Engineer's Office, Bunker Hill Bank Building,;}Charlestown, Mass., Feb. 10, 1863.}D. N. Carpenter, Esq.,President, pro tem., T. & G. R. R; Co.Dear Sir:—By a vote passed on the 7th of January last, I am requested to return an estimate of the payments and credits to which H. Haupt & Co. were entitled under their contract at the time of the suspension of the work on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad.The contract thus alluded to recites that "The compensation to be allowed to H. Haupt & Co. shall be as provided in the resolutions of the board of directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, passed July 10, A. D. 1857, to wit:"The whole of the State bonds that may be issued in aid of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be exclusively appropriated to work done, or to be done, upon the tunnel, in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Act authorizing the loan of credit; and any State scrip that may,' at any time, be delivered to the treasurer of the company shall be promptly handed to the contractors."The payments for graduation, bridging, masonry, and superstructure of the road, exclusive of the tunnel, shall be two millions of dollars, with the addition of such sums as may be required for right of way, if this item shall be paid by the contractors. Of this amount, nine hundred thousand dollars shall be in the mortgage bonds of the company, and the balance shall be in cash, to as great an extent as cash subscription can be procured; the remainder in stock, at par."The bonds and stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be issued to H. Haupt & Co. whenever required, but not to a greater extent than they would be entitled to receive for the work done, estimating' it by the proportion which it bears to the whole amount done and to be done."This contract is so clear and precise in its terms that but one construction can be placed upon it, though it is evident that such terms were predicated upon a different state of affairs than existed at thetime of suspension. By this contract, all State payments are to be exclusively appropriated to the work on the tunnel, while the stock and bonds are as exclusively devoted to the graduation, bridging, masonry, and superstructure of the railroad. The amount of compensation the contractors would thus be entitled to, is the issue of State scrip from July 10th, 1857, to the time of suspension, and the $2,000,000 of stock and bonds, less the amount required to finish the railroad. From this must be deducted such payments as may have been made from time to time, concerning which I have no data, but which your treasurer's books must show. Any sums that may have been paid by the contractors for right of way, are to be added to the amount due.The cost of finishing the railroad must be estimated. For the road east of the tunnel, my estimate of the cost of finishing was, September 12, 1861, $102,394; to this we should add one-half mile of railroad and bridge over the Deerfield, $20,000. For the unfinished portion west of the tunnel, I have no data of my own; I have, therefore, taken for the purpose the estimate of D. L. Harris, which is the highest I can find—$40,000.We thus have as the cash cost of completing the graduation, masonry, bridging, and superstructure of the road, $162,394, which is to be deducted from the $2,000,000 of stock and bonds, leaving the amount the contractors are entitled to, $1,857,606, less payments made, plus the amount of right of way, &c.This is in exact accordance with the strict construction of the contract which I previously have remarked was predicted upon a different condition of affairs than existed at the time of suspension.I deem it my duty in this connection respectfully to suggest whether, in view of the changes made in the issue of State scrip, which was paid upon the road as well as upon the tunnel, the contractors should not make proper reductions of the stock and bonds due them, taking into consideration as an offset to this such losses as they have been subjected to by the adverse action of the State authorities. This suggestion, however, is volunteered. My duty under the vote of the board is simply to decide what amount the contractors are entitled to receive under an exact and literal construction of the contract.L. Stevenson,Civil Engineer.
Engineer's Office, Bunker Hill Bank Building,;}Charlestown, Mass., Feb. 10, 1863.}
D. N. Carpenter, Esq.,President, pro tem., T. & G. R. R; Co.
Dear Sir:—By a vote passed on the 7th of January last, I am requested to return an estimate of the payments and credits to which H. Haupt & Co. were entitled under their contract at the time of the suspension of the work on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad.
The contract thus alluded to recites that "The compensation to be allowed to H. Haupt & Co. shall be as provided in the resolutions of the board of directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, passed July 10, A. D. 1857, to wit:
"The whole of the State bonds that may be issued in aid of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be exclusively appropriated to work done, or to be done, upon the tunnel, in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Act authorizing the loan of credit; and any State scrip that may,' at any time, be delivered to the treasurer of the company shall be promptly handed to the contractors.
"The payments for graduation, bridging, masonry, and superstructure of the road, exclusive of the tunnel, shall be two millions of dollars, with the addition of such sums as may be required for right of way, if this item shall be paid by the contractors. Of this amount, nine hundred thousand dollars shall be in the mortgage bonds of the company, and the balance shall be in cash, to as great an extent as cash subscription can be procured; the remainder in stock, at par.
"The bonds and stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be issued to H. Haupt & Co. whenever required, but not to a greater extent than they would be entitled to receive for the work done, estimating' it by the proportion which it bears to the whole amount done and to be done."
This contract is so clear and precise in its terms that but one construction can be placed upon it, though it is evident that such terms were predicated upon a different state of affairs than existed at thetime of suspension. By this contract, all State payments are to be exclusively appropriated to the work on the tunnel, while the stock and bonds are as exclusively devoted to the graduation, bridging, masonry, and superstructure of the railroad. The amount of compensation the contractors would thus be entitled to, is the issue of State scrip from July 10th, 1857, to the time of suspension, and the $2,000,000 of stock and bonds, less the amount required to finish the railroad. From this must be deducted such payments as may have been made from time to time, concerning which I have no data, but which your treasurer's books must show. Any sums that may have been paid by the contractors for right of way, are to be added to the amount due.
The cost of finishing the railroad must be estimated. For the road east of the tunnel, my estimate of the cost of finishing was, September 12, 1861, $102,394; to this we should add one-half mile of railroad and bridge over the Deerfield, $20,000. For the unfinished portion west of the tunnel, I have no data of my own; I have, therefore, taken for the purpose the estimate of D. L. Harris, which is the highest I can find—$40,000.
We thus have as the cash cost of completing the graduation, masonry, bridging, and superstructure of the road, $162,394, which is to be deducted from the $2,000,000 of stock and bonds, leaving the amount the contractors are entitled to, $1,857,606, less payments made, plus the amount of right of way, &c.
This is in exact accordance with the strict construction of the contract which I previously have remarked was predicted upon a different condition of affairs than existed at the time of suspension.
