Chap. 157.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the city of Portsmouth.

Approved March 10, 1908.
Chapter I.

1. Wards, elections, etectera.—Be it enacted by the general assembly
That the territory contained within the limits of the city of Portsmouth
prescribed by the sundry acts of the general assembly heretofore passed
shall be deemed and taken as the city of Portsmouth; and all the in-
habjtants within the said limits, and their successors, shall be and they
are hereby made a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of
the city of Portsmouth; and as such, and by that name, may contract
and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, an-
swer and be answered unto and may purchase, take, receive, hold and use
goods and chattels, lands and tenements, and choses in action, or any
interest, right, or estate therein, either for the proper use of the said
city, in trust for the benefit of any persons or associations therein; and
the same may grant, sell, convey, transfer, and assign, let, pledge, mort-
gage, charge and encumber in any case, and in any manner in which it
would be lawful for an individual to do, and may have and use a common
seal, and alter and renew the same at pleasure, and generally have all
the rights, franchises, capacities and powers appertaining to municipal
corporations in this Commonwealth.

2. The wards of the city shall be as now established, except that the
council shall have power, from time to time, to alter the boundaries
and the names and numbers of said wards, or any of them, and arrange,
increase or diminish the number thereof, as it may deem proper. When
any such change is made the council shall, as soon as the change has
been made, cause a description of the boundaries and the names and
numbers of the wards, as changed, to be published for five days in
some newspaper of general circulation published in the said city; pro-
vided, that no such change shall be made within thirty days next
preceding any general election in said city. The council shall, in
making any such change, so provide that each ward shall contain as
nearly as may be an equal number of inhabitants, and for the transfer of
all registered voters to their proper precincts and wards without re-
registration by them on account of such change, and shall also re-
apportion the representation in said council as provided by law.

3. The administration and government of the said city shall be
vested in one principal officer, styled the mayor; a council consisting of
two branches, one of which shall be called the “common council” and
the other called the “board of aldermen ;” and in such other boards and
officers as are hereinafter provided for.

4. The mayor and council shall be elected on the second Tuesday in
June, immediately preceding the expiration of the terms of office of
their predecessors, for a term of four years, and their said terms of
office shall begin on the first day of September succeeding; all other
elective officers provided for by this charter, or hereafter authorized by
law, shall be elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in No-
vember, and their terms of office shall begin on the first day of Janu-
ary succeeding, except that the terms of office of clerks of courts shall
begin coincidentally with those of the judges of their respective courts.

Chapter II.

5. The mayor.—The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of
the city for the term of four years, and until his successor shall be
elected and qualified. His salary shall be fixed by the city council and
payable at stated periods, and he shall receive no other compensation or
emolument whatsoever.
6. He shall be the chief executive officer of the city, and shall, see
that the ordinances and by-laws of the city are faithfully executed, and
that all offenders or violaters of these ordinances are punished as di-
rected by said ordinances. He shall see that the duties of the various
city officers, members of the police and fire departments, whether
elected or appointed, in and for the city, are faithfully performed. He
shall have power to investigate their acts, have access to all books and
documents ‘in their offices, and may examine them and their subordi-
nates on oath. The evidence given by persons so examined shall not
be used against them in any criminal proceedings. He shall also have
power to suspend such officers and the members of the police and fire de-
partments, and to remove such officers and such members of such de-
partments for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, to be specified
in the order of suspension or removal; but no such removal shall be
made without reasonable notice to the officer complained of and an op-
portunity afforded him to be heard in person, or by counsel, and to pre-
sent testimony in his defense. On the removal or suspension of such
officers or members, the mayor shall report the same, with the reasons
therefor, to the city council. From such order of suspension or re-
moval the city officer so suspended or removed shall have an appeal of
right to the court of hustings for the city, in which court the case shall
be heard de novo by the judge thereof, whose decision shall be final.
He shall have all other powers and duties which may be conferred and
imposed upon him by general laws.

%. He shall by virtue of his office possess all the powers and authority,
in civil and criminal cases, of a justice of the peace of said city, in
addition to the powers hereby given him by virtue of this act, or that
may hereafter be given him by law; but he shall receive no fees for his
services as such justice of the peace. He shall collect such fees as are
authorized by law and pay the same into the city treasury in the same
manner as he is now authorized to pay into said treasury the fines col-
lected by him for violations of city ordinances.

8. It shall be his duty to communicate to the city council annually
as soon as may be after the commencement of the fiscal year, and oftener
if he shall deem it expedient, or if required by the council, a general
statement of the situation and condition of the city in relation to its
government, finances and improvement, with such recommendations
as he may deem proper.

9. The court of hustings for the city may remove the mayor of the
city from office for malfeasance, misfeasance, or gross neglect of official
duty, and such removal shall be deemed a vacation of the office. All
proceedings against the mayor for the purpose of removing him from
office shall be by order of or motion before said court, upon reasonable
notice to the party affected thereby, and with a right to the said party
of an appeal to the supreme court of appeals. Such motion for removal
from office may be instituted and prosecuted by the city council in the
name of the city on a resolution passed by a majority of all the members
elected to each branch thereof, and for the prosecution of such motion
the said council shall have power to employ counsel and take such other
steps as may be proper.
10. In event of the death, resignation or removal of the mayor, or his
inability to discharge his duties from any other cause, his place shall
be filled and his duties shall be discharged by the president of the board
of aldermen, until another mayor is elected and qualified, or until such
imability shall cease; except that the mayor, or in his failure to do so,
the said president of the board of aldermen, shall designate some justice
of the peace of said city to hold the court presided over by said mayor,
and be clothed with all his powers and perform all his duties in respect
to said court, during said time or during the temporary absence of the
mayor from the city.

11. Within ten days after the death, resignation or removal of the
mayor, the court of hustings of the city, or the judge thereof in va-
cation, shall order a special election, which shall be held within thirty
days after such order is entered, to fill the unexpired term of such
mayor, provided the unexpired part of said term remaining after such
election is as much as one year.

Chapter III.

12. The council.—The council shall consist of two branches, having
a different number of members in each. The “common council” shall
be composed of not less than fourteen nor more than forty members,
and the “board of aldermen” shall be composed of not less than eight
nor more than twenty-two members. The members of each branch of
the council shall be residents of their respective wards and qualified
voters therein, and shall be elected by the qualified voters of such wards.
As far as practicable, each ward shall have equal representation in the
council and in each branch thereof in proportion to the population of
such ward. :

13. When any vacancy shall occur in the council, or in either branch
thereof, by death, resignation, removal from the- ward, failure to
qualify, or from any other cause, the council, or the branch, as the case
may be, in which such vacancy occurs, shall elect a qualified person to
supply the vacancy for the unexpired term.

