Turnpike, Plank-Road and Bridge Corporations. §§ 131-133 in the transportation of the persons or property shall be exempt from the payment of toll. (As amended by chap. 538 of 1893, § I.) § 131. Toll gatherers.-Every such corporation may appoint toll gatherers to collect toll at each gate, who may detain and prevent from passing through the gate, any person riding, leading or driving animals or vehicles, subject to the payment of toll, until the toll is paid, but if he shall unreasonably hinder or delay any traveler or passenger liable to the payment of toll, or shall demand or receive from any person more toll than he is authorized by law to collect, he shall forfeit to such person the sum of five dollars for every offense, and the corporation employing him shall be liable for the payment thereof, and for any damages sustained by any person for acts done or omitted to be done by him in his capacity of toll gatherer, if, on recovery of judgment against the toll gatherer therefor, execution thereon shall be returned nulla bona. § 132. Penalty for running a gate.-Any person who, with intent to avoid the payment of toll, shall pass any gate, without paying the toll required by law, or shall, with his team, carriage or horse, turn out of a turnpike or plank-road and pass any gate thereon on ground adjacent thereto, shall forfeit for each offense the sum of ten dollars to the corporation injured. 133. Location of gates and change thereof.-No such corporation shall erect any toll gate, house, or other building within ten rods of the front of any dwelling house, barn or other out house, without the written consent of the owner, and the county. judge of the county in which the same is located shall, on application, order any building so erected to be removed, and if a majority of the commissioners of highways of any town, in which a toll-gate shall be located, or in an adjoining town, shall deem the location of any gate unjust to the public interests by reason of the proximity of diverging roads or otherwise, they may, on fifteen days' written notice to the president or secretary of the corporation, apply to the county court of the county in which the gate is located, for an order to alter or change its location. On hearing such application, and viewing the premises, if deemed necessary, the court may make such order in the matter as may be just and proper. Either party may, within fifteen days thereafter, appeal to the general term of the supreme court from such order, on giving such security as the county judge, making the order, may prescribe. Upon such appeal the supreme court, on motion of either party and on due notice, shall appoint three disinterested persons who are not residents of any town through or into which such road shall run, or to or from which it is the principal thoroughfare, or any adjoining town, as referees to hear, try and determine the appeal. Such referees shall view the premises and the location of the gate, and hear the parties in the same manner as on the trial of an issue of fact by a referee in a civil action in the supreme court, and report their decision thereon and the reasons therefor, and the evidence taken thereon to the supreme court, and such court shall review the report and render judgment thereon as justice and equity shall require, which shall be final and conclusive. The referees shall be entitled to the same fees as referees in civil actions in the supreme court, to be paid in the first instance by the party in whose favor their report or decision shall be, and the supreme court shall award judgment therefor, with such costs and expenses as it may deem reasonable, to the successful party on the appeal, which judgment shall be entered with the order affirming or reversing the order appealed from, and may be enforced by execution as a judgment of a court of record. If the order of the county court is not appealed from, it may be enforced, as the court may direct, and the court may allow such costs as may be deemed just and equitable. 134. Inspectors; their powers and duties.-The commissioners of highways of the several towns and the trustees or other officers in the incorporated cities and villages of the state, who perform the duties of commissioners of highways in such cities and villages, shall be inspectors of plank-roads and turnpikes, in their respective towns, cities and villages. They shall inspect or cause to be inspected by one or more of them the whole of such turnpike or plank-road as lies in their respective towns, villages or cities, at least once in each month, and whenever written complaint shall be made to any inspector, that any part of such road lying in the town, city or village of such inspector is out of repair he shall, without delay, view and examine the part complained of. If such turnpike or plank-road shall be found to be out of repair or in condition not to be conveniently used by the public such inspectors or either of them, or the one to whom such com. plaint shall have been made, shall give written notice to the tollgatherer, or person attending the gate nearest the place out of Turnpike, Plank-Road and Bridge Corporations. § 134 repair or in bad condition to cause the same to be put in good condition before a time therein designated not less than fortyeight hours after the service of such notice, or to appear before the county court of the county in which that part of the road is situated, at a time in said notice designated, and show cause why such turnpike or plank-road should not be repaired or put in good condition as in said notice directed. If such road shall not have been theretofore repaired or put in good condition as in said notice directed then the county court shall, upon the return of such notice hear the allegations and proofs of the parties, and it shall always be open for that purpose; and if the court shall find such road to be out of repair or in bad condition it may give additional time for the repair thereof, or it may order the gate nearest the place out of repair or in bad condition to be immediately upon the service of the order, or at a time therein specified, thrown open and to remain open until the road shall be fully repaired at the place directed to be repaired as aforesaid. Such order shall be served in the manner therein specified upon the keeper of the gate so ordered to be thrown open. Any inspector within the