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AN ACT to establish a turnpike corporation for improving
[note the word improving, Speigletown was mapped out in May of 1796, there will be a small page noting this shortly]
the road from the village of Lansingburgh through Cambridge and Salem to the house now occupied by Hezekiah Leaving in the town of Granville, and also from the house of john Faukner junior in Salem to the line of Rupert in the State of Vermont near the house of William Brown.
Be it inacted by the People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly, That John Lovett, Cornelius Lansing, James Brookins, John Carpenter, William Hay, Edward Wells junr., Stephen Clapp, John Williams, William Harkness, David Thomas, Edward Savage, Daivd Hopkins, David Long, John C. bishop, Timothy Leonard, Silvester Rowley, Jacob Holmes, William Porter, Martin Van Buskirk, and all such persons as shall associate for the purpose of making a good and sufficient road from the village of Lansingburgh in the county of Rensselaer through Cambridge and Salem to the house now occupied by Hezekiah Leaving in the town of Granville, and from the dwelling house of John Faulkner
[note the difference in speilling of Faulkner to the first paragraph of Faukner]
junior in the town of Salem to the line of Rupert in the State of Vermont shall be and hereby created and made a corporation and body politic in fact and in name by the name of the President, Directors and First Company of the Northern Turnpike Road, and the said corporation shall by that name be capable in law to purchase, have, hold, enjoy and retain to them and their successors lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels and effects of every kind whatsoever and the same or any part thereof to sell, grant, remise, alien, or dispose of, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended in all courts of record or any other place whatsoever; provided that the lands so to be purchased as aforesaid shall be such only as may be necessary to carry into effect the object and shall not exceed the sum of two thousand dollars.
And be it further enacted That John Lovett, john Carpenter, Martin Van Buskirk, Edmond Wells, junr, john Williams, David Long and timothy Leonard be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to do and perform the several duties herein after mentioned that is to say they shall on or before the first Tuesday of June next procure seven books and in each of them enter as follows "We whose names are hereunto subscribed do for ourselves and our legal representatives promise to pay to the President Directors and First Company of the Northern Turnpike Road the sum of forty dollars for every share of stock in said comany set opposite to our respective names in such manner and proportion and at such time and place as shall be determined by the said president, directors and [ had snd written in my copy ] company," and the said books shall be deposited with such persons and opened at such times and places as the said commissioners may direct; and every subscriber shall at the time of subscribing pay unto either of the said commissioners five dollars for each share so subscribed; and the said commissioners shall as soon as five hundred shares shall have been subscribed cause an advertisement to be inserted in the public news papers printed in the village of Lansingburgh and the town of Salem giving at least twenty days notice of the time and place the said subscribers shall meet for the purpose of choosing thirteen directors (who shall be stockholders) for the purpose of managing the concerns of the said company for one year, and the Tuesday preceding the day on which the directors shall be so chosen shall for ever hereafter be the anniversary day for choosing directors, and the said directors elected by a plurality of votes of the stockholders present shall immediately proceed to the choice of one of their number for president, and the said president and directors may meet from time to time and shall have power to make such bye laws, rules, orders and regulations as may be proper and necessary for the well ordering the affairs of the said coproration; provided that no bye law or regulations shall give or allow more than ten votes to any one stockholder, and that each person shal lbe entitled to one vote for every share by him held under that number.
And be it further enacted That not less than seven directors shall constitute a board for the transaction of business, of whom the president shall always be one, except in cases of necessary absence in which case his place may be supplied during such absence by another director to be chosen by a majority of the directors present.
And be it further enactedThat if it shall appear to the said president and directors that if by deviating from the now public road the distance between the places designated for the commencement and ending of said road can be materially shortened, it shall be lawful for the president and directors to make such alterations as may be found necessary and to lay the road herein contemplated to be made in and through any inclosed improved or unimproved lands, and with their carriages beasts, tools and improvements to enter in and upon any land contiguous to the said road, and to carry away any timber, stones, gravel, sand or other earth being more conveniently situated for making or repairing said road, and to use the same for carrying on the said work, the said president and directors paying the owner or owners of the land so as to be laid out as part of the road the value of the land or of the materials aforesaid as the case may be, together with such reasonable sum for damages as may be agreed on and in case of disagreement between the parties as to the said value or damages the same shall be determined by appraisement to be made on oath of three, or if they disagree, of two indifferent freeholders to be mutually chosen or (if the woners of the said land or materials refuse or neglect to join in the choice) to be appointed by any justice of the peace of the county in which the lands or property in dispute shall lie.
And be it further enacted That the said president, directors and company shall cause a road to be laid out, at least four rods wide, twenty feet of which shall be bedded with wood, stone, gravel or any other hard substance well compacted together, a sufficient depth to secure a solid foundation to the same, and the said road shall be faced with gravel or stone pounded or other small hard substance in such manner as to secure a firm and as near as the materials will admit an even surface rising twoards the middle by a gradual arch, and they shall during the continuance of this act mantain and keep the same in good and perfect order, the whole length of the said road.
And be it further enacted That as soon as the said president, directors and company shall erect a bridge across Hoosick river then and in such case it shall be lawful for the said company to erect a gate thereon and demand and receive the same toll as they are authorized to demand and receive from persons passing through the gates on the said turnpike road for ten miles of the same; and as soon as the said president, directors and company shall erect a bridge across the creek commonly called Battenkill it shall be lawful for the said company to erect a gate thereon and to demand and receive one half of the toll which they are authorized to receive from persons passing through any gates for ten miles of the same.
