Section 14
SEC. 14. The grantee shall enjoy the following powers, privileges, and exemptions: (a) To convey or transfer this privilege to another person, company, or corporation. (b) To acquire the right of way through the public lands of the Philippine Government for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the railroad herein authorized to the extent of thirty meters in width where it may pass through the public domain, including all necessary ground for depots, machine shops, station buildings, workshops, water stations, warehouses, terminals, including wharves and dock fronts, switches, sidetracks, and turntables, and also such extra lands beyond such thirty meters as may be found necessary for said purposes: Provided, That the same be approved by the Governor-General as a part of the definite plans hereinbefore provided for, and the right, power, and authority shall thereunder be given to said grantee, with the written 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 or to timber lands of the Philippine Government, and shall not apply to lands used and assigned for other purposes. The grantee shall have the right, with the approval of the Governor-General, to cross or occupy such parts of public roads, alleys, avenues, and squares, acquire title to such other municipal or provincial lands, as may be necessary, on terms to be agreed upon by the grantee and the proper provincial or municipal authorities, as the case may be; and in case of failure to agree upon the terms thereof, such terms shall be fixed by the Governor-General. Lands or rights of use and occupation of lands granted ~«vei'si°n of rishts> under the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall revert to the governments by which they were respectively granted upon the termination of this franchise or concession, or upon its revocation or repeal. (c) To acquire from the provincial or municipal governments, corporations, or private individuals, by contract or expropriation, the land necessary for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the railroad; but the grantee shall not occupy any land within the limits of any province or municipality, if the same is set aside for another purpose, nor shall he occupy land within said limits without authorization by the proper authorities. (d) To appear in, petition for, initiate, prosecute, and abandon judicial or extra judicial 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. (e) 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. (f) To construct and alter, substitute, maintain, and operate the road for which a franchise has been granted; 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 corporations or persons whose rights may be affected. (g) 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. (h) 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. (i) To borrow money and contract the necessary indebtedness for the construction, completion, maintenance, and operation of the road and for any 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. (j) 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. (k) All material which it may be found necessary to import from Europe or America for the construction of the railroad shall be exempt from the payment of customs duties. (l) In cage of refusai; 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. (m) 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 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.