Chap. 73.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled “an act to in-
corporate the town of Dayton, Rockingham county,” approved March
9, 1880, as amended by an act entitled ‘“‘an act to amend and re-enact
an act to incorporate the town of Davton, approved March the 9th,
1880, and all acts amendatory thereof,” approved February the 29th,
1892, as further amended by an act entitled “an act to amend and
re-enact sections 1 and 2 of an act to incorporate the town of Dayton,
Rockingham county, approved March 9, 1880, as amended by an act
entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act to incorporate the town
of Dayton, approved March 9, 1880, and all acts amendatory thereof,
approved February 29, 1892, and to add an independent section and
power in the town council of said town to negotiate a loan not to exceed
$5,000.00,” approved March 5, 1896.

_Approved March 4, 1912.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an act entitled ‘‘an act to amend and re-enact an act entitled “an
act to incorporate the town of Dayton, Rockingham county,”
approved March ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty, as amend-
ed by an act entitled “an act to amend and re-enact an act to in-
corporate the town of Dayton, approved March the ninth, eigh-
teen hundred and eighty, and all acts amendatory thereof,” ap-
proved February the twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and nine-
ty-two, as further amended by an aet entitled ‘‘an act to amend
and re-enact sections one and two of an act to incorporate the
town of Dayton, Rockingham county, approved March the
ninth eighteen hundred and eighty, as amended by an act en-
titled an act to amend and re-enact an act to incorporate the
town of Dayton, approved March ninth, eighteen hundred and
eighty, and all acts amendatory thereof, approved February
twenty-nine, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and to add an in-
dependent section, and power in the town council of said town
to negotiate a loan not to exceed five thousand dollars, approved
March fifth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six,”’ be amended and
re-enacted so as to read as follows:

The corporate limits of the town of Dayton in the county of
Rockingham, as heretofore established by law, are hereby re-es-
tablished as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner of the
Dayton cemetery; thence to the northwest corner of J. N. Frie’s
mill-dam; thence in a straight line to S. Burtner’s corner at
breast of dam; thence with a straight line to southwest corner of
S. Burtner’s barn; thence in a straight line to a large willow tree
un the southeast side of the Chesapeake and Western Railroad;
thence in a straight line to the middle of the bridge over Cook’s
Creek, near J. M. Kagey’s; thence in a straight line to a large
@ik tree in. Alberta Coffman’s yard; thence in a straight line,
passing the corner of Mistress Margaret Coffman’s house, to a
post in George W. Hedrick’s line; unence with Hedrick’s line
to Sallie Coffman’s line; thence in a straight line with Hedrick’s
and Bowman’s line to a corner on south side of public road;
thence with the south siae of said road, passing Bowman’s barn
to the beginning.

2. The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor
and seven councilmen, who shall constitute the council of said
town and shall be chosen and elected from the qualified voters of
said town at the times and in the manner prescribed by law.

3. The mayor and council, as soon as they shall be elected
and qualified, as hereinafter provided, shall be a body politic in-
corporate by the name of the town of Dayton, and shall have
perpetual succession and a common seal, and by that name may
sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, may purchase and
hold real estate and sell and convey the same needful for the
public good, and may exercise all the powers of said corporation,
except where otherwise provided.

4. The mayor and councilmen of said corporation shall be
elected by the citizens of said corporation, who are residents
thereof, and entitled to vote for members of the general as-
sembly and otherwise qualified as the electors of said town un-
der the provisions of the general law.
5. Their term of office shall be for two years, (except when
filling vacancies), and they shall enter upon the duties of the
office on the first day of September next succeeding their elec-
tion, and shall continue in office until their successors are qualli-
fied.

6. The mayor, and councilmen must be citizens of the town
entitled to vote for members of the common council.

7. All vacancies occurring from any cause in the offices of
common councilmen shall be filled by appointment by the coun-
cil, except where otherwise provided by law.

8. Municipal elections provided under this act shall be con-
ducted in the manner prescribed by the general law, and in case
of a tie at any election, the duly elected members of the council
shall decide between the candidates and shall also hear and de-
cide contested elections.

9. A majority of the whole number of officers constituting
the council of said town, as mentioned in the second section of
this act, shall be necessary to the transaction of any business
whatever.

10. The officers herein mentioned shall each before entering
upon his official duties take and subscribe an oath that he will
truly, faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his
said office so long as he shall continue therein. The recorder
shall take such oath before some person authorized to adminis-
ter the same, and shall thereupon be authorized to administer
the same to other officials, and shall keep a record thereof in
the journal of the council and if any of these officers shall fail
for the period of thirty days so to qualify after the time for his
induction into office, as now provided by law, his office shall be
vacant, and whenever a majority of the members of the common
council shall have qualified as aforesaid and entered upon the
duties of their said offices, as provided by law, they shall super-
sede the former council of said town.

11. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of
the town of Dayton for the term of two years and until his suc-
cessor shall be elected and qualified, and no person shall be
qualified to hold the office of mayor except such as shall be qual-
ified to hold office under the constitution of this State. He shall
receive such salary as the council may within the limitations of
the general law fix and determine payable at stated periods, and
no regulation increasing or diminishing such compensation af-
ter it has been once fixed shall be made to take effect until af-
ter the expiration of the term for which the mayor then in
office shall have been elected. The salary of the mayor when
fixed shall so continue until changed by the town council, as
aforesaid.

12. It shall be his duty to communicate to the council an-
nually, as soon as may be after the fiscal year, and oftener if
he shall deem it expedient or be required by said council, a gen-
eral statement of the situation and condition of the town in re-
lation to its government, finances and improvements, with such
recommendations as he may deem proper.

18. He shall exercise a constant supervision over the con-
duct of all subordinate officers, have power and authority to in-
vestigate their acts, have access to all books and documents in
their offices, and may examine said officers and their subordi-
nates on oath. He shall also have power to suspend all officers
elected by the council until the next regular meeting of the coun-
cil for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, to be specified in
the order of suspension, and of the suspension of such officer or
officers, the mayor shall report the same, with his reason there-
for, to the council at their next regular meeting.

14. In case of the absence or inability of the: mayor the re-
corder shall possess the same power and discharge the muni-
cipal duties of the mayor during such absence or inability, ex-
cept where otherwise provided by law.

15. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor, the
council shall elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy until
the first general election which may be held in the town there-
after, when the vacancy shall be filled by election.

16. He shall have jurisdiction to try all violattons of the
town ordinances, and inflict such punishments and impose such
fines as may be prescribed for a violation of the same, and in all
criminal cases occurring within the town he shall exercise all
the powers and authority of a justice of the peace of the county
of Rockingham, and be entitled to the fees in such cases by law
allowed to justices of the peace.

17. In case of any vacancy happening in the town council by
death, resignation, removal, or otherwise, the council shall elect
by ballot a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the next elec-
tion which may be held in the town.

18. When, for any cause, the mayor shall be absent, the coun-
cil shall elect a president pro tempore, who shall preside over the
council during the absence of the mayor. The minutes and
record of the proceedings of the council shall be signed by the
mayor. The mayor shall have power to call a meeting of the
council whenever he deems it necessary, or in case of his ab-
sence or inability or refusal the council may be convened by the
order, in writing, or any three members of the council.

19. The council shall, by ordinance or resolution, fix the time
for their stated meetings; and no business shall be transacted
at a special meeting but that for which it shall be called.

20. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules, and
appoint such officers or committees as they shall deem proper
for the regulation of their proceedings and for the convenient
transaction of business; to compel the attendance of absent
members; to punish its members for disorderly behaviour; and,
with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member for malfeas-
ance in office. They shall keep a minute book in which the re-
corder shall, in a brief manner, note the proceedings of the coun-
cil, and shall record said proceedings at large on the record book,
and keep the same properly indexed. The meetings of the coun-
cil shall be open, except when the public welfare shall require
secrecy.

21. A majority of the members ot the council shall consti-
tute a quorum for the transaction of business; but no ordinance
shall be passed nor resolution adopted having for its object the
levy of a tax or appropriation or borrowing of money, except
by the concurrence of two-thirds of the council; and upon de-
mand of any member, on the passage of any ordinance or reso-
lution, the yeas and nays shall be taken and entered on the rec-
ord. No vote or question decided at a stated meeting shall be
reconsidered or rescinded at a special meeting unless there be
at least six members present, and four of them shall concur.

22. The town council shall have, subject to the provisions of
this act, the control and management of the fiscal and munici-
pal affairs of the town, and of all property, real and personal,
belonging to said town, and may make such ordinances, orders
and by-laws relating to the same as they shall deem proper and
necessary ; and they shall likewise have power to make such ordi-
nances, orders, by-laws and regulations as they may deem neces-
sary and proper to carry out the following powers which are
hereby vested in them:

First. To establish a market, or markets, in and for said
town and appoint such proper officers therefor, prescribe the
time and places for holding the same, provide suitable buildings
and grounds therefor, and to enforce such regulations as shall
be necessary and proper to prevent huckstering, fortstalling, or
regrating.

Second. To erect and provide, in or near said town, suit-
able workhouses, houses of correction and reformation, and
houses for the reception and maintenance of the poor and desti-
tute; and they shall possess and exercise authority over all per-
sons within the limits or the town receiving or entitled to the
benefit of the poor laws, appoint necessary officers and other per-
sons proper to be connected with the aforesaid institutions, and
regulate pauperism within the limits of the town; and the coun-
cil, through the agency they shall appoint for the direction and
management of the poor of the town, shall exercise the powers
and perform the duties vested by law in overseers of the poor.

Third. To erect and keep in order all public buildings neces-
sary and proper for said town; to erect within the town a town
prison, and said prison shall contain such apartments as shall
be necessary for the safe-keeping and employment of all persons
confined therein.