And be it further enacted That if the said turnpike road shall pass the Hoosick river athe the bridge call Buskirks bridge in the town of Cambridge in the county of Washington the said company shall be vested with the property of the said bridge called buskirks bridge in the same manner as if they had erected the same any law to the contrary notwithstanding. But shall receive no toll for passing the same.
And be it further enacted That as soon as any part of said road, not less than ten miles in any place or part thereof is made passable and convenient as aforesaid, notice thereof may be given to the person administering the government of this state who shall thereupon forthwith nominate two or more persons to view the same whose duty it shall be to report to him in writing whether that part of the said road is made and finished in a good and proper manner according to the true intent and meaning of this act, and if their report be in the affirmative then it shall be lawful for the person administering the government of this State and he is hereby required by licence under his hand and the privy seal of the state to permit the said president, directors and company to erect and fix so many gates and turnpikes upon and across said road as will be necessary and sufficient to collect the duties and tolls herein after granted to the said corporation from all persons travelling on the same.
And be it further enacted That as soon as the whole or any part of the said road shall be completed and permission to erect a gate or gates as aforesaid be granted the president and directors may appoint toll gatherers to collect and receive of and from all and every person or persons using the said road the tolls and duties herein after mentioned and no more, that is to say, any number of miles not less than ten in length of said road the following sums of money and so in proportion for any greater or lesser distance or for any greater or lesser number of sheep, hogs or cattle, to wit, for every score of sheep five cents; for every score of hogs five cents; for every score fo cattle twelve cents; for every horse and rider or led horse four cents; for every sulkey, chair or chaise with one horse twelve centsl for every chariot, coach, coachee or pheaton twenty five cents; for every stage-waggon or other four wheeled carriage drawn by two horses or oxen twelve cents, and two cents for every additional ox or horse; for every cart sleigh or sled drawn by two oxen or horses six cents, and for every additional horse or ox two cents; and it shall be lawful for any of the toll gatherers to stop any person riding, leading or driving any horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, sulkey, pheaton chair chaise, cart, waggon, sleigh or other carriage of burthen or pleasure from passing through the gates or turnpike until they have respectfully paid the toll as above specified: Provided That nothing in this act shall be construed so as to entitle the said corporation to demand or receive of or from any person passing to or from public worship or to or from his common business on his farm or to or from any mill.
And be it further enacted That the said corporation shall cause mile stones to be erected and place one for each and every mile of the said road, on which they shall be permitted to place gates or turnpikes; and on each stone places as aforesaid shall be fairly and legibly marked the distance the said stone is from Lansingburgh, and shall also erect guide posts at the intersection of each road leading from the said turnpike road and to which post boards shall be attached on which shall be inscribed the name of the town in which the post stands and the name of the town or towns to which the road leads in the direction to which the board points; and the said corporation shall also cause to be affixed to each gate or turnpike a printed list of the rates of toll which may be lawfully demanded.
And be it further enacted That if any person or persons shall break or throw down or deface any of the mile stones, guide posts or boards so erected for information of travellers, or shall cut break down or destroy any of the gates or turnpikes which shall be erected in pursuance of this act or shall forcibly pass the same without having paid the legal toll at such gate or turnpike such person or persons shal lforfeit and pay a fine not exceeding ten dollars nor less than one dollar to be recovered by the treasurer of the corporation to their use in an action of trespass; and if any person shall with his team, carriage, or horses turn out of said road to pass the said gates on ground adjacent thereto and again enter on said road with intent to avoid the toll due by virtue of this act such person shall forfeit and pay three times as much as the legal toll for any such person in passing through such gate or turnpike as aforesaid, to be recovered by the treasurer of the said corporation for the use thereof in an action of debt.
And be it further enacted That if any toll gatherer shall unreasonably delay or hinder any traveller or passenger at any of the gates or shall demand or receive more toll than is by this act established, he shall for every such offence forfeit and paythe sum of five dollars to be sued for and recovered before any justice of the peace in the county where such offence shall be committed for the sole use of the person so unreasonably, delayed, hindered or defrauded.
And be it further enacted That the shares in the said turnpike road shall be taken, deemed and considered to be personal estate and shall and may be transferable, and a certificate of such transfer shall be recorded by the clerk of the corporation in a book to be kept by him for that purpose.
And be it further enacted That the president and directors of the said corporation shall keep a just and fair account of all monies received by the several collectors of toll on said road, and shall make and declare a dividend of the clear profits and income (all contingent costs and charges being first deducted) amongst all the stockholders of the said corporation and shall on the second Tuesday of January and July in every year publish the half yearly dividend to be made of the said clear profits among the stockholders and of the time and place when and where the same will be paid and shall cause the same to be paid accordingly.
And be it further enacted That the said president and directors shall within six months after said road is completed lodge in the comptrollers office of this State, an account of the expence thereof, and the corporation shall annually exhibit to the comptroller a true account of the dividend or income arising from said toll, with the annual disbursements on said road.
And be it further enacted That the legislature may dissolve the said corporation when the income arising from said toll shall have fully compensated the said corporation for all monies they may have expended in purchasing, making, repairing and taking care of said road together with an interest of fourteen per centum per annum and thereupon the right, interest and property of said road shall be vested in the people of this State and be and remain at their disposal.