STATE OF MAINE.

AND

IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND

FORTY.

AN ACT

FOR REVISING, ARRANGING AND AMENDING THE PUBLIC LAWS OF THE STATE.

WHEREAS it is expedient that the General Statutes of this State should be revised and arranged under appropriate titles, chapters and sections; that omissions and defects should be supplied and amended; and that the whole should be rendered concise, plain and intelligible

THEREFORE,

BE IT

IT ENACTED BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE

OF REPRESENTATIVES IN LEGISLATURE ASSEMBLED, in manner

as stated under the several titles and chapters following: that is to

say:

SECTION 1. All public statutes shall be published in the newspaper designated to print the laws of the state, and every statute shall take effect in thirty days from the recess of the legislature passing the same, unless the provisions of any statute shall otherwien prescribe.

Meer. 2. All acts of incorporation shall be deemed public acts, Lotion, reble and may be declared on and given in evidence on the general issue. Noct. 8. The following rules shall be observed in the construction of the following revised statutes, and all subsequent statutes, unlean such construction should be forbidden by the plain meaning of the legislature.

I. All words and phrases shall be construed according to the CHAP. 1. common and approved usage of our language; but technical words Meaning of and phrases, and such others as have acquired a peculiar and appro- words; technipriate meaning in law, shall be construed and understood according

to such peculiar meaning.

cal terms.

II. Every word, importing the singular number only, may extend Singular and to and embrace the plural number, and every word, importing the plural. plural number only, may be applied and confined to the singular

number as well as the plural; and every word, importing the mas- Masculine. culine gender only, may extend to and include females as well as

males.

Ill. All words, importing a joint authority to three or more public Majority. officers or other persons, shall be considered as giving authority to

a majority of such officers or persons, unless it shall be otherwise expressly declared in the law giving such authority.

IV. The words "annual meeting" when applied to towns, shall Annual meetbe construed to mean the annual meeting, which is required by law ing. to be held in the month of March or April.

V. The word "grantor" may be construed to include every Grantor and person, by whom a freehold estate or interest is conveyed; and the grantee. word "grantee" as meaning the persons, to whom it is conveyed.

VI. The word "highway" may be construed to include county Highway. bridges, and as equivalent to "county road" or "county way."

VII. The word "inhabitant" may be construed to mean a resi- Inhabitant. dent in any place.

VIII. The words "insane person" shall be construed to include Insane person. every idiot, non compos, lunatic or distracted person.

IX. The word "issue," as applied to the descent of estates, shall be Issue. construed to include all the lawful lineal descendants of the ancestor.

estate.

X. The words "land or lands," and the words "real estate," Lands and real shall be construed to include lands, all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. XI. The word "month" shall be construed to mean a calendar Month and year. month, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year," a calen

dar

year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" alone

shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord."

affirmation.

XII. The word "oath" shall be construed to include affirmation, Oath to include in all cases, where an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. XIII. The word "person" may extend to and include bodies Person.

politic and corporate, as well as individuals.

XIV. The words "preceding" and "following," when used by Preceding and way of reference to any section in these revised statutes, shall be following. construed to mean the section next preceding, or next following that, in which reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated.

XV. In all cases, in which the seal of any court or public office Seal. shall be required to be affixed to any paper issuing from such court or office, the word "seal" shall be construed to mean the impression of such official seal made on paper alone, as well as by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto.

XVI. The word "state," when applied to the different parts of State and Unitthe United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the ed States.

CHAP. 1. district of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include district and territories.

Town.

Will.

Written and in writing.

Acts of agents.

Duly sworn, and

ing to law.

13 Pick. 305.

XVII. The word "town" shall be construed to include all cities and organized plantations, unless such construction would be repugnant to the provision of any act specially relating to them.

XVIII. The word "will" shall be construed to include codicil, as well as will.

XIX. The words "written" and "in writing" may be construed to include printing, lithographing and any other mode of representing words and letters; provided however, that in all cases, where the written signature of any person is by law required, it shall be the proper hand writing of such person, or, if he cannot write his name, his mark.