14. The mayor and the members of the city council, before entering
upon the duties of their respective offices, shall be respectively sworn
in, in accordance with the laws of this State. Such oaths may be ad-
ministered to the mayor elect by any judge of a court of record com-
missioned to hold any such court within the said city, either in term or
in vacation; and the members of the city council by the mayor, being
himself first sworn as aforesaid, or by the judge of any court of record
as aforesaid; and a certificate of such oaths having been respectively
taken, shall be filed with the city clerk, and entered upon the journal of
the city council. Every other person elected or appointed to any office
under this act, or any law or ordinance of the city council, shall, before
he enters upon the duties of said office, take and subscribe said oath
and such other oaths as may be required by law or ordinance, before
the mayor or city clerk, the said city clerk having himself been first
sworn in by the mayor or a judge of a court of record as aforesaid;
and a certificate of the same shall be filed in the office of the said city
clerk. 1f any person elected or appointed to any office in said city shall
neglect to take such oath for thirty days, after receiving notice of his
election or appointment, or shall neglect to give bond with securities as
may be required of him by this act, or by the city council, as hereinafter
provided, or as may be hereafter required by law or ordinance, on or be-
fore the day on which his term begins, he shall be considered as having
declined such office, and the same shall be deemed vacant; and when-
ever such vacancy shall occur, another election shall be ordered, or an-
other appointment made according to the directions of this act.

15. All officers and boards of the city of Portsmouth, whose election
or appointment is not otherwise provided for herein, or under the
general statutes of the State, shall be elected or appointed by the council ;
provided that the election or appointment by the council shall be made
by the two branches in joint meeting. The president of the board of
aldermen shall preside at such joint meeting, but in case of his absence
from the meeting then the president of the common council shall preside,
and in case of the absence of both from said meeting a president pro
tempore shall be elected by the meeting, who shall preside, and each
member of the two branches shall be entitled to one vote in all such
elections or appointments.

16. Each branch of the council shall elect one of its members to act as
president, who shall preside at its meetings and continue in office for
two years, unless elected to fill a vacancy, when the election shall be for
the unexpired term. Each branch of the council shall also elect one of its
members to be vice-president, who shall preside at such meetings in
the absence of the president, and who, when the president shall be
absent from the city or unable to perform the duties of the office b:
reason of sickness or other cause, shall perform any and all duties re-
quired or entrusted to the president under any provision of this charter.
When for any cause, both the president and the vice-president shall be
absent from a meeting, a president pro tempore shall be elected by the
branch of the council in which such absence may occur, who shall pre-
side during the absence of the president and vice-president. The president,
vice-president, or president pro tempore, who shall preside when the pro-
ceedings of a previous meeting are read, shall sign the same. The presi-
dent of either branch of the council, or the vice-president, when author-
ized as above stated to act for the president, shall have power at any
time to call a meeting of his branch of the council, as the case may be;
and in case of absence, sickness, disability, or refusal to act of both the
president and the vice-president of either branch of the council it may
be convened by the order in writing of any three members of said
branch.

17%. A majority of either branch of the council shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business. No vote shall be reconsidered or re-
scinded at any special meeting, unless at such special meeting there
be present as large a number of members as were present when such
vote was taken. No ordinance or resolution appropriating money ex-
ceeding the sum of one hundred dollars, imposing taxes, or authorizing
the borrowing of money, shall be passed except by a recorded affirma-
tive vote of a majority of all the members elected to each branch of
the council. In case of the veto by the mayor of such ordinance or
resolution it shall require a recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds of all
members elected to each branch of the council to pass the same over
such veto. Nor shall any ordinance or resolution appropriating money
exceeding the sum of one thousand dollars, imposing taxes, or author-
izing the borrowing of money be passed by the two branches on the same
day; neither shall the branch in which any such ordinance or resolution
is proposed pass the same on the day of its introduction; nor shall any
such ordinance or resolution be valid unless at least three days inter-
vene between its passage by the said branches, respectively.

18. Each branch of the council shall have authority to adopt such
rules and to appoint such officers and clerks as it may deem proper
for the regulation of its proceedings, and for the convenient transaction
of business, to compel the attendance of absent members, to punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and, by a vote of two-thirds of its
members to expel a member for malfeasance or misfeasance in office.
Each branch of the council shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and
its meetings shall be open, except when, by a recorded vote of two-
thirds of those present, the council shall declare that the ‘public welfare
requires secrecy. The council or either branch thereof or any of its
committees, when authorized by the council or branch, the board of
police commissioners, the fire board, or any other board created by this
charter or by ordinance under this charter, may each, in any investi-
gation held by them, respectively, within their respective powers and
duties, order the attendance of any person as a witness and the pro-
duction of any person or all proper books and papers. Any person re-
fusing or failing to attend or to testify or to produce such books and
papers may be summoned by such investigating body before the police
justice, or in case there is no police justice, before the mayor, or other
officer having the powers of a justice of the peace of the city, and upon
failure to give a satisfactory excuse, may be fined by him not exceeding
the sum of one hundred dollars or imprisoned not exceeding thirty
days; such person to have the right of appeal, as in case of misdemeanor,
to the court of hustings for the city. Such witness may be sworn by
the officer presiding at such investigation, and shall he liable to prosecu-
tion for perjury for any false testimony given at such investigation.

19. No member of the council shall be eligible, during his tenure
of office as such member, or for one year thereafter, to any office to be
filled by the council, by election or by appointment.

20. No member of the city council shall be allowed to furnish any-
thing whatever to the city for which he receives any consideration in
money or otherwise, either directly or indirectly, under penalty of the
forfeiture of his office as councilman, as well as forfeiture of the con-
sideration involved; and any voter making under oath, a charge of this
nature before any magistrate, the judge of the corporation or hustings
court shall cause the accused councilman to show cause why he should
not be removed; and if such charge is sustained, the said judge shall
remove him from office at once.

21. Every ordinance, or resolution having the effect of an ordinance,
passed by the council of the city, shall, before it hecomes operative, be
presented to the mayor of the city. If he approves, he shall sign it,
but if he does not approve, he may return it with his objections in
writing to the clerk or other recording officer of that branch in which
it originated, which branch shall enter the objections at length on its
journal and proceed to re-consider it. If, after such reconsideration,
two-thirds of all the members elected thereto shall agree to pass the
ordinance or resolution, it shall be sent, together with the objections,
to the other branch by which it shall likewise be considered and if ap-
proved by two-thirds of all the members elected thereto it shall become
operative, notwithstanding the objections of the mayor. But in all
such cases the votes of both branches of the council shall be determined
by ayes and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against
the ordinance or resolution shall be entered on the journal of each
branch. If any ordinance or resolution shall not be returned by the
mayor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been
presented to him, it shall become operative in like manner as if he had
signed it, unless his term of office, or that of the council, shall expire
within the said five days.

22. The mayor shall have power to veto any particular item or items
of an appropriation, ordinance or resolution; but the veto shall not
affect any item or items to which he does not object. The item or items
objected to shall not take effect except in the manner provided in this
section as to ordinances or resolutions not approved by the mayor.

