Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 6.djvu/787

 TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch.26. 1837. 687 the members present shall appoint one of their number as president pro tempore. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the board of managers Powers of the ghall have power to adopt and use a common seal, as the seal of this b°°Fd °*` m¤· corporation, and to alter and exchange the same at their pleasure. They mgm' shall have power to adopt all by-laws which they may think necessary for the management of the concerns of the institution, and which shall not be inconsistent with the laws of the United States, or the laws in the District of Columbia for the time being. They shall appoint such oflicers, agents, and servants, as may be necessary to carry on the business of the institution, and regulate the compensation to be paid to them for their services; and they may dismiss any of them at their pleasure, and appoint others in their stead, as often as they shall think fit. They shall keep a journal of their proceedings, in which shall be recorded every by—law which may be adopted. They shall adopt such checks and regulations as may appear necessary for the security of the funds and property of the institution; and shall annually make a report of the affairs and condition of the institution tbr the preceding year. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for Con- Act maybe gress, at any time hereafter, to alter, amend, modify, or repeal this act, ¤l'°“’d· &°· Approved, March 2, 1837. j" Srarurs II. CHAP. XXVI. —An dot Z0 organize lhc several Fire Companies in the District of March 2, 1837. Columbia. ”;`°“_“"— Be it enacted, drc., That, from and after the passage of this act, the fire companies of Wasllirigton, Georgetown, and Alexandria, in the dis- Powers, &°· triot of Columbia, and those which may hereafter be formed in either gg,;8,;$,i2fr° of the said cities, shall, when so formed, severally have power to frame their own constitution, and adopt by-laws for their own regulation, and to elect their own officers, who, and the members of the several companies, shall be exempt from the performance of military duty in time of peace, so long as they shall continue active members thereof; and the certificate of the several presidents of the said companies, attested by the secretary, shall be sufficient evidence of membership: Provided, Proviso. That no company now formed, or hereafter to be formed, as aforesaid, shall have the beneht of this act, until it shall first obtain a fire apparatus of the value of at least five hundred dollars: And, provided, A company Proviso. possessing an apparatus of the value of five hundred dollars, shall not exempt more than seventy-five; and a company possessing an apparatus of the value of one thousand dollars and upwards, shall not exempt more than one hundred. Sec. 2. Am! be it further enacted, That the corporate authorities in Ep=mi¤¤¤i¤¤ each of the said cities shall, annually, appoint an inspector, whose duty gs i€,gPpa"° it shall be to examine the condition of the fire apparatus belonging to y each fire company at least once in every month, and to report its state to a tire department, to be composed of the presidents of the respective fire companies in each of the said cities, who are hereby constituted a fire department for that purpose, which shall sit monthly, at the townhouse in the city to which they belong. And if the said inspector shall report that the fire apparatus of any one of the said fire companies is so defective or out of repair as to be of less value than five hundred dollars, or unfit for service, and the company or companies whose apparatus shall be thus reported to be so depreciated in value or out of repair, shall permit the same to continue so for one calendar month, the said company or companies shall thereupon forfeit all the rights, privileges, and immunities, granted by this act; and it shall be the duty of the said inspector to communicate this fact to the adjutant of the regiment of the city in which such company or companies may belong.