discharge from the service may be directed 
 
 1. When the reports of the Chief Engineer of Public Works as 
 to the technical employees show that these are incompetent or that 
 they have placed the safety of the trains in jeopardy. 
 
 2. When the reports of the Inspecting Chiefs of Administration 
 as to any employee of the company show that his remaining in 
 the employ is dangerous either to the security of the trains or the 
 maintenance of public order. 
 
 Nevertheless, in the latter case the discharge can not be directed 
 nor complaints admitted at the time of elections or thirty days 
 thereafter. 
 
 ART. 170. Railroad employees shall wear a uniform, differing 
 according to their class and the road to which they belong. 
 
 ART. 171. Road guards and gate keepers can bear the same 
 arms and enjoy the same privileges as Government guards. 
 
 ART. 172. No engineer shall be employed in the Railroad service 
 without previously showing, in accordance with the instructions 
 ordered by the Colonial Department, the necessary qualifications 
 for the faithful discharge of his duties. 
 
 ART. 173. Notice shall be given immediately by the Station 
 Masters to the Inspectors and to the Governor General, of any 
 accident which may place in jeopardy the safety of the trains or 
 endanger the passengers or employees of the Company or any other 
 persons. 
 
 ART. 174. If practice shows that besides the water and fuel 
 deposits existing for the use of the engines, other intermediate 
 deposits at distinct points of the road are necessary, they shall be 
 constructed at the places designated by the Governor after hearing 
 the Companies and the Chief of Public Works. 
 
 ART. 175.. The special Regulations for the service and operation 
 of each line shall be submitted by the owners of the concession to 
 the approval of the Government. 
 
 ART. 176. The written, printed, or lithographed instructions, 
 orders, circulars, and provisions regarding the Railroad service, 
 shall be immediately communicated to the Inspectors. 
 
 The manuscript orders shall be copied the day they are issued 
 in a special registry, which shall be presented to the Inspectors 
 whenever demanded. 
 
 ART. 177. The Chief Inspectors shall have the right to examine 
 the accounts of the Companies' receipts and expenditures, the 
 Royal Decrees received by the Companies, and any other documents 
 referring to the operation of the road and by which its real condi- 
 tion may be known. 
 
 ART. 178. All the notifications to the railroad Companies shall 
 be made at their domicile, and when citations are served on the 
 
33 
 
 Station Masters the citations shall be of legal value only when the 
 Station Masters are duly authorized to represent the Companies. 
 
 ART. 179. The Companies shall not resist the attachment of their 
 warehouses and depots when made by judicial order. When attach- 
 ment is made, in no case shall the articles attached be dispatched 
 and returned to the shipper or consignee, but they shall alway^be 
 at the disposal of the Court. 
 
 ART. 180. It is the duty of the Company to keep in good condi- 
 tion the articles which for any reason may have been deposited in 
 its stations. 
 
 When they need more care than the Company can exercise, the 
 procedure shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Com- 
 mercial Codes for similar cases. 
 
 ART. 181. The articles forgotten by passengers and left in trains 
 or waiting rooms, those falling on the way when the train passes, 
 and all those the owners, shippers, or consignees of which are un- 
 known, shall be kept in a depository; a special record shall be 
 made of them, stating the date and place of finding the same, and 
 their description. 
 
 ART. 182. If after the third publication of the advertisement in 
 the Gaceta Oficial de Puerto Rico, and after a year has elapsed, 
 nobody shall claim the articles forgotten or lost, referred to in the 
 previous article, they shall be sold at auction and the proceeds 
 applied to charity organizations, after deducting the expenses for 
 care and storage. 
 
 ART. 183. The telegraph lines in charge of the Companies shall 
 only send news, notices, and dispatches regarding the Railroad 
 service. 
 
 ART. 184. The care as well as the attendance and maintenance 
 of the telegraph material, including the wire devoted to the Gov- 
 ernment service, shall be at the expense of the Companies. 
 
 The offenses committed against the telegraph service, and those 
 causing destruction or damage of its material, shall be considered 
 offenses committed against the road, and as such punished accord- 
 ing to the provisions of Title 5 of the Railroad Police Law. 
 
 ART. 185. In the most public places of the stations, and espe- 
 cially in the waiting rooms, there shall always be posted, for pub- 
 lic information, copies of these Regulations. 
 
 Its provisions and those of the document of conditions referring 
 to merchandise shall also be posted in the places where the latter 
 is received. 
 
 ART. 186. The chief conductor of every train shall always carry 
 011 the trip a copy of these Regulations. 
 
 The engineers, firemen, brakemen, road guards, and other em- 
 ployees in the service of Railroads, shall be given an extract of 
 the provisions of the Regulations which they may have to observe. 
 
 20740 3 
 
ART. 187." The Secretary of the Colonies or the Governor Gen- 
 eral, as the case may be, has the power to fix the times when the 
 Companies must submit for approval their Regulations, schedules, 
 and other provisions, which they are compelled to do. 
 
 If the time fixed elapses without the Companies doing so, the 
 Government shall decide as it may deem best. 
 
 ART. 188. The offenses against these Regulations, the decisions 
 of the Government, and those adopted by the Governor General 
 with the approval of the Government or by virtue of his author- 
 ity, referring to Railroads and their best service and police, shall 
 be punished according to Title 5 of the Railroad Police Law. 
 