23. The council shall have, subject to the provisions herein con-
tained, the control and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs
of the city, and of all property, real and personal, belonging exclusively
to said city, and may make such ordinances, orders, and by-laws relating
to the same as it shall deem necessary, and may rent, sell or otherwise
dispose of any property owned exclusively by the said city and not used
or necessary for the public uses of said city, after having advertised
the same for at least ten days in one or more newspapers in said city,
or in such other papers as it may deem necessary. It shall likewise have
the power to make such ordinances, by-laws, orders, and regulations as
it may deem desirable to carry out the following powers which are hereby
vested in it:

First. Water works, etcetera.—To establish or enlarge water works, gas
works, and electric lights within or without the limits of the city, con-
tract and agree with the owners of any land for the use or purchase
thereof, or may have the same condemned for the location, extension
or enlargement of their said works, the pipes connected therewith, or
any fixtures or appurtenances thereof. They shall have power to pro-
tect from injury, by adequate penalties, the said works, pipes, fixtures
and land, or anything connected therewith, within or without the limits
‘of the city, and to prevent the pollution of the water, by prohibiting
the throwing of filth or offensive matter therein, or its pollution in any
other way, or in any other place where the water may be affected thereby ;
and such prohibition may be enforced by proper penalties.

Second. Markets.—To regulate the markets in and for the said city;
to prescribe the times and places for holding the same; to keep in order
suitable buildings therefor; to adopt and enforce such rules and ordi-
nances respecting such markets as, in their opinion, the convenience or
interest of the inhabitants of said city shall require, and to adopt such
rules and ordinances as may be necessary to regulate or prevent huck-
stering, forestalling, and regrating.

Third. Workhouse, poorhouse, etcetera.—To erect or provide, in or near
the city, suitable workhouses, houses of correction or reformation, and
houses for. the reception and maintenance of the poor and destitute.
They shall possess. and exercise exclusive authority over all persons
within the limits of said city, receiving or entitled to the benefits of
the poor laws, and to regulate pauperism within the city; and the
council, through the agencies appointed for the direction and manage-
ment of the poor of the city, shall exercise the powers and perform the
duties vested by. law in overseers of the poor.

Fourth. Public buildings——To erect and keep in order all public
buildings necessary or proper for said city.

Fifth. City prison.—To provide, within the said city, a city prison,
and said prison may contain such apartments as shall be necessary and
proper for the safe keeping of all persons confined therein.

Sixth. Wharves and docks.—To establish, construct and keep in
order, alter or remove, landings, wharves, and docks, on the lands be-
longing exclusively to, or which may hereafter belong exclusively to,
said eity, and to lay and collect a reasonable duty on vessels coming to
and using the same; to prevent and remove all obstructions in and upon
such landings, wharves and docks; to preserve peace and good order
upon the same, and upon all other wharves and landings in said city.

Seventh. Streets and alleys.—To close or extend, widen or narrow,
lay out or grade, pave and otherwise improve streets and public alleys
in the city, and have them properly lighted and kept in good order;
and it may make or construct sewers or ducts through the streets or
public grounds of the city, and tirough any place or places whatsoever ;
it shall have over any street or alley in the city, which has been or may
be ceded to the city, like authority as over other streets and alleys; it
may build bridges in and culverts under said streets and alleys, and
may prevent or remove any structure, obstruction or encroachment over
or under or any street or alley, or any sidewalk thereof, and may have
shade trees planted along the said streets, or remove such trees as are
now standing, which it may deem necessary to remove; and it shall
have the power to ordain and enforce such ordinances, rules and regu-
lations respecting the same, or any of them, as shall be proper for the
health, interest or convenience of the inhabitants of said city. In the
meantime, no order shall he made and no injunction shall be awarded
by any court or judge to stay the proceedings of the city in the prosecu-
tion of its work, unless it be manifest that the council, its officers,
agents or servants are transcending the authority given by this act, and
that the interposition of the court is necessary to prevent injury that
cannot be adequately compensated in damages.

Eighth. To prevent the cumbering of streets, avenues, walks, public
squares, lanes, alleys, or bridges, in any manner whatever.

Ninth. To regulate and prescribe the breadth of tires upon wheels,
or wagons, carts, and vehicles of heavy draught, used upon the streets of
said city.
Tenth. Inspection.—T’o provide for the gauging and inspection of
oil, molasses, vinegar, and spirits of turpentine, and for the proper
weighing of admeasurement of hay, fodder, oats, shucks, or other long
forage, and for the admeasurement of corn, oats, grain, coal, stone,
wood, lumber, boards, potatoes, and other articles for sale or -barter in
the city; provided no hay or other commodity once weighed within the
State shall be required to be weighed or re-inspected.:

Eleventh. To require every merchant, retailer, trader, and dealer in
merchandise, or property of any description, which is sold by measure
or weight, to cause their weights or measures to be sealed by the city
sealer, and to be subject to his inspection, and may impose penalties for
‘any violation of such ordinances.

Twelfth. Contagious diseases——To secure the inhabitants from cnn-
tagious, infectious, or other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect, and
regulate hospitals or pest-houses in or near the said city; to provide for
and force the removal of patients to said hospitals or pest-houses.

Thirteenth. Board of health—To appoint and organize a board of
health for said city, with authority for its government and support, and
for the prompt and efficient performance of its duties.

Fourteenth. Burial grounds.—To provide, in or near said city, lands
to be appropriated, improved, and kept in order as places for the burial
of the dead, and may charge for the use of ground in said places of
burial, and may regulate the same; may regulate the burial of the dead
in the burial grounds within the city, or prevent the same entirely.

Fifteenth. Quarantine——To adopt and enforce such regulations as
may be necessary, under the usual system of quarantine, to prevent
vessels or boats, or persons infected with contagious or infective dis-
eases, from entering any port of the harbor appertaining to said city.

Sixteenth. Nuisances.—To require and compel the abatement and
removal of all nuisances within said city at the expense of the person
or persons causing the same, or the owners or owner of the ground
whereon the same shall be. To regulate and prevent slaughter-houses,
soap and candle factories, or the prosecution of any dangerous, offensive,
or unhealthy business, trade or employment therein, which may be
injurious to the health of the inhabitants of said city.

Seventeenth. If any ground in the said city shall be subject to be
covered by stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, occupier or occu-
piers thereof, shall permit any offensive or unwholesome substance to
remain or accumulate therein, the council may cause such ground to
be filled up, raised or drained, or may cause such substance to be cov-
ered or removed therefrom, and may collect the expense of so doing
from the said owner or owners, occupier or occupiers, or any of them..
by distress and sale, in the same manner in which taxes levied upon real
estate for the benefit of said city are authorized to be collected; pro-
vided that reasonable notice shall be first given to the said owners or
their agents. In case of non-resident owners, who have no agent in
said city, such notice may be given by publication, for not less than
two weeks in any newspaper published in said city, or, where there is
none, in some published in the city of Norfolk.

