Chap. 416.—An ACT to incorporate the Tidewater transportation company.

Approved February 20, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That J. W. G.
Blackstone, of Accomac, Virginia; R. G. Bickford, of Newport News,
Virginia; William P. Andrews, Floyd Hughes, B. W. Leigh, John B.
Moon, and J. T. Lawless, and their associates and successors, be, and
they are hereby, created and constituted a body politic and corporate
by the name of the Tidewater transportation company, and as such shall
be vested with all the powers, rights and privileges conferred and be
subject to all the conditions imposed by the general laws of the state
upon corporations of a like nature so far as the same may be applicable
to and not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.

2. The said company shall have the right to acquire by purchase,
lease, or otherwise, and to hold, equip, and operate two or more steam-
boats or other vessels; and by means thereof and by such other suit-
able means and appliances as the company may determine upon, the
said company shall be, and is hereby, authorized and empowered to
establish, maintain, and operate a general ferry and transportation
business between the cities of Norfolk and Newport News, with the
privilege, from time to time, of establishing ferries between or touching
at Hampton, Old Point, and Willoughby Spit, or any of them, or any
intermediate points, as the company may elect; and the establishment
and operation of a ferry between any two of the points aforesaid shall
be a suflicient compliance with the provisions of this act and preserve
to said company its franchises hereunder. The said company may
convey, ferry, and transport passengers, baggage, teams, vehicles,
freight, mail of the United States, and other things deemed advisable
by the board of directors, upon such reasonable conditions, charges,
rates, and tolls as may be fixed by the directors or may be agreed upon.
But nothing herein contained shall be construed as authorizing the
establishment or operation of a ferry between the cities of Norfolk
and Portsmouth, or between either of said last named cities and the
town of Berkley.

3. The capital stock of the said company shall be not less than five
thousand dollars nor more than one hundred thousand dollars, to be
divided into shares of the par value of one hundred dollars each.

4. The said company may acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise,
and hold, use, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of real estate and riparian
rights at the aforesaid several termini of its lines, respectively, and
may acquire such real estate and riparian rights in pursuance of the
provisions of chapter forty-six of the code of Virginia and the other
laws of the state in regard to the acquisition of real estate by com-
panies incorporated for works of internal improvement; the proceedings
in regard to such riparian rights to conform as near as may be to the
proceedings for acquiring real estate under said chapter of said code;
and upon any such real estate or riparian rights the said company may
construct docks, wharves, offices, warehouses, and other structures, and
also approaches, abutments, ways, roads, and piers, but the amount
of such real estate shall not exceed in all five hundred acres: provided,
however, that the said Tidewater transportation company shall not
have the right to acquire by condemnation the property or rights, or
any part thereof, belonging to any other work of internal improvement
company.

5. The said company, by authority of its board of directors, may
borrow money and execute bonds, notes, and evidences of indebtedness
therefor, and may secure the same by deed of trust or mortgage upon
the property, works, and franchises of the company, or any part thereof;
and said company, by the like authority of said board, may issue and
sell its stock at such price as the said board may fix, and may accept
payment for the saine in property, franchises, or services rendered, and
subscriptions for such stock may be settled and paid for in like manner;
and said company may acquire and hold and sell the stocks, bonds, or
other securities of any other corporation, and may guarantee the same,
and any other corporation may hold the stock of the said company; and
said company may also sell or lease its property, works, and franchises,
or any part thereof; and said company may, by order of its board of
directors or of its stockholders in general meeting, consolidate and
merge itself with any other transportation or ferry company with which
its lines may connect, whether such other corporation be thereto
authorized by its charter or not, such consolidation or merger to be
upon such terms and conditions as the consolidating companies may
agree upon, and a counterpart of any such contract of consolidation or
merger shall be recorded in the office of the secretary of the common-
wealth, and an official copy thereof certified from said office shall be
evidence of such consolidation or merger.

6. Said corporators or a majority of them may meet at such time
and place as they may agree upon and receive subscriptions to the capi-
tal stock of the company, and upon the minimum amount aforesaid
being subscribed for the said meeting shall constitute the first general
stockholders’ meeting, which shall proceed with the election of a board
of directors and with such other business as they may determine upon.
The said corporators’ meeting may adjourn over from time to time
until said minimum amount of stock shall have been subscribed for.
The board of directors of said company shall consist of seven members,
who shall from their number choose a president, but the number of
such board may be fixed from time to time by the stockholders in gen-
eral meeting or by the by-laws of the company, so that such number
shall not exceed eleven.

7. All taxes which shall become due by the said company shall be
paid in lawful money of the United States, and not in coupons.

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