At what periods the same shall com mence, and end res pectively. Commencement of Former proceedings mas Term, 1824, declared legal. IN THE 6TH YEAR OF GEORGE IV. A. D. 1825-FIRST SESSION-NINTH PARLIAMENT. commence on the first Monday after the Twenty Fifth Day of December, and end on the Saturday of the ensuing Week; and the Term of Easter shali commence on the Monday next, after the Sixteenth Day of April, and end on the Saturday of the Week ensuing; and the Term of Trinity shali commence on the third Monday in the Month of June, and end on the Saturday of the Week ensuing; and the Term of Michaelmas shall commence on the first Monday of November, and end on the Saturday of the Week ensuing; and that the first and last Days of every Term, and every alternate Day from the first, not including Sunday, be Return Days. III.-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in this present Year the Term of Hilary shall commence on Monday the Seventeenth Day of January, and end on the Saturday of the Week ensuing, any Law to the contrary, in any wise, notwithstanding; and that any Writ, Process, Entry, or Proceeding, which hath been, or shall be, Issued, had, or made before the said Seventeenth Day of January, in which the Term of Hilary, during this present Year, or any Return Day thereof, is described and set forth otherwise than according to the provision in this clause contained, shall, nevertheless, be valid and effectual, and the commencement and end of such Term of Hilary, and other Return Day, therein mentioned, in any such Writ, Process, Entry, or Proceeding, shall, with respect to such Writ, Process, Entry, or Proceeding, and all subsequent proceeding thereon, be deemed and taken to be as it should and ought to have been, according to the periods in this clause, appointed for the commencement and duration of the said Term of Hilary. IV-And, whereas, doubts have been entertained with respect to the authority under which the Term of Michaelmas in the last Year was holden: Sitting of Michael Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Term of Michaelmas shall be held, and taken to have been legally begun, and holden, at, and for the period in and for which the said Term of Michaelmas was actually begun and holden, any Law to the contrary, in any wise, notwithstanding. CHAP. II. Preamble. AN ACT to repeal part of, and extend the Provisions of, an Act passed in the Fourth Year of His present Majesty's Reign. entitled "A Act to Incorporate certain Persons therein mentioned, under the Style and Title of the Welland Canal Company.” [Passed 15th April, 1825.] HEREAS, it is expedient to repeal part of, and amend, an Act passed during the last Session of the Parliament of this Province, epitied "An Act to Incorporate certain Persons therein mentioned, under the Style and Title of the Welland Canal Company ;" and to enable the Directors thereof to enlarge the dimensions of the said Canal, if they shall + 5 IN THE 6TH YEAR OF GEORGE IV. A. D. 1825-FIRST SESSION-NINTH PARLIAMENT. think proper: Be it therefore enacted, by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, and Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, entitled "An Act to repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the Fourteenth Year of His Majesty's Reign, entitled An Act for making more effectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, in North America, and to make further provision for the Government of the said Province;" and by the authority of the same, That the Twenty Fourth clause, the Thirty Seventh clause, and so much of the Twenty Fifth clause, of the said first mentioned Act, as declares the number of Shares shall not exceed Three Thousand, shall be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and that from and after the passing of this Act, the number of Shares to be held by the said Company, shall not exceed Sixteen Thousand, at Twelve Pounds Ten Shillings each. 4 Geo. 4 ch. 17. sec. 24, part of the 25th, and 37th repealed. Number of Shares extended to 16,000. Breadth of Canal, Towing paths, &c. yards, except in certain cases. not to exceed 60 vessels pass each and 100 yards where 11-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the passing of this Act, the Land and Ground to be taken and used for the said Cana. the Towing Paths, Ditches, Drains, and Fences, to separate any such Towing Fath from the adjoining Lands, shall not exceed Sixty Yards in breadth, except in such places where the said Cana! shall be raised higher, or cut above Five Feet deeper than the present surface of the land; and in such places where it may be judged necessary for Boats and other Vessels and Rafts to tern, lie, or pass each other, not more than One Hundred Yards in breadto, without the consent of the owner or owners of such Lands of Ground, respectively, under his. ber, or their, Hand and Scal, first had and obtained, any thing in the said first mentioned Act, to the contrary, notwithstanding. III --And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and Canal may be enmay be lawful for the President and Directors of the said Company, to laged for extend the dimensions of the said Canal for the purposes of Sloop Navigation, if they shall see fit so to do, any thing in the said first recited Act, to the contrary, notwithstanding. other. for sloop navigation. Company may construct Towing paths along the bank of the Welland river. near the mouth. IV