class. lands and woodlands for park purposes. No. 227. AN ACT Authorizing commissioners of public parks within cities of the first class of this Commonwealth, to purchase, acquire, enter upon, take, use and appropriate farmlands and woodlands adjoining any public park within said cities, for park purposes, wherever in their opinion such lands shall be necessary for the improvement of said parks, and providing that the total acreage of land so taken shall not exceed one thousand acres. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be lawful Cities of the first for, and the right is hereby conferred upon, commissioners of public parks within cities of the first class Acquiring of farm of this Commonwealth, to purchase, acquire, enter upon, take, use and appropriate, for public park purposes, farmlands and woodlands adjoining and bounding land now used for park purposes within the corporate limits of said cities of the first class, in which the park or parks are located, where in the opinion of said commissioners the said land shall be necessary for the improvement of the said parks: Provided, however, That the total acreage of all lands so taken in pursuance of this act shall not exceed one thousand Proviso. Procedure. acres. Section 2. In exercising the power aforesaid, all proceedings for ascertaining damages, and assessing the benefits incident thereto, shall be in accordance with the law authorizing cities of this Commonwealth to acquire, by purchase or otherwise, private property for public park purposes. Approved-The 24th day of April, A. D. 1903. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. Department of Internal Affairs. Salaries. Deputy Secretary. Chief clerk. No. 228. AN ACT To fix the number and salaries of officers, clerks and employes in the Department of Internal Affairs. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the number and salaries of the officers, clerks and employes, in the Department of Internal Affairs, which the Secretary of Internal Affairs is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint, shall be as follows: One Deputy Secretary of Internal Affairs, at a salary of three thousand dollars per annum, who shall also be Superintendent of the Bureau of Railways. One chief clerk, at a salary of eighteen hundred dollars per annum. One stenographer, at a salary of one thousand dol- Stenographer. lars per annum. One messenger at a salary of twelve hundred dollars Messenger. per annum. One watchman, at a salary of nine hundred dollars Watchman. per annum. Bureau of Industrial Statistics. One Chief of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics, at Chief of Bureau. a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. One assistant, at a salary of sixteen hundred dollars Assistant chief. per annum. Two collectors of statistics, each at a salary of fif- Collectors, teen hundred dollars per annum. One stenographer, at a salary of one thousand dol- Stenographer. lars per annum. Bureau of Railways. intendent. One Assistant Superintendent of the Bureau of Assistant SuperRailways, at a salary of seventeen hundred dollars per annum. Three clerks, each at a salary of fourteen hundred Clerks. dollars per annum. One stenographer, at a salary of one thousand dol- Stenographer. lars per annum. Bureau of Mines. One Chief of the Bureau of Mines, at a salary of Chief of Bureau. three thousand dollars per annum. One assistant, at a salary of sixteen hundred dollars Assistant Chief. per annum, providing the Bureau of Mines shall remain a bureau in the Department of Internal Affairs. Land Office Bureau. One chief draftsman and surveyor, at a salary of two thousand dollars per annum. Chief draftsman. Four draftsmen, each at a salary of sixteen hundred Draftsmen. dollars per annum. Eight other clerks, each at a salary of fourteen hun- Clerks. dred dollars per annum. Bureau of Assessments and Taxes. Two clerks, each at a salary of fourteen hundred clerks. dollars per annum. All clerks and employes herein provided for shall be subject to such changes in their employment, from one bureau to another, as the exigencies of the public service may demand. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act be and the same are hereby Repeal. repealed. Approved-The 24th day of April, A. D. 1903. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. Section 154, act of ment No. 229. AN ACT To amend section one hundred and fifty-four of the act of March twenty-one, one thousand eight hundred and sixty, entitled "An act to consolidate, revise and amend the penal laws of this Commonwealth." Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section one hundred and fifty-four of the act of Assembly, approved March twenty-one, one thousand eight hundred and sixty, entitled "An act to consolidate, revise and amend the penal laws of this Commonwealth," which reads as follows: "Every person who shall wilfully and maliciously cited for amend kill, maim or disfigure any horses, cattle, or other domestic animals of another person, or shall wilfully and maliciously administer poison to any such beasts, or expose any poisonous substance, with the intent that the same should be taken or swallowed by them, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and being thereof convicted, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and to undergo an imprisonment, by separate or solitary confinement at labor, not exceeding three years," be amended so as to read as follows: Killing, maiming, wounding 01 poisoning of horses, cattle, dogs, etc. Misdemeanor. Every person who shall wilfully and maliciously kill, maim or disfigure any horse, cattle, dog, or other domestic animals of another person; who shall wilfully and maliciously administer poison to any such beasts, or expose any poisonous substance with the intent that the same shall be taken or swallowed by them, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and being thereof convicted, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not Fine and penalty. exceeding five hundred dollars, or to undergo an imprisonment, by separate or solitary confinement at labor, not exceeding three years, or either, or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the killing of any animal taken or found in the act of actually destroying any other domestic animal. Proviso. Approved-The 24th day of April, A. D. 1903. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. No. 230. AN ACT To amend section fifteenth of the act, entitled "An act defining the rights and liabilities of parties to, and regulating the effect of, contracts for work and labor to be done, and labor or materials to be furnished, to any building, bridge, wharf, dock, pier, bulkhead, vault, subway, tramway, tollroad, conduit, tunnel, mine, coal-breaker, flume, pump, screen, tank, derrick, pipeline, aqueduct, reservoir, viaduct, telegraph, telephone, railway or railroad line; canal, millrace; works for supplying water, heat, light, power, cold air, or any other substance furnished to the public; well for the production of gas, oil, or other volatile or mineral substance; or other structure or improvement, of whatsoever kind or character the same may be; providing remedies for the recovery of debts due by reason of such contracts, and repealing, consolidating and extending existing laws in relation thereto," approved the fourteenth day of June, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred and one. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the fifteenth section of the act, entitled "An act defining the rights and liabilities of parties to, and regulating the effect of, contracts for work and labor to be done, and labor or materials to be furnished, to any building, bridge, wharf, dock, pier, bulkhead, vault, subway, tramway, toll-road, conduit, tunnel, mine, coal-breaker, flume, pump, screen, tank, derrick, pipe-line, aqueduct, reservoir, viaduct; telegraph, telephone, railway or railroad line; canal, mill-race; works for supplying water, heat, light, power, cold air, or any other substance furnished to the public; well for the production of gas, oil or other volatile or mineral substance; or other structure or improvement, of whatsoever kind or character the same may be; providing remedies for the recovery of debts due by reason of such contracts, and repealing, consolidating and extending existing laws in relation thereto," approved the fourteenth day of June, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred and one, which reads: "The right to file a claim may be waived by agree. ment between the claimant and the party with whom he contracts, or by any conduct which operates to equitably estop the claimant. If the legal effect of the contract between the owner and the contractor is, that no claim shall be filed by anyone, such provision shall be binding; but the only admissible evidence thereof, as against a sub-contractor, shall be proof of actual notice thereof to him, before any labor or materials furnished by him; or proof that a duly written and signed contract to that effect has been filed in the office of the prothonotary of the court of common pleas of the county or counties where the structure or other improvement is situate, prior to the commencement of the work upon the ground, or within ten days after the execution of the principal contract, or not less than ten days prior to the con Waiver of right to file claim. Legal effect of contract. Admissible evidence. Duty of prothonotary. Release. tract with the claimant. The only admissible evidence that such a provision has, notwithstanding its filing, been waived in favor of the claimant, shall be a written agreement to that effect, signed by all those who, under the contract, are interested antagonistically to the claimant's allegation. The giving of credit or the receiving of collateral security shall not operate to waive the right to file a claim, but shall delay voluntary proceedings thereon by the claimant until the time of credit shall have expired. A release signed by the claimant shall not operate as a waiver of the right to file a claim for labor or materials subsequently furnished, unless it shall appear thereby that such was the express intent of the party signing the same, but such release shall be so construed as to fully carry out that intent," be and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows: The right to file a claim may be waived by agreement between the claimant and the party with whom he contracts, or by any conduct which operates to equitably estop the claimant. If the legal effect of the contract between the owner and the contractor is, that no claim shall be filed by anyone, such provision shall be binding; but the only admissible evidence thereof, as against a sub-contractor, shall be proof of actual notice thereof to him, before any labor or materials furnished by him; or proof that a duly written and signed contract to that effect has been filed in the office of the prothonotary of the court of common pleas of the county or counties where the structure or other improvement is situate, prior to the commencement of the work upon the ground, or within ten days after the execution of the principal contract, or not less than ten days prior to the contract with the claimant; and the prothonotary shall index the same, making the contractor the defendant and the owner the plaintiff. The only admissible evidence that such a provision has, notwithstanding its filing, been waived in favor of the claimant, shall be a written agreement to that effect, signed by all those who, under the contract, are interested antagonistically to the claimant's allegation. The giving of credit or the receiving of collateral security shall not operate to waive the right to file a claim, but shall delay voluntary proceedings thereon by the claimant until the time of credit shall have expired. A release signed by the claimant shall not operate as a waiver of the right to file a claim for labor or materials subsequently furnished, unless it shall appear thereby that such was the express intent of the party signing the same, but such release shall be so construed as to fully carry out that intent. Approved-The 24th day of April, A. D. 1903. |