I deem it my duty in this connection respectfully to suggest whether, in view of the changes made in the issue of State scrip, which was paid upon the road as well as upon the tunnel, the contractors should not make proper reductions of the stock and bonds due them, taking into consideration as an offset to this such losses as they have been subjected to by the adverse action of the State authorities. This suggestion, however, is volunteered. My duty under the vote of the board is simply to decide what amount the contractors are entitled to receive under an exact and literal construction of the contract.
L. Stevenson,Civil Engineer.
Mr. Haupt was present at the meeting of the directors at which the vote of January 7 was passed, and the 30th day of May he addressed the following letter to the treasurer of the corporation:—
May 30, 1863.W. T. Davis, Esq.,Treasurer, &c.Dear Sir:—I find the statement of payments on road in Senate Document, No. 82, 1863, page 17 communication of J. W. Brooks to governor, viz:—Oct. 8, 1860,$64,090 00Dec. 12, 1860,112,190 00Jan. 5, 1861,30,355 00Feb. 18, 1861,23,270 00March 7, 1861,19,890 00April 14, 1861,19,175 00May 7, 1861,65,555 00June 26, 1861,34,645 00July 9, 1861,90,064 00$455,234 00Omitting for the present any consideration of offsets, and deducting this whole amount for a temporary settlement, the items to be filled up will be as follows:—Whole amount of credit on road per Stevenson's estimate,. . . . .$1,800,000 00Deduct stock already issued as per certificates delivered, number,. . . . .Shares,. . . . .Bonds delivered, number,. . . . .Dates of delivery,. . . . .Total bonds and stock delivered,. . . . .Balance stock to be delivered,. . . . .In addition to this, H. Haupt & Co. have credits on the books of the company for cash payments made on company accounts as follows:—* * * * * * * * * * *Amounting to say,. . . . .$90,000 00Yours, &c.,Haupt.Stock to be delivered hereafter instead of bonds. You can with these dates make out this statement in an hour, please do so and send to me at Washington.Some people in Massachusetts will find out that I am not quite dead yet, they may feel me kicking before long. Help Field all you can to get releases on payment of the 85 per cent. I will not forget you.Haupt.
May 30, 1863.
W. T. Davis, Esq.,Treasurer, &c.Dear Sir:—I find the statement of payments on road in Senate Document, No. 82, 1863, page 17 communication of J. W. Brooks to governor, viz:—
Omitting for the present any consideration of offsets, and deducting this whole amount for a temporary settlement, the items to be filled up will be as follows:—
In addition to this, H. Haupt & Co. have credits on the books of the company for cash payments made on company accounts as follows:—
* * * * * * * * * * *
Yours, &c.,Haupt.
Stock to be delivered hereafter instead of bonds. You can with these dates make out this statement in an hour, please do so and send to me at Washington.
Some people in Massachusetts will find out that I am not quite dead yet, they may feel me kicking before long. Help Field all you can to get releases on payment of the 85 per cent. I will not forget you.
Haupt.
Previous to the receipt of Mr. Haupt's letter to the treasurer, but subsequent to the message of the governor, from the foregoing, extracts have been made, to wit: On the first day of April, 1863, the following preamble and resolutions were passed by the directors.
"On motion of Mr. Brigham, seconded by Mr. Cheever, the following resolutions were adopted:—
"Whereas, The stockholders of this company at their annual meeting held September 2, 1862, unanimously acquiesced in the action which the legislature had taken in regard to the affairs of this company, and voted to surrender the property of the corporation to the Commonwealth in the expectation that the railroad and tunnel should be completed in conformity with the avowed intention of the legislature. It is
"Resolved, That this board of directors see no reason to regret the step which this corporation has taken, but in the kindly interest shown by His Excellency the governor in this enterprise, and in the able report of the commissioners appointed to examine the subject, they perceive every indication that the great work will be prosecuted with vigor and arrive at an early completion.
"Resolved, That having released the property to the Commonwealth, we recognize the State as having entire and complete control over the same; our only claim being that the State shall carry out in good faith the recommendations of the commissioners as contained in their report, and in the address of the chief magistrate of the Commonwealth.
"Resolved, That the clerk be requested to furnish copies of the above vote to the friends of the road in the Senate and House of Representatives, to be used if necessary to show the views of the directors."
On the 29th day of April, 1863, the legislature, passed an Act entitled "an Act in addition to an Act, providing for the more speedy completion of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, and Hoosac Tunnel," which is chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863. By the provisions of this Act, the commissioners appointed under chapter 156 of the previous year, were authorized, subject to the advice and approval of the governor and council, to construct, complete and equip the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, and to make such alterations in the line of the road as may be deemed necessary to render it suitable and proper for part of a through line from Troy to Boston. Also such alterations in the location and dimensions of said tunnel as will render it suitable and proper for use, in accordance with the spirit and intent of the 224th chapter of the Acts of 1854.
By the legislation of 1862 and 1863, and the vote of the directors and of the corporation in the same years, the corporation surrendered to the State the road and tunnel, and the State took possession of the same with the express understanding on both sides, that they would proceed in the construction and completion of both works. The enterprise having fallen into the hands of the State, and the work having been assumed by the State government, no further vote of importance appears upon the records of the directors. Their last meeting was held August 30, 1865, when Alvah Crocker was chosen President, and Wendell T. Davis, Clerk and Treasurer.
[B.]
Principal Acts of the Legislature relating to the Hoosac Tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad.
[1848—Chapter 307.]
An Actto incorporate the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1.George Grennell, Roger H. Leavitt, Samuel H. Reed, their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation, by the name of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, liabilities, and restrictions set forth in the forty-fourth chapter of the Revised Statutes, and in that part of the thirty-ninth chapter thereof relating to railroad corporations, and in all other general laws which have been, or shall be hereafter passed, relative to railroad corporations.
Sect. 2.Said company are hereby authorized to locate, construct, and maintain a railroad, with one or more tracks, from some convenient point on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near the termination of said railroad in Greenfield, through any or all of the following towns, viz.:—Greenfield, Deerfield, Conway, Shelburne, Buckland, Coleraine, Charlemont, Hawley, Rowe, and Monroe, in the county of Franklin, and Savoy, Florida, Adams, Clarksburg, and Williamstown, in the county of Berkshire, to some point on the line of the state of New York or of Vermont, convenient to meet, or connect with, any railroad that may be constructed from any point at or near the city of Troy, on the Hudson river, in the state of New York.
Sect. 3.The said company may, with their railroad, unite with, and enter upon, the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near the termination thereof, as aforesaid, and may likewise enter upon, cross, and use, the railroad of the Connecticut River Railroad Company, in and near the town of Greenfield, (not, however, interfering with the depot buildings of either of said companies,) on such terms as may be agreed upon between the corporation hereby created and the aforesaid companies respectively, or as may be prescribed by law.
