Chap. 251.—An ACT to incorporate the Virginia Western Railroad
Company.

Approved March 3, 1884.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
Joseph R. Anderson and Decatur Axtell, of the city of Rich-
mond; Samuel Coit, of Harttord, Connecticut; H. C. Parsons,
John A. I. Lee, and James W. Marshall, of Virginia; John
C. McDonald, and Elbert Fowler, of West Virginia; D. F.
Connell, of Portsmouth, Ohio; F. O. French and E. R. Leland,
of New York; Martin Huffman, of the county of Crai
Harman Newberry, Samuel H. Newberry, and Samuel W,
Williams, of the county of Bland; William A. Stuart, of the
county of Russell; Ferdinand Rover, of the county of Roa-
noke; John W. Daniel and John A. Carter, of the city of
Lynchburg; John W. Simpson, of New York; Samuel J.
Graham, of Virginia; and Charles C. Lewis, of Charleston,
West Virginia, their associates and successors, be and they
ure hereby made a body corporate and politic, under the
hame and style of Virginia Western Railroad Company,
under which name it may sue and be sued in all courts,
whether of law or equity, and shall bave perpetual succes-
sion, and may have a corporate seal, and alter and renew the
same at pleasure, and may make by-laws, rules and regula-
tions, not inconsistent with the laws of this commonwealth,
for the government of all under its authority.
2. Said Virginia Western railroad company, and its suc-

cessor, is authorized and empowered to construct and operate
a railroad from any point it may select, on or near the Rich-
mond and Alleghany railroad, above Balcony Falls, by way
of Catawba creek, or Craig’s creek, or any part thereof, to
the West Virginia state line, but it shall not be lawful for the
said company to occupy the valley of the New river, below
the town of Hinton, West Virginia, the Kentucky stateand the
Tennessee state line, or either of them. It shall be lawful for
said company to construct and operate branch railroads to
any points which are not more than twenty miles from the
main line. In constructing its railroad, it shall be lawful for
said company to cross and re-cross the state line into and out
of said states, or any portion of them, as often as it may
deem necessary, upon such terms as the state entered may
require. In order to secure a continuous line of’ railroad, to
be operated under one management, without change of cars
or break of bulk, and for no other purpose, said company
may acquire the franchises, rights, privileges and property of
other chartered railroad companies in this and the states
aforesaid, or which may hereafter be chartered in said states,
by exchanging its stock, or by purchase or lease, and it may
merge, and for the purposes aforesaid consolidate, the same
orany of them with said Virginia Western railroad company,
on such terms as may be agreed upon between the contracting
parties, and may adopt another name for the consolidated
company, full power and authority being hereby given such
other companies to make and carry out such consolidation
and merger: provided it shall not merge or consolidate with
any parallel or competing line.

3. Said company or its successor may, from time to time,
issue and sell common and preferred stock, in shares of one
hundred dollars each, to a sum not to exceed ten millions of
dollars; and it or its successor may issue and sell its bonds
upon like terms, and may secure the same by mortgages or
deeds of trust upon its franchise and property, or any part
thereof.

4. To furnish a basis for raising capital, it shall be lawful
for said company, or its successor, to receive grants and sub-
scriptions in land at a fair valuation, and coal, iron, timber
materials, and mineral rights upon such terms as may be
avreed upon with the board of directors, and it may exchange
its stock or bonds therefor, and may hold and sell the same
at pleasure: provided said company shall not hold said land
more than fifteen years after the completion of its road.

9. It shall be lawful for any railroad company, incorporated
company, not being a parallel or competing line, or any city
and town, to aid in the construction of said railroad, and for
that purpose may subscribe to its capital stock, or that of
its successor, and may acquire the bonds of said company.

6. No stockholder shall ever be held liable for the indebted-
ness of said company in a sum greater than may be due from
him on stock subscribed by him.
7. The directors of said company shall be stockholders,
and they shall elect one of their number president; they shall
be elected, and their number fixed by the stockbolders in
their annual meetings. and they shall hold their office until
their successors are elected, and they may fill any vacancy
in their board; each stockholder shall be allowed to cast one
vote, either in person or by proxy. for each share of stock
owned by him. For the purpose of organizing said company,
the nine persons first named in this ‘act shall constitute its
first board of directors. and shall serve until the first meeting
of stockholders; any three or more may act; and they may
receive subscriptions to the capital stock at any time and
place; and when the sum of fifty thousand dollars or more
is subseribed, they shall convene the stockholders and or vanize
said company. At said meeting one of their number sball
preside, and they shall certify sitid organization on the books
of the company; and their certificate, or a copy thereof, duly
authenticated by a notary public, shall be received as evi-
dence of the legal organization of said company.

8. Said company, or its successor, shall begin the work of
coustructing its railroad within tive years from the passage
of this act, and shall complete its main line in this state
within ten years from the passage of this act.

9. Said company, or its suecessor, shall never, by reason
of any merger or consolidation with any company in this or
any other state, cease to be a domestic corporation, but shall
forever be and remain subject to the jurisdiction of the courts
of this commonwealth.

10. That the said company, by the acceptance of this char-
ter, hereby agrees to pay all taxes, dues, and demands due
the state that may be hereatter assessed against it, in lawful
money of the United States, and not in coupons,

11. This act shall be in force trom its passage.