OF DITCHES.

Annual

public places in the neighborhood five days at least before the meeting. The managers shall annually thereafter, in the same manner, call a meeting for the same purpose on the third Saturday in March. At all meetings the taxables shall meeting. be entitled to one vote for each dollar of tax paid by them Voting. respectively. Any person may vote by proxy in writing Proxy. under their hand and seal, attested by at least one witness. All matters may be acted upon which in the judgment of the Matters to company are necessary for the benefit of the company at any upon. annual or special meeting.

be acted

assessment.

sioners to

SECTION 7. The return made by the commissioners shall Basis of be the basis for any subsequent assessment that may be made by the managers for completing, cleansing, widening, deepening, or repairing such ditch, and for other necessary purposes, until the persons liable to be assessed and contribute as aforesaid shall, at an annual meeting, express by a majority of the votes cast in favor of a new valuation of benefits and New valua apportionment. If at any annual meeting the voters shall tion. determine as aforesaid, then the said meeting shall choose five commissioners, who shall be members of the company, Commis whose duty it shall be to make a new valuation of benefits, make new and a new estimate of the number of acres benefited, and valuation. the amount per acre, and may include other persons not then liable to assessment, if they or a majority of them are satisfied that such persons are benefited, and may exclude any person who at the time such new valuation is made if they or a majority of them are satisfied that such person or persons are not benefited by such ditch or straightening said branch. They shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful per- Sworn. formance of their duty. The proceedings shall be the same Proceedings as in the original proceedings, except the commissioners shall not fix the amount to be levied. The duties of said commissioners shall be complete when they shall file their To file proproceedings for record in the office of the Recorder of Deeds ceeding in in and for Kent county. Any new valuation of benefits and office. estimate of the number of acres and value of each acre shall be and form the basis for assessment until another valuation Basis of and estimate shall in like manner be authorized and made.

Recorder's

assessment.

SECTION 8. The managers shall proceed to make and Duty of open the ditch and make other improvements of said branch managers. designated by the said commissioners, and may cleanse, widen, deepen and repair the same when necessary, and shall have full power for that purpose. They shall keep regular

Accounts

OF DITCHES.

accounts of all expenditures and render the same to the company at their annual meeting, and said accounts shall be audited by two members of the company appointed at said meeting for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Payments managers and treasurer. All payments shall be made by how made. orders drawn by the managers on the treasurer. The treasTreasurer to urer shall provide a book in which he shall enter in detail all count of ex- moneys received and disbursed by him, and shall present at penditures. the annual meeting the book, with his vouchers, to be audited by the persons appointed for that purpose.

keep ac

Secretary.
Duties.

Duty of

SECTION 9. At each annual meeting there shall be appointed a secretary. A book shall be provided by the company, in which all the proceedings of the meetings of the company shall be kept and duly entered in said book, and all other matters which shall be ordered by the company to be entered therein.

SECTION IO. The treasurer shall collect all sums assessed Treasurer and levied, as hereinbefore provided, and shall have the same power as collectors of county rates, and the proceedings shall be the same as are provided by law for the collection of county taxes. He shall give bond to the company, in the name of Morgan's Branch Ditch Company," in double the amount of the taxes to be by him collected, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty and for the payment to his successor of any money due from him. He shall be entitled to retain five Compensa- per cent. of the amount received by him as his compen

Bond of
Treasurer.

tion.

Compensa

sation.

SECTION II.

Each commissioner and manager shall be tion of Com- allowed and shall be paid by the company one dollar for each day actually employed in the discharge of his duties.

missioners,

etc.

'Cost of

The Recorder shall be paid one cent for every ten words recording. he may record and two dollars for copying the plot. The Compensa Surveyor, if any shall be employed, shall receive two dollars tion of Sur- for each day's service on the premises and ten dollars for making plot and return.

veyor.

Obstruction of ditch, penalty.

SECTION 12. If any person shall stop or obstruct said ditchcut, or any improvement made under this act, he shall forfeit and pay to said company a sum not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars, and the managers or any member of the company may sue for and recover the same

OF DITCHES.

in the name of the company and for its benefit as debts of like amount are recoverable by law.

ditches.

