CORPORATIONS. 81

stock which the corporation, whose road shall have been pur-
chased as aforesaid, was entitled to issue, and the persons sign-
ing such certificate, and their successors, shall be a body cor-
porate and politic by the name specified in such certificate, with
power to sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, and
to own, maintain, possess and operate the railroad referred to
in such certificate, and to transact all business connected with
the same; and a copy of such certificate attested by the Sec-
retary of State shall in all Courts and places be evidence of
the due organization and existence of such corporation and of
the matters specified in such certificates; and provided, how-
ever, that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to
confer upon any railroad lying wholly within this State or
partly within this State and partly within an adjoining State
or the District of Columbia, organized under the provisions of
this Article, where any portion of said railroad lying within
the State of Maryland is uncompleted, any of the rights, fran-
chises, privileges, benefits or advantages belonging to the cor-
poration whose railroad shall be so sold as aforesaid until the
railroad company so organized under the provisions of this
Article shall have entered into a bond to the State of Maryland
with surety or sureties satisfactory to the "Board of Public
Works" in the penalty of twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dol-
lars conditioned upon the building, in each year, and placing
in operation of at least five miles of such uncompleted road in
each twelve months, counting from the date of the organiza-
tion of said railroad under this Section, until the entire road
within the State of Maryland as originally contemplated and
provided for in the Charter of the corporation whose railroad
and franchises may be sold, shall have been fully completed
and put in operation, whereupon said bond shall be and become
null and void; otherwise to remain in full virtue and effect;
and provided further, that upon the failure of any corporation
organized under the provisions of this Section, of a railroad
lying wholly within this State, or partly within this State and
partly within an adjoining State or the District of Columbia,
to construct and operate five additional miles in each year in
accordance with the first proviso hereof, the Attorney-General
of the State shall cause suit to be brought in the name of the
State against such company for a forfeiture of its Charter and
corporate existence and to enforce the penalty of said bond so
given to the State of Maryland.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That a new Section be
and the same is hereby added to Article 23 of the Code of
Public General Laws of 1904 to come directly after Section
275, and to be known as Section 275A, and to read as follows:

275A. Any corporation heretofore formed under the pro-