vacancy in the board of directors, such vacancy may be filled by the remaining members of the board of directors.

Sec. 5. Pit further enarted, That the said company, or corporation, shall have the right of connecting the waters of Key Rights. Biscayne bay by the way of the different inlets, Lake Worth, Indian river, Musquito lagoon, Halifax river, with the St. Johns river by a series of canals, and to connect Indian river, Halifax river, and Musquito lagoon with the St. Johns river, or its tributaries, by canals, and to dredge out the inside passage from Key West to Key Biscayne bay, and the inside passage from the St. Johns to the St. Mary's river, so as to make a steamboat navigation inside from Key West to Fernandina. And to effect the said object, the said company shall have the right to improve any of the said rivers, inlets, or lagoons, by dredging, canalling, or making cut-offs, and to construct any locks, dams, or embankments, and to erect such other work or works as they may deem necessary for making, repairing, or keeping in repair any of such works, which may be necessary to complete and perfect such inland navigation.

May enter upon lands to cut

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the president and directors of said company, or their properly authorized agents, to enter upon any land or lands, public or priyate, for the purpose of entting any canal, or to take from any canals. land most convenient to their works any timber, stone, earth, or other materials which may be necessary for the construction of, and the keeping in repair, said works and improvements.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That whenever the said company shall take possession of and use any lands, timber, stone, or other material, owned by private individuals, for the route and site of said works, or for the construction and keeping in repair the same, or any part thereof, and the parties cannot agree upon the value of the damages sustained, it shall and may be lawful for the president and directors of said company, or their properly authorized agents, to apply to the circuit judge of the circuit court of the county in which such lands, stone, timber, or other materials lic, for a writ of ad quod damnum, directed to the sheriff, or other officer qualified, to summon five disinterested persons who are jurors, to meet and value the said property upon oath, to be administered to them by any person capable of administering an oath, who shall take into consideration the damages sustained, as well as the benefits to be derived from said works or improvements, and true appraisal make of said damages, and file the same with the county clerk, and upon the owners thereof making a release to the said company, and filing the same in the county clerk's office, the said company shall pay the damages as so assessed within sixty days after having been notified by the clerk of the circuit court that the celoase is properly executed and filed in his office, and shall pay

May appropriate property when and how.

Right of way granted.

Tolls.

Tax.

the same to the county clerk for the use of the claimants, and the company shall pay all expenses incurred in the issuing of said writ, and the appraisers shall receive two dollars per day while engaged in such duty.

SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That there is hereby granted to the said company, by and with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Interual Improvement Fund of Florida, the right of way through all lands owned by the State, and the title to lands for four hundred feet on each side, on any of the canals cut or streams improved, as well as all lands that may be given to the State of Florida by the government of the United States, to aid in any of the improvements contemplated by this act, and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund are authorized to make such concessions of land to the said company, to aid in the completion of said improvements, as they may deem

for the best interest of the State.

SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That the president and directors of said company shall be authorized to agree upon such rate of tolls for the use of such navigation as they may deem reasonable, and as shall be approved by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund; and the said company may collect tolls on all vessels or other water craft which may pass or repass through any canal which said corporation may cut or construct, or that may pass or repass through any channel they may have dredged or deepened, and said company shall be entitled to demand and receive said tolls upon all produce, merchandise, goods, or other articles which may be transported through any of the canals cut or waters improved by the said company; and all produce, goods, merchandise, boats, or other articles or things which may be transported or conveyed through any of said canals constructed or waters made navigable, shall be liable for the tolls and fees for which they are respectively chargeable, and may be detained until the same be paid and acquitted.

SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That the said company shall pay a tax of five per cent. to the State upon all dividends made by said corporation to the stockholders thereof, which shall be in lieu of all taxes whatever; and as a bonus for the privileges herein granted, the State, upon the completion of said work, may purchase the said canals or improvements of the company at any time within ten years thereafter, by paying to the said corporation the cost of construction, and ten per cent. interest per annum upon the cost thereof.

Approved July 28th, 1868.

CHAPTER 1,645.-[No. 21.]

AN ACT to incorporate the Jacksonville and St. Augustine Railroad Comp my.

Persons vest

rate powers.

The people of the State of Florida, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. That F. H. Dewey, A. Gilbert, John S. Sammis, M. L. Littlefield, J. W. Pulliman, ed with corpoAllen S. Fitch, Geo. W. Swepson, Wm. Allen, Harrison Reed, Oliver Bronson, A. A. Knight, and such other persons as may become associated with them by becoming stockholders in said company, their successors and assigns, are hereby created and shall forever be a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of the Jacksonville and St. Augustine Railroad Company, and by such name shall be capable in law to purchase, receive, Powers. hold, and quietly enjoy lands and tenements, goods and chattels, property of every kind, and effects, whatsoever the same may be, and the same to grant, sell, mortgage, convey, and dispose of; to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to contract and be contracted with, to make a common seal, and at pleasure to alter or break the same, to ordain, establish, and put in execution such by-laws and regulations as may be deemed necessary and expedient for the government and conducting the business of said corporation, not being in conflict with the laws of the United States and of the State of Florida.