Fourth. To establish, enlarge, or operate a system of sewer-
age, water works, gas works, telephone works, and electric light
works within or without the limits of the town; to contract or
agree with the owners of any land for the use and purchase
thereof, or to have the same condemned according to law, within
or without the town, for the location, extension, and enlarge-
ment of their said works, the pipes or wires connected there-
with, or any of the appurtenances, or fixtures thereof; and shall
have power to protect from injury, by ordinances prescribing
adequate penalties, the works, pipes, fixtures, and land, or any-
thing connected therewitn, whether within or without the lim-
its of said town.

Fifth. To close or extend, widen or narrow, lay out, gradu-
ate, curb and pave, and otherwise improve streets, sidewalks,
and public alleys in the town, and have them kept in good order
and properly lighted; and over any street or alley in the town
which has been or may be ceded to the town, or conveyed to the
town, by proper deed, they shall have like power and authority
as over other streets and alleys; and may build bridges in and
culverts under said streets, and may prevent or remove any
structure, obstruction, or encroachment over or under or in any
street, sidewalk or alley in said town; and may permit shade
trees to be planted along said streets; but no company shall oc-
cupy with its works or appurtenances thereof the streets, side-
walks, or alleys of the town without the consent of the council,
duly entered of record; after due compliance with the provisions
of the general law of the commonwealth in such case made and
provided, and wherever, in the construction of any sewer or
duct, it is necessary that the same should pass through or under
private property, the said council shall have authority to con-
tract and agree with the owners thereof for the use and purchase
of the right of way through or under the same, or have the same
condemned according to law, and in the meantime no order shall
be made and no injunction shall be awarded by any court or
judge to stay the proceedings of the town 1n the prosecution of
its work, unless it be manifest that they, their officers, agents,
or servants are transcending the authority given them by this
act, and that the interposition of the court is necessary to pre-
vent injury that cannot be adequatley compensated for in dam-
ages. The said council shall have power to authorize the lay-
ing down of railway tracks and the running of cars thereon by
horse power, electricity, or other motive power, in the streets of
the town, under such regulations as the council may prescribe,
not in contravention of the general law.

Sixth. To prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks, al-
leys, lanes, or bridges in the town in any manner whatever, and
to have full and complete control of the same.

Seventh. To determine and designate the route and grade
of any railroad to be laid in said town, and to restrain and reg-
ulate the speed of bicycles, traction engines, automobiles, motor-
cycles, locomotives, engines, and cars upon the railroads within
said town, and may wholly exclude such engines and cars, if
they please, provided that no contract be hereby violated.
Eighth. To make provision for and regulate the weighing of
hay, fodder, oats, shucks, or other long forage; they may also
provide for measuring corn, oats, grain, coal, stone, wood, lum-
ber, boards, potatoes, and other articles for sale or barter.

Ninth. 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 and meas-
ure to be sealed by the town sealer and to be subject to his in-
spection, and may impose penalties for any violation of any
such ordinance.

Tenth. To secure the inhabitants from contagious, infectious,
or other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect, regulate !:ospi-
tals; to provide for and enforce the removal, of patients to said
hospital; to appoint and organize a board of health for said
town, with the authority necessary for the prompt and efficient
performance of its duties, and provide for the interment of the
dead and regulate the same.

Eleventh. To require and compel the abatement and re-
moval of all nuisances within said town at the expense of the
person or persons causing the same, or the owner or owners
of the ground whereon the same shall be; to prevent and regu-
late slaughter houses and soap candle factories and tanneries
within said town, or the exercise of any dangerous, offensive,
or unhealthy business, trade, or employment therein, and to
regulate the transportation of coal and other articles through
the streets of said town.

Twelfth. If any ground in said town shall be subject to
be covered with stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, or
occupier or occupiers, thereof shall permit any offensive or
unwholesome substance to remain therein, the council may
cause such grounds to be filled up, raised or drained, or may
cause such substance to be covered, or to be removed there-
from, and may collect the expense of so doing from the said
owner or owners, occupier or occupiers, or any of them, by dis-
tress and sale, in the same manner in which taxes levied upon
real estate for the benefit of said town are authorized to be col-
lected; provided, that reasonable notice shall be first given to
the said owners or their agents. In case of non-resident own-
ers who have no agents in said town, such notice may be given
by publication for not less than four weeks in any newspaper
printed in the county of Rockingham.

Thirteenth. To direct the location of all buildings for stor-
ing gunpowder, fire-crackers, or other fireworks manufactured
or prepared therefrom, kerosene oil, nitro-glycerine, camphene,
burning fluid, or other combustible material; to regulate the ex-
hibition of fire-works, the discharge of fire arms, the use of can-
dles and lights in barns, stables, and other buildings, and to reg-
ulate or restrain the making of bonfires in streets and vards.
Fourteenth. To prevent horses, cattle, hogs, dogs, and all
other animals from running at large in said town, and may
subject the same to such confiscation, regulations, and taxes as
they may deem proper; and the council may prohibit the rais-
ing and keeping of hogs in the town or any part thereof.

Fifteenth. To prevent the riding or driving of horses or
animals at an improper speed, throwing stones, or the engaging
in any employment or sport on the streets, sidewalks, or public
alleys dangerous or annoying to passengers, and to prohibit
and punish the abuse or cruel treatment of horses or other ani-
mals in said town.

