and acknowledged before and certified by a notary public of said republic under his official seal, and the same admitted to record in the clerk's office of Harrison county, West Virginia, are hereby legalized, and shall be of the same force and effect as if they had been acknowledged before and certified to by the American minister charge d'affairs of the United States in said republic under his official seal at that time.

Proviso, "But this act shall not affect any action, suit or Proviso. proceeding pending in any court at the time of the passage thereof."

CHAPTER 217.-AN ACT changing the name of the Vir-. ginia coal and Iron Company, and giving it further time to organize.

Passed March 1, 1871.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

1. The Virginia Coal and Iron Company, incorporated Further time by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, passed the allowed comtwenty-ninth day of January, 1858, be and the same is pany within hereby allowed one year from the passage of this act, ganize. within which to organize and commence operations under

said act.

which to or

2. The name of said company is hereby changed to that Name of comof the "Alleghany Coal and Iron Company;" and Robert pany changed W. Gilkerson, James N. C. Armstrong, John T. Vance and Additional John J. Inskeep are hereby added to the individuals named corporators. in said act as corporators.

CHAPTER 218.-AN ACT to establish the boundary lines of Willey School District in Portland township, Preston county.

Passed March 1, 1871.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the school house and boundary lines of Willey, of Boundary the present school district No. 7, as now laid off and estab- lines. lished by the board of education in Portland township, Preston county, is hereby established and shall be governed

by the board of education, with the same privileges and Board of edurights to education as other school districts in Portland cation not to township. But the board of education shall not have the lines within change said right or the power to change the boundary lines of said three years. district for three years from the passage. of this act.

Corporators.

CHAPTER 219.-AN ACT to incorporate the West Fork.
Land, Lumber and Boom Company.

Passed March 1, 1871.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

1. That A. B. Fleming, D. H. Leonard, C. F. Caldwell, Okey Johnson, and B. Wilson, and their successors and associates are hereby constituted a body corporate by the Incorporation name of the "West Fork Land, Lumber and Boom Company," subject to chapters 52 and 53, of the code of West Virginia, and to such additional powers and privileges as may be granted by this act.

Capital stock.
Shares.

books.

2. The capital stock of said company shall not be less ⚫ than ten thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of $100 each, and may at any time hereafter be increased by the vote of the stockholders to an amount of not exceeding six hundred thousand dollars, and for the purpose of obtaining subscription to the capital stock or so much thereof as may be necessary for the lawful purposes of said corporation, Subscription books shall be opened under the direction of the persons named in the first section of this act, at such times and places as the persons who act in that capacity may deem Privilege of expedient. The said corporation shall have the exclusive constructing privilege of constructing and maintaining a substantial West Fork of boom or booms with or without piers across the West Fork of the Little Kanawha river, for the purpose of stopping and securing boats, rafts, saw logs, staves and other lumber of value, and may erect shear booms on such streams and may dredge and clear the channel of each of said streams and the main branches thereof, and remove obstructions therefrom, and may build saw mills and manufacture and sell lumber and construct such tram railways as may be necessary for the purposes of said corporation, subject to tram railways the provisions of the code.

booms on

Kanawha

river.

Authority to <construct

estate.

Authority to 3. The said corporation may and they are hereby emdeal in real powered to purchase, hold, sell and convey so much real estate as may be necessary for their purposes in constructing booms, abutments, piers, wharves, landings, locations for saw mills, and right of way for tram roads.

'Commissioners to ascertain rates of toll and boomage. Report of commis:sioners.

4. The circuit court for Wirt or Calhoun counties shall on motion of said corporation after their organization, appoint three discreet freeholders whose duty it shall be to ascertain and report to said court what will be a fair and reasonable rate of tolls and boomage that said corporation may charge for boats, rafts, saw logs or other timber that may be floated, rafted, drifted or run into said boom and secured thereby. If the said court shall approve the report of said commissioners, the same shall be affirmed, and thereafter the said corporation may by reason of their com pliance with this act, charge and collect such toll and

boomage as may be so ascertained by said commissioners and authorized by said court. But the said commissioners

before entering upon their duty to be sworn by some Oath of comofficer authorized to administer an oath, that they will missioners. well and truly execute their said office of commissioners under this act. And if they require it the said corporation shall pay to each of said commissioners three dollars per day for each day they shall be necessarily employed.

And the said company shall in like manner pay to the Recordation clerk of the said court his fees for recording said report of report. and the order of confirmation.

5. The said corporation shall have a lien on all boats, Lien for toll rafts, or other timber mentioned in the preceding section or boomage. boomed by them for the payment of toll or boomage and other expenses until the same is paid.

sold after

notice.

6. That if any timber or boats mentioned in the fourth Unclaimed section of this act shall have been securely boomed as timber in aforesaid, and no person shall appear to claim the same and booms may be pay the tolls thereon within five days, it shall be lawful for the corporation, after advertising the same for two weeks in some newspaper published in Wirt county, or by posting the same for two weeks in three public places in said county, with the marks thereon to sell said timber to the best advantage if no owner appear to claim the same; and at any time within six months from said sale the owner shall be entitled to receive the proceeds thereof, after deducting the taxes, expenses, tolls and necessary charges,

but if not claimed within said six months, the proceeds How proceeds shall pass to and be vested in said corporation for their disposed of.

own use.

pany's works

7. That if any person or persons shall wilfully and ma- Penalty for liciously injure or destroy any of said booms, piers or injuring comother works connected therewith, or shall remove, alter or or defacing deface any mark or marks on any logs or other timber in- marks on logs. tended for said boom or booms, he shall pay treble damages, to be recovered by an action of trespass, brought in the name of the said corporation before a justice, or any of the courts of the county in which he or they shall reside, or in the county in which the offense was committed, and, upon conviction thereof, may be punished by fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

Punishment

for injury to works of com

pany.

8. That all timber in said boom shall be counted and Measurement measured, and its quantity ascertained by some competent of timber. person or persons, to be appointed by the company and confirmed by the circuit court of Wirt county.

9. The said West Fork of the Little Kanawha River is Said river dehereby declared a public highway.

25

clared a public highway.

Penalty for 10. That should any boards, logs or other timber belong converting timber carried ing to said corporation be carried by the wind, force of away by the the current, or otherwise, into any bays, creeks, caves, or winds or cur- upon the shore or any flat lands, it shall be a penal

rent,

Meaning of the words "logs" and "timber."

Time in which

offense for any person or persons, except the owners thereof, to take possession of, sell or convert to his or their own use such logs or timber, punishable as provided in the seventh section of this act. The corporation shall not be liable for any loss or damages that may be caused by fire or flood, or by the lawful acts of any person or persons not in their employ.

11. Where the word "logs "timber" occur in this act, they shall be taken to mean logs and timber of every kind and description, manufactured or unmanufactured.

12. That said corporation shall have and be allowed to organize. three years in which to perfect their organization.

Act amendable.

Act repealed.

13. The right is reserved to the legislature to alter er amend this act, but such alteration or amendment shall not affect the rights of creditors or impair the vested rights of the corporation.

14. The act passed February 10, 1871, entitled "An act to incorporate the Wirt County Boom and Lumber Com pany," is hereby repealed.