paid for said lands as the case may be; and it shall be the duty of said appraisers (after having taken an oath or affirmation faithfully and impartially to discharge the trusts herein reposed in them, and after having carefully viewed the premises), within twenty days after their appointment, to deliver to said water commissioners a written appraisement, under the hands and seals of them, or a majority of them, of the award they have made, containing a full description of the lands, required as aforesaid, which appraisement the said water commissioners shall cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds for the said county; and upon payment or tender, by the said water commissioners to such owner or owners as aforesaid, or some one of them, of the sum awarded in such appraisement, if any, then the said water commissioners shall have power to enter upon and take possession of the said lands for the purposes aforesaid, and the said town shall be deemed seized in fee simple of the lands required for

the erection of the said reservoirs or other works as aforesaid; and in case any owner or owners of such lands shall be feme covert, under age, non compos mentis, or out of the state, then and in that case it shall be sufficient for said water commissioners to pay the amount which may have been appraised as aforesaid, into the court of chancery of this state, subject to the order of said court, for the use of the party or parties entitled to the same; the costs of all which proceedings shall be taxed by the said justice of the supreme court, and paid by the said water commissioners.

5. And be it enacted, That in case the commissioners or the Proceedings in case of appeal. owner or owners of the said land shall be dissatisfied with the award of the appraisers named in the preceding section, and shall apply to the justices of the supreme court at the next term after filing of the said award, the court shall have power, upon good cause shown, to set the same aside, and thereupon to direct a proper issue for the trial of the said controversy to be formed between the said parties, and to order a jury to be struck, and a view of the premises to be had, and the said issue to be tried at the next circuit court to be holden in said county, upon the like notice and in the same manner as other issues in the said court are tried; and it shall be the duty of the said

May enter upon lands to make

necessary repairs.

Proviso.

Work and material to be

tract when

expenditure

exceeds two

hundred

dollars.

jury to assess the value of the said land or damages sustained, and if they shall find a greater sum than the said appraisers shall have awarded in favor of the said owner or owners, then judgment therefor, with costs, shall be entered against said commissioners, and execution awarded therefor; but if the said jury shall be applied for by the said owner or owners, and shall find the same or a less sum than the commissioners shall have offered or the said appraisers awarded, then the said costs to be paid by said applicant or applicants, and either deducted out of the said sum found by the said jury, or execution awarded therefor, as the court shall direct; but such application shall not prevent the commissioners from taking or laying pipes through said lands upon the award of the appraisers, the value or damages being first paid, or upon a refusal to rereceive the same, upon a tender thereof, or the owner or owners thereof being under any legal disability, the same being first paid into the court of chancery.

6. And be it enacted, That whenever it shall become necessary to make any repairs or alterations in any pipes, which may have been laid through any private lands, either by virtue of the preceding section, or by agreement with the owner or owners thereof, it shall be lawful for the said water commissioners, with their workmen and agents, and with necessary vehicles, tools and implements, to enter upon said lands, and make the necessary repairs and alterations, doing no unnecesssary damage; provided always, that nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to protect the said water commissioners, or their workmen or agents, from any action that may be brought against them, individually, by the owner or owners of said lands, for any damage which they may have wilfully or unnecessarily done.

7. And be it enacted, That the work and materials, which procured by con- the said water commissioners are hereinbefore authorized to procure, shall be obtained by contract, whenever the expenditure for any particular work and material shall exceed two hundred dollars, and that notice shall be given by said water commissioners by public advertisement, so that ample time may be given for the reception of proposals therefor; in any advertisement, the proposals invited shall be set forth with as much precision as possi

lowest bidder

bond.

ble, and it shall be distinctly stated in such advertisement, that no extra allowance above the contract price agreed upon will be made under any pretext whatsoever; each contract shall, in all cases, be awarded to the lowest To be awarded to bidder therefor, who shall give bond, with ample security, who shall give for the faithful performance of the contract; all such bonds shall be executed to the town in its corporate name, and deposited for safe keeping with the clerk of said town, and no extra allowances shall be made by said water commissioners to any contractor or contractors; all contracts involving a greater amount than two hundred dollars, and all contractors' bonds, shall be presented to and approved of by the governing power of said town, before said contract shall take effect.