And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for the said Company to construct a Track or Towing Path, from the Point where the Canal, from Lake Ontario, intersects the River Weland, to the Point where the Canal leaves the River Weiland for the Graad River, and from the Point where it intersects the Grand River, on the Cask thereof to Lake Erie ; Also, from the Point where the Canal, from The Grand Lake Ontario, intersects the River Welland, to the Mouth of said River on either Bank thereof, whichever the Company may find most convenient, and from thence to Fort Erie at the head of Niagara River; Provided always, nevertheless, that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to prevent any person or persons, whatever, from having and enjoying the use of the said Rivers, or either of them and of the Banks thereof, (subject to such regulations as may be made by the said Company, for the preservation -B river And along the Viagara river to Fort Erie. Proviso. Reservoirs may be line of the Canal. Seven directors to defined. 6 IN THE 6TH YEAR OF GEORGE IV. A. D. 1825-FIRST SESSION-NINTH PARLIAMENT. of the Towing Paths or Tracks aforesaid) for all purposes, as fully, freely and effectually, as if this Act had never been made. V-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the authority given to the said Company in the third clause of the said recited Act, to construct Reservoirs, shall be construed to authorise them to execute the said Reservoirs (in the manner pointed out) on the line of the Canal, if to the said Company it shall seem expedient. VI--And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of the Twenty Ninth clause of the said recited Act as requires the Election of Five Directors, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and that the said Company shall elect in manner, and at the times pointed out by the said Act, Seven Directors annually, (one of whom shall be President) to manage the affairs of the said Company. Vil-And, whereas, doubts may be hereafter entertained with respect. to the direction by which it was intended the said Canal should be conducted, in order to entitle the said Company to the privileges extended by the above recited Act, the same not having been otherwise declared in the said Act, than by reference to the Report of vir. Hiram Tibbet, Engineer: Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, and declared, That the route along which the said Canal shall be conducted, shall be as follows Line of the canal -That is to say, that part thereof which is to connect the River Welland with Lake Ontario, shall commence at John Brown's Farm on the siver Welland, in the Township of Thorold, passing down the Valley of the Twelve Mile Creek, and terminating in Lake Ontario, at the Mouth of the said Creek, such being the Route Surveyed and reported by Hiram Tibbet, Engineer, before the passing of the said Act, and referred to in the Nineteenth Section thereof; and that part thereof which is to connect the River Ouse, or Grand River, with the River Welland, shail commence at or near Broad Creek, on the Grand River, and terminate at or near Misiner's Mills, on the Forks of the River Welland: Provided always, nevertheless, That if within Three Months after the passing of this Act, any Stockholder in the said Company shall, by instrument in writing, executed in the presence of one or more witnesses, under their Hands and Seals, declare to the President and Directors of the said Company, that they would not, under the Provisions of this Act, have taken Shares in the said Canal, such Stockholder shall be considered no longer liable to pay his Subscription, or any part thereof; and upon repayment to him of such instalments as he may have paid, his Shares shall thenceforth be forfeited. Proviso, that former stock holders may scriptions within 3 Towing Path on rivers not to inter- VIII-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorise the said Company to construct such Track or Towing Path as herein mentioned, in any manner, to interfere with, or prejudice the Property of any Person or Persons, having Mills, store-houses, Wharves, or other Buildings, on the Banks of either of the said Rivers IX.-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall IN THE 6TH YEAR OF GEORGE IV. A. D. 1825-FIRST SESSION-NINTII PARLIAMET. and may be lawful for the Directors now chosen, to procure without delay a Survey to be made of the Harbour at the Mouth of the Grand River, on Lake Erie, and of the entrance into the Twelve Mile Creek from Lake Ontario, by an able and experienced Engineer, in order to ascertain whether secure & capacious Harbours can be constructed for Sloops and Schooners, intended to pass through the said Canal, at an expense which will not occasion the whole estimate to exceed the amount of Stock which the said Company are by this Act authorised to hold. X-Ande it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the whole amount of Stock now paid in, and remaining on hand, and such as shall hereafter be paid in upon the Subscription of the said Company, shall, from time to time, be deposited in the Bank of Upper Canada, and there placed to the credit of the Welland Canal Company, to be withdrawn only by order of a Board of Directors signed by the President or Vice President, and counter-signed by the Secretary of the Board for the time being. XI.