| {Acts of the North
Carolina General Assembly} |
| |
| An Act to Incorporate the Greenville & Goldsboro'
Railroad Company |
| |
| Section 1. Be it enacted by
the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby
enacted by the authority of the same, That for the purpose of making
a connection by railroad between the head of steamboat navigation of Tar
river, at the town of Greenville, in the county of Pitt, and the North
Carolina Central Railroad {the North Carolina RR}
at Goldsboro', in the county of Wayne, the formation of a
corporate company, with a capital stock of six hundred thousand dollars,
in shares of one hundred dollars each, is hereafter authorized, to be
called "The Greenville & Goldsboro' Railroad Company," and when formed
in compliance with the conditions hereinafter prescribed, to have a
corporate existence as a body politic in perpetuity. |
| Sec. 2. Be it further
enacted, That the said company have power to construct a railroad
from he town of Greenville, in the county of Pitt, or some point
immediately adjoining said town, on Tar river, to the town of
Goldsboro', in the county of Wayne, and to make a junction with the
North Carolina Central Railroad, and the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad,
at the junction of the said Railroad in said town of Goldsboro'. |
| Sec. 3. Be it further
enacted, That for the purpose of creating the capital stock of said
company, the following persons are appointed commissioners, to wit: P.
A. Atkinson, C. Perkins, H. S. Clark, Moses Joyner, Peter Hines, W. M.
B. Brown, J. J. Cherry, M. L. Carr, Charles Green, George A. Dancy,
Charles J. O'Hagan, William Bernard, sen., Richard Bynum, Elias Blount,
Joseph L. Ballad, George Joyner, William J. Moye, John S. Smith, and
John S. Brown, of the county of Pitt, and Edward Patrick, Josiah Sugg,
J. L. Freeman, Joseph Jones, Dr. Swift, S. B. Cox, Owen Jones, Arthur D.
Speight, John Harvey, Henry Best and Joseph P. Speight, of the county of
Greene, and J. G. Gregory, of the county of Wayne, and Daniel Fowle,
Rufus Tucker and A. M. Lewis, of the city of Raleigh, and John M.
Morehead, of Greensboro', and J. J. Summerell, of Salisbury, and Zeno.
H. Green, Wm. S. Ashe and R. H. Cowan, of Wilmington, whose duty it
shall be to direct the opening of books for subscription of stock at
such time and places, and under the direction of such persons as they,
or a majority of them, may deem proper, or if they fail to do so, then
under the direction of the commissioners appointed for Pitt county, or a
majority of them; and the commissioners, or a majority of them, or in
case they fail so to act, then the commissioners appointed for Pitt
county, or a majority of them, shall have power to appoint a chairman of
their body, a treasurer, and all other officers, and to sue for and
recover all sums of money that ought, under this act, to be recovered by
them. |
| Sec. 4. Be it further
enacted, That the commissioners above named, and all other persons
who may hereafter be authorized, as aforesaid, to open books for
subscription, shall open the same at any time after the ratification of
this act, first giving twenty days' notice thereof of the time and place
in one or more of the newspapers printed in either Goldsboro', Raleigh
or Wilmington, and the said books, when opened, shall be kept open for
the space of sixty days, at least, and so long thereafter as the
commissioners above named shall direct; and the said named commissioners
shall have power to call on and require all persons empowered to receive
subscriptions of stock at any time, and from time to time, as a majority
of them may think proper, to make return of the subscription of stock by
them respectively received. |
| Sec. 5. Be it further
enacted, That whenever the sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be
subscribed in manner and form aforesaid, the subscribers, their
executors, administrators or assigns, shall be, and they are hereby
declared incorporated into a company, by the name and style of the
Greensville & Goldsboro' Railroad Company, and by that name shall be
capable in law and equity of purchasing, holding, selling, leasing ad
conveying estates, real, personal and mixed, and acquiring the same by
gift or devise, so far as shall be necessary for the purposes embraced
within the scope, object and intent of their charter, and no further;
and shall have perpetual succession, and by their corporate name may sue
and be sued, plead and be impleaded in any court of law and equity in
this State, and may have and use a common seal, which they may alter and
renew at pleasure, and shall have and enjoy all the rights and
immunities which other corporate bodies may, and of right do exercise;
and make all such by-laws, rules and regulations as are necessary for
the government of the corporation, or effecting the object for which it
was created, not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the
State, and of the United States. |
| Sec. 6. Be it further
enacted, That it shall be the duty of the commissioners named in