Sixteenth. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and
street beggars; to prevent vice and immorality, obscenity and
profanity; to preserve peace and good order; to prevent and
quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to sup-
press houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to prevent and
punish lewd, indecent, and disorderly conduct or exhibitions i
said town, and to expel therefrom the persons guilty of such
conduct who have not resided therein as much as one year.

Seventeenth. To prevent, forbid and publish the selling or
giving of liquors and intoxicating drinks to be drunk in any
place not duly licensed, and the selling or giving to be drunk
any intoxicating liquors to any child or minor, and the selling or
giving of cigarettes to any minor under sixteen years of age,
without the consent in writing of his or her parents or guar-
dian; and for the violation of any such ordinance may impose
such fines as permitted under the constitution and laws of the
commonwealth.

Any person applying to the court of Rockingham having ju-
risdiction to grant licenses for license to sell liquors of any kind,
either as the keeper of a bar-room, wholesale or retail liquor
dealer, within the corporate limits of the town of Dayton, Rock-
ingham county, or within one mile of the limits of said corpora-
tion, shall produce before the court of said county a certificate
of the council of said town, signed by each member of the coun-
cil, to the effect that the applicant is a suitable person, and that
no good reason is known to said council why said license should
not be granted; and the courts having jurisdiction shall not
grant any license to sell liquors within the limits above prescrib-
ed until and unless such certificate be given.

Eighteenth. To prevent the coming into the town of per-
sons having no ostensible means of support and of persons who
may be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town, and
may compel said persons to leave the town; provided that such
order to leave be issued within thirty days after their arrival.

Nineteenth. The council may organize and maintain a fire
department for the town, and appoint a chief engineer, assist-
ant, and other officers, with any and all the powers which may
have been or may be vested by law in such officers; and may
make rules and regulations for the government of the officers
and men of said department, may prescribe their respective du-
ties in case of fire, or alarms of fire, may fix their pay, and may
impose reasonable fines for the breach of such regulations, and
may make such ordinances as they may deem proper to exting-
uish and prevent fires, to prevent property from being stolen,
and to require citizens to render assistance to the fire depart-
ment in case of need.

Twentieth. For the purpose of guarding against the calam-
ities of fire the town council may, from time to time, desig-
nate such portions and parts of the town as they may deem prop-
er within which no buildings of wood shall be erected; they may
prohibit the erection of wooden buildings in any portion of the
town without their permission, and shall, on the petition of the
owner or owners of at least one-fourth of the ground included
in any square of the town, prohibit their erection on such
square of any building, or addition to any building, unless the
outer walls thereof be made of brick and mortar, or stone and
mortar, and may provide for the removal of any such building or
addition which shall be erected contrary to such prohibition at
the expense of the builder or owner thereof; and if any such
building shall have been commenced before said petition can
be acted upon by the council, or if any building in progress
of erection appears clearly unsafe, the council may cause such
building to be taken down.

Twenty-first. In addition to the jurisdiction, functions, and
authority herein specifically enumerated, the council shall exer-
cise the powers granted to, and discharge the duties imposed
upon, them by the constitution and laws of Virginia.

23. Where, by the provisions of this act, the council have
authority to pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe
any penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars for violation
thereof and may provide that the offender, on failing to pay the
penalty recovered, shall be imprisoned in the jail of the town
or in the jail of Rockingham county, for any term not exceeding
ninety days, which penalty may be prosecuted and recovered,
with costs, in the name of the town of Dayton.

24. No ordinance hereafter passed by said council for viola-
tion of which any penalty is imposed, shall take effect until the
same shall have been published either in one or more of the
newspapers published in Rockingham county, or by hand-bills,
as the council may order; such hand bills shall be posted in at
least ten public places in different localities of said town. A
certificate of such posting shall be filed by the town sergeant in
the office of said council; and all laws, regulations, and ordi-
nances of said council certified by the recorder, may be read in
evidence in all courts of justice, and all proceedings before any
officer, body or board in which it shall be necessary to refer
thereto, but after the expiration of six months from the date
of such ordinance its publication shall not be questioned, or its
validity affected, by any failure to publish the same.
25. The town council shall not take or use any private prop-
erty for streets or other public purposes without making to
the owners thereof just compensation for the same; but in cases
where the council shall fail, by agreement, to obtain title to the
ground for such purposes, it shall be lawful for said council to
apply to and obtain from the circuit court of Rockingham county
for authority to condemn the same, which shall be applied for,
and proceeded with according to law.

26. In every case where a street in said town has been or
shall be encroached upon by any fence, or otherwise, the council
may require the owner, if known, or, if unknown, the occupant
of the premises encroaching, to remove the same; and if such
removal be not made within the time prescribed by the council,
they may impose a penalty of five dollars for each and every day
it is allowed to continue thereafter, and may cause the encroach-
ment to be removed, and collect from the owner all reasonable
charges therefor, with costs, by the same process that they are
hereinafter empowered to collect taxes. No encroachment
upon any street, however long continued, shall constitute ad-
verse possession to, or confer any right upon, the person claim-
ing thereunder or against the said town.

27. Whenever any street, alley or lane in said tawn shall
be open to and used as such by the public for the period of five
years, unless notice of a contrary intention on the part of the
landowner be given to the mayor of the town, the same shall
thereby become a street, alley or lane for public purposes, and
the council shall have the same authority and jurisdiction over
and rights and interests therein as they have by law over the
other streets, alleys, and lanes laid out by them; and any street
or alley reserved in the division or subdivision into lots or any
portion of the territory within the corporate limits of said town
by a plat or plan of record shall be deemed and held to be dedi-
cated to public use, unless it appears by said record that the
street or alley so reserved is designated for private use; but
upon a petition of the majority of the persons interested therein
the council shall have the power to open the same for the use of
the public.

28. The council may impose a tax upon abutting landown-
ers for making and improving the walkways upon then exist-
ing streets and for improving and paving then existing alleys,
and for either the construction or for the use of sewers, pro-
vided that the procedure for the imposition of said tax or assess-
ment shall conform to the provisions of the general law.

29. The council shall grant and pay to all town officers
elected under or appointed in pursuance of this act such
salaries or compensation as the said council may from time to
time deem just and proper, subject to provisions of the general
law.

30. If any person, having been an officer of said town, shall
not within ten days after he shall have vacated or been removed
from office, and upon notification and request of the mayor, or
within such time thereafter as the council shall allow, deliver
over to his successor in office all property, books and papers be-
longing to the town, or appertaining to such office, in his pos-
session or under his control, he shall forfeit and pay to the town
the sum of five hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered,
with costs; and all books, records, and documents used in any
such office.by virtue of any provision of this act, or of any ordi-
nance or order of the town council or any superior officer of
said town, shall be deemed the property of said town and apper-
tain to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall be respon-
sible therefor.

31. There shall be one town treasurer, one assessor, and one
sergeant for the town, the treasurer and assessor to be elected
by the qualified voters of the town, and the sergeant to be elect-
ed by the common council.

32. The town council may appoint, in addition to those

herein provided for, such officers and clerks as they may deem
proper and necessary, and define their powers and prescribe
their duties and fix their compensation, and may take from any
officer so appointed a bond, with surety to be approved by the
council, in such penalty as they may deem proper, payable to the
town by its corporate name, for the faithful discharge of said
duties. All officers appointed by the council may be removec
from office at their pleasure. In case of any vacancies occur-
ring in any municipal office, where it is not herein otherwise pro.
vided, the town council shall elect a qualified person to fill suct
office during the unexpired term; but two-thirds of the council
shall concur in creating any such office or in afterwards abolish.
ing it.
33. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the towr
at each biennial election one treasurer, who shall hold office fo)
the term of two years, and until his successor be elected anc
qualified, unless sooner removed from office. He shall qualifs
before the council and give bond, with surety approved by i
in a penalty to be determined by the council, but not less it
any case than double the amount that will probably be in th
hands of said treasurer as treasurer of the town at any on
time.

94. The said treasurer shall receive all money belonging t
the town, and shall keep his office in some convenient place it
the town. He shall keep his books and accounts in such manne
as the town council may prescribe, and such books and account
shall always be subject to the inspection of the mayor and ant
member of the town council, or any committee or committee
thereof.

35. No monev shall be paid out by the treasurer excent upol
the warrant of the recorder of the council, countersigned by th
mayor of the council: and he shall keep a senarate account 0
each fund on appropriation, and the debits and eredits belongin:

thereto.
36. All moneys to be paid into the treasury of the town,
except taxes and such other assessments as the town council may
so ordain, shall be paid by the person liable to pay the same, or
his agents, to the treasurer in the following manner; a warrant
shall first be obtained from the recorder of the council directing
the treasurer to receive the sum to be paid, specifying on what
account the payment is to be made; upon the payment of the
money to the treasurer he shall give a receipt for the same, which
shall be carried to the recorder, and his receipt therefor shall be
the acquittance of the party making the payment.

37. The treasurer shall also report to the town council at the
end of each fiscal year, and oftener it required, a full and de-
tailed account of all receipts and expenditures during the pre-
ceding year, and the state of the treasury. He shall also keep
a register of all warrants—their dates, amount, number, the
fund from which paid and the person to whom paid, specifying
also the time of payment; and all such warrants shall be ex-
amined at the time of making such report to the town council
by the council or the finance committee thereof, who shall ex-
amine and compare the same with the books of the recorder and
report discrepancies, if any, to the town council.

38. The treasurer shall collect all taxes and assessments
which may be levied by said town, and for the purpose shall be
invested with the power and be subject to the liabilities and pen-
alties now prescribed by law in regard to county treasurers. He
shall also perform such other duties as may be herein prescribed
or ordained by the town council. He may appoint one or more
deputies to aid him in the duties of his office, who shall qualify
in the manner now prescribed for the qualification of sergeant,
who may perform all the duties devolved on the treasurer by
law, and shall be subject to removal by him or by the town coun-
cil. The treasurer may take from any person so appointed such
bonded security as he shall deem necessary for his indemnity;
the treasurer and his surety shall nevertheless be responsible for
the performance of the duties of any such deputy.

39. All moneys received on any special assessment shall be
held by the treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the pay-
ment for which the assessment was made, and said money shall
be used for no other purpose whatever.

40. The treasurer shall be required to keep all moneys in his
hands belonging to the town in such place or places of deposit
as the town council may by ordinance provide, order, establish,
or direct such moneys shall be kept separate and distinct, and
he is hereby expressly prohibited from using, either directly or
indirectly, the corporation money or warrants in his custody or
keeping for his own use or benefit of that of any person or per-
sons whomsoever, and any violation of this provision shall sub-
ject him to immediate removal from office. In case of his re-
moval, the town council shall elect a qualified person to fill said
office until the next general election which may be held in the
town. 1 The compensation of the treasurer shall be fixed by the
council

41. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town
at each biennial election one recorder, who shall attend the meet-
ings of the town council and keep a record of its proceedings. He
shall have the custody of the corporate seal. He shall keep all
papers that, by the provision of this act or the direction of the
town council, are required to be filed with or kept by him. It
shall also be his duty immediately after the close of each session
of the town council to make and present to the mayor a tran-
script of every ordinance, resolution, or order concerning any
public improvement or for the payment of any money, and every
ordinance, resolution, order and act of a legislative character
passed by the town council at such session. He shall, in like
manner, transmit to the treasurer a transcript of all ordinances,
resolutions, or orders appropriating money or authorizing the
payment of money, the issue of bonds or notes. He shall, in like
manner, give notice to all parties presenting communications or
petitions to the town council of the final action of the council on
such communication or petition. He shall publish such reports
and ordinances as the town council is required by this act to pub-
lish, and such other reports and ordinances as it may direct, and
shall, in general, perform such other acts and duties as the town
council may from time to time require of him.

42. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town
at each biennial election one assessor, who shall hold office for the
period of two years, and until his successor shall be elected and
qualified, unless sooner removed from office. He shall give bond,
with surety, in such amount as the council may determine, said
bond to be appointed by the town council, entered on their re-
cord and filed in the office of the town recorder.

In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of assessor, the
town council shall elect a qualified person to fill said office until
the next general election which may be held for the town.

43. The assessor shall perform all the duties in relation to
the assessment of property for the purpose of levying the town
taxes that may be ordered by the town council. He shall keep
his office at some convenient place in said town, and shall keep
therein such books, schedules, records and other paper, and in
such manner as the council may direct and prescribe, which
books, schedules, records and other papers shall be subject to the
inspection and examination of the mayor, the members of the
town council, and any committee or committees thereof, and of
the collector of the town taxes. His compensation shall be fixed
by the town council.

44. There shall be elected by the common council of the
town, at such time as they may fix during the month of Septem-
ber succeeding each biennial election, one town serpeant, who
shall collect all fines and penalties imposed by the town council,
the mayor, or other officer of the town, unless otherwise ordered
by the council, and shai! within the town and for one mile be-
yord the corporate limits thereof, exercise all the powers and
perform all the duties that a constable can legally exercise, and
is required to perform in regard to making arrest, conserving
the peace, the collection of claims, and executing and levying
process. He shall be entitled to the same compensation therefor,
and shall, together with his sureties, be liable to all the fines and
forfeitures to which a constable is now or shall hereafter be
liable, to be recovered in the same manner and before the same
tribunal as such fines and forfeitures are now or shall hereafter
be made recoverable against constables. He shall hold office for
two years and until his successor shall qualify, and may be re-
moved from office by the council, who may fill such vacancy till
the next election.

45. The council of the town may elect a collector ot taxes
who shall collect all taxes and claims of all kinds due to said
town, placed in his hands by the town treasurer, and for that
purpose shall have all the power and authority and be subject
to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed for county
treasurers in the collection of State and county taxes and claims,
and may be proceeded against in the same manner so far as is
applicable and not inconsistent with this act or the general law.
The treasurer, when so ordered by the council, shall place in
the hands of said collector for collection all town taxes required
by the order and all other claims at such time as directed by
the town council, and take his receipt therefor. The said col-
lector shall proceed at once to collect said taxes and claims, and
shall pay over to the treasurer of the town (or into the treasury
of the town, as may be prescribed by the council) weekly, or
oftener if he thinks proper, all money which may come into his
hands for taxes or otherwise belonging to said town. He shall
make full and complete quarterly settlements on the fifteenth day
of August, November, February and May of each year with the
town treasurer, under the supervision of the finance committee
of the council, for all taxes and claims that may come into his
hands. He shall report to the council, in writing at each stated
meeting the amount of all moneys collected by him for the town
and paid over as herein directed. Said collector’s receipts to
the town treasurer for all taxes and claims thus placed in his
hands for collection shall be a voucher for said treasurer in his
settlement with the town council, and he (the said treasurer)
shall receive no compensation for any taxes or claims thus col-
lected by the said tax collector. But before entering upon the
duties of his oftice as collector of the town taxes and other claims,
as above set forth, he (the said collector), shall turnish a bond,
to be approved by the council, in such sum as the council may di-
rect, said bond to be payable to the town of Dayton, and condi-
tioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of said office; and
said bond shall be entered on the records of the council, and the
original shall be filed with the recorder of said town. And the
council for said town shall by ordinance prescribe the compensa-
tion to be allowed the said collector for the performance of his
duties under this act. He shall be elected for two years at the
same time herein prescribed for the election of sergeant and
shall be subject to like removal by the council.

46. The Finances.—The council may, within the limits of tax-
ation herein set out, in the name of and for the use of the town,
contract loans, or cause to be issued certificates of debt or bonds;
but such loans, certificates, or bonds shall not be redeemable for
a greater period than thirty years; provided, however, that said
council shall not contract such loans or issue such certificates
of debt or bonds for the purpose of subscribing to the stock of
any company incorporated for internal improvement or other
purposes; and provided, further, that the said council shall not
endorse the bonds of any company whatsoever, nor shall the
bonded indebtedness of the town at any time exceed the per cen-
tum of the aggregate assessment of real and personal property
as is now or may be hereafter prescribed by law for towns of the
same class.

47. Whenever hereafter there shall be contracted by the coun-
cil any debt not payable within one year thereafter, there shall
be set apart annually for thirty years, or until the debt is paid,
a sum of. not less than one per centum of the amount of such
debt, in addition to the annual interest agreed to be paid thereon,
which sum shall be applied and invested towards the payment of
such debt.

48. The town council may levy a tax on water and gas, on
licenses to agents of insurance companies whose principal office
is not located in said town, on telegraph, telephone, and electric
light works, to auctioneers, to public theatricals or other per-
formances or shows, to keepers of billiard tables and ten-pin
alleys, to hawkers and peddlers, to agents for the renting of real
estate, to commission merchants and any other business for
which a license could be required by the State, within the limits
of the Constitution.

49. Any payment of taxes made by the tenant of real estate
situate within the town, unless under an express contract con-
tained in his lease, shall be a credit against the person to whom
he owes the debt; and when any tax is paid by a fiduciary on
the interest or profit of money of an estate invested under an
order of court or otherwise, the tax shall be refunded out of said
estate.

50. The council may grant or refuse license to owners or
keepers of wagons, drays, carts, hacks and other wheeled car-
riages kept or employed in the town for hire; and may require
the owner or keepers of wagons, drays, or carts, using them in
the town to take out a license therefor, and may assess and re-
quire taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same to such
regulations as they may deem proper, and may prescribe the
fees and compensation.
51. All goods and chattels, wheresoever found, may be dis-
trained and sold for taxes assessed and due thereon; and no deed
of trust or mortgage upon goods and chattels shall prevent the
same from being distrained and sold for taxes assessed against
the grantor in such deed while such goods and chattels remain
in the grantor’s possession.

52. There shall be a lien upon real estate for town taxes as
assessed thereon from the commencement of the year for which
they are assessed; and there shall also be a lien on real estate on
which local assessments for improvements may be made for the
amount of such assessments from the time the same is levied by
the council. The council may require real estate in the town
delinquent for the non-payment of taxes or assessments, to be
sold for said taxes or assessments, with interest thereon from
the time the same is delinquent, at the rate of six per centum per
annum, and ten per centum of the amount of the tax to cover
costs and charges exclusive of costs attending the redemption
thereof, as hereinafter provided, and cause a good and sufficient
deed to be made to the purchaser; provided that it shall not be
lawful to impose or receive a higher rate of penalty for the non-
payment of levies than is prescribed in case of persons delin-
quent in payment of State taxes.

53. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the town to make
and deliver to the council at their regular meeting in May each
year a list of all real estate whereon delinquent taxes or assess-
ments are due; and thereupon the treasurer of the town; under
the direction of the town council, and when so ordered by it,
shall cause a notice of the time and place of such sale to be pub-
lished in one or more of the newspapers published in the county
of Rockingham at least ten days previous to the sale, and by
hand bills posted for the same time in at least ten different
places in the town; and he shall also cause to be published in
one or more of said papers on same day not more than twenty
days nor less than ten days previous to the sale a list of the
several parcels of real estate in the same manner as the same is
described in the assessment rolls in which the said tax or assess-
ment is imposed thereon, together with the name of the person
to whom each parcel is assessed, and the amount of the tax or
assessment due thereon.

54. If such tax or assessment and the six per centum in-
terest, and the ten per centum costs and the charges aforesaid,
be not paid previous to the day for which said sale was advertis-
ed, or on some day immediately thereafter to which said sale may
be adjourned, the treasurer shall proceed to make sale accord-
ingly of the said parcels of real estate, or so much thereof as
shall be necessary to satisfy the interest, taxes, and charges
aforesaid to the highest bidder; and the sale may be adjourned
from day to day until it shall be completed. On such sale the
treasurer shall execute to the purchaser a certificate of sale in
which the property purchased shall be described and the aggre-
gate amount of taxes or assessments, with the interest and costs,
specified; but the treasurer shall not for himself, either directly
or indirectly, purchase any real estate so sold.

55. If at any 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 costs thereon, then the same shall be struck
off to the town. -On such sale the treasurer shall execute to the
town a certificate of sale, in which the property purchased shall
be described and the aggregate amount of the tax or assessment,
with interest and costs, specified, and shall deposit such certifi-
cate with the recorder of the town.

56. The owner of any real estate so sold, his heirs or as-
signs, or any person having the right to charge such real estate
for a debt, or otherwise interested therein, may redeem the same
by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two
years from the sale thereof, the whole amount paid by said pur-
chaser, and such additional taxes thereon as may have been paid
by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, with interest thereon at
the rate of six per centum per annum, or, if purchased by the
town, with such additional sum as would have accrued for taxes
thereon if the same had not been purchased by the town, with in-
terest on the said purchase money and taxes at the rate of ten
per centum from the time that the same may have been so paid;
or the same may be paid within the said two years to the said
town 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 town of Dayton. And the said town may
sell and convey any such real estate so purchased.

57. Any infant, insane person, or persons in prison, whose
real estate may have been sold, or his heirs, may redeem the
same by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within
two years from the removal of the disability, the amount for
which the same was sold, with the interest and costs as afore-
said, and such additional taxes on the 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 said items at the rate of six per centum per
annum from the time they may have been paid. Upon such
payment, and the payment of such additional sum as may have
been incurred by the purchaser in obtaining a deed, within
two years after the removal of such disability, the purchaser, his
heirs or assigns, shall at the cost of the original owner, his heirs
or assigns, convey to him or to them, by deed with special war-
ranty, the real estate so sold.

58. If any real estate so sold be not redeemed within the
time allowed for redemption, the purchaser of such real estate,
or his assigns, may thereupon petition the mayor and council
that the property shall be conveyed to him; and thereupon, after
due notice to the party or parties for whose delinquent taxes said
real estate was sold, either by personal service, or, in the event
personal service cannot be had by reason of non-residence or dis-
ability of any kind, by publication for four successive weeks in
some newspaper published in the county of Rockingham, the
said council shall determine whether or not the requirements as
to the assessment, the sale, the purchase, and the period of re-
demption shall have been complied with; and if upon such in-
quiry it be ascertained that the same have been regularly com-
plied with, and that the purchaser, or his assigns, is entitled to
a conveyance of said real estate, the council shall direct the same
to be conveyed by the recorder of the town. Where the pur-
chaser has assigned the benefit of his purchase, the deed may be,
with his consent, evidenced by his joining therein, or by writing
annexed thereto, executed to his assignee. And if the purchaser
shall have died, his heirs or assigns may move the council to or-
der the recorder of said town to execute a deed conveying the
property to such heirs or assignee; such inquiry shall be deemed
conclusive as to the regularity of all proceedings connected there-
with.

59. When the purchaser of 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 same was made, or any party claiming
under or through him at the commencement of the year for
which the said taxes were assessed, notwithstanding any irregu-
larity in the proceedings in which the grantee claims title, unless
such irregularity appears upon the face of the proceedings. And
if it be alleged that the taxes for the non-payment of which the
same was made were not in arrears, the party making such alle-
gation must establish the truth thereof by proving that the taxes
were paid.

60. All property, real and personal, within the said town,
shall be subject to taxation by said town, except in cases where
they are exempt by the constitution and laws of this Common-
wealth; but the rate of taxation for all purposes in said town,
together with any levies heretofore authorized by any act of the
legislature for the purpose of paying the interest upon any debt
already created, shall not exceed the rate of one dollar and twen-
ty-five cents upon the one hundred dollars of assessed value of
real and personal property in said town.

And out of each annual levy there shall be laid aside by
the common council a sufficient amount for the interest annually
accruing on any indebtedness heretofore authorized by said town
And in the event there is created by the town any additional
bonded indebtedness at any time, as authorized by the provisions
of this charter, there shall be first laid aside out of the entire
revenue of the town, except such portion thereof as shall have
been specifically levied for the support of public free schools, a
sum sufficient to meet the interest annually, or semi-annually,
accruing on said Bonds before any portion of said revenue, ex-
cept the school tax as aforesaid, is appropriated to any other
purpose. Subject to the exemptions from taxation allowed by
the constitution and general laws of this State, no species of prop-
erty, real or personal, shall be exempt from taxation by said
town.

61. Whenever the said town of Dayton shall keep up and
maintain all public roads now extending through said town,
within the corporate limits thereof, and shall support the poor
within said town, and shall support and maintain its public
schools, without contribution thereto by the county of Rocking-
ham from taxes levied by said county, then, and in that event,
the real and personal property within the corporate limits of
said town shall be exempt from all levies, taxes, and assess-
ments made by the county of Rockingham for the maintenance
of roads, bridges, the support of the poor, and the support of
the public free schools.

62. All ordinances now in force in said town, not inconsis-
tent with this act, the laws of this State, and of the United
States, shall be and remain in force until altered, amended, or
repealed by said council.

63. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are
hereby repealed.

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