THOMAS SWANN, ESQUIRE, GOVERNOR

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with the owners of any lands, earth, gravel, tim-
ber, or other materials, or any improvements for
the construction or repair of any of the said road
or branches of said road, or for its depots, sta-
tions or works, for the purchase or use and occu-
pation of the same ; and in case they cannot agree,
or if the owner or owners of any of them be a
femme covert, minor, non compos mentis, or out of
the State, on application to a Justice of the Peace
of Kent County, he shall issue his warrant, under
his hand and seal, directed to the Sheriff of said
county, requiring him to summon a jury of twenty
inhabitants of the county not related nor in any
wise interested in the premises, to meet on the
land to be valued on a day to be specified in said
warrant, not less than ten nor more than thirty
days after issuing the same ; and in case any of

the jurors aforesaid do not attend the Sheriff shall
instanter summon as many jurors as may be ne-
cessary, with the jurors in attendance, to furnish
a panel of twenty jurors in attendance, and from
them each party, his, her, or their agent, and if
either be not present in person or by agent, the
Sheriff may strike off four jurors for each of the
absent parties, and the remaining twelve shall act
as the jury of inquest of damages, and before they
act as such the Sheriff shall administer to each of
them on oath or affirmation, as the case may be,
that he will justly and impartially value the dam-
ages and benefits which the owner or owners of
said lands will sustain by the use or occupation of
the same required by the Company; if required
by the party or parties whose lands are to be af-
fected by their proceedings or by the said Railroad
Company or their agent or agents, the jury shall
cause to be summoned such witnesses as the par-
ties may require, and shall examine them on oath
or affirmation to be administered by the said Sheriff

Damage.

or the foreman of the jury in relation to the value
of the property to be condemned, and they shall
reduce the testimony, if any is taken by them, to
writing ; and after the testimony is closed, and
without any unnecessary delay, and after having
made a fair and just comparison of the advantages
and disadvantages arising from the said Railroad,
they shall estimate and determine whether any,
and if any, what amount of damages has been or

Take testi-
mony.