Chap. 432.—An ACT to provide for working and keeping in repair the
roads in the county of Gloucester.

Approved March 15, 1884.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
on and after the first day of January, cighteen hundred and
eighty-five, it shall be lawful for the county of Gloucester to
work and keep in repair highways, roads and bridges as fol-
lows:

2. The board of supervisors of said county shall take
charge of and have worked and kept in repair all public roads
and bridges heretofore and hereafter established, and for this
purpose are authorized and empowered to levy a road tax
not exceeding in any year ten cents upon the one hundred
dollars of assessed taxable value in said county, and to adopt
such regulations as do not conflict with the laws now in force,
as may be necessary to secure the proper working of roads
in said county.

3. The said board of supervisors shall, as soon after the
first day of January, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, as
may be practicable. appoint one commissioner of roads for
each magisterial district in said county, who shall qualify be-
fore the court of said county, by taking the usual oath of
office, and shall continue as such until their successors are duly
qualified. The term of said commissioners of roads shall be
one year, and shall commence on the first day of July of each
year, and they shall be appointed at the meeting of said board
of supervisors, next preceding that day: provided however,
that the commissioners first appointed under this act shall
hold office until the first day of July, eighteen hundred and
eighty-six. The said commissioners of roads shall have
supervision of all the roads and bridges within their respec-
tive districts in said counties, and all applications to the court
for changes, or opening new roads, must be reported on by
the commissioner of the district. ,

4. The said commissioners of roads, severally, shall annu-
ally, at the August term of said court, let to contract, to the
lowest suitable bidder, the work of keeping in repair the
roads and bridges in their districts, notices of which lettings
shall be posted for ten days at cach postoffice, and otherwise
published at the discretion of the commissioner, or by the
order of the board of supervisors. The said letting shall be
in a whole, or in sections at the discretion of the commis-
sioner, and for the year ending on the thirty-first day of July
in each year. They shall require the bids to be in writing,
and signed by the contractor, and shall deliver the same, un-
der seal, to the board of supervisors for their examination
and approval or rejection, at their first meeting thereafter.
Each contractor shall be required to give bond, with good
security, in a penalty at least double the amount of his bid,
for the faithful performance of bis contract, and a recovery
may be had for any breach of said contract, in the name of the
county, for the benefit of the road fund, in the county court,
by motion, after ten days’ notice to the contractor and his
security or securities. The attorney for the commonwealth
shall institute and prosecute such motion. The said con-
tracts and bonds shall be filed with the clerk’of the board of
supervisors.

5. Each contractor shall be entitled to the services, for not
more than two days in any year, of all persons liable to ser-
vice in working the public roads under existing laws, and
shall be entitled to all remedies now existing for the collec-
tion of fines for failure to work when duly summoned by him
against persons owing that duty.

6. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of roads to give
personal supervision to all the roads and bridges within their
respective districts, to sce that the contractor is faithfully
performing his contract; and for any failure in carrying it
out, the commissioner of the district shall at once institute,
through the prosecuting attorney, proceedings for the recov-
ery of damages for any breach of said contract.

7. The commissioners of roads shall receive as compensa-
tion not exceeding one dollar a day for every day actually
employed, but in no case shall his compensation exceed one
hundred dollars per year, to be paid by the county.

8. All levies made and collected under this act shall be col-
lected and accounted for by the county treasurer as other
levies are, and shall be paid out on the order of the board of
supervisors.

9. No member of the board of supervisors, or commissioner
of roads, shall be directly or indirectly interested in any con-
tract made under this act, and any participation therein by
either, shall render the contract null and void.

10. When the court shall order the opening of a new road,
or the erection of a new bridge, the work of opening or build-
ing shall be let to contract as hereinbefore provided for and
directed.

11. The board of supervisors shall have power at any time,
for good cause, to revoke the appointment of any commis-
sioner of roads, and to appoint his successor to fill his unex-
pired term ; also to fix the compensation of commissioner of
roads, and all other powers necessary to be employed in exe-
cuting this act. For the additional services required by this
act, the supervisors shall receive two dollars per day.

12. If the board of supervisors shall neglect or refuse to
perform any duty required of them by this act, the judge of
the county court may, upon the application of any person
interested, by mandamus, compel said board to perform such
duty.

13. Such provisions of the general road law of the state as
do not conflict with this act shall continue in force in the
county named herein.

14. This act shall be in force from the first day of January,
eighteen hundred and eighty-five: provided however, that
the county judge of said county may, upon the petition of
one hundred citizens of said county, of good standing, order
a special election to be held in said county, after due and suf-
ficient notice, so that the voters of said county may deter-
mine by their ballots whether they will receive or refuse the
proposed new road law, as set forth in this act, at which elec-
tion, if a majority of duly qualified votes are cast against it,
then shall this act be null and void and of no effect. This
special election, so ordered, must be held in the year eighteen
hundred and eighty-four, and it shall be the duty of the offi-
cers conducting it to receive the ballots of the duly qualified
voters who shall vote upon this act, which ballot shall be as
follows: “For the road law,” and “against the road law.”
The manner of receiving and canvassing the ballots, and
making return thereof, shall be in accordance with existing
law, except that the certificate of the judges shall be as fol-
lows: e hereby certify that at the election held the
day of ——-——, eighteen hundred and eighty-four,

votes were cast for the road law, and ———— votes were cast
against the road law.

Judges.