Page images
PDF
EPUB

CHAP. L.

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to secure liens to mechanics and others, and to repeal all other acts in relation thereto", approved March second, eighteen hundred and seventy-five. (Approved February 24, 1877; Sess. Laws, 1877, p. 90.)

SECTION 1. Where ore is delivered to a custom-mill or reduction-works, and either sold to said mill or reductionworks or worked at a percentage, the party or parties so furnishing ore to mill or reduction-works shall have a preferred lien upon the bullion product, and upon the ore not reduced, as against attachment and other creditors.

CHAP. L.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to protect the rights of owners of stock shares and other interests in the mineral and metal yielding mines of this state", approved February twenty-first, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven. (Approved March 1, 1879; Sess. Laws, 1879, p. 57.)

SECTION 1. Section one of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 1. Any person who shall be the bona fide owner of stock shares representing the value of one-fifth of one per cent. of the original capital stock of any company incorporated for the purpose of working upon and mining in any lode, ledge, deposit, or bed of the precious metals or useful minerals in this state, and any number of persons who shall be the bona fide owners of an aggregate number of mining shares amounting in value to one-fifth of one per cent. of said capital stock, at the time application for a permit to examine any such mine shall be made, such owner or owners of mining stock shall, upon a written order from the county clerk, or from the justice of the peace of the county in which such lode, ledge, deposit, or bed is located, be entitled to the privilege of fully examining all of the shafts, adits, borings, drifts, stopes, hoisting apparatus, and every and all properties and appurtenances belonging to any such mining company: Provided, That not more than one owner of said percentage or aggregate percentages of such mining stock shall, either in person or by an accredited agent, be entitled to such written order for examination of any specified mine or mining property oftener than twice in one month; these days shall, however, not be more than fourteen nor less than fifteen days apart. It shall be the duty of the superintendent or other person or parties in charge of any incorporated mining-claim or mining property in this state to keep posted in some conspicuous place at or near the mine the day of the week in which authorized stockholders may be admitted under the provisions of this act".

SEC. 2. Section three of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. Upon making application, as provided in section two of this act, for the privilege of entering and examining any of the mining properties mentioned in section one of this act, the applicant shall present to the county clerk or justice of the peace certificates of stock shares representing in value one-fifth of one per cent. of the original capital stock of the company whose mine or mining property he or she desires to examine. Thereupon the applicant shall make oath or affirmation that the said stock certificate or stock certificates presented by him or her are actually his or her own property, or that such certificates of stock at the time of presentation really belong to the party or parties whom he or she is, under the provisions of section one of said act, authorized to represent". SEC. 3. Section four of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. Immediately upon complying with the provisions of section three of this act it shall be the duty of the county clerk or justice of the peace to furnish the applicant with a written order for admission to the mine and mining properties which he or she may desire to examine”.

SEC. 4. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

CHAP. LX.

AN ACT to encourage the collection of geological, paleontological, and mineral specimens in this state. (Approved March 5, 1879; Sess. Laws, 1879, p. 64.)

SECTION 1. Any person who shall be the bona fide owner of a collection or cabinet of metal-bearing ores, geological specimens, art curiosities, or paleontological remains, and who shall properly arrange, classify, number, and catalogue in a suitable book or books of reference any such collection of ores, specimens, curiosities, or remains, whether the same shall be kept at a private residence, or in a public hall, or in a place of public business or traffic, the said bona fide owner of such collection shall be entitled to hold the same exempt from execution as other property is exempted from execution under the provisions of section two hundred and twenty-one of an act entitled "An act to regulate proceedings in civil cases in the courts of justice of this state, and to repeal all other acts in relation thereto ", approved March eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine.

SEC. 2. Nothing in section one of this act shall be construed so as to exempt from execution any numismatic collection, such as gold or silver coins, paper currency, bank notes, legal-tender currency, national or state bonds, or any negotiable note, or valuable copper, bronze, nickel, platinum, or other coin whatsoever.

SEC. 3. It is hereby made the duty of the owner of any such collection or cabinet, as described in section one of this act, to keep constantly at or near such collections or cabinet, for the free inspection of all visitors who may desire to examine the same, either written or printed catalogues, as provided in section one of this act; and any person owning such collection or cabinet who shall fail or neglect to comply with the provisions of this section of this act shall forfeit all right to hold such collections or cabinet as exempt from legal execution as provided in section one of this act.

CHAP. CVII.

AN ACT to amend section four of an act entitled "An act to provide revenue for the support of the government of the state of Nevada", approved March ninth, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, approved March fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven. (Approved March 8, 1879; Sess. Laws, 1879, p. 110.)

SECTION 1. Section four of the above-entitled act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. All property of every kind and nature whatsoever within this state shall be subject to taxation, except: First. All lands or other property owned by the state or by the United States. Second. Third. **

Fourth. Mines and mining-claims: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to exempt from taxation possessory claims to the public lands of the United States or of this state, or the proceeds of the mines: And provided further, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to interfere with the primary title to the lands belonging to the United States: And provided further, That all property shall be taxed at its cash value at the time of making such assessments".

SEC. 2. All acts and parts of acts, in so far as they conflict with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.

CHAP. LXXII.

AN ACT to provide for the better preservation of the mining records in certain mining districts in this state. (Approved March 6, 1879; Sess. Laws, 1879, p. 80.)

SECTION 1. In every mining district in this state in which the seat of government of any county is situated the county recorder of said county shall be ex-officio district mining recorder, subject in the discharge of his du ties to such rules, regulations, and compensation as may be now in force or hereafter prescribed by the mining laws of the mining districts, respectively, to which this act is applicable. He shall, as such ex-officio mining recorder, be responsible on his official bond for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the correct and safe keeping of all the records thereof.

SEC. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of August, A. D. 1880.
NOTE. This act was amended by act approved February 10, 1881 (Sess. Laws, 1881, p. 33).

CHAP. XXV.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide for the formation of corporations for certain purposes "", approved March 10, 1865, approved February 17, 1875. (Approved February 11, 1881; Sess. Laws, 1881. p. 34.)

SECTION 1. Section one of said act of which this act is amendatory is hereby amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 1. The corporate powers of the corporation shall be exercised by a board of not less than three trustees, who shall be stockholders in the company, who shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, respectively take and subscribe to an oath, as prescribed by the laws of this state, and who shall, after the expiration of the term of the trustees first elected, be annually elected by the stockholders, at such times and place within the state, and upon such notice, and in such manner as shall be directed by the by-laws of the company; but all elections shall be by ballot, and every stockholder shall have the right to vote, in person or by proxy, the number of shares owned by him for as many persons as there are trustees to be elected, or to cumulate said shares and give one candidate as many votes as the number of trustees multiplied by the number of his shares of stock shall equal, or to distribute them on the same principle among as many candidates as he shall think fit; and such trustees shall not be elected in any other manner; and the person or persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall be trustee or trustees. Whenever any vacancy shall happen among the trustees by death, resignation, or otherwise, except by removal and the election of his successor, as herein provided, it shall be filled by appointment of the board of trustees. On petition of the stockholders holding a majority of the stock actually issued by any corporation formed under this act, to the district judge of the district where said corporation has its actual place of business, verified by the signers, to the effect that they are severally the holders of to the number of shares set opposite their signatures to the foregoing petition, the district judge shall issue his notice to the stockholders of said company that a meeting of the stockholders will be held at the court-room of the district court, in the county in which is said principal

place of business, stating the time, not less than five nor more than ten days after the first publication of said notice, and the object to be taken into consideration, the removal of officers of said company; which notice, signed by the said district judge, shall be published daily in a daily newspaper published in said county for at least five days before the time for the meeting, or if there be no daily newspaper published in said county, then in such manner as the district judge shall direct. At the time appointed by said notice the said district judge shall appoint a secretary of the meeting, and shall thereupon hear the proofs of those claiming to be stockholders in said corporation; and only those showing a right to vote, or their proxies, shall take part in the further proceedings. Said judge shall decide who are entitled to vote, in a summary way, and his decision shall be final. If it appears at the time appointed, or within one hour thereafter, holders of less than one-half the whole number of shares actually issued, or their proxies, are present, the meeting shall be dissolved; but if the holders of more than one-half the shares actually issued, or their proxies, are present, they shall proceed to vote, the secretary calling the roll, which he shall prepare by setting down the names of persons held to be entitled to vote, and the number of shares held by each, and such persons voting yea or nay, as the case may be. The secretary shall enter the same upon his list, and when he has added up the list and stated the result, he shall sign the same and hand it to the judge, who shall declare the result. If the result of the vote is that the holders of a majority of all the shares of the company actually issued, or their proxies, are in favor of the removal of one or more of the officers of the company, the meeting shall then proceed to ballot for officers to supply the vacancies thus created. Tellers shall be appointed by the judge, who shall collect the ballots and deliver them to the secretary, who shall count the same in open session, and having stated the result of the count in writing, shall sign the same and hand it to the judge, who shall announce the result to the meeting. The judge shall thereupon issue to each person chosen a certificate stating that from the date of such meeting until the next annual election, unless removed under the provisions hereof, he is entitled to exercise and fill the office to which he is chosen; and shall indorse upon or annex to said petition a report of the proceedings of said meeting, and an order requiring that all books, papers, and all property and effects of said corporation be immediately delivered to the officers elect, and shall sign the same and file it with the clerk of his court; and thereafter any disobedience to said order may be punished as other contempts of court, and obedience thereto may be enforced by the court of said district. The district judge shall preside at said meeting, and put to vote such proper motions as he may be requested to submit to the meeting. In deciding any controverted question that may arise he shall have the power to administer oaths and take testimony, either orally or by ex-parte affidavits. For all the services in these proceedings the county clerk shall receive twenty dollars". SEC. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

CHAP. XXXVI.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to secure liens to mechanics and others, and repeal all other acts in relation thereto", approved March 2, 1875. (Approved February 23, 1881; Sess. Laws, 1881, p. 49.)

SECTION 1. Section one of an act entitled "An act to secure liens to mechanics and others, and to repeal all other acts in relation thereto", approved March the 2d, 1875, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 1. Every person performing labor upon, or furnishing material of the value of five (5) dollars or more to be used in, the construction, alteration, or repair of any building or other superstructure, railroad, tramway, tollroad, canal, water-ditch, flume, aqueduct, or reservoir, building, bridge, fence, or any other structure, has a lien upon the same for the work or labor done or material furnished by each, respectively, whether done or furnished. at the instance of the owner of the building or other improvement, or his agent; and all miners, laborers, and others whose work or labor to the amount of five (5) dollars or more in or upon any mine, or upon any shaft, tunnel, adit, or other excavation designed or used for the purpose of prospecting, draining, or working any such mine, and all persons who shall furnish any timber or other material of the value of five (5) dollars or more to be used in or about any such mine, whether done or furnished at the instance of the owner of such mine or his agent, shall have, and may each respectively claim and hold, a lien upon such mine for the amount and value of the work or labor so performed or material furnished; and every contractor, subcontractor, architect, builder, or other persons having charge or control of any mining-claim, or any part thereof, or of the construction, alteration, or repair, either in whole or in part, of any building or other improvement, as aforesaid, shall be held to be the agent of the owner for the purposes of this chapter".

SEC. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.

CHAP. XXIII.

AN ACT amendatory of and supplemental to an act entitled "An act to provide for the better preservation of the mining records in eertain districts in this state", approved March 6, 1879. (Approved February 10, 1881; Sess. Laws, 1881, p. 33.)

SECTION 1. Section one of the above-entitled act is hereby amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 1. In every mining district in this state in which the seat of government of any county is situated the

county recorder of said county shall be ex-officio district mining recorder, subject in the discharge of his duties to such rules, regulations, and compensations as may be now in force or hereafter prescribed by the mining laws of the mining districts respectively to which this act is applicable. He shall, as such ex-officio mining recorder, be responsible on his official bond for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the correct and safe keeping of all the records thereof, and the correct and safe keeping of the copies of all the records mentioned and referred to in section two of this act".

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of each and every mining recorder of the several mining districts in the state, on or before the first Monday in January, April, July, and October in each year, to transcribe into a suitable book or books, to be provided for that purpose, and to deposit and file with the county recorders of the respective counties in which said mining districts may be located a full, true, and correct copy of the mining records of the respective mining districts for the three months next preceding said first Mondays in January, April, July, and October, duly certified under oath: Provided, This section shall not apply to the mining recorder created by section one of this act.

SEC. 3. There shall be provided by the county commissioners of the several counties in this state, and furnished to each mining recorder, on his application, suitable books, into which the mining records mentioned in section two of this act shall be transcribed.

SEC. 4. The several mining recorders shall receive, for services herein required by section two of this act, one dollar for the transcript of each claim, including the oath, which shall be paid at the time of recording by the parties making the locations.

SEC. 5. The certified copies of the mining records, certified to be deposited and filed as herein provided, shall be received in evidence and have the same force and effect in all courts as the original.

SEC. 6. Any person neglecting or refusing to comply with the provisions of section two of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and prisonment.

SEC. 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of April, A. D. 1881.
NOTE.-The act of March 6, 1879, hereby amended, is in Stats. 1879, p. 80.

[ocr errors]

NEW MEXICO.

SESSION LAWS OF 1871-72.

, CHAP. XXXV.

AN ACT to amend certain acts concerning mining-claims in the territory of New Mexico. (Approved February 1, 1872, p. 52.) SECTION 1. That section one of the act approved January 18, 1865, entitled "An act concerning mining-claims", be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to read as follows, to wit: "That every discoverer of a lode, ledge, or vein of gold-bearing quartz, or of a lode, crevice, or deposit of silver, cinnabar, copper, lead, coal, or any other ore, or the same mixed with other metals or ores, shall have the privilege of locating and holding as against all persons and powers, except the United States, two claims, of two hundred feet each, or four hundred feet of the length of such lode, ledge, vein, deposit, or crevice, horizontal measurement, of its entire width, including all its dips, openings, spurs, angles, and variations, with a right to follow such vein to any depth, together with a reasonable quantity of surface for the convenient working of the same".

SEC. 2. That section second of the said act approved January 18, 1865, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to read as follows, to wit: "That all other persons who are or shall be capable of holding and conveying real estate by the laws of this territory shall have the privilege of locating and holding one claim, of two hundred feet in length, horizontal measurement, on any lode, ledge, or vein of gold-bearing quartz, or any lode, opening, crevice, or deposit of silver, cinnabar, lead, copper, coal, or any other ore, or the same mixed with other metals or ores, of its entire width, including all of its dips, openings, spurs, angles, and variations, with a right to follow such vein to any depth, together with a reasonable quantity of surface for the convenient working of the same: Provided, That such claim shall not interfere with the location made by the discoverer of such lode, ledge, vein, crevice, or deposit, as provided in section one of this act".

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That so much of section seven of the said act approved January 18, 1865, as authorizes companies of two or more persons to locate and hold one mining-claim of three hundred feet for each member of such company, and so much of said act as provides that no company shall locate more than four claims, including one discovery claim, or one thousand five hundred feet in all, upon any one vein or mine, and so much of said section as further provides that a company may acquire by purchase but four mining-claims, and this under the same condition as bound the vendors, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that such companies may locate and hold in manner aforesaid one mining-claim of two hundred feet for each member

of such company: Provided, That no person may make more than one location on the same lode, and not more than three thousand feet shall be taken in any one claim by any association of persons.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That so much of sections one and two of the act approved January 3, 1866, entitled "An act concerning mining-claims", as allows a claimant or claimants to mining property within the county of Doña Ana, territory of New Mexico, three years instead of twelve months from and after the location of a miningclaim to open or cause to be opened the shaft on such claim, be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That this repeal of such portions of the said sections one and two of the said act approved January 3, 1866, shall be construed to apply to all the territory included in the county of Doña Ana at the time of the approval of said act of January 3, 1866.

SEC. 5. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, and this act shall be in full force and effect from and after its approval.

NOTE.-This act and the act hereby amended are repealed by "An act to regulate the manner of locating mining-claims, and for other purposes", approved January 11, 1876 (Sess. Laws, 1875--'76, p. 116).

SESSION LAWS, SESSION 1875-'76.

AN ACT to regulate the manner of locating mining-claims, and for other purposes. (Approved January 11, 1876, p. 116.) SECTION. 1. That any person or persons desiring to locate a mining-claim upon a vein or lode of quartz or other rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper, or other valuable deposit must distinctly mark the location on the ground so that its boundaries may be readily traced, and post in some conspicuous place on such location a notice in writing stating thereon the name or names of the locator or locators, his or their intention to locate the mining-claim, giving a description thereof by reference to some natural object or permanent monument as will identify the claims, and also, within three months after posting such notice, cause to be recorded a copy thereof in the office of the recorder of the county in which the notice is posted, and provided no other record of such notice shall be necessary.

SEC. 2. In order to carry out the intent of the preceding section it is hereby made the duty of the probate judges of the several counties of this territory, and they are hereby required to provide, at the expense of their respective counties, such book or books as may be necessary and suitable in which to enter the record hereinbefore provided for. The fees for recording such notices shall be ten cents for every one hundred words.

SEC. 3. That in estimating the worth of labor required to be performed upon any mining-claims, to hold the same by the laws of the United States in the regulation of mines, the value of a day's labor is hereby fixed at the sum of four dollars: Provided, however, That in the sense of this statute eight hours of labor actually performed upon the mining-claim shall constitute a day's labor.

SEC. 4. All locations heretofore made in good faith, to which there shall be no adverse claims, the certificate of which locations have been or may be filed for record and recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the location is made within six months after the passage of this act are hereby confirmed and made valid. But where there may appear to be any such adverse claim the said location shall be held to be the property of the person having the superior title or claim according to the laws in force at the time of the making of the said locations.

SEC. 5. An action of ejectment will lie for the recovery of the possession of a mining-claim, as well also of any real estate, where the party suing has been wrongfully ousted from the possession thereof and the possession wrongfully detained.

SEC. 6. That "An act concerning mining-claims", approved January 18th, 1865, and an act amendatory thereof, approved January 3d, 1866, also an act entitled "An act to amend certain acts concerning mining-claims in the territory of New Mexico", approved February 1st, 1872, be, and the same are hereby, repealed: Provided, That no locations completed or commenced under said act shall be invalidated or in any wise affected by such repeal. SEC. 7. That this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage.

SESSION LAWS OF 1880.

CHAP. XVI.

AN ACT for the enforcement of liens. (Approved February 10, 1880, p. 64.)

SECTION 1. A lien is a charge imposed upon specific property, by which it is made security for the performance of an act.

SEC. 2. Every person performing labor upon or furnishing materials to be used in the construction, alteration, or repair of any mining-claim, building, wharf, bridge, ditch, flume, tunnel, fence, machinery, railroad, wagon road, or aqueduct to create hydraulic power, or any other structure, or who performs labor in any mining-claim, has a lien upon the same for the work or labor done or materials furnished by each, respectively, whether done or furnished at

« PreviousContinue »