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tion or repairs of such road or roads, for the purchase,
use or occupation of the same, or if the owner or
owners, or any of them, be a feme covert, underage,
non compos mentis, or out of the county, application
may be made to any Justice of the Peace for Wash-
ington county, who shall thereupon issue his war-
rant, under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff
of said county, requiring him to summon a jury of
twenty inhabitants of said county, not related to the
parties nor in any wise interested, to meet on the
land, on or near the other property 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 the same time and
place, any of said jurors should not attend, the sheriff
shall immediately summon as many jurors as may be
necessary, with those in attendance, to furnish a pan-
nel of twenty jurors, and from them each party, his,
her or their agents, or if either be not present in
person or by agent, the sheriff for him or them, may
strike off four jurors, and the remaining twelve shall
act as the jury of inquest of damages, ami before
they shall act as such, the said sheriff shall adminis-
ter 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,
earth, gravel, stone, or other materials, will sustain
by the use or occupation thereof by said company ;
and if required by the parties whose lands are to be
affected by their proceedings, the jury shall cause to
be summoned such witnesses as the parlies may re-
quire, and shall examine them on oath in relation to
the value of the property to be condemned; and they
shall reduce the testimony, if any is taken by them,
to writing, and after the testimony is closed in such
case, and without any unnecessary delay, and be-
fore proceeding to the examination of any other claim,
they shall ascertain and determine the compensation
which ought to be justly made by said company to
the party or parties owning or interested in the real
estate or other property appraised by them, and
determining the amount of such compensation, the
jury shall not make an allowance or deduction on ac-
count of any real or supposed benefits which the
parlies in interest may derive from the construction,
of any railroad or railroads, and the said company
shall give notice to all persons whose interests are to
be affected by the condemnation of any land, in wri-
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