OF DITCHES. CHAP. 59. CHAP. 444, VOL. 13. commissioners to be appointed by the Superior Court, as is hereinbefore provided for the appointment of original commissioners for that purpose. The person applying for such cross ditch shall pay all costs of making and opening the same, and shall also, before Cost. making it, pay or tender all damages awarded, but any person benefited by such cross ditch shall contribute and pay so much of such Contribution. damages, costs and expenses, as the commissioners shall determine to be his fair proportion thereof. remain open. Penalty for obstructing. remove obstructions. SEC. 12. That the ditches so opened shall remain open for the Ditches to benefit of those liable to contribute therefor. If any person shall stop up or obstruct any ditch cut under this chapter he shall forfeit and pay to the managers for the use of the ditch not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars. SEC. 13. That it shall be lawful for any person or persons of the right to who may be taxables or interested in any public ditch heretofore made or hereafter may be made and laid out by any act of the legislature of this State or under the act of Assembly in such case made and provided for the drai ing of low grounds, either by themselves or by such persons as they may employ, to enter upon the lands of any person through which any such ditch or ditches may pass, and remove any obstruction or obstructions, of whatever nature or kind the said obstructions may be, which may exist in said ditch or ditches, so that the water may pass through the same. hindering the obstructions. SEC. 14. That if any person or persons through whose lands said Penalty for ditch or ditches may pass should hinder or prevent any person or removal of persons so interested as aforesaid, or those whom they may employ, from entering upon said land to remove any obstructions which may exist in said ditch or ditches, such person or persons so hindering or preventing the removal of such obstructions shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred dollars besides the costs of suit, to be sued for and recovered by any of the taxables upon said ditch before any justice of the peace in and for said county where the said ditch may be situate. of re tions occasioned SEC. 15. That if any obstructions should exist in any such dich Who to pay the or ditches so as aforesaid made, occasioned by the fault or neglect moving obstrucof any person or persons, such person or persons so hindering or by negligence preventing the free passage of the waters through said ditches shall be liable for the expenses and charges to which any of the said taxables shall be subject in removing the same, to be sued for and re- How recovered. covered by any of the taxables upon said ditch before any justice of the peace in and for said county where the said ditch so obstructed may be situate. the act shall SEC. 16. That this chapter shall apply to all ditches laid out or To what duties to be laid out under any order of court for completing, extending, apply. enlarging or cleansing thereof, but it shall not conflict with or be Vacancies. Fees. Managers. OF DITCHES. CHAP. 59. CHAP. 445, VOL. 13. construed to alter any special law for ditching or draining low grounds. SEC. 17. That if any commissioner appointed under this chapter shall die or be unable to act, the associate judge of the county in vacation shall appoint another in his place. SEC. 18. That the fees under this chapter shall be to each comCommissioners, missioner, two dollars per day; to the managers each day actually spent in the discharge of their duties, one dollar; to the surveyor, three dollars per day, and such reasonable sum as shall be agreed upon by the parties or taxed by the court for plot and report; to the Prothonotary for order certified under seal, one dollar; for the confirmation of a report, fifty cents. Prothonotary. Owners of land may petition Superior Court to drain certain mill ponds. Commissioners, Appraisement. Surveyor. Plot; what to Damages of Owners of mills, &c. SEC. 19. That all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act be and the same are hereby repealed. Passed at Dover, March 4, 1869. CHAPTER 445, VOL. 13, LAWS OF DELAWARE. AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR DRAINING AND IMPROVING CERTAIN SECTION 1. That whenever six or more owners of any lands in Sussex county shall deem it desirable and important for the benefit and improvement thereof that any millpond adjacent to or in the vicinity of the same should be permanently drained and abolished as a serious injury thereto, and of less value than detriment to the neighborhood generally in which it is located, they shall, for the purpose of permanently draining, removing and abolishing such mill-pond be entitled to present their petition to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for said county, to that effect, and the said court on such petition shall appoint three commissioners, who shall view the said lands, mill-pond and premises, and if they shall deem it proper that such millpond should be permanently drained and abolished they shall proceed to estimate and appraise the said mill, mill-seat, mill-pond and premises, with all the rights, easements and privileges incident thereto, at their just and true value in money to the owner or owners thereof, and