194

LAWS OF MARYLAND

to lock and dam the Potomac river with a view to form
a connection with the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road
or Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, they are hereby autho-
rised to construct such locks and dams as may be found
necessary for that purpose, and to charge such lolls
thereon as are allowed to the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal company by its charter and the supplements
thereto.

Condemnation
of land, &c.

SEC. 5. And be it enacted, That the president and
directors of said company, or a majority of them or any
person or persons, authorised by a majority of them,
may agree with the owners of any land, earth, stone or
other materials, which may be wanted for the construc-
tion or repair of said rail road or canal or lock and dam
hereby authorised to be made as aforesaid, for the pur-
chase or for, the use and occupation of the same, and if
they cannot agree or if the owner or owners or any of
them be a feme covert, under age, non compos mentis,
or out of the county, in which the property wanted
may be, when such lands or materials shall be wanted,
application may be made to any justice of the peace of
such county, who shall thereupon issue his warrant
under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of said
county, requiring him to summons a jury of twenty in-
habitants of said county, not related nor in anywise in-
terested to meet on the land or near to the other proper-
ty or materials to be valued on a day named in said
warrant not less than ten nor more than twenty days
after the issuing of the same, and if at said time and
place any of said jurors summoned do not attend the
sheriff shall immediately summon as many jurors as
may be necessary with the jurors in attendance, and
from them each parly or its, his, her or their agents, the
sheriff for him, her, it or them may strike off four
jurors, 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 own-
ers will sustain by the use or occupation of the same,
requited by the company, and the said jury shall re-
duce their inquisition to writing, and shall sign and
seal the same, and it shall then be returned by said
sheriff to the clerk of the circuit court of his county,
and by such clerk filed in his court, and shall be con-
firmed by said court at its next session, if no sufficient
cause to the contrary be shown, and when confirmed,
shall be recorded by said clerk at the expense of said
company, but if set aside the said court may direct