-ind be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no part of the Funds of the said Company shall, at any time, be appropriated to any purpose unconnected with the making the said Canal, and the Navigation thereof, unless, upon specific estimates submitted to a General Meeting of the Stockholders, to be legally called and approved of by a Majority of the Stockholders, attending such Meeting, or by his, or their, Agent, or Agents, duly authorised to act in his or their behalf. Xii-And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That at, and after, the next General Election of Directors, no Person shall be eligible to be a Director of the said Company, who shall not be a Stockholder in the said Company to the amount of Twenty Shares, any thing in the Twenty Ninth clause of the said Act, passed in the Fourth Year of His Majesty's Reign, to the contrary, notwithstanding. Xud be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Honorabie James Irvine, and Simon M'Gillivray, Esquire, in addition to the Five Directors already elected, shall constitute the Directors of the said Company till the next General Election, any thing in the Twenty Ninth clause of the said recited Act, to the contrary, notwithstanding. Company to calise the mouths of the surveyed, and to as structed there, Funds of the Com- ted with the Upper Funds of the Com- propriated to purpo Canal without the Stockholders. Directors Future the amount of 20 The Hon. J. Irvine, Esq. appointed Di XIV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the holder Ratio of voting, of Five Shares shall be entitled to One Vote; the holder of Twenty Shares to Two Votes; the holder of Fifty Shares, Three Votes, and the holders of One Hundred Shares and upwards, Four Votes, at all general Meetings of the Stockholders. XV. And be it further enacted by the authority foresaid, That at any time after Fifty Years, after the making and completing of the said Canal, His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, may assume the Possession and Property of the same, and of all and every the Works and Dependencies thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining, upon paying to the said Company, for the use of the Stockholders thereof, the full amount of their respective Shares, or of the Sums furnished and advanced by each Sub H. M. Government under certain Regu کافی After the Govern ment assume the Canal, Account of Toll and profits to be laid annually before the Legisla ture. and to be accounted Commissioners of for thro' the Lords His Majesty's Trea sury. IN THE 6TH YEAR OF GEORGE IV. A. D. 1825-FIRST SESSION-NINTH PARLIAMENT. scriber towards the making, and completing, the said Canal, together with such further Sum as will amount to Twenty Five Per Cent upon the onies so advanced and paid, as a full indemnification to such Company; and the said Canal shall. from the time of such assumption in manner aforesaid, appertain and belong to His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, who shall from thenceforth be substituted in the place or stead of the said Company, for all and every the purposes of this Act, in so far as regards the said Canal: Provided. also, That it shall not be lawful for His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, at any time after the expiration of the said Fifty Years, to assume the said Canal as aforesaid, unless it shall appear from the accounts of the said Company laid before the Legislature, that the Stockholders of the said Company shall have received every Year upon an average, the Sum of Twelve and a Half Per Cent for every Hundred Pounds, they shall be possessed of in the said concern. XVIAnd be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if at any time after the passing of this Act, the said Canal shall be assumed by His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, as aforesaid, an account of the Toll and of all other Profits or Proceeds arising from the said Canal, and the property thereunto appertaining, shall be annually laid before the Provincial Legislature, and the Annual Amount thereof paid into the hands of this Majesty's Receiver General in this Province, as part of the Revenue thereof, and shall be accounted for to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, through the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury for the time beng, in such manner and form as His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, shall be graciously pleased to direct. Preamble. CHAP. III. AN ACT to make good certain Monies advanced by His Majesty, pursuant to the Address of the House of Assembly at the last Session of Parliament, to Ilis Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. [Passed 13th April, 1825.] MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN, HEREAS, in pursuance of an Address of Your Commons House of Assembly, during its last Session, to His Excellency Sir Peregrine Mailand, Lieutenant Governor of Your Province of Upper Canada, the Sum of Two Thousand and Sixteen Pounds Nine Shilings and Four-pence, has been Issued, and advanced, by Your Majesty, through Your Lieutenant Governor,, to the Clerks, and other Officers, of the Two Houses of Parliament, to enable them to pay the contingent expenses of the last Session of the Provincial Legislature: May it, therefore, please Your Majesty, that it may enacted, And be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Coupe i, and Assembly, of the Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of |