Eighteenth. To direct the location of all buildings for storing gun-
powder or other combustible substances, or to regulate the sale and use
of gun-powder or fire-crackers, or fire-works prepared therefrom, kero-
sene oil, nitro-glycerine, camphene, burning fluid, or other combustible
material; to regulate or prevent the exhibition of fire-works, the dis-
charge of fire-arms, the use of candles or lights in barns, stables, and
on buildings, and to restrain the making of bon-fires in streets and
yards.

Nineteenth. To prevent hogs, dogs, and other animals from running
at large in the city, and may subject the same to such confiscations,
regulations and taxes as they may deem proper; and the council may
prohibit the raising or keeping of hogs and cows in the city.

Twentieth. To prevent the riding or driving of horses, or other
animals at an improper speed; to prevent the running of engines and
vehicles propelled by steam, gasolene, electricity, or other like motive
power at an improper speed within the limits of the city, and to wholly
exclude the said engines and vehicles, if they please; to prevent the
flying of kites, throwing stones, or the engaging in any employment or
sports in the streets or public alleys dangerous or annoying to the
people; and to prohibit and punish the abuse of animals.

Twenty-first. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants, mendicants
and street beggars.

Twenty-second. To prevent vice and immorality; to make such regu-
lations as may be necessary to secure the inhabitants of said city against
thieves, robbers and burglars; to preserve the public peace and good
order of the city; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly
assemblages; to suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to
prevent, suppress and punish lewd, disorderly and indecent conduct or
exhibitions in the city, and to expel therefrom persons guilty of such
conduct, who shall not have resided therein as much as one year.

Twenty-third. To forbid and prevent the vending or other disposi-
tion of liquors and intoxicating drinks to be drunk in any boat, store
or other place not duly licensed, and to forbid the selling or giving to
be drunk, any intoxicating liquors to any child or young person with-
out the consent of his or her parent or guardian; and for any violation
of any such ordinance may impose fines in addition to those prescribed
by the laws of the State. ;

Twenty-fourth. To prevent the coming into the city from beyond
the limits of the State of persons who may be dangerous to the peace
and safety of the city, or of persons having no ostensible means of
support; and for this purpose may require and compel any railroad
company, or the captain or master of any steamboat or vessel bringing
such persons to the city, to take them back from whence they came,
and compel the persons to leave the city.

Twenty-fifth. To pass all laws, rules and ordinances not repugnant
to the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of this State,
which shall be necessary for the good order and government of such
persons as shall from time to time reside within the limits of the city.

24, Where by the provisions of this act the city counci] has authority
to pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe any penalty not
exceeding five hundred dollars (except where the penalty is herein
otherwise provided for) for the violation thereof, and may provide
that the offender, on failing to pay the penalty imposed, shall be im-
prisoned in the jail of said city for any term not exceeding six calendar
months; which penalties may be prosecuted and recovered with costs
in the name of the city of Portsmouth.

25. No street railway, gas, water, steam or electric heating, electric
light or power, cold storage, compressed air, viaduct, conduit, telephone,
or bridge company, nor any corporation, association, person, or partner-
ship engaged in these or like enterprises, shall be permitted to use the
streets, alleys, or public grounds of the city, without previous consent
of the council thereto.

26. The rights of the city of Portsmouth in and to its water front,
wharf property, public landings, wharves, docks, streets, avenues, parks,
bridges and other public places, and its gas, water and electric works,
shall not be sold, except by an ordinance or resolution passed by a
recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected
to each branch of the council, and under such other restrictions as may
be imposed by law; and in case of veto by the mayor of such an ordi-
nance or resolution, it shall require a recorded affirmative vote of three-
fourths of all the members elected to each branch of the council, had
in the manner heretofore provided for in this charter, to pass the same
over the veto.

2%. No franchise, lease or right of any kind to use such public prop-
erty or any other public property or easement of any description in a
manner not permitted to the general public, shall be granted for a
longer period than thirty years.

28. Such grant, and any contract in pursuance thereof, may provide
that upon the termination of the grant the plant as well as the property,
if any, of the grantee in the streets, avenues, and other public places
shall thereupon, without compensation to the grantee, or upon the pay-
ment of a fair valuation therefor, be and become the property of said
city; but the grantee shall be entitled to no payment by reason of the
value of the franchise; and any such plant or property acquired by the
city may be sold or leased, or maintained, controlled and operated by
the city. Every such grant shall specify the mode of determining any
valuation therein provided for, and shall make adequate provision by
way of forfeiture of the grant or otherwise, to secure efficiency of public
service at reasonable rates, and the maintenance of the property in good
order throughout the term of the grant. Before granting any such
franchise or privilege for a term of years, except for a trunk railway,
the city shall first, after due advertisement, receive bids therefor pub-
licly, as provided by Jaw, and shali then act as may be required by law.

29. Whenever any street, alley or lane shall have been opened to and
used by the public for the period of five years, the same shall thereby
become a street, alley, or lane for all purposes, and the city shall have
the same authority and jurisdiction over, and right and interest therein,
as they have by law over the streets, alleys, and lanes laid out by it;
and any street or alley reserved in the division or sub-division into lots
of any portion of the territory within the corporate limits of the city
by a plat of record, shall be deemed and held to be dedicated to the
public use; and the council shall have authority, upon the petition of
any person interested therein, to open such street or alley, or any por-
tion of the same. No agreement between or release of interest by the
persons owning the land immediately contiguous to any such alley or
street, whether the same has been opened and used by the public or not,
shall avail or operate to abolish said alley or street, so as to divest the
interest of the public therein, or the authority of the council over the
same.

30. In every case where a street in said city has been, or shall be en-
croached upon by any fence, building, or otherwise, the city council
may require the owner or owners, if known, and if unknown, the occu-
pant or occupants of the premises so encroaching, to remove the same.
If such removal shall not be made within the time ordered by the
council, they may impose a penalty of five dollars for each and every
day that it is allowed to continue thereafter, and may cause the en-
croachment to be removed, and collect from the owner all reasonable
charges therefor, with costs, by the same process by which they are
hereinafter empowered to collect taxes. No encroachment upon any
street, however long continued, shall constitute an adverse possession
to, or confer any rights upon the person claiming thereunder, as against
the city.

31. The council shall not take or use anv private property for streets
or other public purposes without making to the owner or owners thereof-
just compensation for the same. But in all cases when the said city
cannot, by agreement, obtain title to the ground necessary for such
purposes, it shall be lawful for the said city to apply to and obtain from
the circuit court of the county in which the land shall be situated, or
to the proper court of the city having jurisdiction of such matters (if
the subject lies within this city) for authority to condemn the same;
which shall be applied for and proeeeded with as provided by law.

Chapter IV.

32. Finance——For the execution of its powers and duties, the city
council may raise annually, by taxes and assessments in said city, such
sums of money as they shall deem necessary to defray the expenses of
the same, and in such manner as they shall deem expedient, in accord-
ance with the laws of this State and the United States; provided, how-
ever, that they shall impose no tax on the bonds of said city. Said
taxes shall be equal and uniform upon the same class of subjects within
the said city. The capital invested in all business operations shall be
assessed and taxed as other property. Assessments upon all stock shall
be according to the market value thereof.

