justice and secure its prompt and efficient administration, inaugurate a general system of education and public instruction, provide buildings and funds therefor, equalize and simplify taxation and all the methods of raising revenue, and make all other provisions that may be necessary to secure and extend the benefits of a republican form of government to all the inhabitants of Porto Rico; and all the expenses of such commissioners, including all necessary clerks and other assistants that they may employ, and a salary to each member of the commission at the rate of five thousand dollars per annum, shall be allowed and paid out of the treasury of Porto Rico as a part of the expenses of the government of Porto Rico. And said commission shall make full and final report, in both the English and Spanish languages, of all its revisions, compilations, and recommendations, with explanatory notes as to the changes and the reasons therefor, to the Congress on or before one year after the passage of this Act. SEC. 41. That this Act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of May, nineteen hundred. Approved, April 12, 1900. TEMPORARY PROVISION FOR CIVIL AFFAIRS IN PORTO RICO— 1900 [FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION] [No. 23.] Joint Resolution to provide for the administration of civil affairs in Porto Rico pending the appointment and qualification of the civil officers provided for in the Act approved April twelfth, nineteen hundred, entitled, “An Act temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes." Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That until the officer to fill any office provided for by the Act of April twelfth, nineteen hundred, entitled "An Act temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes," shall have been appointed and qualified, the officer or officers now performing the civil duties pertaining to such office may continue to perform the same under the authority of said Act; and no officer of the Army shall lose his commission by reason thereof: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be held to extend the time for the appointment and qualification of any such officers beyond the first day of August, nineteen hundred. SEC. 2. That all railroad, street railway, telegraph and telephone franchises, privileges or concessions granted under section thirty-two of said Act shall be approved by the President of the United States, and no such franchise, privilege, or concession shall be operative until it shall have been so approved. SEC. 3. That all franchises, privileges or concessions granted under section thirty-two of said Act shall provide that the same shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal; shall forbid the issue of stock or bonds, except in exchange for actual cash, or property at a fair valuation, equal in amount to the par value of the stock or bonds issued; shall forbid the declaring of stock or bond dividends; and, in. the case of public-service corporations, shall provide for the effective regulation of the charges thereof and for the purchase or taking by the public authorities of their property at a fair and reasonable valuation. No corporation shall be authorized to conduct the business of buying and selling real estate or be permitted to hold or own real estate except such as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the purposes for which it was created, and every corporation hereafter authorized to engage in agriculture shall by its charter be restricted to the ownership and control of not to exceed five hundred acres of land; and this provision shall be held to prevent any member of a corporation engaged in agriculture from being in any wise interested in any other corporation engaged in agriculture. Corporations, however, may loan funds upon real estate security, and purchase real estate when necessary for the collection of loans, but they shall dispose of real estate so obtained within five years after receiving the title. Corporations not organized in Porto Rico, and doing business therein, shall be bound by the provisions of this section so far as they are applicable. Approved, May 1, 1900. RHODE ISLAND" For organic acts relating to the land now included within Rhode Island see in other parts of this work : Charter of Virginia, 1606 (Virginia, p. 3783). Council for New England, 1620 (Massachusetts, p. 1827). PLANTATION AGREEMENT AT PROVIDENCE-AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 6, 1640 Wee, Robert Coles, Chad Browne, William Harris, and John Warner, being freely chosen by the consent of our loving friends and neighbors the Inhabitants of this Towne of Providence, having many differences amongst us, they being freely willing and also bound themselves to stand to our Arbitration in all differences amongst us to rest contented in our determination, being so betrusted we have seriously and carefully indeavoured to weigh and consider all those differences, being desirous to bringe to unity and peace, although our abilities are farr short in the due examination of such weighty things, yet so farre as we conceive in laying all things together we have gone the fairest and the equallest way to produce our peace. 1. Agreed, We have with one consent agreed that in the parting those particular properties which some of our friends and neighbors have in Patuxit, from the general Common of our towne of Providence, to run uppon a streight line from a fresh spring being in the Gulley, at the head of that cove running by that point of land called Saxafras unto the towne of Mashipawog, to an oake tree standing neere unto the corn field, being at this time the nearest corn field unto Patuxit, the oake tree having four marks with an axe, till some other land marke be set for a certaine bound. Also, we agree that if any meadow ground lyeing and joineing to that Meadow, that borders uppon the River of Patuxit come within the aforesaid line, which will not come within a streight line from long Cove to the marked tree, then for that meadow to belong to Pawtuxit, and so beyond the towne of Mashipawog from the oake tree between the two fresh Rivers Pawtuxit and Wanasquatucket of an even Distance. Rhode Island was first settled in 1636 by Roger Williams and other immigrants who had suffered persecution in Massachusetts, and who established at Providence "a pure democracy, which for the first time guarded jealously the rights of conscience by ignoring any power in the body politic to interfere with those matters that alone concern man and his Maker."-Arnold. Text in Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England. (Providence, 1856), Vol. I, pp. 27-31. 7254-VOL 6-092 3205 2. Agreed. We have with one consent agreed that for the disposeing, of those lands that shall be disposed belonging to this towne of Providence to be in the whole Inhabitants by the choise of five men for generall disposeall, to betrusted with disposeall of lands and also of the towne Stocke, and all Generall things and not to receive in any six dayes at townesmen, but first to give the Inhabitants notice to consider if any have just cause to shew against the receiving of him as you can apprehend, and to receive none but such as subscribe to this our determination. Also, we agree that if any of our neighbours doe apprehend himselfe wronged by these or any of these 5 disposers, that at the Generall towne meeting he may have a tryall. Also wee agree for the towne to choose beside the other five men one or more to keepe Record of all things belonging to the towne and lying in Common, Wee agree, as formerly hath bin the liberties of the town, so still, to hould forth liberty of Conscience. III. Agreed, that after many Considerations and Consultations of our owne State and alsoe of States abroad in way of government, we apprehend, no way so suitable to our Condition as government by way of Arbitration. But if men agree themselves by arbitration, no State we know of disallows that, neither doe we: But if men refuse that which is but common humanity betweene man and man, then to compel such unreasonable persons to a reasonable way, we agree that the 5 disposers shall have power to compel him to choose two men himselfe, or if he refuse, for them to choose two men to arbitrate his cause, and if these foure men chosen by every partie do end the cause, then to see theire determination performed and the faultive to pay the Arbitrators for theire time spent in it: But if these foure men doe not end it, then for the 5 disposers to choose three men to put an end to it, and for the certainty thereof, wee agree the major part of the 5 disposers to choose the 3 men, and the major part of the 3 men to end the cause haveing power from the 5 disposers by a note under theire hand to performe it, and the faultive not agreeing in the first to pay the charge of the last, and for the Arbitrators to follow no imployment til the cause be ended without consent of the whole that have to doe with the cause. Instance. In the first Arbitration the offendor may offer reasonable terms of peace, and the offended may exact upon him and refuse and trouble men beyond reasonable satisfaction; so for the last arbitrators to judge where the fault was, in not agreeing in the first, to pay the charge of the last. IV. Agreed, that if any person damnify any man, either in goods of good name, and the person offended follow not the cause uppon the offendor, that if any person give notice to the 5 Disposers, they shall call the party delinquent to answer by Arbitration. Instance, Thus, if any person abuse an other person or goods, may be for peace sake, a man will at present put it up, and it may so be resolve to revenge: therefore, for the peace of the state, the disposers are to look to it in the first place. V. Agreed, for all the whole Inhabitants to combine ourselves to assist any man in the pursuit of any party delinquent, with all best endeavours to attack him: but if any man raise a hubbub, and there |