Proviso. and shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, restrictions, and regulations, contained in the said recited general act: Provided, That the width of the road hereby authorised to be made, 'shall not be less than thrée rods, nor the chord of the arch less than twenty feet. Note. Add this to the table of turnpikes-V. N. & W. v. 2. 559. Supervisors to raise cer Papers, &c. when to be deposited there. CHAP. LXXXVI. An ACT providing for the building of fire-proof Clerk's Offices, in the counties of Chenango and Orange. Passed April 1, 1814. I. BE it enacted by the people of the state of New-York, repre sented in Senate and Assembly, That the board of supervisors for of Chenango the county of Chenango be, and they are hereby empowered, at tain monies any of their annual meetings, to raise the sum of eight hundred to build the dollars by a tax on said county, in the same way and manner as offices, &c. the other taxes are levied and raised for defraying the contingent expenses of said county, not to exceed four hundred dollars in any one year, and that the same be paid into the treasury of said county, which money shall be drawn out and expended by order or under the direction of the board of supervisors, or such person or persons as they shall appoint for the purpose of erecting a fireproof building for an office for the clerk of said county at the village of Norwich, near the court-house in said county; and when such building shall be completed to the acceptance of the judges of the court of common pleas of said county, or a majority of them, the records and papers belonging to the office of the clerk of said county, shall thereafter be kept in said office under the care and direction of the clerk of said county and his successors in office. H. And be it further enacted, That the supervisors of the counraise certain ty of Orange at their annual meeting, on the first day of October monies for next, shall levy and raise by tax on the freeholders and inhabitthe like pur pose. ants of the said county of Orange, a sum not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars, over and above the ordinary expenses of collect ing the same, which amount may be drawn from the treasury of the said county upon the order of William Thompson, George D. Wickham, David M. Westcott, James Carpenter and Reuben Hopkins, who shall be and are hereby appointed commissioners for superintending and building the said office, of such size and dimensions as to them shall seem proper, which office shall be built within forty rods of the court-house at Goshen, and the said commissioners shall account to the supervisors of the said county for all disbursements and expenditures arising to them in erecting the said fire proof clerk's office, and that after the said office shall be finished, the clerk of the said county shall keep his office in the same, with all the papers and records belonging thereto. Supervisors of Orange to [Note. Perhaps some general legislative provision as to building fire-proof Clerk's offices in all the counties would have been expedient.-In many of them such offices are built. J CHAP. LXXXVII. An ACT for clearing out the channels of Croton River and Muddy Passed April 1, 1814. WHEREAS, David L. Deforest, Isaac Crosby, Samuel Taw- Recital ner and others, have represented to the Legislature, that there exist certain natural and casual obstructions in the streams of Croton River and Muddy Brook, in towns of Southeast and Patterson, in the county of Putnam, immediately above the bridge, across the said river, at a place called Milltown, and elsewhere in the said towns; which occasion frequent overflowing of the said streams and very extensive inundations of the lands adjacent thereto, and that the same may be in a great degree if not wholly remedied by widening, deepening and straightening the channels of said river and brook: Therefore, sessors to as owners of tion, &. I. BE it enacted by the People of the state of New-York, repre- Certain as sented in Senate and Assembly, That Samuel Tawner, Benjamin certain the Cawl, and Harrison Hopkins, all of the town of Patterson, afore- damage to said, be and they are hereby appointed assessors, whose duty it land subject shall be as soon as conveniently may be done after the passing of to inundathis act, to view and to ascertain as nearly as they conveniently can do by information and inspection, the quantum of damages done to each individual, owning lands, subject to be inundated in consequence of the rise of the said river and brook, above the said bridge; and the relative injury sustained by each proprietor or occupant thereof; and to ascertain according to the best of their judgment the probable advantage that each proprietor or oecupant would be likely to receive in consequence of the proposed improvement, and to rate the said several owners and occupants accordingly And, agreeable to such estimate, to assess the said owners or occupants, proportionably, with the sum of one thou- To assess the sand seven hundred dollars, in the whole, to be raised; and after having completed the said assessment, to subscribe the same with their respective names, and forthwith, to