SECTION 13. If any person taxed for cutting said ditch or Tributary straightening said branch shall be the owner of low grounds which cannot be drained without cutting a ditch or ditches through the lands of some other person or persons, or, if any person taxed as aforesaid shall be owner of lands through which the water of another person taxed as aforesaid shall pass or drain into the lands of another, any person interested may apply to the managers of said company, who shall go upon the lands of such persons, and, if in their judgment a ditch or ditches are necessary, shall lay out a ditch or ditches and shall fix the amount required to cut such ditch or ditches and the share or part each person benefited shall bear to cut, widen, deepen, cleanse or repair the same, and if either or any of such persons benefited shall refuse or neglect to cut his share or part within sixty days after the managers shall have made their report in writing to the parties benefited, the other or others or either of them may cut, cleanse, repair, widen or deepen the whole of such ditch or ditches, and the person or persons cutting, cleansing, widening, deepening or repairing said ditch or ditches may severally and respectively sue and recover from each or either of the person or persons neglecting or refusing respectively their share or part of the cost, expense, and labor, with ten per cent. additional, as like amounts are recoverable by law. In case a ditch or ditches shall be upon the dividing line between two or more Boundary persons, the same proceedings shall be applicable as is herein line ditches. provided in this section for cutting ditches through the lands of other persons.

call annual

corporation.

SECTION 14. In case of failure to call the annual meetings, Failure to or to do and perform any act or thing required by this act, meeting not the corporation created by this act shall not be dissolved, but to dissolve any three members of said company may call an annual meeting or special meeting, at which meeting all acts or things may be done that could have been done at any annual meeting called by the managers.

SECTION 15. This act shall be deemed and taken to be a public act and shall be published with the laws of this State, and the act as published shall be evidence in all matters and in all courts of law and equity in this State or elsewhere.

Passed at Dover, March 17, 1891.

OF DITCHES.

A&t

amended.

CHAPTER 140.

OF DITCHES.

AN ACT to amend the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Tomahawk
Branch Ditch Company" as revived and amended.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (twothirds of each branch concurring therein):

SECTION I. That the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Tomahawk Branch Ditch Company," passed at Dover, March 15, 1881, as re-enacted and amended by the act entitled "An act to revive and re-enact an act entitled 'An act to incorporate the Tomahawk Branch Ditch Company,' passed at Dover, February 6, 1883, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the word "July," wherever the same occurs in said act as revived and re-enacted, and inserting in lieu thereof the word "April."

Passed at Dover, April 8, 1891.

Preamble,

CHAPTER 141.

OF DITCHES.

AN ACT to provide aid to St. Georges Marsh Company in the maintenance of its dykes and embankments.

Whereas the storms of the past three years have so damaged the banks of said company that the marsh tax upon the owners has been more than equal to that paid for county. road, poor, school and poll taxes combined, seriously crippling the finances of said company, and making it a ques tion whether the banks can much longer be maintained and kept up by said company;

And whereas said dykes and embankments protect over four miles of causeway and at least six hundred feet of bridges, the former of which would go at least eight feet

OF DITCHES.

under water at ordinary high tide, said roads or causeways being highly improved throughout with an oyster shell piling, representing a very large outlay by the Levy Court of New Castle county, said roads being used by a large population, including the inhabitants of the towns of Deleware City, Port Penn, and the country districts adjacent thereto,

And whereas a failure to give such aid as is now asked by this act to the St. Augustine Company of St. Georges hundred has resulted in a loss to the county of New Castle of more than one hundred thousand dollars since 1861; therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met, as fol lows:

yearly ap

SECTION I. That the Levy Court of New Castle county Levy Court be and it is hereby authorized and empowered to make a to make yearly appropriation of five hundred dollars to the St. propriation. Georges Marsh Company, to be paid to the treasurer of said

company.

SECTION 2.

It shall be the duty of the treasurer of said St. Georges Marsh Company, preceding each of said payments, to file an affidavit with the said Levy Court setting forth that the said company has raised and expended a like sum of five hundred dollars upon said dykes and banks, otherwise said Levy Court shall not make any such appropriation as is provided for in Section 1st.

SECTION 3.

public act.

This act shall be deemed and taken to be a

Passed at Dover, March 26, 1891.

Affidavit of

Treasurer.