How transfer- be transferable in such manner as the by-laws of said company may direct. able. Subscription books to be opened. Payment at time of subscrip tion. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That within six days after this act is approved by the President of the United States, the corporators named in the first section, or a majority of them, or, if any refuse or neglect to act, then a majority of the others, shall cause books of subscription to the capital stock of said company to be opened and kept open in some convenient place in the city of Washington, from nine o'clock in the forenoon till three o'clock in the afternoon, for a period of not less than three days, and as much longer as the said corporators shall prescribe, and the said corporators shall give public notice of the time and place of opening said books of subscription, by advertisement thereof in the daily papers published in the city of Washington, and subscribers to the capital stock of said company shall be held to be stockholders: Provided, That every subscriber shall pay at the time of subscribing twenty-five per centum of the amount subscribed by him to the treasurer, who shall be appointed by the said corporators to receive the same, or his subscription shall be null and void. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That when the minimum amount First meeting. of the capital stock of said company, as prescribed in the second section, shall have been subscribed, and twenty-five per centum thereof paid as aforesaid, the said corporators, or a majority of them, and in case any refuse to act, then a majority of the others, shall, within fifteen days thereafter, call the first meeting of the stockholders of said company, to be held at some convenient place in the city of Washington, for the election of directors, of the time and place whereof notice shall be given for at least five days in at least two daily newspapers published in the city of Washington, or by written notice thereof, signed by one or more of said corporators, and personally served on each stockholder; and in all meetings of the stockholders each share shall entitle the holder to one vote, to be given either in person or by proxy. Notice. Voting. directors. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the government and direction President and of the affairs of the company shall be vested in the board of directors, composed of seven members, who shall be stockholders, and who shall hold their office for the term of one year, and until others are duly elected and qualified to take their places as directors; and the said directors shall elect one of their number to be president of the board, who shall also be president of the company, and a majority of the board shall constitute a quorum to do business; and they shall choose a treasurer, who shall give bond with sufficient surety to said company, in such sum as the said directors may require, for the faithful discharge of his trust. In case of a vacancy in the board of directors by death, resignation, removal, refusal to act, or otherwise, the vacancy occasioned thereby shall be filled by the other directors. Quorum. Vacancies. Annual meet ing. By-laws. Notes, &c., not to be issued as currency. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That there shall be an annual meeting of the stockholders, for the election of directors, to be held at such time and place, and under such rules and regulations as the said company in their by-laws shall prescribe, and the directors shall make an annual report in writing of their proceedings to the stockholders. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the directors shall have full power to make all such by-laws as they shall deem necessary for the regulation, management, and disposition of the stock, effects, and property of the said company, and for the proper execution of the business of the company, so as the same shall not be contrary to this charter, to the laws of the United States, or to the ordinances of the city of Washington. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to authorize the said company to issue any note, token, device, scrip, or other evidence of debt to be used as a currency. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall Wilful destruc tion or injury to pipes, &c., low wilfully destroy, or in anywise injure the mains, pipes, apparatus, or SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said company is hereby incorporated upon the express conditions that it shall furnish gas to all the consumers thereof containing fifty per centum more illuminating power than that which is now furnished by the "Washington Gas-light Company," and at a cost not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents per thousand cubic feet; and a failure to comply with these conditions shall operate as a forfeiture of this charter. Quality and price of gas. Forfeiture. Company not SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the said company shall not be authorized to sell gas until it shall have produced to the mayor of the to sell gas until, city of Washington and to the Secretary of the Interior satisfactory evi- &c. dence that it has laid down, in a proper and workmanlike manner, in the avenues and streets of the said city, gas mains of an average diameter of at least six inches and a total length of not less than twenty-five miles; nor shall the said company connect its gas mains with the pipes supplying the capitol and other public buildings belonging to the United States, or sell gas, until it shall have produced to the Secretary of the Interior satisfactory evidence that it has erected and in operation good and substantial works and holders capable of manufacturing and storing a quantity of gas, of the quality aforesaid, sufficient to supply the consumption at all times required in the capitol and public buildings aforesaid. And unless the said company shall have complied with the requirements and conditions in this section prescribed within two years from the passage of this act, the said act shall be null and void: Provided, however, That said company shall have the privilege, at any time within the said two years, of lighting with the gas manufactured by it some one street a distance not exceeding one mile. Pipes to be laid and works completed in two years. Proviso. Stockholders liable. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That each of the stockholders in the Union Gas-light Company" of the District of Columbia shall be held individually liable in his or her individual capacity for all the debts and liabilities of the said company, however contracted or incurred, to be recovered by suit as other debts or liabilities, before the court or tribunal having jurisdiction of the case. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That this act may at any time be altered, amended, or repealed by the Congress of the United States. APPROVED, April 8, 1864. CHAP. L. - An Act to incorporate Providence Hospital of the City of Washington, Dis- Act may be altered or repealed. April 8, 1864. Name. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Lucy Gwynn, Teresa Providence Angela Costello, Sarah McDonald, Mary E. Spalding, and Mary Carroll, hospital incorporated. and their successors in office, are hereby made, declared, and constituted a corporation and body politic, in law and in fact, under the name and style of the directors of Providence Hospital, and by that name they shall be and are hereby made capable in law to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, in any court within the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia; to have and use a common seal, and to alter or amend the same at pleasure; to have, purchase, receive, possess, and enjoy, any estate in lands, tenements, annuities, goods, chattels, moneys, or effects, and to grant, devise, or dispose of the same in such manner as they may deem most for the interest of the hospital: Provided, That the Powers. Real estate not real estate held by said corporation shall not exceed in value the sum of to exceed, &c. one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Officers of corporation. Vacancies. Powers. By-laws. Proviso. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation and body politic shall have full power to appoint from their own body a president and such other officers as they may deem necessary for the purposes of their creation; and in case of the death, resignation, or refusal to serve, of any of their number, the remaining members shall elect and appoint other persons in lieu of those whose places may have been vacated; and the said corporation shall have full power and all the rights of opening and keeping a hospital in the city of Washington for the care of such sick and invalid persons as may place themselves under the treatment and care of the said corporation. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall also have and enjoy full power and authority to make such by-laws, rules, and regulations, as may be necessary for the general accomplishment of the objects of said hospital: Provided, That they be not inconsistent with the laws in force in the District of Columbia: And provided, further, That this Act may be al- act shall be liable to be amended, altered, or repealed, at the pleasure of tered, &c. Congress. April 8, 1864. APPROVED, April 8, 1864. CHAP. LL — An Act concerning Notaries Public for the District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Notaries pub- States of America in Congress assembled, That notaries public for the lic in the District district of Columbia may be appointed by the supreme court of said dispointment, term trict, whose term of office shall be five years, and who may be removed of office, number. by said court for cause. There shall be no new appointment of a of Columbia; ap Oath, bond. Present notaries to give bond, or lose office. Authority of notaries public. Foreign bills. Inland bills, &c. Acknowledg ments, oaths, &c. notary public until the number in this district is reduced to twenty-five; and when the number is so reduced, as vacancies thereafter occur, they may be filled by said court. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That each notary public hereafter appointed, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take an oath faithfully to discharge the same, and shall give bond to the United States in the sum of two thousand dollars, with security to be approved by the said supreme court, or a judge thereof, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. And the said court shall, with reasonable dispatch, by a general order to be published in one or more newspapers printed in the said district, require all persons now holding the commission of notary public in said district to give new bond, as hereinbefore provided for, within a short time to be prescribed therein; and all such persons failing to comply therewith shall be stricken from the list of notaries. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That notaries public shall have authority to demand acceptance and payment of foreign bills of exchange, and to protest the same for non-acceptance and non-payment; and to exercise such other powers and duties as, by the law of nations, and according to commercial usages, or for use and effect beyond the jurisdiction of the said district, as, according to the law of any state or territory of the United States, or any foreign government in amity with the United States, may be performed by notaries public. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That notaries public may also demand acceptance of inland bills of exchange, and payment thereof, and of promissory notes, and may protest the same for non-acceptance or nonpayment, as the case may require. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That each notary public shall have power to take and to certify the acknowledgment or proof of powers of attorney, mortgages, deeds, and other instruments of writing, the acknowledgment of any conveyance, or other instrument of writing executed by any married woman, to take depositions, and to administer oaths and affirmations in all matters incident or belonging to the duties of his office, and to take affidavits to be used before any court, judge, or officer within this district. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That each notary public shall keep Record. Cera fair record of all his official acts, except such as are mentioned in the tified copies. fifth section of this act; and when required shall give a certified copy of any record in his office to any person, upon payment of the fees therefor. To be exempt SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That each notary public, before Notarial seal. he acts as such, shall provide a notarial seal, with which he shall authenticate all his official acts, which seal, together with his records and official documents, shall not be liable to be seized on by any execution. He from execution. shall deposit an impression of his official seal in the office of the clerk of the supreme court of said district. Records in case SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That on the death, resignation, or removal from office of any notary public, his records, together with all his of death, resignaofficial papers, shall be deposited in the office of the clerk of the supreme court of said district. tion, &c. Original pro facie