Belmont

and

after ten years.

SECTION 14. The town of Belmont and the city of CamCambridge may bridge, or either of them, may, at any time during the continuance of the charter of said corporation, and after the expiration of ten years from the opening of any part of said road for use, purchase of said corporation all the franchise, property, rights and furniture of said corporation, by paying therefor such a sum as will reimburse to each person who shall then be a stockholder therein, the par value of his stock, together with a net profit of ten per cent. per annum, from the time of the transfer of said stock to him on the books of the corporation, deducting the dividends received by said stockholder thereon; said town and said city having the right to purchase only that part of the corporate property which relates to and lies within the limits of their own jurisdictions, respectively, and paying therefor a proportionate sum, on the basis above mentioned, to be ascertained and fixed by commissioners, to be appointed by the supreme judicial court.

Acceptance of

tion of road.

SECTION 15. This act shall be void, so far as relates to act and construc- the right to construct said road, in either said Belmont or said city of Cambridge, unless the same shall be accepted by the selectmen of said Belmont and the mayor and aldermen of said city of Cambridge, respectively; and unless the same shall be accepted by said corporation, and also unless said road shall be constructed within two years from the passage of this act.

Annual returns.

SECTION 16. Said corporation shall be subject to all general provisions of law, that are or may be prescribed, relative to horse or street railroads; and shall be deemed a railroad corporation, so far as to be subject to make such annual returns to the legislature, as are or may be prescribed by Land damages. law; and also so far as to be subject to all existing provisions of law for the assessment and payment of damages for the land outside of the streets and highways, taken by them for their tracks.

Chap. 91.

Return of writ.

Issues, how framed.

SECTION 17. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved March 25, 1861.

AN ACT CONCERNING HABEAS CORPUS AND PERSONAL LIBERTY.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:

SECTION 1. The writ of habeas corpus shall in all cases, except those mentioned in the thirtieth and thirty-second sections of the one hundred and forty-fourth chapter of the General Statutes, be returnable before the supreme judicial court, or some justice thereof, in term time or vacation.

SECTION 2. When any trial shall be had upon a writ of habeas corpus, under the nineteenth section of the one

hundred and forty-fourth chapter of the General Statutes, issues shall be framed under the direction of the court, and the rules of evidence, procedure and decision, shall be those of the common law.

SECTION 3. Nothing contained in the statutes of the Construction of existing statutes Commonwealth shall be construed to authorize the taking defined. of any person by writ of habeas corpus out of the custody of the United States marshal, or his deputy, holding him by legal and sufficient process, issued by any court or magistrate of competent jurisdiction: provided, however, that this shall Proviso. not affect the authority of the supreme judicial court, or its justices, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the United States, and of this Commonwealth, to investigate and determine upon the validity and legal effect of any process which may be relied on to defeat the writ, or any other matter properly arising.

mine construc

SECTION 4. Nothing contained in the sixty-second section Intent of party of the one hundred and forty-fourth chapter of the General charged to deterStatutes shall be construed to authorize the punishment of tion of statute any person, who, without any false pretence or unlawful intent, claims another person as a fugitive from service or labor.

of statutes to pre

tia.

SECTION 5. Nothing contained in the one hundred and No construction forty-fourth chapter of the General Statutes shall be con- vent proper officer strued to prohibit or limit the right of any officer, court or calling out milimagistrate to call out the militia for the prevention or suppression of any riot, tumult or mob, as provided in the thirteenth and one hundred and sixty-fourth chapters of the General Statutes; or to excuse the officers or members of the volunteer militia from obeying any such lawful order, or to render them liable to any penalty for executing the same: provided, that the militia shall never be used to Proviso. hinder the service of any lawful process of this Commonwealth.

Approved March 25, 1861.

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE MERCANTILE SAVINGS INSTITUTION IN

THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Be it enacted, &c., as follows:

Chap. 92.

SECTION 1. Richard Holmes, Daniel Farrar, and John Corporators. A. Nowell, their associates and successors, are hereby incorporated under the name of the Mercantile Savings Institu- Title. tion, to be located in the city of Boston, with all the powers Powers and duand privileges, and subject to all the provisions of the fiftyseventh chapter of the General Statutes, so far as the same are applicable to the objects of said institution, and to all laws in addition thereto. Said institution shall not be a

ties.

Capital.

Shares.

Proviso.

Transfer of property to authorized.

Commissioners

bank of issue or discount, and shall not receive deposits in any other manner than is provided in said chapter in relation to savings banks.