33. The assessment of real estate and personal property in the city
of Portsmouth, for the purpose of municipal taxation, shall be the
same as the assessment thereof for the purpose of State taxation, when-
ever there shall be a State assessment of such property.

34. Whenever any business, trade, occupation, calling, or any other
thing is to be done within the city of Portsmouth for which a State
license is or may under the Constitution of this State or the Constitu-
tion and laws of the United States be required, the council may require
a city license to be had for doing the same, and may impose a tax
thereon and require from the person licensed bond with sureties in such
penalty and with such conditions as it may deem proper, or make other
regulations concerning the same.

35. The city council may also grant or refuse licenses to owners or
keepers of wagons, drays, carts, hacks, and other wheeled carriages, kept.
or employed in the city for hire, and may require the owners or keepers
of wagons, drays, and carts, using them in the city, to take out licenses
therefor, and may require taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the
same to such regulations as they may deem proper, and prescribe their
fees and compensation.

36. All goods and chattels, whersoever found, may be distrained and
sold for taxes assessed and due thereon; and no deed of trust or mort-
gage upon goods and chattels shall prevent the same from being dis-
trained and sold for taxes assessed against the grantor in such deed,
while such goods and chattels remain in the grantor’s possession; nor
shall any such deed prevent the goods and chattels conveyed from being
distrained and sold for taxes assessed thereon, no matter in whose
possession they may be found.

3%. Any payment of taxes made by a tenant, unless under an express
contract contained in his lease, shall be a credit against the person
to whom he owes the rent; and when any tax is paid by a fiduciary on
the interest or profits of moneys of an estate invested under an order
of court or otherwise, the tax shall be refunded out of such estate.

38. There shall be a lien on real estate for the city taxes, as assessed
thereon from the commencement of the year for which they were as-
sessed. The city council may require real estate in the city delinquent
for the non-payment of taxes to be sold for said taxes, with interest
thereon and such per centum as they may prescribe for charges. Such
real estate shall be sold, and may. be redeemed under the provisions
hereinafter made.

39. The collector of city taxes shall, under the directions of the city:
council, cause to be published in one or more newspapers in said city
or in such other local papers as it may deem proper, not more than
ten days nor less than five days previous to such sale, a list of the several
parcels of real estate so to be sold, the time and place of sale, and shall
describe therein each parcel of real estate in the same manner as the
same is described on the assessment rolls on which the said taxes or
assessment is imposed thereon, together with the name of the person to
whom each parcel is assessed and the amount of the tax or assessment
thereon.

40. If any such tax or assessment, and the percentage, interest, and
expenses aforesaid, be not paid previous to the day for which sale was
advertised, or on some day immediately thereafter, to which said sale
may be adjourned, the collector shall proceed to make sale accordingly
of the said several parcels of real estate, or so much thereof as may be
necessary, to the highest bidder; and the sale may be adjourned from
day to day, until it shall be completed. On such sale the collector shall
execute to the purchaser a certificate of sale, in which the property
purchased shall be described, and the aggregate amount of tax or as-
sessment, with charges and expenses specified, the date of sale, and
time of advertisement; but the collector shall not for himself, directly
or indirectly, purchase any real estate so sold. If at any such sale no
bid shall be made for any such parcel of land, or such bid shall not be
equal to the tax or assessment, with interest and charges, then the same
shall be struck off to the city. On such sale the collector shall execute
to the city a certificate of sale in which the property purchased shall be
described, and the aggregate amount of tax or assessment, with charges
and expenses specified, and shall deposit such certificate with the auditor,
or such other officer as may be designated by the city council.

41. In case that arly real estate struck off to the city as hereinbefore
provided shall not be redeemed within the time specified, the city
auditor, or such officer as may be designated by the city council shall,
within sixty days after the expiration of two years from the sale, cause
to be recorded such certificate of sale, with his oath that the same has
not been redeemed, and thereupon the said city, or its assignees, shall
acquire an absolute title to the same in fee. The said certificate may
be acknowledged or proved and recorded in the same manner that deeds
are recorded, and the said certificate, or the record thereof, or a copy
of said record duly authenticated, shall, in all courts and places, be
presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated and of the regularity
and correctness of such sale, and of all the proceedings prior thereto.

42. When the purchaser of any real estate sold for taxes, his heirs
or assigns, shall have obtained a deed therefor, and within sixty days.
from the date of such deed shall have caused the same to be recorded,
such estate shall stand vested in the grantee in such deed as was vested
in the party assessed with the taxes (on account whereof the sale was
made) at the commencement of the year for which the said taxes were
assessed, notwithstanding any irregularity in the proceedings under
which the said grantee claims title, unless such irregularity appear on
the face of the proceedings. Nothing herein contained shall be con-
strued as affecting or limiting the right of the owner to show in any
action or proceeding that such real estate was not properly chargeable
with the taxes and levies for which it was sold, or that the taxes and
levies properly chargeable thereon had been paid.

43. The purchaser of any real estate sold for taxes and not redeemed,
shall, after the expiration of two years from the sale, obtain at his ex-
pense, from the city auditor, or such other officer as may be designated
by the city council, a deed conveying the same, wherein shall be set
forth what appears in the certificate of sale furnished by the collector
to the purchaser in relation to the sale. When the purchaser has as-
signed the benefit of his purchase, the deed may, with his assent,
evidenced by his joining therein, or by a writing annexed thereto, be
executed to his assignee. If the purchaser shall have died, his heirs or
assigns may move the corporation or court of hustings of said city to
order the auditor, or such officer as may be designated by the city
council, to execute a deed to such heirs or assigns.

44, Any infant, insane person, or person imprisoned, whose real
estate may have been sold, or his heirs, may redeem by paying to the
purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two years after the removal of
the disability, the amount for which the same was sold, and the neces-
sary charges incurred by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, in obtain-
ing the title under the sale, and such additional taxes on the said estate
as may have been paid by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, and the
appraised value of any improvement that may have been made thereon
with interest on the same items, at the rate of six per centum per
annum from the time the same may have been paid. Upon such pay-
ment within two years after the removal of such disability, the pur-
chaser, his heirs or assigns, shall, at the cost of the original owner, con-
vey to him or them, by deed with special warranty, the real estate sa
sold.

45. The owner of any real estate so sold, his heirs or assigns, or an)
person having a right to charge such real estate for a debt, may redeem
the same by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two
years from the sale thereof, the amount for which the same was sold,
and such additional taxes thereon as may have been paid by the pur-
chaser, his heirs or assigns, or, if purchased by the city, with such addi-
tional sums as would have accrued for taxes thereon if the same had
not been purchased for the city, with interest on the said purchase
money and taxes. at the rate of six per centum per annum from the
time that the same may have been so paid; or the same may be paid
within the said two years to the city treasurer in any case in which the
purchaser, his heirs or assigns, may refuse to receive the same, or may
not reside or cannot be found in the city of Portsmouth.