SEC. 2. That said railroad shall commence at a convenient point opposite the city of Jacksonville, having always reference to depth of water, convenience of landing, and the construction of Termini, wharves; said point to be determined by the engineers of said company, with the approval of a majority of the directors of the

company.

Capital stock.

Books to be

SEC. 3. That the capital stock of said company shall be five hundred thousand dollars, divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, which capital stock may be increased from time to time, when found necessary, by estimate of the engineer of the company, and approved by a majority of the directors thereof. Books of subscription shall be opened within thirty days after openhed. the passage and approval of this act under the approval of J. S. Adams, Charles L. Mather, John S. Driggs, who are hereby appointed commissioners for that purpose, and the said commissioners who shall act are fully authorized and empowered to receive subscriptions of stock in said company; but said commissioners shall not, on their own account, subscribe to the capital stock. Book[s] of subscription shall be kept open until the whole capital stock is subscribed.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That when all the capital stock is subscribed, notice shall be given in some newspaper published in Florida, that a meeting of the stockholders will be held at

the time and place designated in said notice, for the purpose of Directors how electing directors, who shall be chosen from the stockholders of

elected.

Term of ofice.

President.

Rules.

privileges.

said company. Stockholders will be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by them, and stockholders may yet by proxy; a majority of votes shall be necessary to constitute a choice for one year, or until now directors are elected and qualified. The directors so elected shall continue in office one year, or until new directors are elected and qualified. The directors so elected shall, from their own body, choose a president, and in like manner, in each and every year, the directors and president shall be chosen; vacancies which may occur in their body between the periods of the annal elections may be filled by sid directors; Prorided, That if from any cause there should be no election, the corporation shall not be dissolved, but the directors and other officers then in office shall continue in office, with all the powers herein mentioned, until the election of new directors shall take place.

Spc. 5. Be it further enacted, That said directors, or a majority of them, may make such rules and regulations, and such by-laws, for the payment of stock and for all other purposes, as they may deem expedient and proper. Said company may, by its directors, elect and employ all other officers, such as secretary, treasurer, agent, engineers, and superintendents, and discharge them at pleasure.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That said company shall have the Rights and right and privilege to construct said railroad for the transportation of passengers, produce, goods, wares, and merchandise, and all other articles whatsoever, through any lands of the State of Florida, and the right of way is hereby given for the same, two hundred feet in width, with the right to take stone, timber, earth, and materials from any land belonging to the State, to be used in the construction, maintenancy, and repairs of said railroad.

timber and land.

take private

Sue. 7. Be it further enacted, That the president and directors of said company are hereby authorized to contract for and May purchase receive conveyances of land, timber, and other materials which may be required by the directors in the construction, operating, maintenance, and repair of said railroad, and when the owner and company cannot agree upon the price, or when the owner When may is an infant, non-resident, or non compos mentis, then it shall be property for lawful for the president and directors of said company to apply to the sheriff of the county in which said lands or property are located, who shall summon a jury of seven disinterested freeholders, a majority of whom shall be authorized to assess the damages and return their award or judgment to the term of the circuit court of the county in which the said lands or other property may be located, which shall be entered by the clerk as the judgment of the court, and execution may issue thereon for the

Corporation and how.

amount of said judgment and costs. Before proceeding to the discharge of the duties herein required, the jurors summoned as aforesaid shall take an oath or affirm, to be administered by the sheriff, that they will well and truly inquire in, and to the best of their judgment assess the damages accruing to the owner or owners of said land or materials by means of the proposed construction.

Shall become

SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That property so assessed and paid for by said railroad company in conformity with the provisions of this act, and all donations from any source for the same, shall forever afterwards belong to and become the prop- property of corerty of said railroad company, its successors and assigns, in fee poration. simple, in proportion to the number of shares held by the stockholders respectively. Subscriptions to the capital stock of said railroad company may be made in land, labor, and material, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the directors and the owner or owners thereof. Towns, cities, counties, and corporations may become stockholders in said company.

for stock made in labor.

Subscriptions

Right to de

SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That the directors of said company shall have the right to demand and receive such prices and mand fare. sums for fare and the transportation of freight, produce, and merchandise, as may be authorized and fixed by the by-laws of said company.

SEC. 10. That there is hereby granted to said company, by and with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Inprovement Fund, the title to all lands held by the said trustees, for six miles in width on both sides of the said railroad, to aid in the completion of said improvement, conditioned that the said road shall be completed within four years from and after the passage

of this act.

SEC. 11. That this company shall have succession for ninetynine years (99); that no stockholder's and individual property shall be liable for any greater sum than the amount of stock for which he has subscribed; that this act shall be deemed and held a public act, and the courts of this State shall take judicial notice thereof without special pleading.

Approved August 3d, 1868.

CHAPTER 1,646.-[No. 22.]

AN ACT for the Relief of William E. Jackson, Edward Thomas, William Spear, John Craig, James B. Walker, and their Associates now Owning and Operating the Railroad from Jacksonville to Lake City.

WHEREAS, At a sale of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Cen

Grant of land.

Succession for ninety-nine years.

tral Railroa 1, and all its property and franchise, on the fourth Preamble. day of March, 1868, by the trustees of the internal improvement