TRANSPORTATION CORPORATIONS LAW.

AN ACT to amend the transportation corporations law and incorporate therein other statutes relating to transportation corporations.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Sections fifty-three and sixty of chapter five hundred and sixty-six of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act in relation to transportation corporations, constituting chapter forty of the general laws," are hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 53. Fences; farm crossings and use of line not inclosed.—It shall not be necessary for any such corporation to fence the lands acquired by it for the purposes of its incorporation. But, if not enclosed by a substantial fence, the owner of the adjoining lands from whom such lands were obtained, his heirs or assigns, may occupy and use such lands, in any manner not injurious to the interests of the corporation and shall not be liable therefor, or for any trespass upon any such lands except for willful or negli gent injuries to the pipes, fixtures, machinery or personal property of the corporation. If the corporation shall keep such lands inclosed it shall construct and provide all suitable and necessary crossings with gates for the use and convenience of any owners of lands adjoining the portion of its lands so inclosed, and no claim shall be made by it against any owner of adjoining lands to make or contribute to the making or maintaining of any division fence between such adjoining lands and its lands, and if it shall neglect to [keek] keep and maintain substantial fences

along its lands the owners of adjoining lands may construct and maintain all farm or division fences, and all line fences crossed by such pipe line in the same manner as though it had not acquired such lands for such pipe line, and it shall be liable for all injuries to such fences caused or done by any of its officers or agents, or any persons acting in their or its behalf, or by any laborer in its or their employ or in the employ of any of its contractors.

[Amended by correcting typographical error "keek" for "keep".]

§ 60. Incorporation.-Three or more persons may become a corporation for manufacturing and supplying gas for lighting the streets and public and private buildings of any city, village or town, or two or more villages or towns not over five miles distant from each other, in this state, or for manufacturing and using electricity for producing light, heat or power, and in lighting streets, avenues, public parks and places and public and private buildings of cities, villages and towns within this state, or for two or more of such purposes, by making, signing, acknowledging and filing a certificate stating the name of the corporation, its objects, the amount of its capital stock, the term of its existence not to exceed fifty years, the number of shares of which the stock shall consist, the number of directors not less than three nor more than thirteen, the names and places of residences of the directors for the first year, and the name of the town and county in which the operations of the corporation are to be carried on, and thereupon the persons who shall have signed the same, their associates, and successors shall be a corporation by the name stated in the certificate.

[Amended to conform to decision of court of appeals in People ex rel. Municipal Gas Company v. Rice, 138 N. Y. 151.]

§ 2. The first paragraph and subdivision one of section sixtyone of such chapter are hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 61. Powers.-Every such corporation, and every corporation duly incorporated for the purposes for which a corporation may be incorporated under this article, shall have the following ad

ditional powers:

1. If incorporated for the purpose of supplying gas for light, to manufacture, sell and furnish such quantities of gas as may be required in the city, town or village, where the same shall be located, or said two or more villages or towns, not over five miles distant from each other, named in its certificate of incorporation, for lighting the streets and public or private buildings, or for other purposes; and to lay conductors for conducting gas through the streets, lanes, alleys, squares and highways, in such city, villages or towns, with the consent of the municipal authorities thereof, and under such reasonable regulations as they may prescribe; and such municipal authorities shall have power to exempt any such corporation from taxation on their personal property for a period not exceeding three years from the organization of the corporation.

[Matter underscored is new. See note to § 84, post, as amended.]

§ 3. Section eighty-four of such chapter as amended by chapter two hundred and thirty of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-four is hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 84. Condemnation of real property.-Any corporation organized under this article, or for any purpose for which a corporation may be organized under this article, shall have the right to acquire real, estate, or any interest therein necessary for the purposes of its incorporation, and the right to lay, relay, repair and maintain conduits and water pipes with connections and fixtures, in, through or over the land of others; the right to intercept and divert the flow of waters from the lands of riparian owners, and from persons owning or interested in any waters, and the right to prevent the flow of drainage of noxious or impure matters from the lands of others into its reservoirs or sources of

supply. If any such corporation, which has made a contract with any city, town or village or with any of the inhabitants thereof for the supply of pure and wholesome water as authorized by section eighty-one of this article, shall be unable to agree upon the terms of purchase of any such property or rights, it may ac quire the same by condemnation. But no such corporation shall have power to take or use water from any of the canals of this state, or any canal reservoirs as feeders, or any streams which have been taken by the state for the purpose of supplying the canals with water.

[Matter underscored is new, and expressly applies this section to corporations organized under laws heretofore repealed. This may be the effect of the section, construed in view of the statutory construction law, but as such effect was originally intended, it should be clearly expressed.]

§ 4. Sections one hundred and two, one hundred and four, one hundred and twenty-four and one hundred and fifty of such chapter are hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 102. Construction of lines.-Such a corporation whether incorporated under or pursuant to a general or a special law may erect, construct and maintain the necessary fixtures for its lines upon, over or under any of the public roads, streets and highways, subject to the reasonable rules and regulations of the local authorities having jurisdiction of such roads, streets and highways; and through, across or under any of the waters within the limits of this state, and upon, through or over any other land, subject to the right of the owners thereof to full compensation for the same. If any such corporation cannot agree with such owner or owners upon the compensation to be paid therefor, such compensation shall be ascertained in the manner provided in the condemnation law. Whenever any wire, cable or fixture shall be attached to, or shall extend upon or over, any building or land no lapse of time shall raise a presumption of any

grant of, or justify a prescription of any perpetual right, to such attachment or extension.

[Trans. Corp. Law, § 102, See L. 1886, ch. 40, as to

last sentence.

L. 1879, ch. 397; R. S. 9th ed. 2464,

Birds. Stats. 1055.]

§ 104. Consolidation of corporations.-Any corporation organized under this article, or for any purpose for which a corporation may be organized under this article, may lease, sell or convey its property, rights, privileges and franchises, or any interest therein, or any part thereof to any telegraph or telephone corporation organized under or created by the laws of this or any other state, and may acquire by purchase, lease or conveyance the property rights, privileges and franchises, or any interest therein or part thereof of any such corporation, and may make payments therefor in its own stock, money or property, or receive payment therefor in the stock, money or property of the corporation to which the same may be so sold, leased or conveyed, but no such lease, sale, purchase or conveyance shall be valid until it shall have been ratified and approved by a three-fifths vote of the board of directors or trustees of each corporation and by the vote or written consent of stockholders of each corporation, owning at least three-fifths of the capital stock given at a meeting of the stockholders of each corporation duly called for that purpose, upon a notice stating the time, place and object of the meeting, served at least two weeks before such meeting upon each stockholder, personally, or mailed to him at his last known post-office address, and also published at least once in each week for two successive weeks immediately, preceding such meeting, in a newspaper published in the city, town or county where such corporation has its principal office.