this act for receiving subscriptions, or a majority of them, as soon as
the sum of fifty thousand dollars shall have been subscribed in manner
aforesaid, to give public notice thereof, and at the same tie call a
general meeting of the stockholders, giving at least thirty days' notice
of the time and place of meeting: a majority of the stockholders being
represented in person or by proxy, shall proceed to elect a president
and treasurer and nine directors out of the number of stockholders; and
the said directors shall have power to perform all the duties necessary
in the government of the corporation and the transaction of its
business; and the persons elected, as aforesaid, shall serve such
period, not exceeding one year, as the stockholders may direct; and at
that meeting the stockholders shall fix on the day and place or places
when the subsequent election of president, treasurer and directors shall
be held, and such election shall thenceforth be annually made; but if
the day of the annual election of officers should, under any
circumstances, pass without an election, the corporation shall not
thereby be dissolved, but the officers formerly elected shall continue
in office until a new election takes place. |
| Sec. 7. Be it further
enacted, That the election of officers aforesaid shall be by ballot,
each stockholder having as many votes as he has shares in the stock of
the company, and the person having the greatest number of votes polled
shall be considered duly elected to the office for which he is
nominated, and at all elections, and upon all votes taken at any meeting
of the stockholders upon any by-law, or any of the affairs of the
company, each share of stock shall be entitled to one vote, to be
represented in person or by proxy; and proxies may be verified in such
manner as the by-laws of the company prescribe. |
| Sec. 8. Be it further
enacted, That the board of directors may fill any vacancies which
may occur in it during the period for which they have been elected; and
in the absence of the president, may appoint a president pro tempore
to fill his place. |
| Sec. 9. Be it further
enacted, That the board of directors may call for the sums
subscribed as stock in said company in such instalments as the interest
of said company may, in their opinion, require. The call for each
payment shall be published in one or more newspapers of the State for
one month before the day of payment; and on failure of any stockholder
to pay each instalment as thus required, the directors may sell at
public auction on a previous notice of ten days, for cash, all the stock
subscribed for in said company by such stockholder, or convey the same
to the purchaser at said sale, and if the said sale of stock does not
produce a sum sufficient to pay off the incidental expenses of the sale,
and the entire amount owing by such stockholder to the company for such
subscription of stock, then and in that case the whole of such balance
shall be held as due at once to the company, and may be recovered by
such stockholder, or his executor, administrator or assign, at the suit
of said company, either by summary motion in any court of superior
jurisdiction in the county where the delinquent resides, on previous
notice of ten days to said subscriber, or by the action of assumpsit in
any court of competent jurisdiction, or by warrant before a justice of
the peace when the sum does not exceed one hundred dollars; and in all
cases of assignment of stock before the whole amount has been paid to
the company, then for all sums due on such stock, both [the] original
subscriber, and the first and all subsequent assignees, shall be liable
to the company, and the same may be recovered as above described. |
| Sec. 10. Be it further
enacted, That the debts of the stockholders, due to the company for
stock therein, either as original proprietor, or as first or subsequent
assignee, shall be considered as of equal dignity with judgments in the
distribution of assets of a deceased stockholder by his legal
representatives. |
| Sec. 11. Be it further
enacted, That the said company shall issue certificates of stock to
its members, and said stock may be transferred in such manner and form
as may be directed by the by-laws of the company. |
| Sec. 12. Be it further
enacted, That said company may at any time increase its capital
stock to a sum sufficient to complete said road, not exceeding the
additional sum of two hundred thousand dollars, by opening books for the
subscription of new stock, or borrowing money on the credit of the
company, and the mortgage of its charter and works; and the manner in
which the same shall be done in either case, shall be prescribed by the
stockholders. |
| Sec. 13. Be it further
enacted, That all contracts or agreements authenticated by the
president and secretary of the board, shall be binding on the company
with or without a seal: such a mode of authentication shall be used as
the company by their by-laws may adopt. |
| Sec. 14. Be it further
enacted, That the said company may purchase, have and hold in fee,
