SEC. 11. The grantee shall have and enjoy, besides, the following powers, privileges, and exemptions:
(a) To convey or transfer this privilege to the central established by the Central Sugar Board.
(b) With the approval of the Governor-General, to open and work quarries and gravel pits upon any public lands and take from such lands earth, stone, timber, and other materials for the construction of such railway; but the provisions of this paragraph shall only apply to public lands available for homestead settlement or for sale under the Public Land Act, and shall not apply to lands used and assigned for other purposes.
(c) To appear in, petition for, initiate, prosecute, and abandon judicial or extrajudicial proceedings of any kind; to sue; to appoint and remove freely the employees and agents necessary for the operation, assigning to them such compensation as he may see fit.
(d) To acquire for the railroad by purchase, donation, or any method permitted by law, the title to or possession of land and other real and personal property, easements, or other property rights, and acquire, possess, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, sell, or dispose of the same entirely or in part, in accordance with law.
(e) To construct and alter, substitute, maintain, and operate the railroad; construct all buildings, stations, shops, fills, aqueducts, bridges, wharves, roads, thoroughfares, crossings, ditches, drains, pillars, arches, retaining walls, and fences on land of his own, and to cross any railroad, tramway, river, canal, creek, lake, shore, culvert, road, and public thoroughfare, upon obtaining the necessary authorization therefor from the public or private entities or persons whose rights may be affected.
(f) To open quarries, gather stones from the surface of the land, cut timber, excavate the ground for material, and construct and operate ovens for lime, gypsum, and bricks on land owned or leased for these purposes by the grantee.
(g) To conduct water to the railroad, for its use; to acquire the land and construct the roads necessary to facilitate access to the stations from the pueblos.
(h) To borrow money and contract the necessary indebtedness for the construction, completion, maintenance, and operation of the road and for other legal purpose; to issue or negotiate promissory notes, chits, bonds, or other documents representing value for any sum borrowed or indebtedness contracted, at a rate of interest of not less than four per centum nor more than eight, and to guarantee such indebtedness by mortgages, encumbering property already acquired, or capital actually invested at the time of contracting the indebtedness with said .securities. Twenty per centum of such bonds, notes, promissory notes, etc., shall be redeemed annually ten years after their'issue or prior thereto if the grantee deem it advisable.
(i) None of the personal or real property in use and necessary for the operation of the road shall be burdened with imposts and taxes by the province or municipality from the date of the franchise to that of the expiration thereof.
(j) In case of refusal, delay, or failure of the payment of the freight charges on merchandise, either for the entire distance or part thereof, the grantee may retain the said merchandise until payment is made. Such payment shall include all storage charges on merchandise left with the railroad for over forty-eight hours after arrival at its destination.
(k) To petition the justice of the peace of the district in which the station is located, for the sale at public auction of all articles, freight, merchandise, or baggage transported by the grantee and not claimed by the owner or consignee within a period of two months. In the cases hereinbefore set forth, or when the owner or consignee is not known or refuses to receive the articles transported, or if he refuses to pay the transportation expenses, the grantee may petition the justice of the peace for an order for the sale at public auction of perishable goods. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied primarily to the payment of the costs and expenses of such sale, and then to that of the account of the railroad for freight and expenses on said goods, and the remainder, if any, shall be deposited in the court at the disposal of the person entitled to claim it. The grantee shall have the right to refuse to accept perishable goods for transportation unless the freight charges thereon are paid in advance.
