Official oath. Official bond. New appointments to be made and vacancies filled. Powers and of city works. duties of their office, and within ten days after their appointment, shall qualify as follows: They shall each subscribe and file in the office of the clerk of said city an oath of office, and execute to the city of Brooklyn and file in said clerk's office a bond in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars with two or more sureties who shall jointly justify in double the amount of said bond, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties and for the faithful accounting of all moneys which may come into his hands which said bond shall be approved of as to form and manner of execution, and as to the sufficiency of the sureties, by one of the judges of the city court of said city; and in case either of the persons so appointed shall fail to qualify or enter upon the duties of his office, or in case for any reason the persons named as the appointing power as aforesaid shall fail to meet or to make the appointment hereinbefore directed, or within the time hereinbefore named, then it shall be competent for the said appointing power aforesaid, and they are hereby directed to meet as soon thereafter as possible and make said appointment, and fill any vacancy occasioned by the failure to qualify of any person theretofore appointed by them as aforesaid.—Ibid. § 4. The persons so appointed, after they shall have duly duties of board qualified, shall form the board of commissioners of city works for the city of Brooklyn, and shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties of, and receive the same compensation as the present permanent board of water and sewerage commissioners of the city of Brooklyn as provided by existing laws; and shall also from and after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the street commissioner of the city of Brooklyn as provided by existing laws; and from and after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, the office of street commissioner in the city of Brooklyn shall be abolished, Books, property whereupon, all books, maps, papers, record and property of etc., to be trans- whatsoever kind or description then or theretofore in the missioners. possession or custody of said street commissioner, or of any subordinate of said commissioner, shall be transferred and delivered into the possession and custody of the department of city works hereby created, and for the use of said department, and whenever in any law the words street commissioner of the city of Brooklyn shall occur, the same shall read and be deemed to apply to the board of commissioners of city works.-Ibid. ferred to com Vacancies, how filled. 5. The said mayor, comptroller and auditor of the city of Brooklyn shall have power to fill any vacancy occurring in the said board of commissioners of city works in the same manner as the commissioners first appointed under this act, and the person or persons so appointed shall hold office, respectively, for the balance of the term of the person or persons in whose place he or they shall have been appointed, and shall qualify as provided in section three of this act. commissioners § 6. Upon the appointment and qualification of the said Board of water commissioners of city works as aforesaid, or any two of wege them, the permanent board of water and sewerage com- abolished. missioners of the city of Brooklyn shall be, and is hereby abolished, and the term of office of each and every member of said permanent board of water and sewerage commissioners and of all subordinates thereof shall cease and determine, and thereupon all moneys, bonds, certificates of indebtedness, books of all account, ledger, papers, accounts, vouchers and all other public documents, effects and property of whatsoever kind and description theretofore in the Property in possession or custody of said permanent board of water their hands to and sewerage commissioners, or of any subordinate thereof, shall be transferred and delivered into the possession and custody of the department of city works hereby created.Ibid. 7. All acts or parts of acts unconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. [The general powers and duties vested in and imposed upon the permanent board of water and sewerage commissioners, and the various changes in their organization, by acts of the legislature, from eighteen hundred and fiftyseven down to the period when said powers and duties were devolved upon the board of commissioners of city works, will be found in the sections following:] be transferred. file a written Brooklyn. § 8. The holders of the stock issued by "The Nassau Stockholders to Water Company," other than the city of Brooklyn, may file consent to sell in the office of the clerk of the city of Brooklyn a written stock to city of consent that the city of Brooklyn may purchase their said stock at the par value thereof, with seven per cent. interest from the date of such issue; and the city of Brooklyn shall thereupon pay to the said stockholders, or their assigns, such par value, with the interest as aforesaid; whereupon all the contracts, property and rights of the said company, of every nature and description whatsoever, shall rest absolutely in the city of Brooklyn, and the city of Brooklyn shall assume and be charged with all the outstanding contracts, debts and liabilities of said company.-— Laws of 1857, Chap. 22 Board of water § 9. There shall be a board of water commissioners, commissioners." consisting of seven members, to supervise the construction of the works for supplying the city of Brooklyn with water, and to complete the same, under and according to a contract for that purpose entered into between "The Nassau Water Company " of the one part and Henry S. Welles and Charles F. Welles, Jr., doing business under the firm name of Henry S. Welles & Co., of the other part, bearing date the tenth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-six; and the said commissioners are hereby vested with all the powers, and are authorized to perform all the duties requisite or necessary in and about the construction and completion of the said water-works as aforesaid, and which they might exercise and perform for such purpose if they constituted the board of directors of the said company and no transfer of the rights of said company had been made to the city of Brooklyn. No alteration increasing the cost of said city works under the said contract shall be made by the said commissioners without the assent of the common council of the said city.