412

WASHINGTON COUNTY. [ART. 21.

may be made to any justice of the peace for Washing-
ton county, who shall thereupon issue his summons
under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of said

Jury

county, requiring him to summon a jury of twenty
inhabitants of said county not interested in. the pro-
perty to be valued, to meet on the land or near the
other property, to be valued on a day named in said
summons, not less than ten nor more than twenty days
after the issuing of the same, and if at the time named
in said summons any of said jurors summoned do not
attend, the sheriff shall immediately summon as many
jurors as may be necessary, with the jurors in attend-
ance, and from them each party or his agent, or if
either be not present in person or by agent, the sheriff
for him make strike off four jurors, and the remaining
jurors shall act as the jury of inquest of damages, and
the sheriff shall, before the said jury shall act, adminis-

Oath of jurors.

ter to each of them an oath that he will justly and
impartially value the damages which the owner will
sustain by the use or occupation of the property re-
quired by the said corporation. The jury shall sum-
mon such witnesses as the parties may require, and
examine them on oath 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 unneces-
sary delay, and before proceeding to the examination
of any other claim, they shall ascertain and determine
the compensation which ought to be made by the said
corporation to the party owning or being interested in
the property to be condemned.

Ibid. s. 3.
Inquisition to
be returned to
circuit court.

343. The jury shall reduce their inquisition to writ-
ing and shall sign and seal the same, and it shall then
be returned by the sheriff to the clerk of the circuit
court for Washington county, and shall be filed by the
said clerk in said court, and the said inquisition shall
be confirmed by the said court if no sufficient cause to
the contrary be shown, and when confirmed shall be
recorded by said clerk at the expense of the corpora-
tion; and if the said inquisition be set aside, the said