evidence of SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the original protest of a notary public, under his hand and official seal, of any bill of exchange or prom- test to be prima issory note for non-acceptance or non-payment, stating the presentment facts stated thereby him of such bill of exchange or note for acceptance or payment, and in. the non-acceptance or non-payment thereof, and the service of notice on any or all of the parties to such bill of exchange or promissory note, and specifying the mode of giving such notice, and the reputed place of residence of the party to whom the same was given, and the post-office nearest thereto, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. The certificate of a notary public, under his hand and seal of office, drawn from his record, stating the protest and the facts therein recorded, be like evidence. shall be evidence of the facts in like manner as the original protest. Certificate to SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the fees of notaries public Fees of notaries shall be as follows: For each certificate and seal, fifty cents; taking public. depositions or other writings, for each one hundred words, ten cents; administering an oath, fifteen cents; taking acknowledgment of a deed or power of attorney, with certificate thereof, fifty cents; every protest of a bill of exchange or promissory note, and recording the same, one dollar and seventy-five cents; each notice of protest, ten cents; each demand for acceptance or payment, if accepted or paid, one dollar, to be paid by the party accepting or paying the same; each noting of protest, one dollar. And any notary public who shall take a higher fee than is prescribed by this act shall pay a fine of one hundred dollars and be removed from office by the said supreme court. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. APPROVED, April 8, 1864. CHAP. LII. - An Act to authorize the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Penalty for taking higher fees. Repealing clause. April, 8, 1864. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the board of directors of Columbia Inthe Columbia Institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb and stitution for the deaf and dumb the blind be, and they are hereby, authorized and empowered to grant and and the blind confirm such degrees in the liberal arts and sciences to such pupils of the may confer deinstitution, or others, who, by their proficiency in learning or other meri- grees. torious distinction they shall think entitled to them, as are usually granted and conferred in colleges; and to grant to such graduates diplomas or certificates, sealed and signed in such manner as said board of directors may determine, to authenticate and perpetuate the memory of such graduation. APPROVED, April 8, 1864. April 9, 1864. CHAP. LIII.-An Act to amend Section nine of the Act approved July seventeenth, eigh teen hundred and sixty-two, entitled An Act to define the Pay and Emoluments of certain Officers of the Army, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Unitea States of America in Congress assembled, That the rank of chaplain without command, in the regular and volunteer service of the United States, is hereby recognized. Chaplains shall be borne on the field and staff rolls next after the surgeons, and shall wear such uniform as is or may be prescribed by the army regulations, and shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as other officers of the army. They shall be entitled to draw forage for two horses, and, when assigned to hospitals, posts, and forts, they shall be entitled to quarters and fuel within the hospitals, posts, or forts, while they are so assigned, without the privilege of commutation, subject to the same conditions and limitations as are now by law provided in the case of surgeons. When absent from duty with leave, or on account of sickness or other disability, or when held by the enemy as prisoners, they shall be subject to no other diminution or loss of pay and allowances than other officers in the military service are under like circumstances. And chaplains who have been absent from duty, by reason of wounds or sickness, or when held as prisoners in the hands of the enemy, shall be entitled to receive full pay without rations during such absence. In all other respects, the pay of chaplains shall be the same as now provided by law. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the act approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled, "An act to grant pensions," is hereby so amended as to include chaplains in the regular and volunteer forces of the army: Provided, That the pension to which a chaplain shall be entitled for a total disability shall be twenty dollars per month, and all the provisions of the act to which this section is an amendment shall apply to and embrace the widows, children, mothers, and sisters of chaplains of the land forces who have died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall die of wounds or disease contracted in the service of the United States, and while such chaplains are or shall be in the line of their duty. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of chaplains in the military service of the United States to make monthly reports to the adjutant-general of the army, through the usual military channels, of the moral condition and general history of the regiments, hospitals, or posts to which they may be attached; and it shall be the duty of all commanders of regiments, hospitals, and posts to render such facilities as will aid in the discharge of the duties assigned to them by the govern ment. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all chaplains in the military service of the United States shall hold appropriate religious services at the burial of soldiers who may die in the command to which they are assigned to duty, and it shall be their duty to hold public religious services at least once each Sabbath when practicable. APPROVED, April 9, 1864. CHAP. LIV. -An Act to appoint an Appraiser and Assistant Appraiser for the Port of Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Appraiser and States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the assistant appraisUnited States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint er at Portland, Maine. an appraiser and assistant appraiser for the port of Portland, Maine, whose duties shall be the same as those of similar officers in other ports; and the ninth section of the act of Congress passed May seventh, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, entitled "An act further to establish the compensation of officers of the customs and to alter certain 1822, ch. 107, $9. Vol. iii. p. 695. |