46. The city council may vest in the city collector any and all powers
which are now, or may hereafter be vested in any collector of State
taxes, for the purpose of collecting the city taxes and other assessments
or levies which the council is authorized to make, and may prescribe
the mode of his proceedings, and the mode of proceedings against him
for failure to perform his duties.

47. The city collector, after using due diligence to collect said levies,
shall make out a list of such as cannot be collected, upon forms similar
to those prescribed in sections six hundred and five and six hundred
and six of Virginia Code Annotated, nineteen hundred and four, with
the names of the persons chargeable with such taxes placed alpha-
betically in said lists, and at the foot of each list subscribe the follow-
ing oath: ;

ST, Ay Ba scossuvaeens , of the city of Portsmouth, do swear that
the foregoing list is, I verily believe, correct and just; that I have re-
ceived no part of the city taxes mentioned in the said list, and that I
have used due diligence to find property within my city liable to distress
for the said taxes, but have found none.”

it8. The said lists shall be returned, examined, and posted or pub-
lished as the city council may prescribe, and such credit given to the
officer on account thereof as it may direct. The lists, whereof credit
may be allowed, shall be preserved in the office of the clerk of the
council. Within one month after the said lists are allowed, the said
clerk shall transmit to the auditor of public accounts a copy of the list
of real estate appearing thereby to be delinquent, showing the amount
of delinquency on each lot.
49. The city council may, in its discretion, appoint a collector for
the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes due to said city, and may
prescribe his duties and compensation, as it may deem proper.

50. The city of Portsmouth shall not impose any tax or assessment
upon abutting land owners for street or other public local improve-
ments, except for making and improving the walkways upon then ex-
isting streets, and improving and paving then existing alleys, and for
either the construction or for the use of sewers; and the same, when
imposed, shall not be in excess of the peculiar benefits resulting there-
from to such abutting land owners. Such improvements may be ordered
by the council, and the cost thereof apportioned in pursuance of an
agreement between the city and the abutting land owners, but in the
absence of such agreement, no improvements, the cost of which is to be
defrayed in part by such local tax or assessment, shall be ordered, except
on a petition from not less than three-fourths of the land owners to
be affected thereby, or by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected
to the council; but, when no petition is filed, notice shall first be given
to the abutting land owners not less than ten days in advance, notifying
them when and where they may appear before the council or the com-
mittee thereof, to whom the matter may be referred, to be heard for
or against such improvement; but no such notice shall be necessary
when the owner is non-resident or is not sui juris. Any committee
acting under this or subsequent provisions of this section shall be com-
posed of not less than three members from the common council and
two members from the board of aldermen, the majority in any case
being appointed from. the common council. The cost of any such im-
provement, when the same shall have been ascertained, shall be appor-
tioned by the council or under its direction between the city and the
abutting land owners; provided, that except when it is otherwise agreed,
the portion assessed against the abutting land owners shall not exceed
one-third of the total cost. The amount assessed against each land
owner, or for which he is liable by agreement, shall be reported forth-
with to the collector of taxes, who shall enter the same as provided for
other taxes. When the apportionment is not fixed by agreement, notice
thereof, and of the amount assessed against him; shall be given each
of the then abutting land owners, and shall be cited thereby to appear
before the committee thereof having the matter in charge, not less than
fifteen days after the service of such notice, at a time and place to be
designated therein, to show cause, if any he can, against such assess-
ment. Notice to an infant or insane person may be served on his
guardian or committee, and notice to a non-resident of the State may
be mailed to him at his place of residence or served on his agent, if he
have one within the State, or if he have no such agent, on the tenant
of the freehold. Any land owner wishing to make objections may ap-
pear in person or by counsel, and, if the matter has been referred to a
committee, shall be entitled, if he require'it, to a hearing before the
council. If his objections are overruled, he shall have an appeal as of
right to the corporation or hustings court of the city. When an appeal
is taken the clerk of the council shall immediately deliver to the clerk
of the court which has cognizance of the appeal the original notice
relating to said assessment, with the judgment of the council or com-
mittee endorsed thereon, and the clerk shall docket the same. Every
such appeal shall be tried by the court, or the judge thereof, in a sum-
mary way, without pleadings in writing and without a jury, in term
time or in vacation, after reasonable notice to the adverse party, and
the hearing shall be de novo.

51. The amount assessed against ea land owner or fixed by agree-
ment with him shall be a lien upon his abutting land from the time
when the council assesses or fixes the amount thereof, subject, however,
to his right of appeal and objection as aforesaid, and may be enforced
by suit in equity; and, provided, that as against a purchaser for value
and without notice, such assessment or tax shall not be a lien except
and until it shall have been reported to the collector of taxes as above
provided.

52. It shall not be awful for the authorities of the city of Ports-
mouth to impose or receive, in any case, a higher rate of penalty for
the non-payment of taxes and levies than is prescribed in the cases of
persons delinquent in payment of State taxes.

53. No ordinance hereafter passed by the city council, for the viola-
tion of which any penalty is imposed, shall take effect until the same
shall have been published for five days successively in one or more of
the daily papers published in said city, or other local papers as may
be deemed necessary, or by posters in said city, to be designated by said
council; a record or entry made by the clerk of said city, or a copy of
such record or entry, duly certified by him, shall be prima facie evi-
dence of the time of such first publication; and all laws, regulations,
and ordinances of the city council may be read in evidence in all courts
of justice, and in all proceedings before any officer, body, or board in
which it shall be necessary to refer thereto, either from a copy thereof,
certified by the clerk of said city, or, from the volume of ordinances
printed by the authority of the city council.

Chapter V.

54. Police department.—The police department of the city of Ports-
mouth shall be under the general control and management of police
commissioners thereof, who shall consist of the mayor and one citizen
from each ward, who shall be qualified voters of said ward, to be elected
by the city council at a joint meeting to be held in November, nineteen
hundred and eight, or as soon thereafter as practicable, for a period of
two years, beginning January first, nineteen hundred and nine, and
regularly every two years thereafter, who shall constitute a board of
police commissioners for said city, of which board the mayor shall be
president.

55. A majority of said commissioners shall be a quorum for the
transaction of business, and they may adopt rules and by-laws for the
government thereof, and may also establish, promulgate and enforce
proper rules, regulations and orders, for the good government and dis-
cipline of said police force; provided that such rules, regulations and
orders shall not conflict with any ordinance of the city council, or of
the provisions of this act, or of the Constitution and laws of this State,
or of the United States.

56. The said board shall not make any expenditures or incur any
expense without the consent of the city council therefor.

5%. The said police commissioners, after taking the oath of office as
such commissioners, shall meet at the office of the mayor, or other
suitable place, at such time as may be expedient, and as they shall,
from time to time designate, and on special occasions as the mayor
may, in writing, appoint. They shall perform the duties of said office
without any compensation, reward, or salary therefor from said city.

58. It shall be the duty of said police commissioners to select from
the electors of the said city, and by vote of a majority of said board,
appoint by warrant of appointment, bearing the signatures of said
commissioners, to be immediately filed with the city clerk, so many per-
manent policemen, officers and patrolmen, as may be authorized by
the city council; and the said board shall also appoint one chief of
police, through whom the said board shall promulgate all rules, regula-
tions and orders to the whole force, and who have immediate‘ control
and direction of said force, subject, however, at all times to the rules,
regulations and orders of said board and to the orders of the mayor;
provided that the order of said single commissioner does not conflict
with the rules, regulations or orders of said board then in force. The
said chief of police and each policeman of said police force, appointed
in the manner aforesaid, may hold his respective office during the term
of good behavior, or-until the said board, by a unanimous vote of its
ehtire membership, shall remove him from office, but for misconduct
in office, the said chief of police or other members of the said police
force may be removed by a majority vote of said board.

59. The board of commissioners may prescribe such uniform and
badge for the police force as they may deem proper, and direct in what
manner they shall be armed. If any person other than a policeman
shall publicly wear such uniform and badge as may be prescribed as
aforesaid, he may be subjected to such fine, not exceeding the sum of
one hundred dollars, as the city council may ordain.

60. In time of need the said commissioners, or a majority of them
or any of them, if the others be absent from the city or unable to act,
may appoint temporarily, without authority from the city council, a
suitable number of additional policemen for such time as shall appear
necessary, not, however, to extend beyond the time of the next meeting
of the city council.

61. The officers and privates constituting the police force of the city
shall be, and they are hereby, invested with all the power and authority
which now belong to the office of constable at common law in taking
cognizance of, and in enforcing the criminal laws of the Common-
wealth, and the ordinances and regulations of the city; and it shall be
the duty of each and every one of such policemen to use his best en-
deavors to prevent the commission, within the city, of offences against
the laws of the Commonwealth and against the ordinances and regula-
tions of the city; and to observe and enforce all such laws, ordinances,
and regulations; to detect and arrest offenders against the same; to
preserve the good order of the city, and to secure the inhabitants thereof
from violence and the property therein from injury. Such policeman
shall have no power or authority in civil matters, but he shall in all
other cases execute such warrant or summons as may be placed in his
hands by any justice of the peace for the city, and shall make due
return thereof. Such policeman shall not receive any fee or other com-
pensation out of the treasury of the Commonwealth or the city for any
service rendered under the provisions of this act other than the salary
paid him by the city; nor shall he receive a fee as a witness in any
case arising under the criminal laws of the Commonwealth, or under
the ordinances or regulations of the city. If, however, it shall become
necessary or expedient for him to travel beyond the limits of the city
in his capacity as a policeman or as a witness, he shall be entitled to his
actual expenses, to be allowed and paid as is now provided by law for
other expenses in criminal cases. Nothing in this act shall be con-
strued as prohibiting a policeman from claiming and receiving any
reward which may be offered for the arrest and detention of any offender
against the criminal laws of this or any other Commonwealth or nation.

62. Fhe salary of said chief and policemen shall be determined by
the city council, and all bills of expense on account of the police de-
partment shall be audited by at least two of the said police commis-
sioners.

63. The said chief of police, and every policeman, duly appointed as
aforesaid, shall have issued to him a warrant of appointment, signed by
the president of the board and countersigned by the city clerk, stating
the date of his appointment, which shall be his commission, and he
shall take such oath, and give such bond as the city council may ordain,
and subscribe the same, to be filed with the city clerk.

64. The mayor, at any time, upon charges being preferred, or upon
finding such chief or any other member of the police force guilty of mis-
conduct, shall have power to suspend such member from service until the
board of commissioners shall convene and take action in the matter;
provided, however, that such member shall not remain so suspended
for a longer period than thirty days, without having an opportunity
of being heard in his defense; and upon hearing proof in the case, a
majority of said commissioners may discharge or restore said member
and the pay or salary of such member shall cease from the time of sus-
pension to the time of restoration to service, unless otherwise ordered
by said board of commissioners in their written decision, which shall be
filed with the city clerk; and any violation of the rules, regulations,
or orders of said board, or any superior, shall be good cause for
dismissal. :

Chapter VI.

65. Fire department.—The city council shall have power to ordain
and enforce such rules and regulations as shall be necessary to prevent
accidents by fire within the said city, and to secure the inhabitants
thereof and their property from injury thereby, and to provide for
the organization, equipment, and government of fire companies in said
city, and to purchase and keep in order fire engines and other necessary
fire apparatus; also, to appoint and pay the necessary engineers and
employees for said apparatus; they may also make such ordinances as
may be necessary to compel citizens to render assistance to the fire
companies in case of need; they may also appoint such assistant chief
engineers as they may deem expedient and prescribe their duties.

66. The fire department of the city of Portsmouth shall be under the
general control of a board consisting of the chief engineer and the as-
sistant chief engineers of the fire department; said board shall be known
as the fire board, and may adopt rules and by-laws for the government
thereof, and also may establish, promulgate and enforce proper rules,
regulations and orders for the good government and discipline of the
department; provided that such rules, regulations and orders shall not
in any way conflict with any ordinance of the city council or any pro-
visions of this act or the Constitution and laws of this State or of the
United States; nor shall the said board make any expenditures or in-
cur any expense without the consent of the city council.

67%. The said board is hereby authorized and required to make an
investigation into the origin and cause of every fire occurring in the
said city, and for that purpose said board is hereby invested with full
power to summons before them any person or persons they may deem
proper, to compel their attendance, and to administer oaths to the
same, and to examine them concerning said fire, and immediately
after such inquisitions, they shall report the facts ascertained to the
mayor.

68. Whenever any building in the said city shall be on fire, it shall
be the duty of, and be lawful for, the said chief engineer to order and
direct such building, or any other building which he may deem hazard-
ous and likely to communicate fire to other buildings, or any part of
such buildings, to be pulled down and destroyed, and no action shall
be maintained against any person or against the city therefor. But
any person interested in any such building so pulled down and destroyed
may, within three months thereafter, apply to the city council to assess
and pay the damages he has sustained. At the expiration of three
months, if any such application shall have been made in writing, the
city council shall either pay the claimant such sum as shall be agreed
upon by it and the said claimant for such damages, or, if no such agree-
ment shall be effected, shall proceed to ascertain the amount of such
damages in the same manner as is now or may hereafter be provided for
the taking of lands for public purposes.

69. The commissioners appointed to appraise and assess the damages
incurred by the said claimant, by the pulling down or destruction of
such building or any part thereof, by the direction of the said officer
of the city, as above provided, shall take into account the probability
of the same having been destroyed or injured by fire if it had not been
pulled down or destroyed, and may report that no damage should
equitably be allowed to such claimant. Whenever a report shall be
made and finally confirmed, in said proceedings for appraising and
assessing the damages, a compliance with the terms thereof by the city
council shall be deemed a full satisfaction of all said damages of the said
claimant. ;

70. The chief of the fire department at any time upon charges being
preferred or upon finding any member of the department guilty of mis-
conduct shall have power to suspend such member from service until
he board shall convene and take action in the matter; provided, how-
ver, such member shall not remain so suspended for a longer period
han thirty days without having an opportunity of being heard in his
lefense, and upon hearing evidence in the case a majority of all the
nembers of said board may discharge or fine or restore said member,
nd the pay of such member shall cease from the time of suspension to
he time of restoration to service, unless otherwise ordered by the said
oard, in their written decision, which shall be filed with the city clerk ;
ny violation of the rules, regulations or orders of said board or of any
uperior shall be good cause for dismissal.

Chapter VII.

71. City officers—There shall be one attorney for the Commonwealth,
yne commissioner of the revenue, one city treasurer, one city sergeant, one
high constable, one city auditor, one city engineer, one city attorney, one
collector of city taxes, to be known as city collector, one keeper of the
almshouse, one physician to the almshouse, who shall be health officer
also; one street inspector, one clerk of the market, one sealer of weights
and measures, one keeper of the cemeteries, one sanitary inspector, one
physician to the poor, one plumbing inspector, and one chief of the fire
department—all of whom shall be elected by the qualified voters of
the city of Portsmouth, on Tuesday after the first Monday in November,
nineteen hundred and nine, for the term of four years, and their suc-
cessors shall be so elected on Tuesday after the first Monday in No-
vember, nineteen hundred and thirteen, and every four years thereafter.
The said elected officers shall-enter upon the discharge of their duties
on the first day of January immediately following their election. -

72. The term of office of the city auditor elected on Tuesday after the
first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and five, for three years
is hereby continued to January first, nineteen hundred and ten.

73. There shall be a city clerk, who shall be clerk of the council, to
be elected by the council at a joint session to be held in November.
nineteen hundred and nine, and every four years thereafter, whose term
of office shall begin on the first day of January immediately following
his election. And there may be such other officers as the council maj
deem proper to have, whose election, terms of office, duties and com-
pensation may be prescribed by the council; and the council may take
from any or all of them bond with such sureties as it may see fit.

v4. The council is also empowered to fill the unexpired terms 0:
office of all officers (whether elected or appointed) unless otherwis
provided by this act, or by the general laws of the State.

%5. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of each ward i
the city of Portsmouth, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in No
vember, nineteen hundred and nine, and every four years thereafter
one justice of the peace. They shall be residents of the ward from whicl
elected, and shall hold office for the term of four years, and until thei
successors shall be elected and qualified. Their terms of office shal
begin on the first day of January immediately succeeding their electior
Removal from the ward for which they are elected shall vacate thei
said office.
76. The city council shall grant and pay to all city officers, clerks,
and assistants elected or appointed under or in pursuance of this act
such salaries or compensation as shall be fixed by ordinance of the city.

7%. The council may take from any of the officers appointed or
elected under this act bonds with sureties in such penalties as it may
deem fit, payable to the city by its coporate name, with conditions for
the faithful performance of their duties, save when it is otherwise pro-
vided for in this act, or by law; provided that every such officer shall
give as surety on his bond some guaranty or security company doing
business in this State, and deemed sufficient by the council, the form
of said bond to be prescribed by the council, but nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed as requiring or authorizing the city to pay
the cost of said security; and provided further that no guaranty or
security company doing business in this State shall charge a greater
rate of premium on the bonds given under this section then they do on
bonds of like character of employees and officials generally; and pro-
vided further, that if no guaranty or security company doing business
in this State shall agree to furnish such bond for such rate of premium,
then such official shall give such other security as may be approved by
the council. .

%8. If any person, having been an officer of said city, shall not, within
ten days after he shall have vacated or been removed from office, and
upon notification and request of the city clerk, of within such time
thereafter as the city council shall allow or direct, deliver over to his
successor in office all the property, books, and papers belonging to the
city, or appertaining to such office, in his possession, or under his con-
trol, he shall forfeit and pay to the city the sum of five hundred dollars,
to be sued for and recovered with cost. And all books, records, and
documents used in any office by virtue of any provision of this act, or
of any ordinance or order of the city council, or any superior officer of
said city, shall be deemed the property of the said city, and apper-
tain to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall be responsible
therefor.

%9. It shall not be lawful for any officer or agent of the city, whether
elected or appointed, or any commissioner appointed for the opening of
streets, or any member of any board of the city or council, or any member
of a committee constituted or appointed for the management, regulation
or control of coporate property of the city, to be a contractor with the
city, or its agents, or with such committee, officer, or board, for any
work or labor ordered to be done, or goods, wares and merchandise or
supplies of any kind, ordered by the said city or by such officer, board or
committee to be purchased, or in any manner, directly or indirectly, to
be interested in the profits of any such contract. Every such contract
shall be void, and the officer, agent, member of such committee or board
making such contract shall forfeit to the city the full amount stipulated
for thereby. No officer of the city who alone or with others is charged
with the duty of auditing, settling or providing by levy or otherwise for
the payment of claims against the city, shall by contract, directly or
indirectly, become the owner of, or interested in, any claim against the
city. Every such contract shall be void, and if any such claim be paid.
the amount paid with interest may be recovered back by the city within
two years after payment, by action or motion in the circuit or hustings
court of the city

Chapter VIII.

80. Sinking fund.—For the redemption at maturity of such bonds
as may be issued by the city of Portsmouth in the year nineteen hundred
and eight, and thereafter, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to
set aside annually a sum equal to one and a half per cent. of the par
value of said bonds. The said sum so set aside shall be under the super-
vision and management of a board of sinking fund commissioners,
composed of the mayor, presidents of the two branches of the city
council, and chairman of the finance committee; and it shall be the duty
of said board to invest the sum or sums set aside from time to time
with interest thereon for what, in their judgment, may be to the best
interest of same; provided that before any such investment shall have
been made it shall have the approval of the city council therefor.

81. The treasurer of the city shall keep a book or books in which shall
he recorded all receipts and disbursements of the said sinking fund,
-and such other matters pertaining thereto as may be prescribed by ordi-
nance.

82. Should any part of said sinking fund be needed for city uses the
council may make application to the treasurer for same through the
board of sinking fund commissioners; provided that the part of the
sinking fund so borrowed shall be returned to it before the end of the
fiscal year in which it was borrowed, with interest thereon at the rate
of five per centum per annum; and if any part of the sum borrowed,
with interest thereon, be not returned to the sinking fund before the
first day of November in each year, it shall be the duty of the board of
sinking fund commissioners to notify the council of the fact, and the
council shall provide for the return of the said sum, with interest, before
the first day of January following.

83. The acts approved. March sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two,
and January twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, providing
a charter for the city of Portsmouth, and the acts approved February
twenty-third, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and January twenty-
fifth, nineteen hundred, amendatory thereof, and all other acts amenda-
tory thereof and supplemental thereto, and all acts and parts of acts,
and city ordinances, in conflict with this act are hereby repealed; but
all acts and parts of acts, and all city ordinances, not in conflict with
this act are to remain in full force and effect.