and seventy-five, and the day of the passing of this act; and that the members of the said corporation, and their legal representatives under the said charter, and each of them, shall have, hold and enjoy, and be fully able and capable in the law to exercise all and singular the rights, powers and authorities to them belonging by virtue or in consequence of the said charter, although the yearly sums which ought to have been paid by them, or any of them, according to the said charter, may be in arrear and unpaid; and all such yearly payments and sums as have become due and payable, and now remain in arrear and unpaid, are hereby remitted to the members of the said corporation; and that Robert R. Livingston, Henry Remsen, Robert Watts, Brockholst Livingston, Samuel Jones, Peter Keteltas, Walter Rutherford, Matthew Clarkson, Samuel Bard, Hugh Gaine, Daniel C. Verplanck and Edward Griswold, shall be, and hereby are declared and appointed the present trustees of the said library and corporation, and shall hold, possess and enjoy their said offices, until the last Tuesday in April now next ensuing, and until other fit persons shall be elected and chosen in their places, according to the said charter.

Sess. XXV. ch. 29.

AN ACT

To enable the TRUSTEES of the NEW-YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY to increase the yearly sums payable on the Shares of the said Library.-Passed March 8th, 1802.

BE it enacted by the people of the State of NewYork, represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for the trustees of the New-York Society Library in the city of NewYork, for the time being, on the first Tuesday of May next, and yearly, on the first Tuesday of May, in every year thereafter, to demand and receive from the members of the said society, a sum not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents for each and every right or share in the said library; and in case any of the said yearly sums of two dollars and fifty cents, shall at any time thereafter be in arrear or unpaid, for thirty days, next after any of the days on which the same ought to have been paid, then the person or persons from whom the same shall be due, shall be subject to the like forfeiture of their rights and privileges in the said library, as is mentioned and provided in the charter of the said society.

BY-LAWS

AND

ORDINANCES

OF THE

NEW-YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY.

Passed the second day of December, 1812.

BE IT ORDAINED by the trustees of the New York Society Library, that the following regulations be, and the same are hereby established, as the laws and ordinances of the said corporation; and that all other by-laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, heretofore made, be and the same are hereby repealed.

CHAPTER I.

Of the Election of Trustees and Officers.

Trustees.

1. On the last Tuesday of April in every year, Election of an election shall be held at the library room, for twelve trustees, at which election, three inspectors, to be appointed by the trustees, or such of them as may attend, shall preside; but in case neither of the inspectors so appointed shall attend, then the members convened, shall appoint any two

D

Officers.

of their number to act as inspectors, and preside at such election.

2. That the poll of the said election for trustees, shall be opened at 12 o'clock, at noon, and be closed at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day; and every member who shall vote at such election, shall deliver to the inspectors, a ballot containing the names of twelve persons, as trustees; and the inspectors shall deposit all the ballots so delivered to them, unopened, in a box, and shall insert the names of the persons so voting, in a poll-list, to be kept by them, for that purpose; and as soon as the poll of the said election shall be closed, the inspectors shall open and count the said ballots, and shall openly declare the names of the twelve persons, who shall be found to be elected, by a majority of all the votes given, and shall deliver a certificate thereof, under their hands, to the secretary, to be by him laid before the trustees, at their next meeting.

3. At the first stated and legal meeting of the trustees, after every annual election, the trustees, or a majority of them, so met, shall appoint one treasurer, one secretary and one librarian; but no person shall be eligible to the office of treasurer or secretary, unless he be a member of this corporation.

4. No person under the age of twenty-one years, or who is not a member of this corporation, shall be eligible to the office of trustee.

5. No member of this corporation shall vote at any election of trustees, unless he shall have received a certificate of his membership, under the seal of the corporation, signed by the secretary, and countersigned by the treasurer, nor unless he

shall have paid and discharged all arrears and dues to the society; nor shall any member vote by proxy, nor, in any case, have more than one

vote.

[Extracts from the Charter.]

["On the last Tuesday in April in every year, the members for the time being, of our said corporation, shall meet at, &c. or at some other convenient place in our said city of New-York, to be fixed and ascertained by some of the by-laws or regulations of our said corporation, and there, by the majority of such of them as shall so meet, shall, by ballot, elect and choose twelve of their members to be trustees of the said library and corporation for the year ensuing, who shall immediately enter upon their said offices, and hold, exercise, and enjoy the same, from the time of such election, for and during the space of one year, and until other fit persons shall be elected and chosen in their places.

66

And in case any of the persons by these presents nominated and appointed to be trustees of the said library and corporation, or who shall hereafter be elected and chosen thereto, shall die or remove out of our said city of New-York, before the time of their appointed service shall be expired, or refuse or neglect to act in and execute the said office, then and in every such case, &c. the surviving trustees for the time being of our said corpo ration, shall, by a majority of voices, nominate and choose another, or others of the members of our said corporation, in the place and stead of him or them so dying, removing, refusing or neglecting to act, within thirty days after such contingency: hereby giving and granting, that such person or persons as shall be so chosen and appointed, from time to time, by the majority of the surviving trustees for the time being of our said corporation, shall have, hold, exercise and enjoy the said offices, from the time of such election and appoint