Chap. 109.—An ACT to provide for the removal of obstructions from
the Chickahominy river, and to punish the obstruction of the same.

Approved February 8, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That.
it shall be the duty of the county courts of Hanover and
Henrico counties annually, at the June term of their courts
respectively, to appoint each a commissioner for the purpose
of attending to the removal of obstructions, such as fallen
timber, hammocks, and so forth, from the Chickahominy
river, from Owens’ pond to the points on said river known as
McClellan’s bridge. Said commissioners shall meet annually
on the first Monday in July, or as soon thereafter as practi-
cable, at some convenient place on said river, between the
above named points, and shall designate and allot to the
coterminous owners or occupiers of the land on opposite sides
of the said river, a fair proportion of said river to be cleaned
of all fallen timber, hammocks, and such like obstructions by
them respectively. The said owners or occupiers of said |
lands shall be required to remove all such obstructions from |
said river for the distance so designated and allotted to them,
respectively, by or before the fourth Monday in August next
ensuing. And on said fourth Monday in August the said
commissioners shall again meet at some convenient place on
said river, and inspect it between Owens’ pond and McClel-
lan’s bridge, and shall proceed to remove any obstructions
then remaining in said river, the Hanover commissioner re-
moving such obstructions as should have been removed by
the owner or occupier of the land in Hanover county, and the
Henrico commissioner removing such obstructions as should
have been removed by the Henrico county owner or occupier ;
and for such removal each commissioner shall be authorized
to hire such hands, teams, implements, and so forth, as may
be necessary. Each of said commissioners shall return to the
board of supervisors of his respective county, an account, on
oath, of the empende i incurred, and for the hire of hands,

~AQVOOle
teams, implements, and so forth, and they shall be allowed the
same or so much as may be justly due, to be paid out of the
county fund in the same manner in which the accounts of
surveyors of roads are now paid. The compensation to be
paid to said commissioners for their personal services and for
the time of hands, teams, implements, and so forth, shall dou-
ble the amounts paid to surveyors of roads for hire of hands,
teams, implements, and so forth, used for working the public
roads of the counties respectively. The amounts of the cost
incurred under this act, together with a penalty of ten per
centum additional, shall be a lien upon the land, the owner or
occupier of which has been in default, and shall be collected
in the same manner as county taxes are now collected. For
all services performed by said commissioners under this act,
and other than in the removal of obstructions, he shall be paida
per diem by the board of supervisors respectively, in same
manner that surveyors of roads are now paid, and double the
amount now paid to said surveyors.

2. Any person found felling trees so as to obstruct such
river, shall be fined ten dollars for each offence, to be recov-
ered before any justice of the peace of either county, one-half
of said fine to go to the informer and the other to the com-
monwealth. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith
are hereby repealed.

3. This act shall be in force from its passage.