deliver the said assessment roll to the commissioners, or either of them, herein after appointed. owners, &c. oath. II. And be it further enacted, That the said assessors before entering upon their duties enjoined by this act, shall take and To take an subscribe an oath, before a magistrate of the county of Putnam, well and faithfully to execute and perform the trust reposed in them, respectively, by this act, to the best of their skill and understanding, and that each of the said assessors shall receive the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for each day he shall be employ. Their com ed in discharging the duties enjoined on him by this act, to be Rention. paid to him by the commissioners hereinafter named, out of the monies so assessed. III. And be it further enacted, That in case any one or more of the above named assessors shall die, or refuse to serve before finishing such assessment, as aforesaid, then and in such case the commissioners herein after named, or a majority of them, shall be Commission. ers appoint and their proceedings regulated, Proviso. and hereby are, authorised to appoint one or more person or per sons to be assessor or assessors to fill such vacancy or vacancies. IV. And be it further enacted, That Ezra Ayres, Stephen Bared to receive num, and Peter Terry, of the town of Patterson, and David L. the monies, Deforest and Samuel B. Baxter, of the town of Southeast shali be and hereby are appointed commissioners for the purpose of receiving the monies assessed as aforesaid; and that they shall be and hereby are authorised to ask, demand, recover, and receive of each and every of the persons assessed, the respective sums which each person shall have been so assessed, which monies shall be and hereby are made recoverable from them at the suit of the said commissioners, or any one of them (who shall or may be appointed by a majority of them to act as collector) in any court within this state having cognizance thereof; Provided always, That no suit shall be commenced against any person so assessed, until after he or she shall have received notice under the hand or hands of one or more of the said commissioners, at least eight days before the commencement of such suit, of the sum or sums which such person is assessed: And also, that it shall be optional with the said commissioners, or a majority of them, to receive so much labor or personal service from any person or persons who shall be so assessed in the business of opening and straightening the channels of said river and brook, as shall be deemed an equivalent for the sum or sums of money so assessed, or any part thereof, by way of communication; and the said commissioners or a majority of them for effecting the purposes intended by this act, Authorised shall be and are hereby fully authorised and empowered to enter on lands, &c. upon and pass through the lands aforesaid, without any hindrance or molestation from the owners thereof, and to employ such and so many agents, workmen, and means, as shall in the judgment of a majority of them, be best calculated to effectuate the purposes of this act, at such times and in such places as they or a majority of them shall deem most eligible and proper; retaining in their hands each the sum of one dollar for each and every day he shall devote pensation. to the duties enjoined on him by this act. to enter up Their com Further as V. And be it further enacted, That after the whole of the mosessments nies received by the said commissioners, shall have been expendhow to be ed, and applied in manner as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said made. commissioners or a majority of them, if they shall deem the application and expenditure of a further sum advantageous and beneficial to the owners and possessors of the lands which shall have been so assessed, by eight days previous public notice, to be put up in at least two public and notorious places, in each of the before mentioned towns, to convene the persons interested, as aforesaid, in some central and convenient place to be named by them in said notices, at which meeting the said commissioners or a majority of them shall preside, and by a majority of the votes of the persons interested who shall be present at the said meeting to determine whether any, and if any, what further sum or sums of money they, the said commissioners shall be authorised to raise from the persong interested, in proportion to the former assessment; and in case the said commissioners shall be so authorised and empowered to raise such further sum or sums of money, they shall also have power, to collect the same, and commence suits therefor, as above prescribed for the collection of the first assessment. VI. And be it further enacted, That after the said river is River destraightened and cleared out as above said, it shall be in fact con- clared to be a public sidered and deemed a public highway, and all and every person highway. or persons who shall obstruct the same, shall be liable to the same penalties as are provided by the laws of this state for the punishment of those who obstruct highways, [Note.-Legislative provision has heretofore been made in cases not unlike the present-vide V. N. & W. v. 2. 