PHILLIPS LEE GOLDSBOROUGH, ESQ., GOVERNOR. 1393

council designated by him, and 'while in the discharge of such
duty the person conducting the same shall have and exercise
the powers of the Circuit Court for preservation of order and
enforcing process issued in the course of the proceedings, and
may summon and compel the attendance of witnesses and jurors,
preside at the investigation, pass on the competency of evi-
dence, and instruct the commissioners as to the law. (b) When
any ordinance shall provide for taking private property for
any public use, it shall describe said property. The Mayor
or member of the council designated, as above provided, shall
thereupon appoint a day and place for empanelling the com-
missioners to ascertain the compensation for the property to be
taken, and to make assessments to pay for the same. The town
clerk shall then issue a notice under his hand and the seal of
the town, which shall give the names of the owners, at the date
of the ordinance, of the property to be taken; shall state the
date -and purpose of the ordinance, and shall state that their
property will be taken for the purpose specified in the ordi-
nance, and that commissioners will be empanelled to ascertain
said compensation, and on the day and at the place fixed by
the Mayor or member of the council, as the case may be; said
notice shall be served by the bailiff by delivering to such owner
a copy thereof or by leaving such a copy for such owner at his
usual place of abode with some member of his family over the
age of fifteen years. Corporations shall be served with such
notice in like manner as with summons in ordinary civil action.
If service cannot be made on all or any of the parties afore-
said within the town the return shall so state and be prima
facie evidence of the facts stated therein, whereupon said notice
shall be published once a week for three weeks before the day
for the sitting of said commissioners in some newspaper having
a general circulation in said town; an affidavit of the publisher
of said notice shall be evidence of the facts; service of the
notice shall be made at least six days before the commissioners
meet; it shall be sufficient to bring in the owners of and all
persons claiming any interest in the property affected by such
proceedings who may be the owners or be interested therein
at the time the ordinance providing for the improvement takes
effect, and all parties claiming or holding through or under
such owners or persons interested shall be bound by such pro-
ceedings, (c) The commissioners shall ascertain the just com-
pensation to be paid, as follows: First, for each piece of prop-
erty taken where the public use thereof shall be such that the
town must have exclusive possession thereof, the actual value of
the property taken; second, for each piece of property taken