SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the individual property of the said company shall stand pledged to the State for the amount which shall be subscribed and paid in by the State (should the State authorize any subscription), and that all amounts subscribed and paid in by the State and said stockholders shall be applied to the objects contemplated by this act Provided, that nothing in this section shall be so construed as to hold the individual property of any stockholder or director liable for the application of any part of said fund which was or may be paid in at a time that he was not a stockholder or director.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said company, by the name and style aforesaid, shall be capable in law as a body politic, and as such may sue and be sued, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all courts of the State of Georgia, or any place whatsoever having competent jurisdiction over any matter, dispute, or transaction touching the business-affairs or well-being of the said conǝpany; and that the stockholders may appoint or elect five members annually, who shall constitute and form a Board under the name and style of the "President and Directors of the Brunswick Canal and Railroad Company," who shall be competent to make all necessary by-laws, rules, and regulations they may deem most conducive to the good order, faith, and harmonious government of the said company: Provided, such by-laws, rules, and regulations be not repugnant to the Constitution and laws of this State or of the United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the aforesaid company shall be allowed seven years, from and after the twentieth day of December, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, in addition to the time allowed by the above last recited act, to complete their canal or railroad, or both; and the said company shall be entitled, and they are hereby empowered, to demand and collect, by way of freight or toll, on all goods, wares, merchandise, and productions of the country, or upon all rafts of lumber, logs, or ranging timber, steam or other boats, and cars or vehicles of any description, conveyed through said canal, or over and upon said railroad, such rates of toll or freight as the Board of Directors of the said company may find necessary to adopt from time to time in their regulations of toll: Provided, that during any twelve months together the nett amount shall not exceed twenty-five per cent. per annum upon the aggregate amount of money they shall have actually expended in making, constructing, and keeping in good repair the said canal or rail

road, or both; to ascertain which, the aforesaid Board shall cause two accurate sets of books to be kept, one for the canal, and the other for the railroad, showing the amount of stock paid in for each, and also all the expenditures and cost of each, together with all the repairs and income of tolls or freight of each; which books shall always be liable to the inspection of a committee appointed by the Legislature, to the end that the said company shall not abuse the remunerating privilege of this act.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the Board of Di rectors of the aforesaid company shall have power to select and take, or receive as donation, such strip or strips of land from the Altamaha to Turtle river, or their branches, and of such width and shape as they may deem necessary for the construction, accommodation, and protection of their canal or railroad, or both; and in case of disagreement between the owner or owners and the Board of Directors of the aforesaid company, in regard to the damages or price of the necessary strip or strips of land required for the purposes aforesaid, it may and shall be lawful for the company to appoint two competent and disinterested freeholders, and the owner or owners of such land shall appoint two competent and disinterested freeholders, all of whom shall be sworn by a magistrate, or one of the Justices of the Inferior Court, to do equal justice between the parties; and they shall then proceed upon the premises as a committee of arbitration and appraisement; and they shall make their award of valuation of damages in writing, to be approved and signed by them, or a majority of them, which amount the said company shall pay unto the owner or owners of such strip or strips of land in lawful money, and the fee-simple right thereof shall vest in the said company for ever;. and the award shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the Superior and Inferior Courts of Glynn county, in the same manner as deeds.