557. The necessity of applying it here, is obvious from the recital.] CHAP. LXXXVIII. An ACT in addition to an act, authorising the Supervisors of the County of Schoharie to raise money by tax, for the erection of a fire-proof clerk's office. Passed April 1, 1814. raised. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall be the duty of the supervisors Additional of the county of Schoharie, and they are hereby authorised and sum to be directed at their annual meeting in October next, to cause a sum not exceeding four hundred dollars to be levied on the freeholders and inhabitants of the said county, together with the additional sum of five cents on each dollar, for collecting the same, which sums shall be levied and collected in the same manner as the other contingent charges of the said county are raised, levied and collected for the purpose of erecting a fire-proof building for the use of the clerk of said county, and in which all public records and papers belonging to the office of the clerk of said county shall be kept, after the said building shall be complete. [Note. The act amended is in sess. 36. ch. 28, and was passed Feb. 12, 1813.There is a trifling variance in the title of that act, from the title as set forth in this amendatory act; the sum of 600 dollars was first authorised to be raised for building the clerk's office; that proving insufficient, the additional sum of 400 dollars is now authorised to be raised.] CHAP. LXXXIX. An ACT authorising the Trustees of the first incorporated Presbyterian Congregation, in Argyle, adhering to the associate reformed synod, to sell and convey their glebe lands. Passed April 1, 1814. WHEREAS the trustees of the first incorporated presbyterian Recital. congregation in Argyle, adhering to the associate reformed synod, are seised of one hundred and sixty acres of glebe lands in two separate, lots, in trust, for the support of the officiating minister of said congregation: And whereas it is represented by the said congregation, that their interest will be promoted by a sale of the said lands: Therefore, Trustees may sell certain lands, &e. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New-York, repre represented in Senate and Assembly, That the said trustees be and they are hereby authorised and empowered, by and with the consent of the officiating minister of said congregation, to sell the said lands or any part thereof, and to convey the same to the purchaser or purchasers in fee simple, discharged from the said trust, and to vest the proceeds of the sales of the said lands, in other productive lands or funds by which the interest arising therefrom may be secured for the support of the officiating minister for the time being of the said congregation. [Note. This being a special trust for the benefit of the officiating minister, was not provided for by V. N. & W. v. 2. 218. § 11, and of course legislative provision became necessary.] CHAP. XC. Recital. An ACT for the relief of the legal representatives of James Hay, deceased. Passed April 6, 1814. WHEREAS it is represented to the Legislature, that James Hay, late of the town of Cambridge, in the county of Washington, did on or about the fifth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and ten depart this life intestate; leaving nine children, (one of whom is since dead) his heirs at law; the eldest of which heirs is now twentytwo years of age, and the youngest seven: That the said James Hay died seised and possessed of divers lands and tenements, situate in the counties of Washington and Warren; some parcels of which, situate in the county of Warren, are valuable, principally on account of the pine timber now standing thereon, but which from its exposed situation and liability to be destroyed by fire, and to be cut and carried away by trespassers, is deemed precarious property, and may be destroyed before any benefit can result therefrom to the heirs of the said James Hay, deceased; other. parcels of which, lying in the county of Washington, the said James Hay in his life time contracted to sell; but in consequence of his death such contracts still remain to be executed; and other parcels, also lying in the county of Washington, are improved lands, but on account of the decay of the buildings erected thereon, and the scarcity of fencing timber, cannot be leased to advantage for the benefit of the heirs, nor be made to produce to them an annual rent equal to one half of the interest of the money for which the same may be sold: That after the decease of the said James Hay, Mary Hay, (his widow) James Stevenson, Jonathan Dorr, Garrit Wendell, and William Hill, (the latter of whom is also since dead) were duly appointed administrators of the goods, chattels, and credits of the said James Hay, deceased, and having taken upon themselves the burthen of the said administration, have proceeded to pay all the debts due and owing by the intestate at the time of his death: That the said Mary Hay, the widow, hath since the decease of the said James Hay, intermarried with Samuel M'Doual of the town of Cambridge, in the said county of Washington, and hath lately in conjunction with |