Sect. 4.The capital stock of the said company shall consist of not more than thirty-five thousand shares, the number of which shall, from time to time, be determined by the directors thereof; and no assessment shall be laid of a greater amount thereon, in the whole, than onehundred dollars on each share. And the said company may purchase and hold such real and personal estate, as may be necessary for the purposes of their incorporation.
Sect. 5.If the location of said road shall not be filed within two years, in the manner prescribed by law, or if the said railroad shall not be constructed within seven years from the passage of this act, then the same shall be void.
Sect. 6.The legislature may authorize any railroad company to enter, with their railroad, upon the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, on such terms as may be agreed upon by said companies, or as may be prescribed by the provisions of law.
Sect. 7.The legislature may, after the expiration of five years from the time when such railroad shall be opened for use, from time to time, alter and reduce the rate of toll, or profits, upon said road; but said toll shall not be so reduced, without the consent of said company, as to produce, with said profits, less than ten per cent. per annum, upon the investments of the said company.
Sect. 8.The said corporation may contract with the owners of any contiguous railroad leading into or from either of the states of Vermont or New York, for the use of the whole or any part thereof, or for the running and operating the two railroads conjointly, or for the leasing of such contiguous road, or for the letting or hiring of their own road to the owners of such contiguous road, or of any other road which composes a part of the railroad line between the cities of Boston and Troy, of which the railroad hereby authorized shall be a part.
Sect. 9.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall, within one year after the opening of their road for use, purchase and take an assignment of the lease and contract of transportation, made and executed between the Western Railroad Corporation and the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad Corporation, on the thirteenth day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six; and shall have all the advantages, and assume all the liabilities, accruing under and by virtue of said lease: provided, that the said Western. Railroad Corporation shall perform their covenants in said lease, to keep said road, and other property therewith connected, in repair, until such assignment; and shall, within six months after the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have filed the location of their road, according to law, and shall have raised, by subscription, one million of dollars, for the construction of the same, signify, in writing, their election to make such assignment: and provided, that, at the time of such assignment, there shall be secured to said Western Railroad Corporation, by a proper instrument, a lien or mortgage upon all their rights in said Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad, as collateral security for the performanceof all the obligations of said corporation, contained in said lease and contract of transportation: and, provided also, that, after the completion of the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad, the said Western Railroad Corporation shall assign and convey, to the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, the said contract of transportation, according to the terms of this section, if the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall so elect.
Sect. 10.This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [May 10, 1848.
[1852.—Chapter 291.]
An Actconcerning the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company and the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, a corporation established by the laws of Vermont, are hereby authorized by a vote of the stockholders now, or to be, passed, to unite themselves in one corporation; and such vote having been passed, they shall thereupon become one corporation, and all the franchises, property, powers, and privileges now enjoyed by, and all the restrictions, liabilities, and obligations imposed upon, said two corporations, by virtue of their respective charters, shall appertain to said united corporation in the same manner as if the same had been contained in or acquired under an original charter. Such corporation, so formed by such union, shall be called by the name of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Sect. 2.If the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall unite with said Southern Vermont Railroad Company, then, and in that case, one or more of the directors of such corporation, formed by such union, shall be an inhabitant of this Commonwealth, on whom processes against such corporation may be legally served, and said company shall be held answerable to answer in the jurisdiction where the service is made and the process returnable.
Sect. 3.The said company and the stockholders therein, so far as they are situate in Massachusetts, shall be subject to all the duties and liabilities of railroad corporations in Massachusetts, and to the general laws of this Commonwealth in relation to railroad corporations. [Approved by the Governor, May 20, 1852.
[1854.—Chapter 226.]
An Actauthorizing a Loan of the State Credit to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1.The treasurer of the Commonwealth is hereby authorized and instructed to issue scrip, or certificates of debt, in the name and inbehalf of the Commonwealth, and under his signature and the seal of the Commonwealth, for the sum of two millions of dollars, which may be expressed in the currency of Great Britain, and may be payable to the bearer thereof in London, and bearing an interest of five per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually in London, on the first days of April and October; or the said scrip may be issued in federal currency, payable in Boston, as the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall elect when they apply for each and every issue of said scrip, with warrants for the interest attached thereto, signed by the treasurer; which scrip or certificates, in the currency of Great Britain, shall be redeemable in London, and those in the federal currency, at Boston, at the end of thirty years from the date thereof, and the same shall bear date on the first day of April or October which shall precede the issue of each portion of said scrip; and all such scrip shall be countersigned by the governor of the Commonwealth, and be deemed a pledge of the faith and credit of the Commonwealth, for the redemption thereof; and the treasurer of the Commonwealth, under the conditions hereinafter provided, shall deliver the same to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company for the purpose of enabling the said company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the "Great Bend" in Deerfield River, in the town of Florida, at the base of Hoosac Mountain on the east, and the base of the western side of the mountain, near the east end of the village of North Adams, on the west.
Sect. 2.Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have obtained subscriptions to their corporate stock, in the sum of six hundred thousand dollars, and twenty per cent. on each and every share of said six hundred thousand dollars shall have been actually paid in, and shall have completed seven miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, a portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed, in one or two sections, ten miles of their said railroad, and two thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed fifteen miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and three thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said companyshall have completed twenty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and four thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed twenty-five miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and five thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed thirty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and six thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed thirty-two miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, including all their line to be constructed east of the town of Florida, and seven thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and for each additional portion or portions of said tunnel, of fifteen hundred lineal feet, in one or more directions, completed by said company, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; subject, however, to this proviso, that the last two hundred thousand dollars of said scrip shall be reserved until said company, their successors or their representatives, have opened said railroad for use through the Hoosac, and laid a continuous railroad from Greenfield to the line of the state in Williamstown, when the same shall be delivered: provided, that prior to the second delivery of scrip to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad corporation, according to the provisions of this section, evidence shall be furnished, satisfactory to the governor and council, that a sum, equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of the scrip then applied for, shall have been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation; in cash, by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the hundred and twenty thousand dollars to be paid prior to the delivery of any scrip. And that on each application for scrip, in pursuance of the provisions of this section, and prior to the delivery thereof, satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council, that a sum, equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of scrip then applied for, has been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, until six hundred thousand dollars subscribed for have been paid by the stockholders. And no scrip shall be delivered till satisfactory evidence of such payment is, from time to time, furnished to the governor and council.
