It is not necessary to decide that under no circumstances would the public have a right to make use of the space above the railroad tracks. That question is not now presented. It follows that the conduct of the defendant in suspending its wires over the tracks of the plaintiff was not within any authority conferred upon it, and was an invasion of the plaintiff's rights. In accordance with the terms of the report let the entry be Judgment for plaintiff for $1. APPENDIX I.-NEW LEGISLATION, 1914. NOTE. The act (chapter 742) codifying and extending the gas and electric laws has been separately printed for distribution and is omitted here. There have also been omitted all acts amending or affecting the Workmen's Compensation Act, as these acts are printed for distribution by the Industrial Accident Board, and may be obtained by application to that Board, 1 Beacon Street, Boston. ACTS. An Act relative to the Issuing of Notes of Fire, Water, Watch, Light and Improvement Districts. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: SECTION 1. Section two of chapter seven hundred and twentyseven of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen is hereby amended by striking out the words "board of trustees", in the eleventh line, and inserting in place thereof the words:prudential committee, by striking out the word "trustees", in the twenty-fourth line and inserting in place thereof the words: - prudential committee, - by striking out the word "trustees", in the twenty-fifth line and inserting in place thereof the words: -members of the prudential committee, and by adding at the end of said section the words: Neither this section nor any part of this act shall be construed as affecting the validity of any debt incurred by virtue of authority granted therefor prior to the passage of this act, or as affecting the right of any district to incur, renew, fund, or refund any debt in accordance with the provisions of any special act passed prior to the passage of this act, so as to read as follows: -Section 2. Whenever a fire, water, watch, light or improvement district wishes to borrow money in anticipation of revenue or for any other purpose, the treasurer thereof shall make a note or notes for the amount of the proposed loan and shall use one or more, in serial order, of the forms provided for in section one of this act, with the blank spaces thereon properly filled in, except that the rate of interest need not be designated prior to the certification of the note as hereinafter provided for. Every such note shall be signed by the treasurer, and a majority of the prudential committee or commissioners shall countersign and approve the same in the presence of the clerk of the district, who shall certify to the fact on the face of the note. The treasurer, after making a record of the transaction in accordance with the provisions of section one, shall forward every such note to the director of the bureau of statistics, together with a copy of said record, and a copy of the vote authorizing the loan, certified by the clerk of the district, and a certification by said clerk that the person whose signature appears upon the note as that of the treasurer was the duly authorized treasurer of the district at the date when such signature was made, and that the persons whose signatures appear upon the note as those of a majority of the prudential committee or commissioners of the district were the duly qualified members of the prudential committee or commissioners when such signatures were made; and the treasurer shall furnish such other information in connection with the financial condition of the district as the director of the bureau of statistics may, in his judgment, require to enable him properly to certify the note as provided for in section three of this act; and he shall at the same time forward the fee provided for by section four of this act. Neither this section nor any part of this act shall be construed as affecting the validity of any debt incurred by virtue of authority granted therefor prior to the passage of this act, or as affecting the right of any district to incur, renew, fund, or refund any debt in accordance with the provisions of any special act passed prior to the passage of this act. SECTION 2. Section three of said chapter seven hundred and twenty-seven is hereby amended by striking out the word "trustees", in the tenth line, and inserting in place thereof the words: - prudential committee, so as to read as follows:- Section 3. If, upon examination of a note forwarded to him as provided for by section two of this act, the director of the bureau of statistics finds that the note appears to have been duly issued in accordance with a vote of the district which authorized the same, or in accordance with an act of the general court, he shall so certify, and shall thereupon return the note by registered mail to the treasurer of the district or, under such regulations as he may prescribe and if so authorized by the treasurer with the approval of the prudential committee or commissioners of the district, he may deliver a certified note to the payee thereof. The director shall not certify any note payable on demand. The director is authorized to certify to the issue of a note, provided that the other conditions of this act have been complied with, on any date not earlier than three days prior to the date of issue as it appears on the note. SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved February 16, 1914. CHAPTER 73. An Act making Appropriations for the Salaries and Expenses of the Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: SECTION 1. The sums hereinafter mentioned are appropriated, to be paid out of the Gas and Electric Light Commissioners' Fund, except as is otherwise provided herein, for the salaries and expenses of the gas and electric light commissioners, for the fiscal year ending on the thirtieth day of November, nineteen hundred and fourteen, to wit: For the salaries of the commissioners, fourteen thousand dollars. For clerical assistance, a sum not exceeding seventy-five hundred dollars. For statistics, books, stationery, and for other necessary expenses, a sum not exceeding four thousand dollars. For rent of offices, a sum not exceeding forty-seven hundred dollars. For the inspection of electric meters, a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars. For the salary of the present gas inspector, twenty-eight hundred dollars. For the salary of the present first assistant inspector, eighteen hundred dollars. For the salary of the present second assistant inspector, eighteen hundred dollars. For compensation of deputies, travelling expenses, apparatus, office rent and other incidental expenses, a sum not exceeding ninety-five hundred dollars. For printing and binding the annual report, a sum not exceeding twenty-nine hundred dollars. For expenses in connection with the abatement of the smoke nuisance, a sum not exceeding eight thousand dollars, the same to be assessed upon the cities and towns of the district named in sec tion one of chapter six hundred and fifty-one of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and ten. SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved February 21, 1914. CHAPTER 81. An Act to confirm the Locations granted by the Town of Hudson for Electric Lines. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: SECTION 1. All lines for the transmission of electricity for lighting, heat or power heretofore acquired or constructed by the town. of Hudson upon, along, over and under the public ways and places of said town, and the poles, piers, abutments, conduits and other fixtures necessary to sustain or protect the wires of said lines and now in actual use, are hereby made lawful notwithstanding the lack of any valid locations therefor or any informality in the proceedings relative to their location and erection. SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved February 24, 1914. CHAPTER 143. An Act relative to Municipal Indebtedness. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: 66 SECTION 1. Section two of chapter seven hundred and nineteen of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen is hereby amended by inserting after the word "towns", in the fourth line, the words or districts, and by striking out the word "town", in the sixth line, so as to read as follows:- Section 2. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires: "revenue " means receipts from taxes and income from all other sources; majority vote" and "two thirds vote ", as applied to towns or districts, mean the vote of a majority or two thirds of the voters present and voting at a meeting duly called, and, as applied to cities, mean the vote taken by yeas and nays of a majority or of two thirds, as the case may require, of all the members of each branch of the city government, where there are two branches, or of all the members where there is a single branch of the city government, or of a majority or two thirds of the commissioners where the city government con |