-Ibid. Powers and duties. Names of commissioners. Vacancies, bonds. § 10. The present directors of the said company-namely: John H. Prentice, William Hall, Daniel Van Voorhees, James Carson Brevoort, Nicholas Wyckoff, Thomas Sullivan and Nathaniel Briggs-are hereby constituted and appointed said water commissioners. They shall enter upon their duties as commissioners when the city of Brooklyn shall become vested with the contracts, property and rights of said company as aforesaid, and shall hold office until Terms of office. said water-works are completed as contemplated by the said contract, but they shall receive no compensation for their services. In case any vacancy shall happen by reason of the death or resignation of any commissioner, the board of commissioners shall nominate some person to fill such vacancy, to be approved by the mayor of said city; and in case of a disapproval by said mayor, they shall continue to nominate until his approval is obtained. Each commissioner shall execute a bond to the city of Brooklyn, with two sureties, to be approved by a justice of the supreme court, in the first or second district, in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars, conditioned that he shall faithfully perform his duties and account for all moneys which shall come into his hands as such commissioner. Such bond shall be filed in the office of the said city clerk.-Ibid. President and elected. § 11. The board of commissioners shall elect one of its secretary, how members president and another secretary; and make may such by-laws, rules and regulations for the transaction of its business, and for the government of its officers, agents and employees as shall be convenient and not contrary to CITY OF BROOKLYN. law. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum. quorum for the transaction of business.-Ibid. how taken. § 12. The proceedings to acquire land and water and in- Proceedings, terest therein, and to extinguish claims for damages, which are authorized by the act incorporating the said company, may be taken in like manner by the said commissioners, but in the name and on behalf of the city of Brooklyn.— Ibid. vested. § 13. All legal proceedings under the act incorporating Pending prothe said company, which shall be pending when the con- ceedings, how tract, property and rights of the said company shall be vested in the city of Brooklyn, as herein provided, may, at the option of the commissioners, be continued in the name of the said company, or be prosecuted by them to completion in the name of the city of Brooklyn.-Ibid. Commissioners draw upon the comp- to draw for cer§14. The said commissioners may troller of the city of Brooklyn for any sum in favor of and tain sums. to be paid to the owner of any lands, streams or property acquired or affected by virtue of this act, and in favor of and to be paid to any contractor for any sum due on his contract, and also to be paid for any charges and expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties. Such drafts shall specify the objects for which they are drawn, and shall be paid by the said comptroller on their presentation.-Ibid. mon council. § 15. The action of the common council of the city of Action of comBrooklyn, adopted on the fourth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, in relation to the manner of supplying the said city with water, and authorizing the subscription by the city of Brooklyn of the sum of thirteen hundred thousand dollars to the stock of the said company for that purpose, and the subscription of said stock by the mayor of said city, and the issuing of city bonds in payment thereof, in conformity with such action, are hereby ratified and confirmed, and the bonds issued in payment of such subscription are hereby declared to be binding upon the city of Brooklyn. And the said city shall issue new bonds in place of any bonds issued on account of such subscription, in the form provided in the next section of this act, upon the surrender by the holders thereof of the bonds issued on account of such subscription.-Ibid. be issued. § 16. The bonds of the said city for the additional Bonds, how to amount of two millions nine hundred thousand dollars, and such further amount as shall be necessary to pay the interest on the said bonds already issued and hereafter to be issued, until such interest shall be met by the income of the Interest. Bouds, may be sold, etc. City property pledged. Certain sums to be added to general tax. Certain lands to be taxed. waterworks and taxation, as hereinafter provided, shall be issued by the mayor, comptroller and clerk of the said city, in the manner heretofore done by them in regard to the other bonds of the said city, from time to time as the same shall be required for the purposes of this act, payable in not less than twenty-five nor more than forty years, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, payable half-yearly, on the first day of July and January in each year; and the said bonds issued, and hereafter to be issued, and the proceeds of the sale thereof, shall constitute the fund for paying the cost of constructing and completing the said water-works.—Ibid. § 17. The said bonds, issued and hereafter to be issued as aforesaid, may be sold by said commissioners, at public or private sale, and the proceeds of such sale shall be by them paid over to the treasurer of said city. The commissioners, with the concurrence of the said mayor and comptroller, may pledge the said bonds for money borrowed temporarily at a higher rate of interest, if they shall deem the necessities of the work to require it.-Ibid. §18. The property of the city of Brooklyn, including the water-works, reservoirs, lands, bonds, streams, right of way, pipes and hydrants, are hereby pledged for the payment of the bonds issued, and hereafter to be issued as aforesaid, with interest.-Ibid. § 19. There shall be added to the general tax for the city of Brooklyn at large, in the year eighteen hundred and fif ty-eight, and yearly thereafter, and levied and collected. therein, such sum of money in each of said years as shall be necessary to pay any deficiency which the net income of the water-works, after paying the annual expenses thereof, shall be insufficient to pay the interest for any such year, or any such bonds, and the further sum of fifty thousand dollars, which is hereby directed to be paid to the commissioners of the sinking fund of the said city, and held and managed by them for the full and final redemption of said bonds, and for no other purposes. It shall be the duty of the mayor and comptroller of said city to estimate and ascertain the amount of such deficiency, and transmit a statement of the same in each year to the board of supervisors of the county of Kings in time to have such account included in the general tax of the said city for that year; and it shall be the duty of the supervisors to cause such account to be included in such general tax.-Ibid. 20. The lands which shall be occupied by the said water-works in Kings and Queens counties shall be taxed at the value of the land, exclusive of any improvements |