shall also take with them a competent surveyor, and make return in writing to the said court, with a plot showing by general delineation without actual survey the bounding lines of the lands adjacent thereto or flooded and affected thereby, and of each owner's portion thereof, and of all land and property below the same that will be benefited, improved or enhanced in value by the permanent drainage thereof, and estimate and state the number of acres owned by each of such persons. SEC. 2. That if the said commissioners shall deem it proper that said mill-pond shall be permanently drained and abolished, they shall, after estimating and appraising the value of the said mill-pond, mill, mill-seat, and premises, with all the rights, easements and privileges incident thereto as aforesaid, award to the owner or owners thereof damages to the amount of the just and true value thereof in money and to the full amount of the injury and loss which he or they will sustain thereby. They shall benefit to land also estimate and determine the proportions in which the persons owning the said lands and property to be benefited, improved and enhanced in value as aforesaid will be respectively benefited by the permanent draining of the said mill-pond, and the amount in money which they shall respectively contribute and pay therefor, and all persons who Estimation of owners. Contribution of land owners. OF DITCHES. CHAP. 59. CHAP. 445, VOL. 13. Cost of pro ceedings. will in their judgment be benefited as aforesaid thereby shall be liable to contribute to the damages so assessed as aforesaid to the expense of permanently draining said millpond, and the cost of all proceedings under this act, and all of which shall be included and stated in their return to the said court. SEC. 3. That if the owner or owners of said mill-pond shall not be satisfied with the Mill owners may valuation thereof so returned, or be unwilling to accept the same and allow the said apply for writ of mill-pond to be drained as aforesaid, he shall apply to the said court on the return of inquiry. the said commissioners, and at the first term thereof, for an order in the nature of a writ of inquiry, to ascertain by the verdict of a jury at the bar of the said court the just Jury to ascertain and true value of the said mill-pond, mills, mill-seat and premises, with all the rights, damages. easements and privileges incident thereto, and the amount of the damage, injury and loss which he or they will sustain by reason of the permanent draining of the same, and Verdict final. if applied for by him or them the court shall order a view of the said premises by the view of premises said jury, after they have been qualified, and before they have rendered a verdict by jury. thereon. And the verdict rendered shall be final and conclusive as to the valuation thereof, unless set aside by the court for legal cause. SEC. 4. That the said court may, before confirmation of the said return, grant orders Order of review. of review in the case on the application of any person interested therein by reason of any sum which he may be returned as liable to contribute and pay for draining the said pond as aforesaid. contributors. When. Treasurer. SEC. 5. That on confirmation of said return the commissioners making the same Meeting of shall, within one month thereafter, convene the persons liable to contribute and pay as aforesaid for the purpose of choosing two managers and a treasurer of their number, to To choose serve for one year and until their successors are chosen, to execute the objects of the Managers and said petition and application, and the time and place of such meeting shall be duly no- Term. tified by advertisements posted six days anterior to it in four of the most public places Notice of meeting. in the neighborhood of the said lands and premises. The said managers shall, annuAnnual meeting ally, thereafter, in the same manner, call a meeting for the same purposes on the first of contributors; Saturday in March, until they are fully accomplished and completed, and at all such meetings the persons liable to contribute and pay as aforesaid shall be respectively en- Who entitled to titled to vote one vote for every dollar he or she is so liable to contribute and pay, and vote. has contributed and paid for the said purpose. when. mation of return owners to receive in Court. SEC. 6. That on confirmation of the return by the said court, the same shall have Effect of confirperpetual force and effect from and after the payment in full to the owner or owners by Court. of said mill-pond, property and premises of the sum so awarded by the return or the Refusal of verdict of the jury as hereinbefore provided for; and in case such owner or owners damages. shall be unwilling and refuse to receive the same when tendered to him, the amount To be deposited shall be deposited to the credit of such person or persons in said court. And the said managers chosen as aforesaid, as soon as the said treasurer shall have paid or deposited managers. the sum so awarded as aforesaid, shall proceed to effectually and permanently drain and discharge the water from said mill-pond and to prevent the damming or accumulation of any water thereafter in said pond; and they shall be clothed with all the Payments; how powers necessary and proper for these purposes, and all payments therefore shall be