336 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Feb. 19,

heritance and distribution as to the petitioner s estate
and the same rights of protection, education and
maintenance as if born to such petitioner in lawful
weddlock, and the natural parents of such child shall be
freed from all legal obligation towards it; provided,
that where such child inherits property from
its adopted parent or parents, upon its dying intes-
tate without issue, the property thus inherited shall
descend and be distributed to the same persons who
would take the same by inheritance and in course
of distribution, if the child had been the child of the
adopted parents, born to them in lawful wedlock;
provided, however, that this shall not be construed to
limit or interfere with the power of disposition over
such property by gift, grant, devise, bequest or other-
wise by said adopted child.

62 D. If the petition contains a prayer to that effect,
the court may also decree that the name of the child
be changed.

62 E. The term child or the equivalent in a deed,
grant, will or other written instrument, shall be held
to include any child adopted by the person executing
the same, unless the contrary plainly appears by the
terms thereof, whether such instrument be executed
before or after the adoption.

62. F. Any inhabitant of any other State adopted
as a child in accordance with the laws thereof, shall
upon proof of such fact be entitled in this State to
the same rights of inheritance and distribution as he
would have enjoyed in the State where adopted, ex-
cept in so far as they may conflict with the provisions
of this Act.

Section 2. And V e it enacted, That this Act shall
take effect from the date of its passage.

Which were adopted.

Said bill as amended, was read the second time,
and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

REPORTS OF SELECT COMMITTEES.

Mr. Lloyd, from a Select Committee, reported fav-
orably,

House bill entitled an Act to amend section 23, of