When work

missioners

furnish water,

8. And be it enacted, That when said works shall have been sufficiently completed, the said water commissioners completed com shall have authority to furnish water to individuals, and authorized to to establish such general rates of price and time of pay- &c. ment thereof as they may deem proper, and to prescribe such rules, regulations, conditions and restrictions as to the use of water, as may, in their opinion, be necessary to prevent abuse; the said water commissioners shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to stop off the water from any premises, the owner or occupants of which shall have neglected to pay such price, at the time specified for the payment thereof, or shall have violated or permitted the violation of any of said rules, regulations, conditions, or restrictions; and whenever the said water commissioners shall have caused the water to be stopped off from any premises, for either of the causes aforesaid, they shall not permit the same to be restored until the applicant for such restoration shall have paid all arrearages of water rent, together with the expenses incurred in stopping off the water; or in case said water shall have been stopped off by reason of any violation of the rules aforesaid, then they shall not permit the same to be restored until the expense of stopping off the same shall have been paid by the applicant for such restoration, and such applicant shall have given satisfactory security or assurance that such violation shall not again occur.

9. And be it enacted, That the rents for the use of the water rents to be water which said water commissioners may supply as afore- alien.

Proper persons may be employ ed to manage works, &c.

Proviso.

Duty of commissioners to erect hydrants.

Penalty for injury to works or property.

said, shall draw interest from the time they become due, and shall be and remain, until paid, a lien upon the premises to which the same may be conducted and supplied; and said water commissioners shall have similar remedies for the collection of said rents, with interest and costs, as the said town has by law for collecting the expense of paving sidewalks in front of lots required to be paved in said town, which remedies it shall be the duty of said water commissioners to enforce in all cases where the water rents shall be more than two years in arrear.

10. And be it enacted, That the said water commissioners shall have power to employ proper persons in the management of the works aforesaid, and in the collection of the said water rents, upon such terms as they may deem reasonable; provided, that no regular salaries or commissions shall be allowed or paid by said water commissioners, without having been first by them submitted to and approved of by the board of commissioners or other governing power of said town.

11. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of said water commissioners to erect hydrants in the public streets of said town through which pipes for the supply of water shall have been laid, in such number and locations as the board of commissioners or other governing power of said town may from time to time direct, and to supply the same with water from the aforesaid works.

12. And be it enacted, That if any person or persons shall wilfully do, or cause to be done, any act whatsoever whereby the said works, or any pipes, conduit, canal, plug, hydrant, cock, tank, cistern, reservoir, or any other thing appertaining to the same shall be stopped, obstructed or injured, the person or persons so offending shall, upon conviction thereof before a justice of the peace, forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars, with cost; which sum shall be collected in the same manner as is provided in the charter of such town for the collection of fines, and shall be paid over to said water commissioners. 13. And be it enacted, That if any person or persons polluting water shall wilfully pollute or adulterate the waters in any reservoir erected under the provisions of this act, any person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine, not

Penalty for

in any reservoir.

exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor, not exceeding three years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had.

when due.

14. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the May issue bonds. board of commissioners or other governing power of such town from time to time, at the request of the said water commissioners, to issue the bonds of said town for an amount not exceeding in the whole the sum of sixty thousand dollars; these bonds shall bear a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually, Rates of interest, the principal thereof to be payable in thirty years from the date thereof, or sooner, at the option of the said town; it shall be the duty of the treasurer of said town Treasurer to to make sale of the bonds so issued as aforesaid, at not bonds. less than their par value, and to pay the proceeds of said Proceeds, how sales to said water commissioners, to be by them appropriated to the discharge of the duties imposed upon them by this act; the loan hereby authorized shall be called the water loan of said town.

make sale of

applied.

Bonds not liable

applied.

15. And be it enacted, That the bonds issued under the provisions of this act shall not be liable to any tax which to tax. may hereafter be levied by order of the said town. 16. And be it enacted, That such portion of the moneys Money's for water received from the water rents or prices paid for the use of rents, how water, and interest on arrears of water rents, as may remain after paying all expenses for constructing and maintaining the works and raising and distributing the water, and salaries, wages and incidental expenses and charges, shall be applied first to the payment of the interest upon the debt created for the construction of the works, and next to the purchase of the bonds issued therefor, if the. same can be obtained at reasonable rates, or if that cannot be effected, then to be safely invested by commissioners of the sinking fund of the said town, if any there be, and if none, then by the said governing body, and allowed to remain as a sinking fund, to be applied to the payment of the bonds at maturity.

case receipts are

17. And be it enacted, That the said board of water Proceedings in commissioners shall, on or before a certain day in each less than year, to be fixed by said town, cause a careful estimate to be made of the interest on the water debt and cost of

expenditures.