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How land need

demned if par

on value.

scription of land

clerk's office.

Company may

located, if the owners of the land on which the same may ed by company be located, or their agents, and the officers and agents of may be consaid railroad company cannot agree upon the value of such ties cannot agree land, as the said company may deem necessary to use and occupy for their railways, sidings, depots, shops, warehouses and stations, the said company may have and hold snch land for its sole use and benefit in the following manner, to wit: The said company shall make out a par- On filing deticular description of such lands, in writing, and file it in and bond in the clerk's office of the circuit court of the county in which such lands are situated, stating therein the sum they propose to pay therefor, and also file therewith a bond, with good security, to be approved by the judge of said court, conditioned to pay all that may be recovered against the company, as hereinafter provided; and thereupon the company may enter upon and take possession of such lands so described, and proceed at once to operate, work enter on lands. upon, and use the same, for the purposes designated in such description; but in no case shall the amount of land for the tracks, either single or double, of said road, or branches, exceed sixty-six feet in width except in cases of widtn ef land cuts and fills; and the owner of such land, or his agent, may file with the clerk of such court, his, or her claim owner may file therefor, in which shall be stated the sum he, or she, may demand for such land, and the said court or the judges thereof, shall in vacation, or otherwise within twenty (20) days after the filing of such claim by either party, appoint five disinterested persons to act as commissioners, for the viewers. purpose of ascertaining a just compensation therefor, any three of whom may act; but in no case shall the court appoint, for such purpose, any person, or persons, through whose lands said road is to pass; and the sheriff of the county after such appointment is made by the court, shall summon the said commissions to meet on the land at such Their meeting. time as he may appoint within ten days after such appointment, giving five days, notice to the parties interested, and the sheriff shall administer an oath to the commissioners, oath. which he is hereby authorized to do, that they, and each of them, will fairly, impartially and honestly ascertain what will be a just compensation to the person entitled thereto, for so much thereof as is proposed to be taken, and for damage to the residue of the tract, beyond the peculiar benefits to be derived in respect to such residue

taken.

claim.

Report.

report.

Company to pay

into court.

To whose credit deposited.

from the work to be constructed, and return their report, signed by them, or a majority of those acting, to the clerk of the circuit court of the county, setting forth the amount Sheriff to certify to be paid by the company, which report shall be certified by the sheriff, whereupon the said company shall pay into amount of award Court the amount of said commissioners' award. The said amount shall be deposited in some bank at the county seat of Jefferson county to the credit of Logan Osburn, Geo. W• Eichelberger and David Billmyer, their legal representatives, or successors appointed by the board of supervisors of said Jefferson county, or such other authority, as may hereafter have control of the internal affairs of said Jefferson county, and there remain until final adjudication and distribution, to be disposed of under the direction of How disposed of the circuit court in the manner prescribed by the twentythird section of chapter forty-two of the code of West Virginia, (and any and all reports and awards heretofore reported, returned, or given under any act or acts, of this state, heretofore passed, shall be, and are hereby annulled and set aside, so far as the same are applicable to said company,) and condemnation and report shall be made according to, and pursuant to the requirements of this act; and on the first day of the next term of the court, the judge thereof shall direct a judgment to be entered on said report, for the amount so ascertained by said report, if no exceptions be taken in writing, by either party, but report and trial if exceptions be taken and filed thereto, the court shall submit the matter in dispute to a jury of twelve men, selected according to law, except the right is given to the company to object, and its objections shall be sustained, toany juror who may be an owner of, or interested in land over which said road will pass, and the cause shall be tried as any other cause in court, and the jury shall ascertain and render a verdict for what will be a just compensation to the person entitled thereto, for so much thereof as is proposed to be taken, and for damages to the residue of Peculiar bene- the tract beyond the peculiar benefits to be derived, in

Reports and awards annulled

Judgment on report.

Exceptions to

thereof.

Company may challenge any juror.

fits offset to

damages.

Cost of proceedings.

respect to such residue, from the work to be constructed, and thereupon a judgment shall be entered upon the verdict, unless a new trial be granted. The court shall have the power to determine which party shall pay the costs of the proceedings, if a greater compensation is allowed for said land by the jury than the commissioners.

of way.

If they allow by their verdict the same compensation, Authority to or less, then the party filing the exceptions shall pay the wise as to right costs of such proceedings. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to deprive said company of the right to proceed otherwise to secure such right of way, for the purposes aforesaid, as directed by the code.

rights and be

strictions pro

of land and title

5. Said company shall have all rights, benefits and priv- To have all the ileges, and be subject to all the restrictions provided for subject to reand declared in the code of West Virginia; but so much vided in code. of said code, or any other act or acts, as may be inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act, shall be held not to apply to this company, but condemnation of land condemnation for right of way, shall be made as herein provided; but therein. title in and to said land, shall not vest in fee in said company, until final adjudication shall be had as provided by this act, and no act, or acts, of this state, shall prevent, or deter, the said company from the prosecution of the work Authority to of construction of said railroad on, or through, any such lands as provided herein.

prosecute work.

