Chap. 370.—An ACT to Provide a Charter for the town of Front Royal.

Approved November 1, 1870.

Whereas, it is made known to the general assembly that the
town of Front Royal, in the county of Warren, has’ grown
beyond the limits of said town, as established by an act of the
general assembly passed on the fifteenth November, seventeen
hundred and eighty-eight, and that the several enactments
heretofore made by the general assembly—one on the twenty-
seventh March, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, and one on
twenty-sixth February, eighteen hundred and fifty—for the
good government of said town, are ineffectual for that pur-
pose: therefore,

1. Be it enacted, That all acts heretofore passed by the gen-
eral assembly for the establishment of the town of Front
Royal and its government, be and the same are hereby re-
pealed, and that hereafter said town shall be embraced within
the following corporate limits, to wit: beginning at the upper
corner of Brent’s lot, on Happy creek; thence down said creek
to the lower end of Hope and Haynie’s mill property, em-
bracing the house and lot formerly occupied by James T.
Hope; thence up the road leading into the town by way of
the old depot to the point where Peter Harmer’s lot corners
with William Buck’s land; thence with said Buck’s line around
the bank of said town to the lane running from Buck’s mill to
the Winchester turnpike; thence up said lane to said turn-

ike; thence up said turnpike to the corner of Mrs. William

oling’s and Mre. King’s lots, on the west side of said turn-
pike ; thence in a westerly direction with their line to Lion-

erger’s line; thence along the line between Mrs. King and
Lionberger to the back line of their lots; thence in a southerly
direction with the back line of Lionberger’s, Fristor’s, and
Ashby’s lots to a corner of the woods in Ashby’s line, where
there was formerly a gate on the old road leading to Dr. J. N.
Buck’s; thence in a direct line to Ashby’s barn; thence in a
southerly direction with Ashby and Beecher’s line to a white
oak, corner of Ashby, Beecher, and Gardner; thence in an
easterly direction with Beecher and Gardner’s line to the Lu-
ray turnpike; thence across said turnpike to the corner of
Clark’s and Gardner’s lands; thence with their line to Brent
and Gardner’s line; thence with Brent’s back line to the be-
ginning, on Happy creek.

2. The judges of election for the township of Front Royal, are
hereby authorized and directed to hold an election annually
on the third Saturday in November, eighteen hundred and
seventy, and annually thereafter on the fourth Thursday in
May, at the courthouse in said town, for five trustees and a
sergeant for said town: provided, that if at any election there
be a tie vote for trustee or sergeant, then the said judges
shall determine, by lot, which of said candidates shall be
elected: and provided, that if any vacancy shall happen in the
office of trustee or sergeant, said vacancy shall be filled by the
other trustees: and provided also, that if, from any cause, an
election be not held at the time prescribed, then the trustees
and sergeants in office shall continue in office until the next
succeeding annual election. The said board of trustees shall
choose one of their own number to be president of the said
board. Said trustees and sergeant shall enter upon the duties
of their office on the first day of December, eighteen hundred
and seventy, and annually thereafter on the first day of July;
but before entering upon said duties, each of them shall make
oath or affirmation, before some justice of the peace for said
county, that he will faithfully and honestly, to the best of his
ability, perform his duty. Said board of trustees shall meet
for the transaction of business as often as any two of them
may think proper, upon reasonable notice being given to the
other trustees; and any three of said trustees shall constitute
@ quorum.

3. The said trustees of said town are hereby empowered to
make such by-laws and ordinances, not contrary to the law and
constitution of this state or of the United States, as they may
deem necessary and proper for the security, improvement, and
good government of said town; and any person or persons
who shall violate any by-law or ordinance, passed by said trus-
tees in pursuance of the power hereby vested in them, shall be
subject to such fine as such trustees shall have established for
the violation of said by-laws or ordinances, not exceeding five
dollars for any one offence, which fine or fines, and the costs of

rosecution, shall be recoverable before any justice of the peace
in and for the county of Warren, by warrant, in the name of
the trustees of the town of Front Royal, and by them applied
for the improvement of said town.

4. In as far as it is necessary for carrying into effect this act,
the president of said board of trustees shall have all the pow-
ers of a justice of the peace, except in cases for the recovery
of the fines hereinbefore mentioned; and the sergeant of said
town shall have all the powers of a constable for the purposes
of carrying into effect this act. Said sergeant shall also be
collector of the town taxes, and shall perform such other min-
isterial duties as may be imposed upon him by the said board
of trustees, and for his services shall receive a reasonable com-
pensation, to be determined by the said trustees. The said
sergeant shall give a bond, with good security, in the penalty
of one thousand dollars, to honestly account for all money
coming into his hands as collector. The said board of trus-
tees shall appoint, from their own number, a treasurer, who
shall give a bond, with good security, in the penalty of one
thousand dollars, to honestly account for all money coming
into his hands as treasurer.

5. The trustees of said town may, in their discretion, levy a
tax ot not exceeding five hundred dollars upon the real and
personal property and other subjects of taxation within the
corporate limits of said town, the value of which propert
shall be ascertained in such manner as the trustees may think
best; and said trustees may also impose such other tax, and
require such labor of males, between the ages of sixteen and
sixty, as may be lawful and constitutional. On failure to pay
the taxes and fines before mentioned, the sergeant of said town
is empowered to distrain for them, in case of an adult, in the
same manner as county taxes are distrained for, and in case of
an infant, from the parent or guardian of said infant.

6. The trustees shall keep open for public examination a full
and complete record of all their proceedings, and shall, at the
end of their term, deliver to their successors in officé all books
and papers in their possession concerning said town, with a
strict account of the money which may have come into their
hands as trustees, and the manner in which it was expended
by them; and on failure to account satisfactorily for money
coming into their hands, or to pay over that which may be un-
expended, the trustees succeeding to office may, on ten days’
notice to the defaulter or defaulters, recover the same, by mo-
tion, in the county court of Warren county.

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