town, city or village where such road has been repaired pursuant to notice or order as aforesaid, may certify that such road has been duly repaired. The fees of he inspector for the services above mentioned shall be two dollars for each day actually employed, together with necessary witnesses fees, to be paid by the corporation or person whose road is so inspected, if the gates are ordered to be thrown open, but otherwise to be charged, audited and paid in the same manner as other fees of commissioners of highways. Any inspector who neglects to perform his duties shall forfeit to the party aggrieved the sum of twenty-five dollars for each offense. Every keeper of a gate ordered to be thrown open, not immediately obeying such order or not keeping such gate open until such road shall be fully repaired or until a certificate that such road has been duly repaired is granted, or hindering or delaying any person in passing, or taking any tolls from any person passing such gate during the time it ought to be open, shall forfeit to the party aggrieved the sum of ten dollars for each offense, and the corporation or person owning the road, who shall refuse or neglect to obey the require ments of any such order shall forfeit to the people of the state the sum of two hundred dollars for each offense. (As amended by chap. 343 of 1896, § 1.) § 135. Change of route; extension and branches.—Any such corporation may, with the written consent of the owners of twothirds of its capital stock and of a majority of the commissioners of highways of the town or towns, in which any change or extension is proposed to be made, construct branches to its main line or extend the same, or change the route of its road or any part thereof, and acquire the right of way for the same in the same manner as for the original or main line, and may, by any of its officers, agents or servants, enter upon lands for the purpose of making any examination, survey or map, doing no unnecessary damage; but before entering upon, taking or using such lands, the corporation shall make a survey and map thereof, designating thereon the lands of each owner or occupant intended to be taken or used, which shall be signed and acknowledged by the engineer making the same and the president of the corporation and filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which the land is situated. § 136. Mile-stones, guide-posts and hoist-gates.-A milestone or post shall be erected and maintained by every such corporation on each mile of its road, on which shall be fairly and legibly marked or inscribed the distance of such stone or post from the place of commencement of the road, and when the road shall commence at the end of any other road having mile-stones or posts on which the distance from any city or town is marked, a continuation of that distance shall in like manner be inscribed. A guide-post shall also be erected at the intersection of every public road leading into or from every turnpike or plank-road, on which shall be inscribed the name of the place to which such intersecting road leads in the direction to which the name on the guide post shall point. No plank-road or turnpike corporation shall erect or put up any hoist-gate on its road. Any person who shall willfully break, cut down, deface or injure any milestone, post or gate on such road, or dig up, or injure any part of the road, or anything belonging thereto, shall forfeit to the corporation twenty-five dollars for every offense, in addition to the damages resulting from the act. $137. Location of office of corporation.-Within two weeks after the formation of any such corporation its directors shall designate some place within a county in which its road or bridge, or some part thereof shall be constructed as its office, and shall give public notice thereof by publishing the same once in each. Turnpike, Plank-Road and Bridge Corporations. SS 138-139 week for three successive weeks in a public newspaper in the county, and shall file a copy of the notice in the office of the county clerk of every county in which any part of the road or bridge is, or is to be constructed, and if the location of such office shall be changed, like notice of the change shall be published and filed, in which shall be specified the time of making the change, before it shall take effect. Every notice, summons or other paper required by law to be served on the corporation may be served by leaving the same at such office with any person having charge thereof, at any time between nine o'clock in the forenoon, and five o'clock in the afternoon of any day except Sunday or a legal holiday. § 138. Consolidation of corporations and sale of franchise.Any two or more of such corporations may consolidate into one corporation on such terms as the persons owning two-thirds of the stock of each corporation may agree upon, and may change the name of the road on filing in the office where the original certificates of incorporation were filed, a certificate containing the names of the roads so consolidated, and the name by which such road shall thereafter be known. Any plank-road or turnpike corporation may, with the consent of the owners of sixty per cent of its stock, sell, and convey the whole or any part of its rights, property and franchises to any other domestic plankroad or turnpike corporation, and such sale and conveyance shall vest the rights, property and franchises thereby transferred in the corporation to which they are conveyed for the terms of its corporate existence. § 139. Surrender of road.-The directors of any plank-road or turnpike corporation may abandon the whole or any part of its road at either or both ends thereof, upon obtaining the written consent of the stockholders, owning two-thirds of the stock of the corporation, which surrender shall be by a declaration in writing to that effect, attested by the seal of the corporation and acknowledged by the president and secretary. Such declaration and consent shall be filed and recorded in the clerk's office of the county in which any part of the road abandoned shall be situated, and the road so abandoned shall cease to be the road or property of the corporation, and shall revert and belong to the several towns, cities and villages through which it was constructed, and the corporation shall no longer be liable to maintain it or to be assessed thereon, or permitted to collect tolls for |