Section 3

Section 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Delaware coal company, and North American coal company, be, and they are hereby authorized to continue their operations, with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the liabilities of corporations created in this commonwealth, on the lands now held by them, under their respective charters, for a period of three years, and no longer, from and after the passage of this act; before, or at the end of which period, the said companies shall dispose of the lands, and cease all operations under said charters; upon which sale, the right of this Commonwealth, by virtue of the laws and statutes relating to mortmain, shall be thenceforth released to the purchaser or purchasers, saving to all persons having prior equitable rights to the lands to be released in this, and the next preceding sections of this act, their just rights as fully as if the release of the legal title of this Commonwealth had been made to the persons justly entitled, as aforesaid: Provided however, if at any time it shall appear to the Legislature that the operations of the said companies, or either of them, have proved injurious to the interests of the community, the Legislature reserve the right to repeal this section, and annul the privileges hereby granted: Provided, That if at any time the officers of the two companies last aforesaid, should be absent from this state, so that no process can be served on said companies, the said companies may be proceeded against by foreign attachment.