Chap. 139.—An ACT to amend, revise, and re-enact sections 19, 26, and 28 of the
charter of the town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell county. Virginia.

Approved March 14, 1904.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
nineteen, twenty-six, and twenty- eight of an act entitled an act to incor-
porate the town of Pocahontas, in the county of Tazewell, passed Febru-
ary twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, be amended and re-
enacted so as to read as follows:

§ 19. The said council! shall have the power to lay and levy a tax not
exceeding fifty cents on the one hundred dollars value of all property,
real and personal, of the said town for the general purposes of said town,
and in addition thereto a tax not exceeding twenty cents on the one hun-
dred dollars of property, real and personal, in said town, for the benefit
of the public schools of said town, and a poll-tax of one dollar on each
male citizen thereof over twenty-one years of age, and the said town shall
have the like powers of distress, levy, and sale for the collection of such
taxes as are now given to State officers for the collection of State taxes.
The council shall have the like power, subject to the provisions herein-
after mentioned, to levy and collect a special license tax on all mercan-
tile business, professions, shows, operas, dances, peddlers, and such other
business, trade, or calling as are now or may hereafter be made subjects
of taxation by the State of Virginia for State purposes: provided, that in
any case where there is no tax imposed by the laws of said State wpon any
subject or subjects of taxation under the laws of said State, the said
council shall have the power to levy such tax as it may deem just and
proper, but the said council shall not have power to impose or levy a tax
on anything which is not made a subject of taxation under the laws of the
State of Virginia.

§ 26. The council shall at its first regular meeting after election, or as
soon thereafter as may be practicable, elect a treasurer, who shall serve
two years, or until his successor shall be elected andi qualified. It shall
be the duty of the said treasurer to receive all money belonging to the
said town, to collect all taxes, assessments, and license, and to pay out
and disburse the same only on the written order of the council, signed
by the mayor and attested by the recorder; he shall also have power to
collect said taxes, assessments, and license by the same power of distress,
levy, and sale as 1s now or hereafter may be given to State officers for the
collection of all State taxes, assessments, and license. He shall make a
report of the condition of his office at least once per month, and may be
required to do so oftener, or at any other time, at the pleasure of the
council. He shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, execute a
bond in the penalty of five thousand dollars, or more, at the discretion of
the council, conditioned. according to law, for the faithful performance of
his duties; said bond to be with security approved by the council. He
shall receive as compensation for his services a salary of two hundred dol-
lars per annum and the five per centum allowed by law on the collection
of delinquent taxes. He shall have power to appoint a deputy to aid him
in the collection of the said taxes, assessments, and license, but he nor
his deputy shall receive any other compensation from the said town.

§ 28. The council of said town is hereby authorized and empowered
to borrow an amount not to exceed forty thousand dollars and not to ex-
ceed the limit provided in the Constitution, and to issue the bonds of the
said’ town therefor, to bear interest at a rate not greater than six per
centum: per annum.

That the money so borrowed by the said council shall be used and ap-
plied to the funding and liquidation of the indebtedness of the said town
now outstanding and for internal improvement. The said bonds shall be
issued in denominations of five hundred dollars each, and bearing in-
terest payable annually, the entire principal and interest thereof to be
paid within twenty years from the date of issuance, the said council re-
serving the right and privilege of paying the whole or any number of said
bonds at any lime after the expiration of five years; the said bonds to be
in such form as may be determined by the council at some regular meet-
ing, said form to be spread at large upon the records of the town. Said
bonds shall be signed by the mayor and countersigned by the recorder of
said town, and! shall be sold to the Inghest bidder at the lowest rate of
interest bid therefor, in such number and in such manner as the said
council may prescribe after four weeks’ notice in not more than three
newspapers published in the State of Virginia, confined to the town of
‘Tazewell and the cities of Lynchburg and hichmond.

When the said bonds shall be issued in accordance with the provisions
of this act, the property of the said town shall be pledged for the pay-
ment of the principal and interest thereof, and the said council shall pro-
vide for the payment of the accruing interest annually, and for the pay-
ment of at least one-fourth of the principal of said bonds in five years
from the date thercof, and for the payment of another one-fourth of the
principal of said bonds in fifteen years from the date thereof, and for the
payment of the balance in twenty years from the date thereof.

~The council of said town is empowered hereby to provide for and: create
a sinking fund for said town, whereby such an amount as may be agreed
upon by the council shall be laid aside, of the funds of said town, each
and every year to be applied to the payment of said bonds as same may
fall due.

The council is empowered also to secure such money, so laid by, of
the said town creating this sinking fund in such way as will be to the
best interest of the said town in obtaining interest thereon: provided,
that the bank offering the larger rate of intcrest for said fund shall be
entitled to the deposit, provided same be solvent and the said council be
satisfied that it will be a safe depository for said funds.

Said council, when they determine to borrow the sum, or any sum, pro-
vided for in this act, may issue and sell the bonds of said town for the
said purpose, and they shall advertise the fact in one or more newspapers
published in the county of Tazewell, or in the State of Virginia, calling
tor bids for said bonds, but no bonds sold under the provisions of this act
shall be sold for less than their par value.

2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the sections of this act
are hereby repealed.