XX. When a statute requires an act to be done, which may by law be done as well by an agent as by the principal, such requisition shall be construed to include all such acts when done by an authorized agent.

XXI. Whenever the expression " duly sworn" or "sworn accordsworn according to law" is used or applied to any officer, who is required to take and subscribe the oath prescribed in the constitution, it shall be construed to mean, that such officer had taken and subscribed the same, as well as made oath faithfully and impartially to perform the duties of the office, to which he had been elected or appointed; and when applied to any person, other than such officer, it shall be construed to mean that such person had taken an oath, faithfully and impartially to perform the duties assigned him in the case specified.

Persons disin

different.

XXII. When a person is required to be disinterested or indifferent terested or in- in acting upon any question, in which other parties are interested, any relationship in either of said parties, either by consanguinity or affinity, within the sixth degree, inclusive, according to the rules of the civil law, or within the degree of second cousin, inclusive, shall be construed to disqualify such person from acting on such question, unless by the express consent of the parties interested therein.

Revised stat

utes take effect April 2, 1841.

Titles and ab

SECT. 4. All the chapters of these revised statutes shall take effect from and after the first day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty one, except where other provision is expressly made.

SECT. 5. The titles of the several chapters, and the abstracts of stracts not to be the several sections, are not to be construed as essential parts of the sential parts of revised code.

construed as es

the revised stat

utes.

CHAPTER 2.

OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATE, AND OF LANDS CEDED TO THE

SECT. 1. Sovereignty of the state.

UNITED STATES.

2. Where jurisdiction concurrent with
the United States.

3. Future cessions to the U. States.

4. Compensation for land, so taken.

5. Effect of such cession.

6. Seat of government.

SECTION 1. The jurisdiction and sovereignty of the state extend CHAP. 2. to all places within the boundaries thereof, subject only to such Sovereignty of rights of concurrent jurisdiction as have been, or may be, granted the state. over any places, ceded by the state to the United States.

tion concurrent

8 Mass. 72.

SECT. 2. All places, which have been ceded to the United Where jurisdicStates, for light houses, forts, arsenals, and other public purposes, with the United and over which concurrent jurisdiction has been granted to the States. United States, shall continue to be subject to such concurrent juris- 17 Pick. 298. diction, according to the terms of cession, and to the rights of this state, so far as that all civil and military processes, issuing under its authority, may be executed in any part of said premises or buildings thereon.

OF FUTURE CESSIONS TO THE UNITED STATES, AND OF THE SEAT
OF GOVERNMENT.

States.

SECT. 3. Whenever the United States shall require the cession Future cessions of the jurisdiction of any lands for the erection of forts, magazines, to the United arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings, as provided in the 1836, 251, § 1. constitution of the United States, the governor, with advice and consent of the council, is authorized to make such cession by proper deeds of conveyance, reserving therein and thereby to the state, its jurisdiction, so far, as to have a right to execute, within the limits of the tract ceded, all civil and criminal processes lawfully issued under the authority of the state; but the tract shall not exceed ten acres, nor include any public or private burying ground, dwelling house, or meeting house, without consent of the owner, nor any highway. SECT. 4. If compensation for such land is not agreed upon, the Compensation estate may be taken for the intended purpose, by payment of a fair for land so takcompensation, to be ascertained and determined in the same manner,

and by proceedings similar to those, provided for ascertaining the damages in locating highways, in chapter twenty five.

en.

Effect of such

SECT. 5. All lands so ceded shall continue to be subject to such concurrent jurisdiction, as is mentioned in the first section of this cession. chapter.

ment.

SECT. 6. The act fixing the place of the permanent seat of Seat of governgovernment at Augusta, passed on the twenty fourth day of February, ? 1827, 366. eighteen hundred and twenty seven, shall continue in force until altered.