1847.

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

CHAP. 202.

may extend said road from the town of Salisbury down

said Wicomico river on either side to not more than three
miles below said town, the said points to be determined by
the president and board of directors of said company,
and they may contract for the making of the said rail
road and may with their agents enter upon, use and
excavate any land they may need for the site of the said
road, or the erection of warehouses or other works ne-
cessary to said road, and may build bridges, fix scales
and weights, lay rails, take and use any earth

timber, gravel or other materials for the construction or
repair of any part of said work, and may make and
construct or erect all works necessary for the completion

Proviso.

Inquisition—
how, when and
under what
circumstances
to be held.

of said road; provided, that no bridge over either branch
of the Wicomico river near Salisbury shall obstruct the
navigation of such branch more than the present bridge
over such branch may do.

SEC. 12. And be it enacted, That the president and
directors of said company, or a majority of them, or
their agents, may agree with the owner or owners of any
land, earth, timber, gravel or other materials or any
improvements for the construction or repair of said road-
of its works, for the purchase or use and occupation of
the same, and in case they cannot agree, or if the owner
or owners or any of them be a feme covert, under age,
non compos mentis of out of the county in which the
property wanted may lie, when such land or materials
may be needed on application to a justice of the peace
of such county he shall issue his warrant under his hand
and seal directed to the sheriff of said county requiring,
him, to summon a jury of twenty inhabitants of said
county to meet on the land to be valued on a day spe-
cified in said warrant not less than five nor more than
ten days after issuing the same, and in case any of the
jurors aforesaid do not attend the said sheriff shall in-
stanter summon as , many jurors as may be necessary
with the jurors in attendance to furnish a pannel of

twenty jurors in attendance, and from them each party, bis,
her or their agent, and if either be not present in per-
son or by agent, the sheriff may strike off four jurors
for each of the absent parties, and the remaining twelve
shall act as the jury of inquest of damages, and before
they act as such the said sheriff shall administer to each
of them an oath or affirmation, as the case may be, that
he will justly and impartially value the damages which
the owner, or owners of said land will sustain by the use
or occupation of the same required by the company, and
the jury in estimating such damages shall take into the