The said company may issue May issue bonds bonds, in such form and manner, as provided by the code

of West Virginia.

scribe for stock.

and guarantee

6. It shall be lawful for any persons, and bodies corpo- Who may subrate or politic whatsoever, and whether in or out of this state, to subscribe for and hold any of the capital stock of said company; purchase and hold any of the bonds of May hold bonds said company, or to guarantee, or otherwise enter as secu- their act rity, for the payment of any of the bonds of the company, authorized to be issued by this act, and it shall be lawful for such persons and bodies corporate or politic, whether in or out of this state, to own and hold any of the bonds of the said company, authorized to be issued by this act, and it shall be lawful for any other railroad company, whether Any other comin or out of this state, to construct, work and operate the ate and conroad authorized to be constructed by the Shenandoah valley railroad company, upon such terms as may be agreed upon between the such other company and the said Shenandoah valley railroad company, but without any other powers, franchises and privileges, than may have been conferred upon the said Shenandoah valley railroad company: Provided, that nothing herein shall be so construed Proviso. as to prejudice the interest of the said county of Jefferson,

pany may eper

struct road.

Act amendable.

to affect vested

pany, nor rights of creditors.

in the subscription, or stock of said Jefferson county to or of said company.

7. The legislature reserves the right to alter or amend Amendment not this act, but such alteration or amendment shall not affect rights of com- or impair any rights that may have become vested under the same, or the rights of its creditors to have the property and assets thereof applied in discharge of their respective claims, or of the stockholders to have the surplus which may remain after providing for the debts and liabil ities of said corporation, distributed among themselves according to their respective interests.

Acts repeaied.

8. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act, so far as the same may be held applicable to the Shenandoah valley railroad company, and no further, are hereby repealed.

Computation of

proceedings.

Period excludod

CHAPTER LXIX.

An Act to exclude a specified period from the computation of the time within which certain suits, proceedings and appeals, may be brought, instituted and taken.

Passed February 21, 1872.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia :

1. That in computing the time within which any civil time in certain suit, proceeding or appeal, shall be brought, instituted or taken, or petition filed to have proceedings re-heard, by persons who could not truly make the affidavit prescribed by section 27 of chapter 106, of the Code of West Virginia; the period from the 28th day of February, 1865, to the passage of this act, shall be excluded from such computation. And, upon any proper issue, the affidavit of a party that he could not truly take such oath, shall be prima facie evidence thereof.

Affidavit of prima facic evidence.

Defendant may

make defence

26th Feb., 1865.

Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent unless barred on any defendant from making all proper defence, as in similar cases, without regard to any statute or rule of law imposing a limitation, unless such defence was barred on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1865.

CHAPTER LXX.

An Act making a conditional appropriation for the further construction of the Branch Normal School building at Fairmont.

Passed February 21, 1872.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia :

appropriation.

1. The sum of five thousand dollars is hereby appropria- Conditional ted out of any moneys in the treasury, to be expended under the direction of the regents of the State normal school in the completion of norman school building at Fairmont, but no part of the sum hereby appriated shall be drawn from the treasury, unless and until the board of education of the district of Fairmont shall pay into the treasury of the State the sum of five thousand dollars, which sum shall be added to the sum hereby appropriated; the whole constituting a fund of ten thousand dollars, to be paid out of the treasury and expended as aforesaid.

in regents of

School.

Right to the use vest in district

of property to

of Fairmont.

2. The property in all buildings and improvements erect- Property to vest ed under the provisions of this act, shall be in the regents State Normal of the State normal school to be used and controlled according to the provisions of the forty-fifth chapter of the code so far as the same are applicable, and not modified by this act. But the said district of Fairmont shall by the payment of the said sum of five thousand dollars as provided by the first section of this act, acquire and have a vested right to the use of said normal school building according to the provisions of the eleventh section of an act passed on the 23d day of February, 1869, entitled an act to provide free schools for the district of Fairmont: Provided, however, that the said district of Fairmont shall Proviso. annually make adequate provision by taxation for defraying all additional expenditures made necessary by the admission of the children of said district into said school under the provisions of this act.

3. The powers and duties of the executive committe of said school shall, from and after the payment into the treasury of said sum of five thousand dollars, be exercised by said committee jointly with the board of education of said district of Fairmont.

Powers and duexercised jointly education.

ties of Ex. Com.

with board of

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