when the tender was made after the commencement of an action, if such action be further prosecuted, such town may set forth such tender in their plea, or prove the same under the general issue in the usual form, bringing the money so tendered into court, and if the damages assessed for such injuries shall not exceed the amount so tendered, the defendant shall recover his costs. (No. 33 of 1848.)

SECT. 34. Whenever any highway, established by any court on a report of commissioners appointed by such court, shall not be made and opened to be used by the time prescribed by the order of such court for that purpose, the town liable by law to make and open such highway, may be indicted by the grand jury before the county court in the same county, and on conviction may be fined in a sum sufficient to make and complete such highway; and the fine shall be expended in making such highway under the superintendence and direction of a commissioner appointed by the court for that purpose: provided, that if any road established by any court shall have been, or may hereafter be discontinued, in whole or in part, before the fine, assessed upon the town liable to make and open the same, shall be expended according to the order of the court assessing such fine, such court may, on application for that purpose by the town fined, order the same in whole or in part to be expended in the making of any highway, or in the building of any bridge, which such town may be liable by law to make or build, and may suspend the collection of such fine, in whole or in part, in its discretion. (No. 32 of 1850.)

SECT. 35. When any bridge, established by order of any court, and required by such order to be erected and maintained at the expense of two or more towns, shall not be erected and completed by the time limited by such order, the towns, liable for the erection of such bridge, may be indicted by the grand jury before the county court of any county, in which either of such towns may be situated, and, on conviction, may be fined in a sum sufficient for the erection or completion of such bridge; and the fine and costs shall be paid by the several towns, in the proportion in which they were assessed for the erection of the bridge; and the court may issue execution against each for its proportion only; and, in making such apportionment, the court may take into consideration what may have been already paid by any town; and the fine shall be expended, under the direction of a commissioner appointed for that purpose, in erecting or completing such bridge. (Sec. 29 of R. S.)

SECT. 36. When any town, liable by law to keep in repair any highway or bridge, shall neglect to repair or keep in repair the same, such town may be indicted, for any such neglect, by the grand jury, before the county court of the county, in which such highway or bridge shall be located; and, on conviction, may be fined at the discretion of such court, whether any special damage shall have been sustained or not; and any fine, so assessed, shall be expended in repairing the highway or bridge, on account of which the fine shall be assessed, under the superintendence and direction of a commissioner appointed by the court for that purpose. (Sec. 30 of R. S.)

SECT. 37. No town in this state shall be indicted for not keeping in repair the highways in said town, unless the selectmen thereof

shall have been previously notified, in writing, that the road complained of was out of repair. (Sec. 1 of No. 11 of 1840.)

SECT. 38. The notice required in the first section of this act, (§ 37 of this chap.) shall be signed by some person residing in the county in which said road is situated, and shall be given to one of the selectmen of said town, at least fifteen days previous to the session of the court to which said complaint is made, which said notice shall bound the road complained of, and shall generally describe the defects thereof. (Sec. 2 of No. 11 of 1840.)

SECT. 39. The notice required by the act entitled "an act in relation to highways," approved October twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and forty, (§ 37 and 38,) may be signed by any person in this state. (No. 19 of 1841.)

SECT. 40. When any towns, jointly liable to keep in repair any bridge, shall neglect to repair, or keep in repair, the same, such towns may be indicted by the grand jury, before the county court of any county, in which either of the towns shall be situated, and, on conviction, may be fined in the discretion of the court, and shall be liable for the costs of prosecution; and the fine and costs shall be paid, and execution may be issued in the manner provided in the twenty-ninth section, and the fine shall be expended in the same manner in repairing such bridge. (Sec. 31 of R. S.)

SECT. 41. When any indictment shall be presented in any county court, as provided in this chapter, it shall be the duty of the clerk to issue a citation to the town indicted, and the same shall be served as writs are by law required to be served against towns, at least twenty days before the term of the court, at which such town shall be required to appear; and the execution, issued for the fine and costs, shall be levied and collected in the same manner as executions in civil causes are required to be levied and collected against towns. (Sec. 32 of R. S.)