In case the committee aforesaid cannot agree upon the amount of damage and valuation, they shall choose a fifth man, who shall be sworn as aforesaid, and be added to said committee; and in case either party be dissatisfied with the award of said committee of arbitration, they shall have the right of appeal to a special jury, to be tried at the term of the Superior Court of Glynn county next thereafter held in said county; and the decision, in which way soever finally thus made by the said jury, shall vest in the Brunswick Canal and Railroad Company the fee-simple of the strip or strips of land in question; and in the other party a judgment for the value thereof thus ascertained and determined.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That no canal or railroad shall be permitted hereafter to be cut or constructed between the Altamaha and Turtle rivers, or their branches, and Brunswick, within twenty miles of the route or routes the aforesaid company may select, without their consent.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said com. pany shall build good substantial bridges across their canal or railroad wherever they may cross a public road or way; and the stock of the aforesaid company shall be exempt from all taxes, duties, and impositions whatever, unless it be such a tax and no more as is now imposed on bank stock in this State.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That no stockholder of the said company shall be eligible as a director unless he shall hold at least ten shares of the stock in his own right, or as administrator, executor, or guardian: the Board shall be competent at all times to call an extra meeting of the stockholders, when by them deemed necessary; and the directors shall choose one of their own body as president, who, together with the directors, shall be entitled to and receive such compensation for their services as may be allowed by the owners and lawful representatives of a majority of shares of the capital stock of the institution, to be determined by ballot or otherwise at the annual regular meeting of the stockholders; and in all cases the stockholders shall be allowed to vote either in person or by proxy,that is to say, any stockholder who may be absent at any meeting as aforesaid may authorize, by power of attorney under seal, any other person to vote for him, her, or them.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the number of votes of each stockholder, administrator, executor, or guardian shall be according to the number of shares he, she, or they shall hold that is to say, each share to be entitled to one vote. The Board to be competent to appoint and fix the salaries of a Secretary and Treasurer, and as many clerks, agents, engineers, and labourers as they may deem necessary and expedient to despatch the business of the said company.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Board of Directors shall have power to call in such ratio, from time to time, of the subscription of stock upon the books of said company, by way of instalments, as they may deem necessary for the prompt progress and execution of the work; first giving notice to the stockholders respectively sixty days pre

vious to the time required for the payment of such instalment ; and in case any stockholder should refuse to pay his, her, or their instalments when called on in manner aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the board to declare such shares of stock forfeited to the use and benefit of the company; but the defaulting party shall have the right of appeal to the stockholders at their next regular meeting thereafter, and by the consent of the owners and representatives of two-thirds of the capital stock of the institution the previous instalments which may have been paid upon the shares so forfeited may be refunded, and the said shares offered by the board for re-subscription, as if the same had never been subscribed for.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall wilfully and maliciously damage, injure, or obstruct, or in any manner destroy, or shall wilfully and maliciously cause, or aid and assist, or counsel or advise, any other person or persons to destroy, or in any manner to hurt, damage, injure, or obstruct the aforesaid canal or railroad, or any bridge or other appurtenance connected therewith, or any vehicle, edifice, right, or privilege granted by this act, and constructed for use under the authority thereof, such person or persons so offending shall be liable to be indicted, and, on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned. at hard labour in the penitentiary, at the discretion of the court, not less than four years, and shall be further liable to pay all damage and expenses of rebuilding or repairing the same, the one half of which shall be paid by the company to the informer.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the shares of stock of the aforesaid Brunswick Canal and Railroad Company shall be taken, considered, and held in law as real estate, and may be sold and transferred upon the books of the company by scrip, or assigned and bequeathed by the proprietors thereof as such.

SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That any subscriber of stock in the aforesaid company shall have the right to subscribe for shares in the railroad or the canal separately and distinctly, or conjointly in both, as he, she, or they may choose at the time of subscribing; and their certificates and scrips of stock shall be issued and entered upon the books of the company, and kept accordingly; and the dividends shall be declared by the Board of Directors upon the nett income of the railroad and the canal also separately and distinctly from the two sets of books, as directed by the fifth section of this act.

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That, with the consent and petition of the grantees William B. Davis, Urbanus Dart, and their associates, the two recited acts in the preamble of this act be, and the same are hereby repealed.

THOMAS GLASCOCK,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

JACOB WOOD,

Assented to, 20th Dec. 1834.

President of the Senate.

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor.

AN ACT to authorize and empower the City Council of Augusta and the Trustees of Richmond County Academy to convey to the Athens Railroad Company, in fee-simple, ten acres of the town common lots of Augusta.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this act, the city council of Augusta and the trustees of Richmond County Academy are hereby fully authorized and empowered to convey to the Athens Railroad Company, in fee-simple, ten acres of the town common lots of the city of Augusta, to be located and fixed upon by the said city council and trustees of the academy, or a majority of each.

THOMAS GLASCOCK,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

7

JACOB WOOD,

President of the Senate.

Assented to, 22d December, 1834.

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor.