government in amity with the United States may be performed by notaries public.

Sec. 567. INLAND BILLS AND NOTES. -Notaries public may also demand acceptance of inland bills of exchange and payment thereof, and of promissory notes and checks, and may protest the same for nonacceptance or nonpayment, as the case may require. And on the original protest thereof he shall state the presentment by him of the same for acceptance or payment, as the case may be, and the nonacceptance or nonpayment thereof, and the service of notice thereof on any of the parties to the same, and the mode of giving such notice, and the reputed place of business or residence of the party to whom the same was given; and such protest shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. And any notary public failing to comply herewith shall pay a fine of ten dollars to the District of Columbia, to be collected in the police court as are other fines and penalties.

Sec. 568. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, OATHS, AND SO FORTH.-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 also to take affidavits to be used before any court, judge, or officer within the District.

Sec. 569. RECORD.--Each notary public shall keep a fair record of all his official acts, except such as are mentioned in the preceding section, and when required shall give a certified copy of any record in his office to any person upon payment of the fees therefor.

Sec. 570. COPY OF RECORD AS EVIDENCE.-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, shall be evidence of the facts in like manner as the original protest.

Sec. 571. FEES.-The fees of notaries public shall be

For each certificate and seal, fifty cents.

Taking depositions or other writings, for each one hundred words,

ten cents.

Administering an oath, fifteen cents.

[Take] 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.

Sec. 572. PENALTIES FOR TAKING HIGHER FEES.-Any notary public who shall take a higher fee than is prescribed by the preceding section shall pay a fine of one hundred dollars and be removed from office by the supreme court of the District.

Sec. 573. DEATH, AND SO FORTH.-Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of any notary public, his records, together with all his official papers, shall be deposited in the office of the clerk of the supreme court of the District.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CORPORATIONS.

Subchapter I.-INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING.

Sec. 574. CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION.-Any five or more persons desirous of associating themselves for the purpose of establishing an institution of learning, may make, sign, and acknowledge, before any officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds in the District, and file in the office of the recorder of deeds, a certificate in writing, to be recorded in a book kept for that purpose and open to public inspection, in which shall be stated:

First. The name or title by which the institution shall be known in law;

Second. The number of trustees, directors, or managers, and their names;

Third. The particular branch of literature and science, or either of them, proposed to be taught; and,

Fourth. If the institution is to be of the rank of a college or university, the number and designation of the professorships to be established.

Sec. 575. SIGNERS INCORPORATED.-Upon filing such certificate, the persons signing and acknowledging the same and their successors and associates shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style stated in the certificate, and by that name and style shall have perpetual succession, with power to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded; to acquire, hold, and convey property in all lawful ways; to have and use a common seal, and to alter and change the same at pleasure; to make and alter, from time to time, such by-laws not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States or the laws in force in the District as they may deem necessary for the government of the institution, and to confer upon such persons as may be considered worthy such academical or honorary degrees as are usually conferred by similar institutions.

Sec. 576. CORPORATE POWERS.-Such corporation shall be competent in law and equity to take to themselves, in their corporate name, real, . personal, or mixed property by gift, grant, bargain and sale, conveyance, will, devise, or bequest of any person whomsoever, and to grant, bargain, sell, convey, demise, let, place out at interest, or otherwise dispose of the same for the use of the institution, in such manner as shall seem most beneficial thereto.

Sec. 577. PROPERTY HELD, FOR WHAT PURPOSES. -Such corporation shall hold the property of the institution solely for the purposes of education, and not for the individual benefit of themselves or of any contributor to the endowment thereof.

Sec. 578. FUNDS, HOW APPLIED.-The trustees, directors, or managers of any such corporation shall faithfully apply all the funds co!lected or the proceeds of the property belonging to the institution, according to their best judgment, in erecting or completing suitable buildings, supporting necessary officers, instructors, and servants, and procuring books, maps, charts, globes, and philosophical, chemical, and other apparatus necessary to the success of said institution.

Sec. 579. In case any donation, devise, or bequest shall be made for particular purposes, in accordance with the designs of the institution, and the corporation shall accept the same, such donation, devise, or bequest shall be applied in conformity with the express condition of the donor or devisor.

Sec. 580. QUANTITY OF LAND.-No such corporation shall hold more land at any one time than necessary for the purposes of education, as set forth in its articles of association, unless it shall have received the same by gift, grant, or devise, and in such case the corporation shall be required to sell or dispose of the same within fifteen years from the time the title thereto is acquired.

Sec. 581. On failure to so dispose of the land, so much of the same over and above the amount necessary to be used as provided in the preceding section shall revert to the original donor, grantor, devisor, or their heirs.

Sec. 582. OFFICERS. Such corporation shall have the power to appoint a president or principal for the institution and such professors or servants as may be necessary, and to displace any of them, as the interests of the institution require; to fill vacancies which may happen by death, resignation, or otherwise among such officers or servants, and to prescribe and direct the course of studies to be pursued in the institution.

Sec. 583. TREASURER. Such corporation may require the treasurer of the institution and all other agents thereof, before entering upon the duties of their appointment, to give bond for the security of the corporation in such sums and with such security as may be deemed sufficient by the corporation.

Sec. 584. ANNUAL STATEMENTS.-It shall be the duty of the trustees of any institution, or a majority of them, to file, on or before the first Monday in January in each year, in the office of the recorder of deeds, who shall index the same, a statement of the trustees and officers of the institution, with an inventory of its property and liabilities and students, and such other information as will exhibit its condition or operation.

Sec. 585. SUITS.-All process against any such corporation shall be by summons, and the service of the same shall be by leaving an attested copy thereof with the president, secretary, or treasurer, or at the office of the corporation at least sixty days before the return day thereof.

Sec. 586. QUO WARRANTO.-In case any such corporation shall at any time violate or fail to comply with any of the preceding provisions, upon complaint being made to the supreme court of the District, a writ of quo warranto shall issue, and the district attorney of the

United States shall prosecute, in behalf of the people, for a forfeiture of all rights and privileges secured by this subchapter to such corpo

ration.

Subchapter II.-RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

Sec. 587. LAND TO BE ACQUIRED.-It shall be lawful for the members of any society or congregation in the District, formed for the purpose of religious worship, to receive by gift, devise, or purchase a quantity of land not exceeding an acre, and to erect thereon such houses and buildings and to make such other use of the land and such other improvements thereon as may be deemed necessary for the pur poses named, and for the comfort and convenience of the society or congregation.

Sec. 588. TRUSTEES.-Such society or congregation may assume a name, and any number of trustees, not exceeding ten, who shall be styled trustees of such society or congregation by the name so assumed, may be elected or appointed according to the rules or discipline governing the church or denomination to which said society or congregation may belong.

Sec. 589. CERTIFICATE. -The persons elected or appointed as trustees shall immediately thereafter make a certificate under their hands and seals, stating the date of their election or appointment, the name of the society or congregation, and length of time for which they were elected or appointed, which shall be verified by the affidavit of one of the persons making the same, and shall be filed and recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds of the District.

Sec. 590. TENURE OF OFFICE. The trustees shall hold office during the period stated in their certificates, and vacancies in the office of trustee may be filled by election or appointment as above provided, and rules and regulations may be adopted in relation to the management of the estate and the duties of trustees, or for their removal from office, in accordance with the rules or discipline governing the church or denomination to which such society or congregation may belong, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States and the laws in force in the District.

Sec. 591. At the expiration of the term of service of any of the trustees one or more successors may be elected or appointed, and a certificate of their appointment or election shall be made, verified, filed, and recorded as provided herein before.

Sec. 592. A failure to elect or appoint trustees at the proper time shall not work a dissolution of the society or congregation; but the trustees last elected or appointed shall be considered as in office until another election or appointment shall take place.

Sec. 593. CORPORATE POWERS. Such trustees and their successors shall have perpetual succession and existence, and shall be capable in law to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all courts of law or equity whatsoever, in and by the name and style assumed as hereinbefore provided.

Sec. 594. TITLE VESTED IN TRUSTEES.-The title to land authorized to be purchased and to buildings and improvements thereon shall be

vested in the trustees by their assumed name and their successors forever, and the same shall be held for the uses and purposes named and no other.

Sec. 595. POWERS OF TRUSTEES.-The trustees shall have power, under the direction of the society or congregation, or the authority by whom they were elected or appointed, to sell and execute deeds and conveyances of the property authorized to be held by the society or congregation; and such deeds or conveyances shall have the same effect as like deeds or conveyances made by natural persons; but no deed or conveyance shall be made so as to defeat or destroy the interest or effect of any grant, donation, or bequest, and all grants, donations, and bequests shall be appropriated and used as directed by the person making the same.

Sec. 596. MORTGAGES. The trustees shall have power, under the direction of the society or congregation, or the authority by whom they were elected or appointed, to execute mortgages, or deeds of trust in the nature of mortgages, upon the estate and property which any society or congregation are authorized to hold, or to lease the same for a term not exceeding ten years; and such mortgages, deeds, and conveyances shall have the same effect and be enforced by the same remedies and proceedings as like mortgages, deeds, leases, and conveyances made by natural persons.

Sec. 597. DISSOLUTION.-Upon the dissolution of any society or congregation the estate and property of such society or congregation shall revert back to the persons, their heirs, and assigns who may have given or contributed to the purchase of or payment for the same, according to their respective rights.

Sec. 598. RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS. The provisions of the eleven preceding sections are intended to extend to members of societies formed to establish and maintain private schools for religious purposes, but shall not be construed as conferring privileges or any benefits to such societies under the school laws of the District.

Subchapter III.—SOCIETIES, BENEVOLENT, EDUCATIONAL, AND SO FORTH.

Sec. 599. CERTIFICATE.-Any three or more persons of full age, citizens of the United States, a majority of whom shall be citizens of the District, who desire to associate themselves for benevolent, charitable, educational, literary, musical, scientific, religious, or missionary purposes, including societies formed for mutual improvement or for the promotion of the arts, may make, sign, and acknowledge, before any officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds in the District, and file in the office of the recorder of deeds, to be recorded by him, a certificate in writing, in which shall be stated

First. The name or title by which such society shall be known in law. Second. The term for which it is organized, which may be perpetual. Third. The particular business and objects of the society.

Fourth. The number of its trustees, directors, or managers for the first year of its existence.

Sec. 600. SIGNERS INCORPORATED.-Upon filing their certificates the persons who shall have signed and acknowledged the same and their