122 CORPORATIONS. [ART. 23

1890, ch. 553.

178. It shall be lawful for any railroad company heretofore
or hereafter incorporated under the laws of this State to consoli-
date with any other railroad company incorporated under the
laws of this or any other State, or of the United States, whose
railroad within or without this State shall connect with or form a
continuous line with the railroad of the company so consolidating
upon such terms as may be agreed upon; provided, however,
that the agreement for such consolidation shall be submitted to
the stockholders of the railroad company incorporated under the
laws of this State at a special meeting called for considering the
same, and shall be sanctioned by the holders of a majority of the
stock of such company, and if sanctioned at such meeting by
such holders of a majority of the stock, shall be filed in the office
of the Secretary of State of this State; and provided further,
that such agreement shall contain no provisions in conflict with
the provisions of this article or which shall exempt such railroad
so far as it lies in this State from the operation of the laws of
this State, and nothing in this section shall be construed to
authorize the consolidation of any railroad companies owning or
operating, competing or parallel roads, or parallel lines of rail-
road which is hereby declared to be unlawful and expressly pro-
hibited without the special consent of the general assembly being
first obtained therefor.
State use of Dodson v. Balto. & Lehigh R. R. Co. 77 Md. 491.

1896, ch. 296.

180 A. Whenever freight forwarded upon any railroad to any
point in this State shall consist of live stock, or shall be of such
a perishable nature, or so damaged, or of such other character as
to make it impracticable for it to remain in the possession of the
company owning or operating said railroad, for the space of
three months after its arrival at the point to which it shall have
been directed, and the owner or person to whom the same is con-
signed cannot be found after diligent inquiry, or being found and
notified of the arrival of such freight, shall refuse or neglect to
remove the same, and pay the legal charges thereon, for the
space of twenty-four hours, then, upon application by said rail-
road company, verified by affidavit, to any judge of the circuit