Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 11.djvu/533

 THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. III. Ch. 40. 1857. 493 Sec. 2. And be tt further enacted, That every stockholder shall be entitled to vote by himself, his agent, or proxy, appointed under his hand Voting. and seal, attested by two witnesses, at elections made by virtue of this act, and shall have as many votes as he holds shares : Provided, That no person or body corporate shall have more than one hundred votes in his, her, or their own right; and every stockholder not in debt to the company may, with the assent of the president and directors in person or by power of attorney, assign and transfer his stock in the company on the Assignment of books of the same, or any part thereof, not less than a share; but no shamsmckholder indebted to the company shall be permitted to make a transfer or receive a dividend, nmtil such debt is paid or secured to the satisfaction of the president and directors. The capital stock of the company shall G¤·pita1¤¤wkconsist of a sum not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars, divided into ten thousand shares of twenty dollars each. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the president and directors of the present company, two weeks prior to the expiration of the present A¤¤q¤J S600? charter, shall call a meeting of the stockholders, if the present company, £;°g°"’ m°"°' giving two weeks' notice in two of the papers printed and published in I the city of Washington, of the time and place of meeting, and the stockholders, who shall assemble in person or by proxy, shall choose by ballot from among the stockholders, by a majority of the votes of those present, thirteen directors, who shall continue in office for one year from the nrst Monday in January, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-eight; and on the first Monday in January, in every year thereafter, an election shall be held for thirteen directors as aforesaid, who shall continue in office for Directorsone year from the time of their election and until others are chosen in their stead, and each director shall hold in his own right not less than twenty shares in the capital stock of the company; and the said directors, at their first meeting, and annually thereafter, shall choose from among themselves a president, and allow him a reasonable compensation for his p,md,,,,t_ services; and in case of death, resignation, removal or other disqualification of the president or any of the directors, the remaining directors may elect others to fill such vacancies, to serve during the remainder of the term for which they were chosen. The president and directors of the company, or any three of them, shall superintend the first election of directors under this act, and a committee of three stockholders, to be appointed by the directors, shall superintend every succeeding election. The president and directors elect shall, previous to entering on the duties of their respective offices, take the following oath or adirmationz "I (A. Oath of dice. B.) do swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully, fully, diligently, impartially and honestly fulil the duties of my 0Ece of —-—-, to the best of my knowledge and ability." Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the president and directors shall be and they are hereby authorized to make all kinds of insurance Powers of against fire within the limits of the county of Washington, in the District §L’;;‘2:r’;” *"‘d of Columbia only, and generally to transact and perform all business ` relative to the objects aforesaid, and also to invest the capital and funds of the company, from time to time, in the public funds of the United States, or in any other bonds or stocks, and to dispose of the money or property of the company in such manner (not being contrary to law) as to them shall appear most advantageous to the company. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the president and directors shall cause a semi-annual statement of the affairs of the company to be semiannual made on or before the iirst Mondays of January and July in each and ¤¤}t¤¤¤¤¤; of afevery year, which statement shall be signed by the president and secre- ffglidw ° pub` tary, and sworn to by them, and be published in some paper printed in the city of Washington, in order to ascertain the net earned profits, as near as may be, for the preceding half year; and if it be ascertained that, after pavment of all claims against the company, any pronts have von. x1. Pmv.--65