CHAPTER 116

CERTAIN MARSH LANDS IN THE CITY AND COUNTY

Section.

OF SAINT JOHN.

Section.

The Great Marsh near the City of 10 Assessments how collected. Sale

Saint John.

under execution.

THE GREAT MARSH NEAR THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN. 1. The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall appoint three fit and competent persons to be Commissioners of Sewers for the Great Marsh near the City of Saint John, which Commissioners on receiving their appointment shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties.

2. It shall be the duty of the said Commissioners, and they are hereby authorized to meet together as occasion may require, to devise means and methods for making, building, erecting or repairing aboideaux, dykes, drains and wears, and such other erections and works as may be necessary for draining the said Great Marsh, and preventing it from being inundated by the sea or by freshets.

3. The Commissioners at the first of their meetings shall appoint a Clerk, not being a Commissioner, whose duty it shall be to keep a record of all such meetings, and of the doings of the said Commissioners, and to sign all entries, notices and other documents necessary or authorized by virtue of this Chapter; and said Commissioners shall also at said first meeting appoint one of their number Chairman, whose duty it shall be to preside at all meetings of proprietors and Commissioners.

4. Such Commissioners shall proceed to build, erect or repair such aboideaux, dykes, drains, wears and other works they may deem necessary for the drainage and protection of

the said Great Marsh, provided that no new work shall be constructed, and no repairs whose estimated costs shall exceed the sum of one hundred dollars (except in case of emergency) shall be commenced and proceeded with without the consent of the owners of at least one half the land contained in the said Great Marsh.

5. The Commissioners are authorized, for the purpose of obtaining such consent, to call a meeting of the owners of lands on said Great Marsh at any time, on giving six days notice of the time and place of such meeting in one or more of the newspapers published in the City of Saint John, such meeting to be held in all instances at some place on said Marsh adjacent to the site of the contemplated work, or else in the City of Saint John.

6. The Commissioners at their option may, as they may deem most expedient for the interests of the owners of the said Marsh land, either let the said work by contract to some responsible person or persons, or shall cause it to be done by workmen employed by them for reasonable wages ; and they may, if they deem it expedient, retain the services of some competent Civil Engineer, to devise and plan schemes for drainage and protection, and if they so think fit, may employ an overseer or inspector of the work, and pay him reasonable remuneration therefor.

7 In cases of emergency or sudden danger arising from any cause, or in ordinary cases of repair, where the estimated. expenditure shall not exceed the sum of two hundred dollars the Commissioners, or any one of them, may cause the work to be done immediately without the consent of any of the owners of said Great Marsh.

8. In any case where the natural course of drainage on the said Great Marsh shall have been obstructed or may hereafter be obstructed by any person or persons or body corporate whomsoever, the Commissioners are authorized to call on such person or persons, or body corporate, or the person in occupation of the land where such obstruction exists, to remove such obstruction so far as may be necessary for the free flow of water for drainage purposes; and if such person or persons or body corporate shall, after ten days' notice, neglect or refuse to remove such obstructions, it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners, or any of them, with

their employees and workmen, to enter on any land and remove such obstruction sufficiently to accommodate the free flow of water for drainage, and to charge the expense of such work to the person or persons or body corporate so neglecting or refusing, and to recover the same from such person or persons, or body corporate, by suit, in the name of such Commissioners, in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

9. For the purpose of defraying the said costs and expenses of such buildings, erecting and repairing of the aboideaux, dykes, drains and wears, and other works as before mentioned, and maintaining the present aboideau and roadway in its present dimensions, and the expenses of the Commissioners, and all other expenses incident to the performance of the powers and duties vested in them by this Chapter, including the salary of the Clerk, which shall be a reasonable remuneration, to be settled by the Commissioners, the Commissioners shall make an assessment on the several owners of land on the said Great Marsh, assessing them according to the value and benefits accruing to the land held by each, provided that no assessment shall be made on any land which the Commissioners shall consider not to be benefited by such works or repairs; and on such assessment being made, the said Commissioners shall cause a notice (A) to be published for the space of twenty days, (which said notice shall be signed by the Chairman and Clerk,) in one of the newspapers published in the City of Saint John, which notice shall contain a list of the said owners, the amount assessed on each, and the quantity of land on which such assessment is made.

