Chap. 329.—An ACT to incorporate the Big Stone Gap construction
company.

Approved March 1, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
J. Wilder, John M. Bailey, and John L. Wellington, of Wash-
ington county, Virginia; S. Lawrence French, of Boston;
and William D. Jones, of Philadelphia, their associates and
successors, be and they are hereby incorporated and made a
body politic.and corporate under the name and style of

> Big Stone Gap construction company, and by that name shall
be known in law, and have perpetual succession; and have
power to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend
and be defended in all courts, whether in law or equity; and
they make and have a’ common seal, and they may alter or
renew the same at pleasure; and shall have, enjoy, and exer-

Google
cise all rights, powers, and privileges pertaining to corpo-
rate bodies and necessary for the purposes of this act; and
may make by-laws, rules and regulations consistent with the
existing laws of the state for the government of all under its
authority, the management of its properties, and the due and
orderly conduct of its affairs.

2. The capital stock of said company shall not be more
than two million dollars, and shall be divided into shares, the
par value of which shall be one hundred dollars each; and
the directors may sell said shares of stock or any part there-
of, at such price as they may deem to be to the best interests
of the company, and may receive real or personal property,
or services in payment therefor, at such valuation as may be
agreed upon between the directors and the purchasers.

3. The said company is authorized and empowered to pur-
chase, hold, own, lease, and control in any manner; grant,
bargain, sell, mortgage, convey, and otherwise dispose of real
and personal properties of any kind in this state or else-
wnere: provided that the said company skall not own more
than twenty-five thousand acres of land in any one county in
this state at any one time; and the said company is author-
ized and empowered to lay out said lands, or any part there-
of, into parcels or lots of convenient size, with roads, lanes,
streets, and alleys, and develop, work, improve, and cultivate,
or otherwise use or dispose of the same, in such manner and
upon such terms as the said company may think proper; and
the said company shall have the right to construct, maintain,
and operate within any city, town, or village which the said
company may plat or lay out, or in any other city, town, or
village, with the consent of its council, street railroads,
whether operated by steam, electric, or animal power ; water-
works and gas works, or other systems of illumination. The
said company may also build, construct, and operate rail-
roads from the lands of the said company to connect with
any other railroads, or to any manufacturing establishments,
which, in the judgment of the board of directors, shall seem
advantageous to the company, or offer sufficient tonnage to
justify their construction. The said company may also car-
ry on the business of constructing for individuals or corpora-
tions any and all kinds of works of public and private im-
provement, either through its own officers, agents, and ser-
vants, or by means of other agencies, and may receive in
payment therefor, stocks, bonds, or other securities, or real
or personal property of any kind. The said company may
also construct, maintain and operate pipe-lines, tanks, and
other appurtenances for the purpose of conducting, storing,
and handling gas, oil, or other liquids; and for the purpose
of constructing, maintaining, and operating any of the above
works, the said company shall have all the rights, powers,
and privileges which are given to internal improvement com-
panies by the laws of the state.

4, The said company is authorized and empowered to bore
and operate wells for gas, oil, or other liquids, and to mine
and quarry coal, iron, or marble, and other mineral sub-
stances, and to prepare and manufacture the same for use
and sale in all manner of forms it may adopt; and to manu-
facture and prepare for market and sale all other raw mate-
rials, mineral or vegetable, and for this purpose may erect
and operate all kinds of furnaces, mills, manufactories, coke-
ovens, machinery, and other works necessary for the enjoy-
ment of the privileges herein granted, to the fullest and most
ample extent.

5. The five persons first named in this act shall constitute
the first board of directors of the said company, one of whom
they shall elect president; they shall adopt a code of by-laws,
appoint a secretary and treasurer, and when so organized, they
shall be authorized to change the corporate name of the said
company if desirable, to fix the amount of capital stock,
and to exercise all the powers conferred by this charter; the
secretary shall certify said organization on the books of the
company, a copy of which, duly attested by a notary public,
shall be received in all courts and elsewhere as evidence of
the legal organization of the company; they shall continue
in office for one year and until their successors are elected by
the stockholders. Each stockholder in the company shall at
all meetings or elections be entitled to one vote for each
share of stock registered in his name.

6. The board of directors may establish offices and agen-
cies at such places as they may deem proper, but the annual
meeting shall be held, and the principal offices shall be located
in the state of Virginia.

7. No stockholder shall ever be liable or made responsible
for its debts and liabilities in a larger or further sum than
the amount of any unpaid balance due to the said company
on account of stock purchased from the company by the said
stockholder.

; 8. This charter herein granted, except as to matters herein
specially provided for, is hereby declared to be subject to the
provisions of the general law in regard to chartered com-
panies and corporations, as expressed in the Code of Virginia,
edition of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, chapters fifty-
six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, and sixty-one. When-
ever this corporation shall exercise any of the privileges con-
ferred by this act, it shall be liable to the same taxes as may
be imposed by law upon other like corporations: and it is
further provided the said taxes shall. be paid in the lawful
money of the United States and not in coupons. And the
said company may unite, consolidate, or merge its rights,
powers, privileges, franchises, and properties with those of
any other incorporated company, full power being given to
any such company to form such union, consolidation, or
merger, and the company formed by the union, consolidation,
or merger of this company with any other company or com-
panies, shall have, possess, and enjoy to the fullest and most
ample extent, all the rights, powers, privileges, and franchises
which at the date of such union, consolidation, or merger,

eachrand ey the said companies possessed.
9. This company, so far as its properties are located, and
its operations are conducted within this state, shall always
remain a Virginia corporation and subject to the jurisdiction
of its courts.

10. This act shall be in force from its passage.