or under charters which may be hereafter granted, shall be exempt from all taxation under the laws of this Commonwealth for a period of five (5) years from the date of the beginning of the construction of such new roads. 2. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect from and after its passage. [Became a law without the signature of the Governor.] CHAPTER 1167. An Act to authorize railroads in the State of Kentucky to change their gauge, and adopt any desired gauge and to alter the same at pleasure. § 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That any company owning, controlling or operating a line or lines of railway in this State, may change or alter the gauge of same, and adopt and maintain such gauge therefor as the authorities of such company may deem expedient. § 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. Approved May 15, 1886. CHAPTER 1253. An Act to amend article 1, chapter 55, of the General Statutes, title "Division Fences." § 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That article 1, chapter 55, of the General Statutes be, and the same is hereby, enlarged and amended by making the provisions thereof apply to corporations owning lands and right of ways, and operating railroads in this State. § 2. That when any railroad company in this Commonwealth has been built ten years, and owns lands and rights of way, and are in operation and assessed for taxation, they are hereby put on equal terms and obligations with other land-owners and tax-payers owning adjoining lands in this Commonwealth, and shall be required to erect and maintain a good and lawful fence §3. Except that nothing in this act shall be construed as to require any company to build its half until the adjoining landowner has given the company's nearest station agent thirty days' written notice of his intention and readiness to build a sufficient lawful fence along his, her or their half of the division line between them. § 4. That where two railroad companies adjoin lands or right of ways, or a railroad company and a turnpike company adjoin land or right of ways, running parallel with no tillable or grazing lands between their rights of way, the railroad company shall not be required to build any fence along its side next to said pike or railroad, unless the turnpike or other railroad company has first built its half along said division line. § 5. That whenever a party owning lands adjoining the lands or right of way of any such railroad, has built, or does build, or is ready and intends immediately to build, a good and lawful fence along the line between him and the company's land or right of way for one-half the distance, and the company has not already built a lawful fence, or paid the owner a sum sufficient to build the other half, or a sum upon which they have agreed, or in lieu of their half, such adjacent land-owner, after having given the nearest station agent of the company to said point sixty days' written notice that he has measured the length of the division line between them and found it to be so long (giving the length), and that he has built a lawful fence along said line, or intends immediately to do so, for one-half the distance, the company shall be required to build its half within four months thereafter. 6. That in the event said company shall fail or refuse to build said fence within four months after the service of said notice as aforesaid, then, in that event, the land-owner has the right to furnish the material and erect said fence (which shall not cost more than his half), and notify the nearest station agent of said company that he has done so, and at a cost of ; and in the event that the company shall fail or refuse to pay said land-owner said sum within a space of sixty days, he shall have the right to institute a suit in any court of his county having jurisdiction of the amount in controversy; and the only defense to said suit shall be the cost of material and labor expended in building said fence. on their proportion of the line between them and adjacent landowners, just as other parties are required by law to do. . § 7. That the provisions of this act shall not apply in-any case where any company has furnished the material to build a fence, or condemned its right of way and paid the owner or his vendor damages in which the fencing was taken into consideration in estimating damages; nor be so construed as to require the company to build any fence along its line through any town or city, or across any public or private passway. § 8. That the companies shall be required to erect cattleguards at all terminal points of its fence and at public crossings. But where there is a private passway across said road, the land-owner for whose benefit it is shall bear one-half the expense of cattle-guards and gates, the former to erect the gates, the company the cattle-guards. § 9. That any land-owner who has already built a lawful fence along the whole distance of said line between his land and the railroad company's, shall have the right (unless he and the railroad company agree otherwise), after giving the company three months' written notice (served on the agent aforesaid) of his intention to move one-half of said fence, shall have the right to do so: Provided, however, He shall take no advantage of the company in the removal so as to put the company to disadvantage in erecting water-gaps across streams, and at points where the grade of the road-bed is of such character as to dispense with the necessity of a fence. § 10. That for the purpose of guarding against fire and for durability and economy, any fence erected under this act, of substantial posts, well set, not less than two feet in the ground, and no greater distance apart than ten feet, with wire not less than four and one half feet high, consisting of seven strands, shall be held to be a lawful fence under this act; but nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the parties from erecting any other class of lawful fence. § 11. That this act shall not apply to any land where the owner or his vendor has received compensation for fencing said land. § 12. Provided, That when the owner of any land or lands, or any immediate or remote grantor or vendor of such owner, has given to any railroad company a right of way through such lands free of charge, then the fencing of such lands shall be done entirely at the cost of said railroad company. Sard fencing to be done in the way and manner as required by the provisions of this act. § 13. That this act shall take effect from and after the first day of June, 1886. Approved May 17, 1886. INDEX. PAGE. Ashland Coal and Iron Railway, statement of assessment of property of. 19 Bardstown Extension of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, sketch of .... Bowling Green and Northern Railroad Bridges-Illinois Central . . . Indiana and Kentucky (see frontispiece). 59 30 11 11 Building of Railroads in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, act to encourage the. 178 31 Chesapeake, Ohio and South-western Railway, assets and liabilities of Statement of assessment of property of . 82 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Division of Illinois Central Railroad, state- Cincinnati and South-eastern Railway, statement of assessment of property of 81 Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway, classification of freight for- Statement of accidents occurring on, in Kentucky during year |