or for a term of years, any lands, tenements or hereditaments which may
be necessary for the said road or for the erection of depositories,
storehouses, houses for the officers, servants or agents of the company,
or for work-shops or foundries to be used by the company, or for
procuring stone or other materials necessary to the construction of the
road or effecting transportation, and for no other purpose whatsoever. |
| Sec. 15. Be it further
enacted, That the company shall have the right, when necessary, to
construct the said railroad across any public road, or along the side of
any public road: Provided, That the said company shall not
obstruct any public road without first constructing one equally as good
and as convenient as the one taken by the company. |
| Sec. 16. Be it further
enacted, That when any lands or right of way be required by the said
company for the purpose of constructing their road, building
ware-houses, water-stations, work-shops, depositories, and for want of
agreement as to the value thereof, or from any other cause, the same
cannot be purchased from the owner or owners, the same may be taken at a
valuation to be made by a jury of good and lawful men, to be summoned by
the sheriff of the county in which the land required by the company may
lie; and in making the said valuation, the said jury shall take into
consideration the loss or damage which may occur to the owner or owners
in consequence of the land or the right of way being surrendered, and
the benefit or advantage he, she or they may receive from the erection
of said road, and shall state particularly the value and amount of each,
and the excess of loss or damage over and above the advantage and
benefit shall form the measure of valuation of said land or right of
way: Provided, nevertheless, That if any person or persons over
whose land the said road may pass, or the company, should be
dissatisfied with the valuation thus made, then and in that case either
party may have an appeal to the next court of the county to be held
thereafter, and the sheriff shall return to the said court the verdict
of the jury, with all proceedings thereon, and the land or right of way
so valued by the jury shall vest in the said company so long as the same
shall be used for the purposes of said railroad, so soon as the
valuation may be paid, or if refused, paid over to the clerk of the
county court: Provided, further, That the right of condemnation
shall not authorize the said company to invade the dwelling-house, yard,
garden or grave-yard of any individual without his consent. |
| Sec. 17. Be it further
enacted, That the right of said company to condemn land in the
manner described in the above section shall extend to the condemnation
only of one hundred feet on each side of the main track of the road,
from the centre of the same, unless in case of deep cuts and fillings,
when said company shall have power to condemn as much in addition
thereto as may be necessary for the purpose of constructing said road;
and the company in like manner shall have power to condemn any
appropriate land for the building of depots and shops not exceeding five
acres in any one lot or station. |
| Sec. 18. Be it further
enacted, That the said company shall have the exclusive right of
conveyance or transportation of persons, goods, merchandise or produce
over said road, at such charges as may be fixed on by a majority of the
directors. |
| Sec. 19. Be it further
enacted, That the profits of the company, or so much thereof as the
board of directors may deem advisable, shall, when the affairs of the
company will permit, be annually or semi-annually divided among the
stockholders, in proportion to the stock each may own. |
| Sec. 20. Be it further
enacted, That any contract that may be entered into with any other
railroad company by the president and directors of said company, after
the consent of a majority of the stockholders first obtained, shall be
binding on the company. |
| Sec. 21. Be it further
enacted, That all the officers of the company, and servants and
persons in the actual employment of the company, be, and they are hereby
exempt from performing ordinary military duty, working on public roads,
and serving as jurors. |
| Sec. 22. Be it further
enacted, That all the work hereby required shall be executed with
due diligence, and if it be not commenced within four years after the
ratification of this act, then the charter shall be void. |
| Sec. 23. Be it further
enacted, That this act shall be in force from and after its
ratification, and shall be regarded as a public act, and be continued in
force until the year nineteen hundred. |
| Sec. 24. Be it further
enacted, That notice of process upon the principal agent of said
company, or the President, or any two of the directors thereof, shall be
taken to be lawful notice of service of process upon the company in any
suit or action before any court of the State. [Ratified the 23rd day
of {February}, 1861.] |
| {The month was not
printed, but was found in newspaper articles.} |
|