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thereafter. The members of the said board shall constitute a body corporate under the style and name of "The West Virginia Humane Society," and by said name may sue and be sued, and may have a common seal.

Sec. 7. The board shall hold its annual meeting as soon as practicable after the close of each fiscal year, but other and special meetings may be held at such time and places as may be mutually agreed upon or determined by the president. The members of said board shall be paid the same compensation as is allowed the directors of the industrial home for girls and the reform school for boys.

CHAPTER 41.

(Senate Bill No. 15.)

AN ACT relating to and regulating passenger rates upon railroads in the state of West Virginia, and prescribing penalties for the violation thereof.

[Passed February 20, 1907. In effect ninety days from passage. Governor, February 24, 1907.]

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Approved by the

deemable not to apply to rail-
roads under fifty miles in length
and not part of railroads over
fifty miles.

Penalty for violations; not to ap-
ply to electric lines or street
railways.
Inconsistent acts repealed.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Sec. 1. That all railroad corporations organized or doing business in this state under the laws or authority thereof shall be limited in their charges for the transportation of any person with ordinary baggage, not exceeding one hundred pounds in weight, to the sum of two cents per mile, or fractional part of a mile, but the fare shall always be made the multiple of five nearest reached by multiplying the rate by the distance, and if for any one passenger the rates herein provided shall be less than five cents, the said sum of five cents may be charged as a minimum; children under twelve years of age shall be carried for one-half fare above prescribed; provided, that any passenger boarding a train at a sta

tion where tickets are sold, without having procured a ticket, may be charged an additional fare of ten cents, for which sum a rebate slip, redeemable in money, upon presentation to any ticket agent of the company, shall be issued and delivered to such passenger; and provided, further, that nothing in this act shall apply to any railroad in this state under fifty miles in length and not a part of, or under the control, management or operation of any other railroad, over fifty miles in length, operating wholly or in part in the state.

Sec. 2. Any railroad company which shall charge, demand or receive any greater compensation for the transportation of any passenger than is authorized by this act, shall be fined for each offense not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars; provided, that nothing contained in this act shall apply to electric lines and street railways owned or operated in this state. Sec. 3. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

CHAPTER 42.

(House Bill No. 160.)

AN ACT to amend and re-enact section one of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, as amended and re-enacted by chapter thirty-seven of the acts of one thousand nine hundred and one, concerning commissioners in chan

cery.

[Passed February 19, 1907. In effect ninety days from passage. Approved by the Governor, February 22, 1907.]

SEC.

1. Commissioner in chancery; by whom appointed; number of commissioners based on popu

SEC.

lation of city, town or village; powers and removal,

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section one of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, as amended and re-enacted by chapter thirty-seven of the acts of one thousand nine hundred and one, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Sec. 1. Each circuit court and every court of limited jurisdiction now existing, or which may hereafter be established for any incorporated city, town or village, may from time to time appoint

not more than four commissioners in chancery or for stating accounts, except that the circuit court of any county whose population exceeds thirty thousand and less than fifty thousand, may appoint not more than six of such commissioners, and that the circuit court of any county whose population exceeds fifty thousand, may appoint not more than eight of such commissioners, who shall be . removable at its pleasure, with power to take depositions and to swear and examine witnesses and to certify their testimony. The judge of any court empowered to appoint commissioners in chancery or for stating accounts may in vacation appoint such commissioners with as much effect as if appointed by the court, and they shall have like powers.

CHAPTER 43.

(House Bill No. 128.)

AN ACT to amend and re-enact section eleven of chapter fifty-two of the code.

[Passed February 19, 1907. In effect ninety days from passage. Governor, February 26, 1907.]

Approved by the

SEC.

SEC.

11.

Crossings, connections or altera-
tion of works; payment of dam-

ages suit in equity; alteration of county roads.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section eleven of chapter fifty-two of the code be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Sec. 11. If any railroad, turnpike, or canal company, or any company organized for the purpose of transporting carbon oil or natural gas, or both, by means of pipes or otherwise, deem it necessary in the construction of its work, or any branch or siding thereof, to cross any other railroad, trunpike, or canal, or pjpe line, or any state or county road at grade or otherwise, it may do so; provided, its work be so constructed as not to impede the passage or transportation of persons or property along the same. If any such company desire that the course of any other railroad, turnpike, canal, pipe line, or state road, or any stream which is not a public highway, should be altered to avoid the necessity of any crossing, or of frequent crossings, or to facilitate the crossing thereof, or the construction of a parallel work, the alteration may

be made in such manner as may be agreed between the company desiring such alteration and the other railroad, turnpike, or canal company, or pipe line company, or the board of public works in the case of a state road, or the owner of the land to be affected by the alteration of the course of such stream. In case the parties interested fail to agree upon such crossing or alteration as is desired, the company desiring it may bring suit in equity, and in such suit the court may, in a proper case, decree that such, or any proper crossing, or alteration, may be made upon payment of damages to be ascertained as provided in chapter forty-two of the code, and the company desiring such crossing or alteration may thereupon proceed under said chapter to obtain the right to make such crossing or alteration. If such crossing or alterations as is allowed by this section, shall cause damage to any company, or to the owner of any lands, the railroad, turnpike, canal, or pipe line company first mentioned shall pay such damages; but any county road may be altered by any such company for the purpose aforesaid, whenever it shall have made an equally convenient road in lieu thereof.

CHAPTER 44.

(House Bill No. 223.)

AN ACT to amend section four (section two thousand seven hun. dred and twenty-nine) of chapter sixty of the code of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, relating to stock running at large.

[Passed February 18, 1907. In effect ninety days from passage. Approved by the Governor, February 24, 1907.]

SEC.

4.

Duty of county court upon peti-
tion; stock law submitted to
vote result of election; district
divided by river; county court

SEC.

to designate voting places; election officials; separate returns; if portion of district vote against stock law, what then.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section four (section two thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine) of chapter sixty of the code of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine be and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the county court of any county, upon the petition of fifty voters of any district therein, to submit

to a vote of such district, at a general or school election, the question of enforcing this act in said district; at such election those voting for the enforcement thereof shall have written or printed on their ballots, "for stock law," and those voting against the enforcement thereof, shall have written or printed on their ballots, "against stock law." If a majority of the votes cast be for stock law, this act shall be in force in said district, from the date of said election; provided, that in all cases where such district is divided by a river, the county court, upon the petition of twenty-five voters on one side of such river, shall submit to the voters residing in that portion of such district the question in the manner as provided in this section. If there be no voting precinct established within that portion of the district in which such election is to be held, then in that case, for the purpose of this act, the county court shall designate a convenient place in which to hold such election, and if one or more petitions shall be presented at the same time from one or more such districts, then and in that case the county court may, in its discretion, order the election to be held by the same officials at the same place for all of said districts; but there shall be a separate ballot box and separate returns made for the several districts voting upon the question; and the result shall be ascertained and certified as in other like cases, and if a majority of the votes cast for and against stock law, be against stock law then and in that case this act shall not be in force in that portion of said district wherein such election is held.

CHAPTER 45.

(Senate Bill No. 137.)

AN ACT to provide for the defense of the equity suit of the Commonwealth of Virginia against the state of West Virginia, now pending in the supreme court of the United States, and appropriate money for such purposes.

[Passed February 4, 1907. In effect from passage. Approved by the Governor, February 19, 1907.]

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