10. In case any owner of land shall not within thirty days after the first publication of such notice as aforementioned, pay the amount for which he is so assessed, to the Chairman of the said Commissioners, the said Commissioners or any two of them, shall thereupon issue a Distraint Warrant (B) signed by said Commissioners, or any two of them, and the said Clerk, directed to the Sheriff of the City and County of Saint John, under which warrant the Sheriff shall levy on the goods and chattels of the party or parties, or body corporate, against whom the same shall be issued; and in case there shall not be sufficient goods andchattels in his bailiwick

to satisfy the same, the Sheriff shall levy on the land of the said party or parties, or body corporate, situate on the Great Marsh aforesaid, on which such assessment was made, and shall sell the same to satisfy such warrant; but no sale shall take place until the time and place of such sale shall be advertised by the Sheriff at least three months continuously in some newspaper published in the City of Saint John; the sale to be made between the hours of twelve and five in the afternoon; and the Sheriff shall execute to the purchaser or purchasers of such land a deed of such land (C), which shall be sufficient to convey all the interest of the person or persons, or body corporate, against whom the said warrant was issued; and the Sheriff shall return the said warrant to the Chairman of the said Commissioners, who shall cause the same to be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Peace in and for the City and County of Saint John; and if there shall be any surplus after paying the amount for which such warrant was issued, and the Sheriff's fees thereon, the Sheriff shall pay over the same to the person or persons against whom the same was issued.

11. The Deed of the Sheriff duly acknowledged or proved and registered, or a certified copy thereof, shall be evidence that the said property so conveyed was regularly seized, advertised and sold; and in case of the death or going out of office of the Sheriff who has seized, advertised or sold any lands, the sale or conveyance thereof, or both, may be completed by his successor without any new warrant or any alteration in the proceedings, who shall prove to the regu larity of the proceedings taken by him, and that on diligent enquiry he verily believes that the proceedings taken by his predecessor were regular.

12. The record to be kept by the Clerk of the said Commissioners, shall contain a record of all meetings of the owners of land called by them, and of all meetings of the said Commissioners, and of all work done by them, and of all contracts entered into, and all assessments made by them; which said record shall (except when the same is in use at such meetings) be kept on file in the office of the County Secretary for the County of Saint John; and the said Commissioners shall annually on the second Monday in January in each year, file with the County Secretary a detailed account

of all moneys expended by them as such Commissioners during the year previous; which said record and account shall be open to the inspection of any owner of land on the said Great Marsh, upon payment of the fee of twenty cents to the County Secretary for such inspection.

13. The Commissioners shall be entitled to receive out of the moneys to be raised by such assessment, one dollar each for each day's attendance at such meetings, and two dollars for each day's attendance when superintending the workmen employed in dykeing or draining, provided that not more than one Commissioner shall be paid for attendance as Superintendent on the same day.

14. In case of any vacancy in the said Commission by death or otherwise, the Governor in Council may from time to time appoint another Commissioner to fill any such vacancy; and in case a vacancy by the death or resignation of the Chairman of Commissioners, the Commissioners may appoint one other of their number Chairman, and in case of the absence of the Chairman at any meeting, the Commissioners may appoint a Chairman pro. tem. to act at such meetings. MARSH LANDS IN THE PARISH OF LANCASTER.

15. The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall appoint three fit and competent persons to be Commissioners of Sewers for the Marsh lands in the Parish of Lancaster, in the City and County of Saint John; which Commissioners, on receiving their appointment, shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties.

16. The Commissioners of Sewers for the Marsh lands in the Parish of Lancaster shall have, in regard to the several Marshes in the said Parish, the same rights and powers, and be subject to the same duties and liabilities as the Commissioners of Sewers for the Great Marsh have or are subject to under Sections two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen of this Chapter, subject to the following provisions:

(1) They shall in addition to powers already conferred by this Section have power, when necessary, to drown any of the said Marshes or any part thereof, with the consent of one half of the proprietors of the Marsh lands to be drowned:

(2) That the consent mentioned in Section four, shall be the consent of the owners of at least one half of the land