SECT. 42. In all indictments against any towns or other corporations, for not making or repairing roads or highways, as provided in this chapter, it shall not be necessary to state the exact length or width of such road or highway, but it shall be sufficient to state or describe it as a road or highway leading from some particular place to some other particular place therein mentioned. (Sec. 33 of R. S.) SECT. 43. All indictments of highways in any one town, at the same term of the court, shall be contained in one bill of indictment. (Sec. 34 of R. S.)

NUISANCES AND OBSTRUCTIONS IN HIGHWAYS.

SECT. 44. If any person shall enclose any part of the highway, in any town, or shall erect any fence, building or other encroachment, or make any obstruction, or put any nuisance on any highway, or shall continue any such enclosure, fence, building, encroachment, or nuisance, on any highway, the selectmen of such town may, by their order, require such person to remove such fence, building, encroachment or nuisance, within such convenient time, as they shall think reasonable, not exceeding six months, and give notice of such

order, to the person offending; and if such fence, building, nuisance, or other encroachment shall not be removed, within the time limited, the person offending, shall forfeit and pay to the treasurer of the town a penalty of five dollars, for every thirty days he or she shall neglect to comply with such order of the selectmen, to be appropriated to repairing highways in such town, to be recovered in an action on the case, in the name of such town, with costs; which action shall be commenced within six months from the time said penalty may be incurred, and not after. And the selectmen may also remove such fence, building, nuisance, or other encroachment, at the expense of the person who erected, caused or continued the same; which expense the selectmen may recover of the person so offending, with costs, in an action on the case, in the name of the town, before any court proper to try the same: provided, that after such removal, no penalty as aforesaid, shall be incurred. (No. 26 of 1847.)

SECT. 45. If, after such removal,* the person so offending shall again erect or place such fence, building or other encroachment on such highway, or shall again enclose a greater or less quantity of such highway, such person shall forfeit and pay, to the treasurer of the town, the sum of seven dollars for every such offence, to be appropriated to repairing highways in such town, to be recovered in an action on the case, in the name of such town, with costs, and shall also pay the expense of removing such encroachment. (Sec. 36 of R. S.)

SECT. 46. No person shall wilfully fell any trees, lay any timber, or place any obstruction or other nuisance, so as to obstruct, hinder or impede the passing in such highway, and if any person shall so offend, he shall forfeit and pay to the treasurer of the town, to be expended in the repair of highways, a sum, not exceeding seven dollars, to be recovered by the selectmen, in an action in the name of the town, with costs. (Sec. 37 of R. S.)

SECT. 47. No person shall wantonly or illegally injure any highway, causeway or bridge, by destroying or removing any plank, posts, timber or stones thereof, or by digging any pits therein for gravel, clay, or for any other purpose, or by filling up, or placing obstructions in any ditch made for draining any water from the highway; and, if any person shall so offend, he shall, as a penalty, forfeit and pay to the treasurer of the town, to be expended in repairing highways, a sum not exceeding thirty dollars, to be recovered by the selectmen, in an action in the name of the town, with costs. (Sec. 38 of R. S.)

SECT. 48. Any person guilty of the offence prohibited in either of the two preceding sections, besides the penalty, shall be liable to pay to the town, or to any individual, any damages sustained by either, in consequence of the acts therein prohibited, with costs. (Sec. 39 of R. S.)

SECT. 49. When any encroachment or nuisance shall be made or put on any highway, in any unorganized town or place, on complaint

* The removal by the selectmen, provided for in section 35 of chapter 21 of the Revised Statutes, repealed by the 2d section of No. 26 of 1847, p. 22. Quære, as to the effect of such repeal upon the provisions in this section.

thereof made to any justice in the county, in which such town or place lies, the justice may issue his warrant to any freeholder of such county, authorizing him to cause such encroachment or nuisance to be removed; and such freeholder shall have the same power as given to the selectmen, in the thirty-fifth section of this chapter, and shall proceed in the same manner in causing such encroachment or nuisance to be removed. (Sec. 40 of R. S.)

