Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 4.djvu/843



canal shall have been finished according to the true intent and meaning of this act. For the collection of which tolls, the president and directors shall have power to establish so many toll-houses, and at their pleasure to appoint and remove so many collectors, and at such places as from time to time they may judge expedient; and the said president and directors shall have full authority, subject to the direction and control of a majority in interest of the stockholders represented in any general meeting, to regulate and fix a tariff of tolls, not exceeding an average of two cents per ton per mile; and so to adjust the said tolls, in relation to the capacity or burden of the boats, and the dimensions of the rafts passing the locks of the said canal, as to promote economy of water and time in the navigation thereof.

11. And be it enacted, That the president and directors shall, annually, or semi-annually, declare and make such dividend of the net profits, from the tolls to be received according to the provisions of this act, and from the other resources of the company, as they may deem advisable, after deducting therefrom the necessary current, and the probable contingent expenses, to be divided among the proprietors of the stock of the said company, in proportion to their respective shares, in manner following; that is to say: if such net profits shall not exceed ten per cent. on the amount of shares, which shall have been paid for in current money of the United States, and expended on the eastern section of the said canal, then the whole thereof shall be divided among the holders of such shares, in proportion to their respective shares; but, if such net profits shall exceed the rate of ten per cent. per annum in any year, on such amount of stock, then the surplus shall be divided among such stockholders as shall have paid for their shares in certificates of the debts of the Potowmac Company, until they shall therefrom have received a dividend of six per cent.; and, if a surplus yet remain, the same shall be divided among the stockholders who shall have paid for their shares in certificates of the stock of the Potowmac Company, until they shall have received therefrom a dividend of six per cent. per annum on such shares; and if a surplus still remain, so long as the western section of the canal shall remain unfinished, such surplus shall be applied, from time to time, to the construction and completion thereof, in such mode as the president and directors, under such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States, or of the several states aforesaid, as the stockholders, or a majority thereof, in general meeting, may prescribe, until the western section of the canal shall be also completed; after which, if such surplus shall still arise, the same shall be divided among all the stockholders, without discrimination, in proportion to their respective shares, until the annual dividend thereon shall have reached fifteen per cent., beyond which it shall never extend. But should the net revenue of the company exceed that amount for any two years in succession, then such excess shall be applied, by the president and directors, in such mode as shall be agreed on by a majority of the stockholders convened in general meeting; first, to strengthening and improving the works of the canal of every description requiring the same; next, to the accommodation, where not already provided, of the inhabitants of the shores of the river Potowmac, and of the country drained by the tributary streams thereof, now navigable, or which may hereafter become so, by affording to them, in the best practical mode, a safe and easy access to the canal, from the surface of the main river, and of the said streams emptying therein; and, last of all, to the erection of such walls of stone or other materials, along the water margin of the canal, as shall fit the same for the navigation of steamboats of a size adapted to the said canal. And should the said tolls continue, after all such improvements have been completed, to net more than fifteen per cent. per annum to the stockholders for any two years in succession, the tolls upon the same shall be reduced, by the president and directors, according to some just and equitable ratio, till the said dividend shall fall to fifteen per cent. per annum: Provided, That, should the said dividend thereafter sink below fifteen per cent., the said tolls, or a part thereof, may be renewed, till the said net dividend reaches that amount. And for any, or all the within-mentioned purposes, the said president and directors are empowered to borrow, in behalf of the company, on the credit of such excess of tolls, such sum or sums of money as they may deem expedient, at such rate of interest, and with such delay of payment, as they may stipulate, with the previous consent of a majority of the stockholders in general meeting convened.

12. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the president and directors of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, so long as there shall