Sect. 3.Whenever the treasurer of said company shall receive any of said scrip, he shall, within three months from the receipt of the same, pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund, by this act hereafter established, ten per cent. on the amount of scrip so taken, as a sinking fund; after the whole of said road is open for us, twenty-five thousand dollars annually, shall be set apart from the income of said road and paid to said commissioners, and the whole thereof shall be added to said sinking fund, and shall be managed, invested and appropriated, as is, or shall be provided by law, in relation thereto.
Sect. 4.The treasurer of the Commonwealth, the auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth, and the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company for the time being, shall be the commissioners of the sinking fund of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company. The said commissioners shall have the care and management of all the moneys, funds and securities at any time belonging to said sinking fund, and shall invest the same; but the moneys not invested, and all the securities of said fund, shall be in the custody of the treasurer of said Commonwealth.
Sect. 5.This act shall not take effect until said company, at an annual meeting, or at a special meeting duly notified for that purpose, shall have assented to the provisions thereof, and shall have executed to the Commonwealth a bond, in such form as the attorney-general prescribed on the issuing of scrip to the Western Railroad Corporation, conditioned, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall comply with the provisions of this act, and shall faithfully expend the proceeds of said scrip as herein provided, and shall indemnify and save harmless, the Commonwealth, from all loss or inconvenience on account of said scrip, and that said company shall well and truly pay the principal sum of said scrip, punctually when the same shall become due and payable, or such part thereof as the sinking fund aforesaid shall be insufficient to pay, and the interest thereon semi-annually, as the same shall fall due, and shall also assign to the Commonwealth, by suitable instrument or instruments, of the same form with that or those prepared by the attorney-general on the issuing of scrip to the Western Railroad Corporation, the entire railroad, with its income, and all the franchise and property to them belonging, the whole thereof to be held by the Commonwealth as a pledge or mortgage to secure the performance of all the conditions of said bond:provided,however, that the Commonwealth shall not take possession of said pledged or mortgaged property, or any part thereof, under or by virtue of said mortgage, unless for some substantial breach of some condition of said bond.
Sect. 6.In addition to the security provided in the preceding section, the said company shall assign all the interest they now have, or may hereafter obtained, in the Southern Vermont Railroad Company.
Sect. 7.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company are authorized, and at any time prior to the execution of said mortgage, and within one year from the passage of this act, to alter the present location of their road: provided, that the tunnel shall be located and constructed within the limits prescribed by the first section of this act.
Sect. 8.The time for completing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad is hereby extended, for the additional term of six years.
Sect. 9.When the Commonwealth shall have advanced to said company, said bond or scrip to the amount of five hundred thousand dollars, the legislature may elect two directors of said company, who shall hold office for the same time, be elected in the same manner, and receive compensation to the same amount as the state directors of the Western Railroad Corporation, but neither of them, while holding such office, shall serve as a director of any other railroad company. [Approved by the Governor, April 5, 1854.
[1855.—Chapter 394.]
An Actto authorize certain towns in the Counties of Franklin and Berkshire to subscribe to the Capital Stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1.That each of the several towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Conway, Coleraine, Charlemont, Deerfield, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Rowe, and Shelburne, in the county of Franklin, and each of the several towns of Adams, Florida and Williamstown, in the county of Berkshire, be, and hereby is, authorized to subscribe for and hold shares in the capital stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, to any amount of money not exceeding three per centum on the amount of its last valuation: provided, the inhabitants of such town or towns, at a legal town meeting duly called for that purpose, shall vote by a two-thirds vote to subscribe for such shares in accordance with the terms of this act, to pay for the same out of the town treasury, and to hold the same as town property, subject to the disposition of the town, for public purposes, in like manner as any other property which it may possess.
Sect. 2.Said towns are hereby authorized to raise, by loans or taxes, any sums of money which shall be required to pay the instalments on their respective subscription to said stock and interest thereon.
Sect. 3.This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [Approved by the Governor, May 18, 1855.
[1859.—Chapter 117.]
An Act in addition to, an Act authorizing a loan of the State Credit, to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:
SECT 1. The terms of the act authorizing a loan of the state credit to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel, are hereby modified as follows, viz.:
Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have actually obtained unconditional subscriptions to their corporate stock in the sum of six hundred thousand dollars, and twenty per cent. on each and every share of said six hundred thousand dollars shall have been actually paid in, and shall have completed seven miles of their road, in one or two sections, and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac Mountain, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, a portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and whenever said company shall have, excavated, in addition to the amount of tunnel above provided for, one thousand lineal feet, in one or more sections, of heading or gallery of fourteen feet width at the bottom, and six feet in height in the middle, and of suitable proportion and form, or (if excavated by machinery) circular, and with a diameter of not less than eight feet, another portion of said scrip, amounting to fifty thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have excavated two thousand feet of their said tunnel, of the size above specified, another portion of said scrip, amounting to thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company in addition to said two thousand feet, shall have excavated one thousand lineal feet of heading, in one or more sections, and of the size above specified, and shall have graded three miles of road, commencing on the bank of Green River, at the present location of the crossing of said stream, or north thereof, and extending towards Shelburne Falls, on the same side of Green River and Deerfield River as the present location, said three miles being all situated within four miles of the point of commencement, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading of said three miles as above, said company shall have excavated three thousand lineal feet of tunnel as above specified, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the three thousand feet above specified, shall have excavated, in one or more sections,one thousand lineal feet of heading, as above specified, and shall have graded six miles of road in location and otherwise as aforesaid, said six miles of road being all situate within seven miles of the point of commencement at Green River, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and when said company, in addition to the grading of six miles of road above specified, shall have excavated four thousand feet of tunnel as above, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the above, shall have excavated, in one or more sections, one thousand lineal feet of heading as aforesaid, and shall have graded nine miles of road, in location and otherwise as aforesaid, between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the above nine miles of graded road, shall have excavated five thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company shall have excavated, in one or more sections, one thousand lineal feet of heading as aforesaid, in addition to the five thousand feet of tunnel above specified, and shall have graded the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, crossing the Green River upon the present location, or at a point north thereof, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the grading of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls as aforesaid, shall have excavated six thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading and tunnel above specified, the said company shall have excavated as aforesaid, one thousand lineal feet of heading, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading above specified, the said company shall have excavated seven thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for each additional thousand feet of heading that shall be excavated of dimensions as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for each additional one thousand feet of tunnel that shall be excavated of dimensions as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company shall have completed the graduation and superstructure of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, on the route herein before specified, and shall haveput the same in running order, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of forty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls above specified, shall have completed the graduation and superstructure of two continuous miles of road, commencing at the western termination of the above road, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for the graduation and superstructure of each additional mile of road, graded and laid continuously through either of the towns of Buckland, Charlemont, Rowe or Florida, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid:provided, that when the rails shall have been laid and the road put in running order, between Greenfield and the east end of the Hoosac Tunnel, excepting that portion of the road which is to be made from the material to be furnished by the tunnel itself, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid: andprovided,also, that whenever the aggregate amount of scrip that shall have been delivered to the treasurer of said company shall have reached the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars, no further delivery of scrip shall be made until the whole of the tunnel through the Hoosac Mountain shall have been completed, of size not less than fourteen feet in width and eighteen feet in height from the bottom to the top of the excavation, and until the facades of the said tunnel and such portions as may require arching shall be finished with good substantial stone or brick masonry, and until the rails shall have been laid over the whole length of the road, including the tunnel, and the same constructed in such manner, and the necessary connections with other roads 80 finished, as will permit the convenient use of the same in the transportation of passengers and freight between the cities of Boston and Troy; but when such connections shall have been made, the tunnel fully completed and the road constructed as herein before provided, the balance of said scrip, amounting to three hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid: andprovided,also, that until the rails shall have been laid and the road put in running order between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, the aggregate payments under this act shall not exceed one million of dollars: andprovided,also, that prior to the second delivery of scrip to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation, according to the provisions of this section, evidence shall be furnished, satisfactory to the governor and council, that a sum equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of the scrip then applied for, shall have been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, (in cash,) by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to be paid prior to the delivery of anyscrip, and that on each application for scrip, in pursuance of the provisions of this section, and prior to the delivery thereof, satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council that a sum equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of scrip then' applied for, has been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, until the six hundred thousand dollars subscribed for shall have been paid by the stockholders; and no scrip shall be delivered until satisfactory evidence of such payment is, from time to time, furnished to the governor and council; and provided, also, no scrip shall be delivered to the treasurer of said corporation until satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council, that said corporation have expended in a reasonable manner, in excavating and completing said tunnel, and in grading, constructing and completing the line of road, a sum at least equal to the amount of all the preceding issues of scrip.
Sect. 2.The preceding section of this act shall not be so constructed as necessarily to delay the opening of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, until after the completion of six thousand feet of tunnel; but whenever any portion of not less than three miles of said road shall have been graded between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, as herein before provided, a portion of scrip, amounting to fifty thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of the said company; and in case such payments shall have been previously made upon the road, the payments upon the completion of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth thousand feet of tunnel shall be reduced to thirty thousand dollars for each thousand feet of heading, and twenty thousand dollars for each thousand feet of tunnel of the required dimensions; but no portion of said scrip shall be delivered for any portion of said heading or tunnel, until the corresponding portion of the road shall have been graded as is herein before provided.
Sect. 3.Whenever the treasurer of said company shall receive any of said scrip, he shall offer the scrip, 80 received, to the treasurer of the Commonwealth for sale; and if the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall so require, being thereunto authorized by law, the treasurer of said company shall sell and dispose of the same to the treasurer of the Commonwealth, at the fair market value thereof, to be determined by the governor and council. If the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall decide to buy as aforesaid, then the treasurer of the company shall forthwith pay, to the commissioners of the sinking fund, ten per cent. on the amount of the scrip so taken, as a sinking fund. If the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall decide not to buy, as aforesaid, then the treasurer of the company, within three months after the receipt of any of said scrip, shall pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund, ten per cent. on the amount of the scrip so received, as a sinking fund.After the whole of said road is open for use, twenty-five thousand dollars annually, shall be set apart from the income of said road, and paid to said commissioners; and the whole thereof shall be added to said sinking fund, and shall be managed; invested and appropriated, as is or shall be provided by law in relation thereto.
Sect. 4.The preceding sections shall be in lieu of and be substituted for sections two and three of chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, and the second section of said act is hereby repealed.
Sect. 5.The time for completing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, is hereby extended until December thirty-first, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Sect. 6.Subscriptions, the instalments upon which are payable in cash, or in the scrip of the towns authorized to subscribe to the stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, under the provisions of chapter three hundred and ninety-four of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, shall be considered as unconditional subscriptions, in compliance with the requirements of this act; and payment in the bonds of said towns shall be considered as cash.
Sect. 7.This act shall take effect, whenever said company shall file, in the office of the secretary of state, a certified copy of any vote or votes accepting the same, which may be passed at any regular meeting of the stockholders of said company, or at any meeting specially called for that purpose.
Approved March 26, 1859.
[1860.—Chapter 202.]
An Actin addition to an Act authorizing a loan of the State Credit to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:
Sect. 1.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall forthwith make and file in the proper offices a location of their entire road and tunnel, which location shall be made on that side or sides of the Deerfield River which will afford the most direct and eligible route between the village of Shelburne Falls and a suitable terminus in the town of Deerfield or Greenfield, to be determined by the state engineer appointed as hereinafter provided.
The grades of any part of the road hereafter to be constructed shall not exceed forty feet to the mile ascending eastward, and fifty feet to the mile ascending westward; and the limits of grade and curvature of said road, included within said location; and not graded, shall be such that the maximum resistance to the passage of trains, in either direction, shall not exceed the maximum resistance in the same direction on theFitchburg and Vermont and Massachusetts Railroads; and before any location made by the chief engineer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be filed, a copy of the alignment and a table of grades, verified by the oath of said engineer, shall be submitted to a state engineer appointed as hereinafter provided, who shall certify that the limits of grade and curvature herein before prescribed have not been exceeded, and the said table of grades so certified shall be filed with the location.
Sect. 2.No further deliveries of scrip shall be made to said company upon the conditions authorized in former acts, but the undelivered portions of the loan of two millions of dollars authorized by chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-four, amounting to one million seven hundred and seventy thousand dollars, shall be divided and apportioned between the railroad and tunnel, and for the construction of each, respectively; six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the completion of the unfinished portion of railroad extending from the eastern terminus of said road near Greenfield to within half a mile of the eastern-end of Hoosac Tunnel, and one million one hundred and twenty thousand dollars for the completion of the tunnel, which shall be delivered upon the conditions and in the manner hereinafter declared, subject however to the provisions of the third section of chapter one hundred and seventeen of the acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.
No delivery of any portion of said scrip shall be made until said company shall, at a special meeting duly authorized for the purpose, have assented to the provisions of this act, nor until said company shall have duly made and located their line of road as aforesaid, and shall have executed to the Commonwealth such further bond and mortgage, or other assurances of title on their franchise, railroad, or other property, as the attorney-general shall prescribe, for the further security of the Commonwealth; and said bond and mortgage, and other assurances, and all bonds, mortgages, or other assurances heretofore made to the Commonwealth by said company, shall have priority to and be preferred before any and all attachments or levies on execution heretofore or hereafter made.
Sect. 3.The governor and council shall annually appoint a state engineer for the purpose of examining and determining monthly the amount and value of the work done, and materials delivered on the railroad and tunnel of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, who shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, payable quarterly. The state engineer shall forthwith fix permanent marks in each end of the Hoosac Tunnel, marking the progress of the work up to February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty, from which todetermine the progress subsequently made. He shall also determine by suitable notes, marks, or observations, the amount and value of all grading, bridging, masonry, or other work done, or iron, or other materials delivered on the road east of the Hoosac Tunnel prior to December twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and fix data from which to determine the value of any work, or materials delivered subsequent to the date last named. He shall monthly, immediately after the first day of each month, estimate the proportion which the work done upon the road, since the preceding estimate, bears to the whole of the work required to be done in the graduation, masonry, bridging, and superstructure of said railroad east of the Hoosac Tunnel, and also the work done in the excavation of said tunnel, which he shall certify separately to the governor, together with the amount of state scrip to which the company is entitled under the provisions of this act. Such monthly estimates shall be based upon a width of road-bed at grade of fifteen feet, on embankments, seventeen and a half feet in side-cuts, and twenty feet in thorough-cuts; in the heading of the tunnel, upon dimensions fourteen feet wide and six feet high in the middle, and in the finished excavation of the tunnel of fourteen feet wide and eighteen feet high in the middle.
The deliveries of scrip shall be at the rate of fifty dollars for each lineal foot of tunnel, divided between heading and full sized tunnel, in the proportion' of thirty dollars for each lineal foot of heading and twenty dollars per lineal foot for the remaining excavation; and of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the whole of the graduation, masonry, bridging and superstructure of the unfinished portion of the road east of the tunnel.
The scrip shall be delivered on the road in the proportion which the value of the work done and the materials delivered each month bears to the estimated cost of the whole work and materials required on the portion of road aforesaid.
No expenditures shall be required merely for the purposes of ornament, but the work shall be substantially performed, and the rails shall weigh not less than fifty-six pounds to the lineal yard; for any defective materials or work, a proportionate amount of scrip shall be withheld.
The governor and council shall have a general supervision of the work, and for that purpose shall visit and inspect the same at least once in each year, and as much oftener as they may deem expedient; and they shall have power to correct abuses, remedy defects, and enforce requirements, by withholding scrip or imposing new requirements in such manner as the interest of the Commonwealth shall in their judgment require.
If the governor, upon the receipt of the monthly estimates and certificates of the state engineer, shall approve thereof, he shall transmit the same and his approval thereon to the state treasurer, and the state treasurer shall thereupon deliver the amount of scrip so certified for, to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, or to his order, subject to the provisions hereafter mentioned. If he shall not approve thereof he shall submit the same to the council, and their approval transmitted to the state treasurer as aforesaid shall authorize such delivery.
Sect. 4.The company shall at least thirty days before any interest on any state scrip delivered to said company becomes payable, transmit the amount thereof, with costs of exchange, to the treasurer of the state, and he shall in all cases and at the charge of said company, pay at maturity all interest and costs of exchange which become payable on said scrip where the same is payable; and if said interest and exchange and all interest and costs thereon, or any payments required to be made into the sinking fund, or interest thereon, or any part thereof, remain unpaid when said company becomes entitled to the next delivery of state scrip, then the state treasurer shall deduct the amount so remaining unpaid, with all costs and interest thereon, from the amount of scrip then deliverable.
Sect. 5.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company may construct their railroad across the public highways at grade, in cases where the county commissioners of the county do not determine such manner of crossing to be detrimental to the public safety and convenience; but whenever they do so determine, said company shall construct the same in such manner as the county commissioners direct.
Sect. 6.The legislature shall immediately after the passage of this act, elect two directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, to hold their office for one year, or until others are elected by the legislature; and any city, town or corporation that may subscribe not less than one hundred thousand dollars, shall have the right to elect annually one director; and any city that may subscribe not less than five hundred thousand dollars, shall have the right to elect annually by their council two directors in said company, which election may be held at any time after such subscription is made.
Sect. 7.The capital stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall consist of twenty-five thousand shares of the par value of one hundred dollars each, in which shall be included all shares heretofore issued or subscribed for, conditionally or unconditionally, or payable in work, an accurate account of which shall be made by the company, and recorded in the records of the directors. And the residue of said shares, and all shares which may revert to said company, shallbe hereafter issued only at par value, and for cash, or town or city scrip, or for the bonds of the company.
Sect. 8.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company is hereby authorized and required to purchase the entire road, franchise, stock, bonds, and other property of the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, together with the income, benefits and reversion of its lease to the Troy and Boston Railroad Company, and subject to its provisions, for the sum of two hundred thousand dollars; and for the purpose of enabling them to make such purchase, and transfer the same to the Commonwealth as additional security to the Commonwealth for its whole loan, a further issue and loan of state Scrip in federal currency; of the description specified in chapter two hundred and twenty-six, of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and fifty-four, is hereby authorized to be made, to the amount of two hundred thousand dollars, deliverable as follows, namely:
Whenever all the capital stock of the Southern Vermont Railroad, excepting not exceeding twenty shares, of one hundred dollars each, and one hundred thousand dollars of its mortgage bonds, with coupons attached, the whole amount being one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, payable in twenty years from the date of issue, with six per cent. interest, payable semi-annually at the Bank of Commerce, in the city of New York, and the aforesaid lease of said company to the Troy and Boston Railroad Company, together with the rent reserved therein of twelve thousand dollars per annum, payable semi-annually, shall have been transferred to the treasurer of the Commonwealth, for the future security of the Commonwealth for its whole loan of credit to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, in such manner as the attorney-general shall prescribe, and to the satisfaction of the governor and council, the state treasurer shall deliver one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars of said scrip to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company; and when the remaining portion of said bonds, with the coupons attached, shall be in like manner delivered to the state treasurer, he shall deliver to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company the balance of said scrip, amounting to seventy-five thousand dollars:provided, that if any holders of said bonds, not exceeding ten thousand dollars in all, shall refuse to surrender the same at par, the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall not be required to purchase the same, but the state treasurer shall withhold an equal amount of state scrip at par in lieu thereof.
The semi-annual payments of the coupons, with the balance of the income from the lease of the Southern Vermont Railroad, shall be collected by or paid to the state treasurer, who shall therefrom pay the interest on the two hundred thousand dollars of five per cent. scrip herein authorized to be issued, and shall pay the balance to the commissionersof the sinking fund of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad loan, to be by them from time to time invested as is now by law required.
The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall, as soon as may be after the passage of this act, procure from the legislature of the slate of Vermont the requisite authority for purchasing, holding and mortgaging to the Commonwealth the franchise, railroad and property of the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, according to the provisions of this act; and in case such authority shall not be granted, and any want of security by reason thereof accrue to the Commonwealth, the governor and council shall withhold from the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company portions of scrip constituting the last deliveries to be made on the completion of the tunnel, to such amount, not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars, as may be required for further security.
Sect. 9.All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed:provided,however, that such repeal shall not, and nothing contained in this act shall, have effect or be construed in anyway to release or impair any security which the Commonwealth now has or may hereafter have by force of the bond and mortgage now held by the Commonwealth on the franchise, railroad and property of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Approved April 4, 1860.
[1862.—Chapter 156.]
An Actproviding for the more speedy completion of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:
Sect. 1.The governor, with the advice of the council, is hereby authorized and directed to appoint three able, impartial and skilful commissioners to investigate the subject of finishing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, and of tunneling the Hoosac Mountain, whose duty it shall be to report to the governor and council what, in their judgment, will be the most economical, practical and advantageous method of completing said road and tunnel, the estimated cost of fitting the same for use, the time within which the tunnel can be completed, and what contracts can be effected, and with what parties, for completing said tunnel and road, and the probable cost of the same, the probable pecuniary value of the road and tunnel when completed, the sources and amount of traffic and income, and all other facts in their opinion useful to assist the governor and council in determining the best method of securing a continuous railroad communication between Troy and Greenfield.
Sect. 2.The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company is hereby authorized to surrender to the slate, the property now mortgaged; but the right of redemption shall not be barred until ten years have elapsedafter said road and tunnel are completed and the same open for use. The said commissioners shall immediately, in the name of the Commonwealth, take complete possession under the mortgages to the Commonwealth, given by the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, of all property, rights and interests intended to be conveyed by said mortgages, or either of them, and then shall, without unnecessary delay, cause the said railroad to be completed and put into running order, and supplied with suitable depots, turn-tables and other usual and necessary appliances for the reception of freight and passenger cars, from the eastern terminus of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad to the Hoosac Tunnel.
Sect. 3.Said commissioners shall audit and allow all just claims for labor, service, materials, land-damages incurred after April sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty, and before July twelfth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, in carrying on the work of constructing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, and may procure the release of all attachments and discharge all liens on said materials. The accounts thus audited shall be transmitted to the governor, and, if approved by the governor and council, the governor is hereby directed to draw his warrant upon the treasurer in favor of the claimants, for the amounts thus allowed, to an amount not exceeding one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
Sect. 4.Said commissioners are hereby authorized, with consent of the governor and council, to use or run that portion of said road east of the Hoosac Mountain, or lease the same to the "Vermont and Massachusetts," the "Fitchburg," the "Troy and Boston Railroad Company," or either of them, until the completion of the said tunnel.
Sect. 5.Said commissioners shall have authority, with the approval of the governor and council, to continue the work on the Hoosac Tunnel, and by contract or otherwise, to expedite the completion of said tunnel.
Sect. 6.All the net earnings and income derived from said railroad, including the tunnel, shall be held by the Commonwealth in trust: first, for the payment and reimbursement of the interest on all loans, advancements and disbursements of the Commonwealth, on account of said railroad or tunnel: second, for the payment and reimbursement to all parties having a legal right thereto.
Sect. 7.The governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the treasurer of the Commonwealth, for such sums as may be required from time to time by the commissioners for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act, and the amount of the same is hereby appropriated therefore; and the treasurer of the Commonwealth is hereby authorized to issue scrip, or certificates of debts, in the name and in behalf of the Commonwealth, to an extent sufficient to secure the required funds, which scrip shall bear such rate of interest, as is allowedat the time on state scrip issued for other purposes, and shall be redeemable at the end of thirty years from the date thereof; and he shall sell or otherwise use the same at his discretion, to procure the sum necessary to meet the payments in this act provided: provided, that all expenditures and advances made under and by virtue of this act, shall be on account, and form part of the two millions of dollars, authorized to be loaned in state scrip to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company by chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-four; and said expenditures and advances, together with all sums hitherto advanced to said company, excepting the sums advanced on account of the "Southern Vermont Railroad," shall not exceed in amount the said two millions of dollars. Such changes may be made in the location and grades of the road, as may be necessary to improve the same; and no lease shall be made of the portion of the road east of the tunnel for a term exceeding six years; nor shall such portion be constructed without the approval of the governor and council.
Sect. 8.All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed.
Sect. 9.This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved April 28, 1862.
[1863.—Chapter 214.]
An Actin addition to "an Act providing for the more speedy completion of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel."
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:
Sect. 1.The commissioners appointed under the one hundred and fifty-sixth chapter of the acts of eighteen hundred and sixty-two, are hereby authorized, subject to the advice and approval of the governor and council, to construct, complete and equip the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel; and to make such alterations in the line of said road as may be deemed necessary to render it suitable and proper for part of a thorough line from Troy to Boston; also such alterations in the location and dimensions of said tunnel as will render it suitable and proper for use, in accordance with the spirit and intent of the two hundred and twenty-sixth chapter of the acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-four.
Sect. 2.The governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the treasurer of the Commonwealth for such sums as may be required from time to time by said commissioners for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act, and the act or acts to which this is in addition; and there is accordingly hereby appropriated for the purpose of constructing and completing said tunnel and railroad and equipping the the same, and paying interest upon such scrip, as has been or may beissued during the progress of the work, the unexpended balance of the two millions of dollars authorized by chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and fifty-four, and referred to in chapter one hundred and fifty-six of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-two. And the treasurer of the Commonwealth is hereby authorized, upon the warrant of the governor drawn as aforesaid, to issue scrip or certificates of debt to the amount of said appropriation, which shall be expressed in such currency and shall bear such rate of interest as the governor and council may direct, and shall be redeemable at the end of thirty years from the date thereof: and said treasurer shall sell or otherwise dispose of the same as he may deem proper, subject to the approval of the governor and council.
Sect. 3.Said commissioners', and their successors in office, shall be removable by the governor, with the advice of the council, and in case of any vacancy occasioned by death; resignation or removal, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the governor, with the advice of the council; and said commissioners shall, once in three months, and oftener if required, present to the governor and council an account of all contracts entered into by them as such commissioners, and of all payments and charges by them made, by virtue of their commission, with their vouchers therefore, which vouchers and accounts shall be examined, and if found correct, and in good faith, shall be allowed by the governor and council; but no lease of any part of said railroad, nor any contract amounting to more than ten thousand dollars shall be made by said commissioners without the of the governor and council.
Sect. 4.Said commissioners in altering the location of the line of said road shall have the same power as railroad corporations have in making locations under existing laws, and may take, by purchase or otherwise, such lands, or easements therein, as may be needed for any purposes connected with the construction of said tunnel, and all titles or easements so taken shall vest in the Commonwealth; and all parties aggrieved by any action of said commissioners, under this section, may have their damages assessed in the manner provided by law for the assessment of damages against railroad corporations; and all damages so assessed shall be paid from the treasury of the Commonwealth to the party entitled thereto, upon the warrant of the governor, drawn pursuant to the provisions of this act.
Sect. 5.Said commissioners, subject to the approval of the governor and council, shall have the power to use a part of the money appropriated by this act, not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, to extinguish any liens or claims, or rights of redemption which any person or corporation may have, in order to perfect the title of the Commonwealth to said railroad and tunnel.
Sect. 6.The contract executed by the Troy and Boston Railroad Company, on the eighteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, by the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company on the twentieth day of said February, and by the Fitchburg Railroad Company on the twenty-third day of said month, printed on pages eighty-eight to ninety-four, inclusive, of the report of said commissioners made on the twenty-eighth day of February, aforesaid, and referred to in the message of the governor, dated the twelfth day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three, is hereby approved, ratified and confirmed.
Sect. 7.The compensation or said commissioners shall be fixed by the governor, with the advice of the council; but the compensation of the chairman of said commissioners shall in no event exceed the sum of five thousand dollars per annum, nor shall the entire compensation of all of said commissioners exceed the sum of seven thousand dollars per annum.
Approved April 29, 1868.
[C.]
Statement of J. W. Brooks, Esq., Chairman of the Commissioners, made to the Committee during the session of the Legislature, 1866.
The first Act for loaning the credit of the State to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, dated April 5, 1854, provides, besides other conditions, that when seven miles of the road in one or two sections is completed, and 1,000 feet of the tunnel, in one or more sections, sufficient for one or more tracks is completed, then $100,000 of scrip shall be delivered to the company.
The size of the tunnel required by this Act is not definitely stated, nor what proportion of the $100,000 of scrip is loaned on account of the tunnel.
The Act of April 4, 1860, defines the size the tunnel to be 14 feet wide and 18 feet high. If this means excavation and not completed tunnel, then the room required for the ballast and drainage would reduce the height to about 16 feet above the rails; a size absurdly small enough to be regarded as certainly not above the minimum intended by the Act. The same Act provides that $30 per foot shall be allowed on account of heading, and $20 on account of the enlargement, making $50 per foot for the completed tunnel; $50,000 of the first advance may therefore be considered as on account of the first 1,000 feet of completed tunnel, and the remainder, say $50,000, on account of the road which had been then completed west of the tunnel.
The second delivery of scrip was on account of the tunnel, and under the provisions of the' Act of 1859, which provides that $50,000 may be advanced upon the completion of 1,000 feet of heading. The heading was done and $49,777.78 delivered October 4, 1859.
The third delivery of scrip was under the provisions of the same Act, and was on account of grading three miles of road, in detached pieces, near Greenfield. For this, $50,222.22 was delivered January 3, 1860.
The fourth delivery was under the same Act, and for completing the second 1,000 feet of tunnel, for which $30,222.22, was delivered March 1, 1860.
An Act changing the terms of the loan was passed April 4, 1860. Section 2 divides the scrip remaining undelivered, as follows: "No further deliveries of scrip shall be made to said company upon the conditions authorized in former Acts, but the undelivered portions of the loan of two millions of dollars authorized by chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the Acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-four, amounting toone million seven hundred and seventy thousand dollars, shall be divided and apportioned between the railroad and tunnel, and for the construction of each, respectively: 'six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the completion of the unfinished portion of railroad extending from the eastern terminus of said road near Greenfield, to within half a mile of the eastern end of Hoosac Tunnel."
Section 3 contains the following provisions: "The governor and council shall annually appoint a state engineer for the purpose of examining and determining monthly the amount and value of the work done, and materials delivered on the railroad and tunnel of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, who shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, payable quarterly. The state engineer shall forthwith fix permanent marks in each end of the Hoosac Tunnel, marking the progress of the work up to February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty, from which to determine the progress subsequently made. He shall also determine by suitable notes, marks or observations, the amount and value of all grading, bridging, masonry, or other work done, or iron, or other materials delivered on the road east of the Hoosac Tunnel, prior to December twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and fix data from which to determine the value of any work, or materials delivered subsequent to the date last named. He shall monthly, immediately after the first day of each month, estimate the proportion which' the work done upon the road, since the preceding estimate, bears to the whole of the work required to be done in the graduation, masonry, bridging, and superstructure of said railroad east of the Hoosac Tunnel; and also the work done in the excavation of said tunnel, which he shall certify separately to the governor, together with the amount of state scrip to which the company is entitled under the provisions of this Act. Such monthly estimates shall be based upon a width of road-bed at grade of fifteen feet, on embankments, seventeen and a half feet in side cuts, and twenty feet in through cuts; in the heading of the tunnel upon dimensions fourteen feet wide and six feet high in the middle, and in the finished excavation of the tunnel of fourteen feet wide and eighteen feet high in the middle.