PUBLIC BRIDGES.

SECT. 50. It shall not be lawful for any person to drive any horse, or other beast, at a rate faster than a walk, on any bridge with string pieces thirty feet long, between the supports on which they rest, or on any bridge supported by one or more arches; and it shall not be lawful for any person, on any such bridge, to drive more than one loaded team, or more than twenty head of cattle, horses or mules, on any one tier of string pieces, or on any one arch at the same time; and any person, guilty of either of the above mentioned offences, shall forfeit and pay, as a penalty, the sum of one dollar for each offence, together with damages for all injuries thereby done to such bridge, which may be recovered in an action, in the name and for the benefit of the town or towns or corporation, liable for the repairs of such bridge, with costs. (Sec. 41 of R. S.)

SECT. 51. No person shall be liable to the penalty in the preceding section, unless the selectmen, or the directors of the corporation, as the case may be, shall cause to be posted up and kept at each end of such bridge, in some conspicuous place, a board with directions to the effect mentioned in the preceding section, painted on the same, in plain, legible characters. (Sec. 42 of R. S.)

SECT. 52. If any person shall wilfully remove, deface or destroy any such board posted up with directions painted on the same, as mentioned in the preceding section, he shall forfeit and pay, for each offence, the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered in the name and for the benefit of the town or towns, or of the corporation, to which such bridge may belong, as the case may be, with costs. (Sec. 43 of R. S.)

SECT. 53. No person shall be liable to a prosecution, for either of the penalties mentioned in the three preceding sections, unless the same shall be commenced within thirty days from the time the offence shall be committed. (Sec. 44 of R. S.)

SECTION

CHAPTER 24.

FERRIES.

BEING IDENTICAL WITH

Chap. 22 of the Revised Statutes, pp. 143-144.

1. Selectmen to appoint ferrymen and fix toll.
2. Two or more towns adjoining a ferry, select-
men to act jointly.

3. Militia officers, &c. may be exempted.
4. Penalty for taking more than legal toll.
5. Person keeping ferry, without license, liable |

SECTION

to ferryman.

6. Ferryman to keep boats, &c. Liability for neglect.

7. Penalty for neglect of ferryman to convey persons, &c.

SECTION 1. The selectmen of the several towns, in which ferries are necessary to be kept, shall meet annually, some time before the tenth day of April, at such time and place as shall be agreed upon, or shall be appointed by the first selectman, and appoint proper persons and places for ferries, and shall lay out and cause to be made suitable highways to and from the same; and regulate and establish the tolls to be received at such ferries, according to the circumstances of the case.

SECT. 2. When two or more towns shall lie opposite to each other, and adjoining any river, creek, pond or lake, the selectmen of such towns shall meet together for the purposes provided in the preceding section; and the first selectman of either of the towns may appoint the time and place of meeting, and give notice thereof to the other selectmen.

SECT. 3. The selectmen, authorized by the provisions of this chapter to establish any ferry and regulate the toll thereof, may exempt from the usual toll established at such ferry, wholly or in part, any military officer or private, for himself or his horse, for passing such ferry to or from any regimental or other military review, or on any other military duty.

SECT. 4. If any person, appointed to keep a ferry, shall receive or demand of any person, for toll, a greater sum than shall be established by the selectmen, he shall forfeit and pay to the treasurer of the town, in which such offence shall be committed, as a penalty, the amount of the toll received or demanded, together with two dollars, which may be recovered, in an action in the name of the town, with costs.

SECT. 5. It shall not be lawful for any person, other than the person appointed for that purpose, to keep a ferry, or convey any person or property, for reward, over any river, creek, pond or lake, at the place designated by the selectmen; and, if any person shall so offend, he shall forfeit and pay to the person appointed to keep such ferry, the sum of ten dollars to be recovered in any proper action with costs.

SECT. 6. It shall be the duty of every person appointed to keep a ferry, as provided in this chapter, and accepting such appointment,