SECTION 2. Said institution may have a capital stock of three hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, to be paid in, in silver or gold coin, or in the bills of solvent banks of this Commonwealth, except as is hereinafter provided; but said corporation shall not be organized under this charter, until one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of said capital shall have been paid in. SECTION 3. In the organization of this institution, it shall be lawful for the securities and property held by Avery P. Ellis, Charles L. Shaw, and Frederick H. Henshaw, as trustees of the Mercantile Banking and Savings Association, so called, to be transferred to the said corporation; and to be appointed there shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice rities, &c., and of the council, three disinterested, discreet persons, who shall proceed, at the expense of said corporation, to examine said securities, and the books and accounts of said trustees, and carefully to determine the value of the same, and make a report of their doings to the governor, certifying the cash value of said securities and property so transferred, and the amount of capital stock which may be safely issued therefor, and the persons to whom the same ought to be issued; and the same being by the governor approved, said corporation. may be allowed to issue certificates of stock in accordance therewith. After such issue of stock, no stock shall be issued except as is provided in the second section of this act.

to examine secu

report to govern

or.

Governor to approve report.

Issue of stock.

Investments.

Loans.

Applications for

loans.

Books for applications.

Two per cent. of

SECTION 4. The capital of said institution, and the deposits therein, shall be invested as is provided for the investments of the deposits of savings banks.

SECTION 5. Whenever said institution shall have funds to loan, applications therefor in sums as small as one hundred dollars, with satisfactory security, shall not be refused. SECTION 6. Applications for loans with satisfactory security, shall be granted in the order in which they are severally made, except that applications for loans of one thousand dollars or less, shall have precedence of applications for larger sums.

SECTION 7. Books shall be kept in which all applications for loans shall be entered with the securities offered, which shall be open at all times to the inspection of applicants, and of the stockholders and the bank commissioners.

SECTION 8. Two per cent. per annum, on the sum in certain loans may each case loaned, may be reserved upon all loans of two thousand dollars or less than that sum, for the benefit of the

be reserved.

institution; but the borrowers of any such sums shall be entitled, at any time before the expiration of the term for which the loan may have been granted, to repay the sum so borrowed, and to receive the proportional part of the premium so retained.

exceeding five

SECTION 9. All sums of money of five dollars or more, Interest on sums deposited in said institution, shall draw interest, except for dollars, five per fractional parts of a month, while they remain on deposit, cent. at a rate of not less than five per cent. per annum.

SECTION 10. Dividends upon the deposits shall be declared Dividends. every six months; and any excess of income or profit accruing to the institution, after affording to the stockholders an average annual dividend of ten per cent., shall once in every five years, in just proportion, be divided among the depositors who shall have been such for the six months immediately preceding the time when such dividend shall be declared.

SECTION 11. Nothing herein contained shall be held or Construction of deemed to authorize any bank in this Commonwealth to act. take a greater rate of interest than six per cent. per annum.

stock.

SECTION 12. The capital stock of said institution shall Transfer be transferable only at the office and in the books thereof. SECTION 13. This institution shall pay to the Common- Tax. wealth a semi-annual tax of one-half of one per cent. upon its capital stock, according to the provisions of sections eighty-nine and ninety of the fifty-seventh chapter of the General Statutes.

Approved March 25, 1861.

AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE
GOVERNMENT DURING THE CURRENT YEAR.

of

Chap. 93.

for 1861.

Be it enacted, &c., as follows: SECTION 1. The sums hereinafter mentioned are appro- Appropriations priated, and shall be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth, from the ordinary revenue, upon the warrants of the governor, for the purposes specified, to meet the current expenses of the year ending on the thirty-first day of December, one thousand eight hundred and sixtyone, that is to say:

For the salary of the chief justice of the superior court, Chief justice suthree thousand seven hundred dollars.

perior court.

For the salaries of nine associate justices of said court, Associates. thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars.

For the salary of the clerk of the supreme judicial court Clerk S. J. court. for the Commonwealth, three thousand dollars.

Assistant.

Expenses.

Judges of probate

For the salary of the assistant-clerk of said court, fifteen hundred dollars.

For expenses of said court, two thousand five hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for and insolvency. the county of Suffolk, three thousand dollars.

Suffolk.

Middlesex.

Worcester.

Essex.

Norfolk.

Bristol.

Plymouth.

Berkshire.

Hampden.

Barnstable.

Hampshire.

Franklin.

Nantucket.

Dukes.

Registers and assistants.

Suffolk.

Middlesex.

Worcester.

Essex.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Middlesex, two thousand dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Worcester, eighteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Essex, fifteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Norfolk, fourteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Bristol, eleven hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Plymouth, one thousand dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Berkshire, eight hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Hampden, eight hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Barnstable, seven hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Hampshire, six hundred and fifty dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Franklin, six hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Nantucket, three hundred dollars.

For the salary of the judge of probate and insolvency for the county of Dukes County, two hundred and fifty-dollars. For the salary of the register of probate and insolvency for the county of Suffolk, three thousand dollars.

For the salary of the assistant-register for the county of Suffolk, fifteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the register of probate and insolvency for the county of Middlesex, fifteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the assistant-register for the county of Middlesex, one thousand dollars.

For the salary of the register of probate and insolvency for the county of Worcester, fifteen hundred dollars.

For the salary of the assistant-register for the county of Worcester, one thousand dollars.

For the salary of the register of probate and insolvency for the county of Essex, fifteen hundred dollars.