 ART. 189. In matters not provided for in these Regulations, as 
 to service and police of the Railroads, the Regulations in force in 
 Spain shall be temporarily followed, if they do not conflict with 
 the Puerto Rican Regulations, without prejudice to the right to 
 consult the Colonial Department for the final decision for the 
 future. 
 
 Approved by Royal Decree of this date. 
 
 BALAGUER. 
 MADRID, January 16, 1888. 
 
DEPAKTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, CIVIL CONSTRUCTION, 
 FORESTS, AND MINES. 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 His Excellency, the Secretary of the Colonies, communicates to 
 the Governor General, under date of the 6th ultimo and under 
 No. 101, the following Royal Decree : 
 
 COLONIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 KOYAL DECREE. 
 
 MOST EXCELLENT SIR: In view of the consultation by Your 
 Excellency in communication No. 2111, of the 15th of last Sep- 
 tember, considering the work of extending the lines of the Matan- 
 zas Railroad, as to whether in cases such as this there shall be 
 applied the provisions of the Law and Regulations of Railroads, 
 for the construction and service of those roads declared of general 
 utility, or the provision of the same Law and Regulations of Rail- 
 roads for private use: 
 
 Whereas, in Article 2 of the Law of Railroads, Railroads are 
 divided into those of general and private service, and Chapter X 
 refers to the latter under the heading ' ' Railroads devoted to private 
 use," to which, according to Article 63, there shall not be granted 
 the right of eminent domain, nor the occupation of lands belonging 
 to the State, but only those of public property ; and whereas, Article 
 64 declares that there may be Railroads for private use which at the 
 same time may render public service, and for such cases it says 
 that there may be granted the occupation of lands belonging to the 
 State, by virtue of a law, and the right of eminent domain, and 
 that therefore Articles 63 and 64 well define the- legal existence of 
 Railroads devoted exclusively to private use, and of the Railroads 
 which, besides having that use, may perform public service, which 
 can not be any other than the transportation of passengers and 
 merchandise; and whereas, the said articles also state what the 
 administration may grant, and how and in what cases, making no 
 distinction for this between one class of Railroads and the other, 
 and referring to the legislative power, the occupation of State lands 
 
 (35) 
 
36 
 
 and condemnation, when either is asked, because, when it is not 
 asked, said power is not exercised, as the administration has 
 authority to finally resolve as to the occupation of public property ; 
 that if there could be any doubt whatever, and it should be con- 
 tended that the Railroads should comply with different rules and 
 Regulations, the doubt would be dispelled by reading Article 65, 
 which tacitly grants the same rights to both classes of Railroads, 
 and that giving the law a different interpretation from the above 
 would be equivalent to declaring that, when a Railroad is exclu- 
 sively devoted to private use it has more facilities, advantages, 
 and rights than when the same Railroad does public service, even 
 if in both cases the Companies only ask the occupation of public 
 property. 
 
 Considering that the same findings may be deduced not only from 
 the examination of the Railroad Law, but also from the examination 
 of the Regulations for its application, Articles 72, 73, and 74 are 
 developments of Article G3.of the Law, and Articles 75, 76, and 77 of 
 Article 64 ; but only when condemnation or occupation of State lands 
 is asked, or both at the same time, which is the case provided for 
 in Article 64; that the text of Article 75 leaves no doubt as to this 
 point, because the words, in this case, with which the second par- 
 agraph commences, only refer to petitions asking the occupation 
 of land of the State, and forcible condemnation, as the Council of 
 Administration of that Island judiciously says in its report, and 
 that if there be a desire to give the words any other interpretation 
 it could not be done after reading paragraph third of the same 
 Article 75, and Articles 76 and 77, which provide for its fulfillment; 
 and, considering that in all these Articles it may be seen that they 
 only refer to condemnation and occupation of State property, and 
 also that there is only one object stated in the second paragraph of 
 Article 77, which is to give the Government all the necessary facts 
 to present to the Cortes the proper form of law. 
 
 In conformity with the opinion of the full Consulting Board of 
 Roads, Canals, and Ports, the King (may God preserve him), and in 
 his name the Queen Regent of the Kingdom, has deemed proper to 
 order, as a decision in the said consultation, that the formalities 
 which must be complied with for the construction and operation of 
 the roads of that Island, devoted to public use, which may not have 
 been declared of general utility, and for which neither the right of 
 eminent domain nor the occupation of State lands is asked, although 
 possibly those which are public property shall be the formalities 
 stated in Articles 62, 63, and 65 of the Railroad Law, and in Arti- 
 cles 73 and 74 of the Regulations, and that said decision shall be 
 extended to the Railroads of the same class in Puerto Rico. 
 
37 
 
 By Royal Order I inform Your Excellency, accompanying this 
 with a copy of the Gaceta de Madrid, in which the said Royal 
 Decree is published, which must also be published in the Official 
 Gazette of that Island. 
 
 May God preserve Your Excellency many years. 
 
 MADRID, February 7, 1888. 
 
 BALAGUER. 
 
 And His Excellency, the Governor General, having decreed its 
 execution under date of the 5th instant, has ordered that it shall 
 bo published in this official paper for general information. 
 
 PUERTO Rico, March 10, 1888. 
 
 MIGUEL VASCONI, 
 Secretary pro tempore of the General Government. 
 
YC 89744 
 
 381789 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY