SECTION 2. That this act shall not take effect unless its provisions Stockholders' acshall be accepted by the stockholders of said company, at a special ceptation. meeting to be called by the president and managers for the purpose of considering the same, of which at least twenty days notice shall be given by the secretary of said company, by advertisement, in two daily papers published in the city of Philadelphia. SECTION 3. That the said Philadelphia and Reading railroad company Statement. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, WILLIAM BIGLER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The twenty-fifth day of April, one thousand eight hun-. dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. No. 267. A FURTHER SUPPLEMENT To An Act to consolidate and amend the several acts relative to a general system of education by common schools." SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this act no person shall be incompetent to Witnesses. give evidence in any suit or action in which any school district, or any officer thereof, is a party, for or on account of the said person being an inhabitant of the township or district, or by reason of his being liable to the payment of any tax in which said school district may be interested. SECTION 2. That in all cases where any secretary of any board of Certificates. school district has omitted, or shall hereafter omit to file in the prothonotary's office, the certificate required by the eighth section of the act of twelfth April, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, entitled "A supplement to 'An Act to consolidate the several acts relative to a general system of education by common schools,' passed the thirteenth June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six," within the three months named in said section, such certificate may be filed within five years after the delivery of the warrant and duplicate to the collector, with the same effect as if done within the said three months: Provided, That the lien shall only be construed to take effect from the time of the filing of such certificate. Non-accepting districts. Tax. Suits against school directors. SECTION 3. That the directors of common schools in such districts as became non-accepting school districts by the result of the election held in May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, are hereby authorized to levy and collect a tax sufficient to defray the expenses of educating those children, whose parents are unable to pay for their education, from the first Monday in June, one thousand eight hundred and fortythree, to the first Monday in June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and to examine said teachers' bills, have them duly attested, and pay the same. SECTION 4. That no tax that has been authorized to be levied or levied and apportioned for school purposes, in any school district, shall be deemed invalid, because the same was authorized to be levied, or levied and apportioned after the time or times specified in the act of assembly passed in 1836, entitled "An Act to consolidate and amend the several acts relative to a general system of education by common schools," but the same shall be as good and valid as if the tax had been authorized to be levied, or levied and apportioned at the time or times directed by said act; and the duplicates made out and warrants issued for the collection of any such tax, shall be as good, valid and effectual, as if the said tax had been authorized to be levied, or had been levied and apportioned at the time or times directed by said act. SECTION 5. On the trial of any suit or action brought or to be brought by or against any board of school directors, or any of its members, their president or collector, the entry on the minute book of the board that the district had accepted the school law, shall be prima facia evidence of such acceptance; the entry on their minute book of the result any district meeting held for the purpose of voting on the question of schools or no schools, or for the purpose of voting an additional tax. shall be prima facia evidence that such meeting was duly organized and held, and also of the result thereof, and that due notice thereof had been previously given. of JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WILLIAM BIGLER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The twenty-fifth day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. No. 268. A FURTHER SUPPLEMENT To the act, entitled "An Act concerning a certain trial for murder in Cambria county." SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That so much of the act, entitled "A supplement to An Act relating to a Part of former certain trial for murder in Cambria county,' passed the fourth day of law repealed. April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-four," as authorizes and requires one or more of the associate judges of Cambria county, to sit with one of the judges of the supreme court in the special court of oyer and terminer, therein provided to be holden, for the purpose of hearing and determining a rule, to shew cause why the verdict of the jury, and the sentence of the court of oyer and terminer of Cambria county, in the case of the commonwealth against Bernard Flanagan and Patrick Flanagan, should not be set aside, and a new trial granted, be, and the same is hereby repealed; and the judge of the supreme court, Power of judge of the supreme who shall hold the said special court, is hereby authorized and required SECTION 2. A certified copy of the record, in the above case, shall Record certified. be transmitted to the special court aforesaid, by the clerk of the court of oyer and terminer of said county, and the said clerk shall act as clerk of the said special court; and in case a new trial shall be granted, the record shall be remitted to the court of oyer and terminer of Huntingdon county, to be proceeded in according to the act to which this is a supplement, and in case the motion for a new trial be over-ruled, then said record shall be remitted to the court of oyer and terminer of Cambria county, for execution. APPROVED-The twenty-fifth day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. Proviso. No. 269. AN ACT To reduce the expenses of the militia system of this commonwealth, and provide a more rigid mode for the collection of militia fines. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa tives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the act, entitled "An Act passed the second day of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, for the regulation of the militia of this commonwealth, and the several supplements thereto," be, and the same are hereby declared to remain in full force and effect, and under the same general organization, except such revisions and alterations as shall be hereinafter especially and specifically detailed. SECTION 2. That the twenty-second section of the act above referred to, which provides for training the militia of this commonwealth, by May trainings. companies, on the first Monday in May, in each and every year, and the training of the same by battalions and regiments, commencing on the second Monday in May, are hereby declared to remain unchanged: Provided, That the commanding officers of each and every regiment or battalion, shall cause the roll to be called, and the return of the absentees of the field and staff officers to be made under oath or affirmation, to the proper brigade inspector, instead of to a court of appeal on the same day of training; and for neglect of this duty, said officer shall be subject to the penalty of twenty dollars, to be collected for the use of the commonwealth, by the brigade inspector, as debts of equal amount are by law recoverable; and any person who may desire not to be called to attend any militia training, may exempt himself from such call, by paying to the treasurer of the proper county, during each year, one dollar for the use of militia fund; and the receipt of the county treasurer shall be evidence of the payment of said sum: and hereafter, if the commanding officer of the regiment, and the major of the battalion are unable to fix and agree upon the place of holding the battalion training, agreeably to the provisions of the twenty-second section of the act of second of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, entitled "An Act for the regulation of the militia," then and in that case, the place of training shall be in the same place at which the last preceding training took place. Exempts. Abolished, courts of appeal. Absentees. SECTION 3. That so much of the twenty-fourth section of the act above referred to, as requires each captain to forward to the court of appeal, his list of absentees, and the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth sections of the act aforesaid, and the several supplements thereto, as provide for the establishment of courts of appeal and boards of exoneration for the regulation of militia fines, be and the same are hereby repealed; and it shall be the duty of each and every captain or other officer appointed to take the enrollment, and mark the absentees in the bounds of the several militia companies within this commonwealth, to make out a complete list of such absentees, marking particularly the borough, ward or township, in which any delinquent militiaman may reside, and on the day of battalion or regimental training, or within ten days after, the said captain or other officer performing that duty, shall deliver to the proper brigade inspector or cause to be delivered, a complete list of such delinquent militiamen, in the bounds of said company, on both the lawful days of training, in the order aforesaid. SECTION 4. That it shall be the duty of each brigade inspector or Oath of captain. other officer assigned to that duty, to administer an oath or affirmation to each and every captain or other officer, whose duty it may be, to prepare and deliver any list of absentees, that it is a true return of the persons as aforesaid, within the bounds of his company; and any captain or other person having charge of the enrollment of any company, and refusing or neglecting to prepare and deliver to the proper brigade inspector, a list as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for and collected by the proper brigade inspector, for the use of the commonwealth, as other debts of equal amount are by law recoverable. SECTION 5. That from and after the passage of this act. it shall be Brigade, regithe duty of the brigade inspector, within twenty days after the parades ments and comhave been gone through, to make out two complete lists for each county, panies. of all the militia regiments and companies within the bounds of his brigade, giving each company its proper number, in its proper regiment, and set opposite the proper number of each regiment, the amount of fines levied against the field and staff officers; and opposite each Fines. company, thus numbered, the amount of fines levied in each of said companies on the aforesaid days of training, marking the counties, townships, wards and boroughs, in which said delinquents may reside, and mark blank to those regiments and companies where there are no absentees; and each adjutant or captain is hereby required, under the penalty aforesaid, to make the proper return to the inspector, as well when there are no absentees as when there are. SECTION 6. That it shall be the duty of each brigade inspector, and Auditor general. he is hereby required, on or before the fifteenth day of June, in each and every year, to forward one list of said delinquents, and the proper Delinquents. amount of the fines so levied as aforesaid, in each county, to the auditor general of the commonwealth, certifying to the correctness of the same, and the said auditor general shall charge the amount to the treasurer of the proper county as a military fund, which shall be evidence at all times as to the amount of militia fines levied in each and every county; and the said brigade inspector is further required to deliver to each board of county commissioners in the bounds of his brigade, within the time County commisabove specified, a copy of fines levied, retaining the original lists of sioners. delinquent militiamen, as received from the several captains of militia companies within his brigade, to be filed in his office; and if any brigade inspector shall refuse, or neglect to keep up the aforesaid organization of the several regiments and companies within his brigade, to the end that the full number of returns of fines levied of all the regiments and companies should not be received, whether with absentees or otherwise, unless a sufficient reason be immediately furnished that it was impracticable on account of certain disorganization, and in this case said brigade inspector shall proceed, as is directed by the twentyfirst section of this act, otherwise it shall be the duty of the auditor general, or the county commissioners, as the case may be, when the proper number of returns as aforesaid have not been received in due time, to give notice to the state treasurer, whose duty it shall be to Duties of state withhold the pay of such brigade inspector, until the above requirements are fully complied with; and if such neglect or refusal is persisted in on the part of any brigade inspector, and the proper number of regimental and company returns should not be forwarded to said auditor treasurer. |