made. made by order drawn by them on the treasurer, who shall collect all the sums assesed collect sum and apportioned and to be contributed and paid as aforesaid, and have the same powers for that purpose as a collector of county rates by law has, and shall keep a regular and correct account of all moneys received and expended by him, and give bond to the Account. persons so liable to contribute and pay as aforesaid, with surety to be approved by the Bond. managers in double the amount of the whole sum to be collected by him, for the faith Treasurer to assessed. CONCERNING ROADS AND BRIDGES. CHAPTER 60. ful performance of his duty and the payment to his successors of any money due from Chap. 454, vol. 14. him; [to which bond and condition shall be annexed a warrant or power of attorney to confess judgment thereon in the usual form. And if the person so appointed treasurer shall neglect or refuse to give bond as aforesaid within thirty days next after his appointment, the said mangers may thereupon appoint another treasurer who shall in like manner give bond as aforesaid, and so on until a treasurer be appointed who shall give bond and security as hereinbefore provided.] He shall settle with the persons to Compensation; whom it is given at the annual meeting, and be entitled to retain five per centum on the amount received by him as compensation for his services. Settlement, when. Obstruction of SEC. 7. That any obstruction to the natural flow of or damming up of the waters waters a public in the said mill-pond afterward by any person shall constitute in law a public nuisance, and may be punished and remedied as such. nuisance. Oath of Vacancies. Fees. SEC. 8. That all commissioners appointed under this act shall be duly sworn or afcommissioners, firmed according to law before entering upon the duties of their office, to perform the same honestly, faithfully and impartially, and if any of them should die or be unable to discharge the duty enjoined upon them, any judge of the Superior Court of said State shall have authority in vacation to appoint another in his place. And the fees under this chapter shall be: to each commissioner two dollars per day; to the managers each two dollars per each day actually spent in the discharge of their duties; to the surveyor such reasonable sum as shall be agreed on by the parties or taxed by the court; to the Prothonotary for order certified under seal one dollar; for confirmation of a report fifty cents. CONCERNING ROADS AND BRIDGES. CHAPTER 60. 31. Penalty for nuisances in public road. Nuisance to be abated. 32. Liability of overseers or commission- 33. Overseers to account in February. Disqualification. 34. * 35. Dams in Kent, to be fenced; when. 36. Overseers obliged to serve. 38. Private roads; how laid out. SECTION 1. All public roads, causeways, and bridges, heretofore Public highways. laid out as such, or made by lawful authority, or which have been used as such, and maintained at the public charge for twenty years, are declared to be common highways. SEC. 2. All public roads, hereafter laid out, shall be, in New width. Castle County, of such width, not less than twenty-five, nor more than forty feet, as shall be determined by the persons appointed to lay out the same, to be cleared and grubbed as the road commissioners shall direct, but not of less width than fifteen feet, nor greater than thirty feet, nor within four feet of the line of said road on either side. This section shall not authorize the alteration of any public road now laid out, nor apply to any road made by virtue of a special act of Assembly. İn Kent and Sussex Counties, all public roads, hereafter laid out, shall be thirty feet wide-twenty feet whereof shall be cleared and grubbed. The roads known as "King's Roads," or "State Roads," or such of them as may remain, are forty feet wide; whereof, thirty feet at least shall be cleared and grubbed. SEC. 3. The public roads shall be kept in good order, with proper Causways. causeways, where necessary, at least fifteen feet wide, and bridges Bridges. at least twelve feet wide, with side-rails, or fence, three feet and a half high; but this section shall not require the making a bridge upon any road, now in use, in a place where a bridge is not now maintained, or deemed necessary. There shall also be guide-posts erected on the public roads, at Guides. such places as shall be necessary, or convenient, for the direction of travelers, pointing the way and expressing the distance to other prominent places. SEC. 4. The Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Roads; laid out, Delivery within each county, shall have jurisdiction to lay out pub- how; or changed. lic roads, and to change or vacate the same; [also to vacate roads Chap. 74, vol. 14. laid out by special act of Assembly]. Chap. 447.vol.13. SEC. 5. The Court shall, by order, appoint five suitable persons Order. to view the premises, and make return on the first day of the next term, authorizing them to employ, if necessary, a surveyor, and di recting them, 1st, in an order on a petition for a new public road, For new road. that if they judge such road necessary, they shall lay it out in the best way, having respect to the nature of the ground, the distance, and other circumstances of public or private convenience, or detriment; and shall make a map of said road, showing its courses and |