Chap. 339.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 1743,
1744, 1745, 1748, 1750, 1752, 1753, 1754, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1759, 1760, 1761,
1762, 1763, 1764, 1766, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1774, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779,
1780 and 1781 of the Code of Virginia relating to drainage districts, of
which sections 1738, 1743, 1749, 1750, 1771, 1774 and 1781, of the Code of
Virginia, were amended by an act approved March 22, 1920, and sections
1738, 1739, 1744, 1752, 1753, 1764, 1771, 1775 and 1778 of the Code of Vir-
ginia were amended by an act approved March 21, 1924. [H B 502]

Approved March 24, 1926.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
sections seventeen hundred and thirty-seven, seventeen hundred and
thirty-eight, seventeen hundred and thirty-nine, seventeen hundred
and forty, seventeen hundred and forty-three, seventeen hundred and
forty-four, seventeen hundred and forty-five, seventeen hundred and
forty-eight, seventeen hundred and fifty, seventeen hundred and
fifty-two, seventeen hundred and fifty-three, seventeen hundred and
fifty-four, seventeen hundred and fifty-five, seventeen hundred and
fifty-six, seventeen hundred and fifty-seven, seventeen hundred and
fifty-nine, seventeen hundred and sixty, seventeen hundred and sixty-
one, seventeen hundred and sixty-two, seventeen hundred and sixty-
three, seventeen hundred and sixty-four, seventeen hundred and
sixty-six, seventeen hundred and sixty-nine, seventeen hundred and
seventy, seventeen hundred and seventy-one, seventeen hundred and
seventy-two, seventeen hundred and seventy-four, seventeen hundred
and seventy-six, seventeen hundred and seventy-seven, seventeen
hundred and seventy-eight, seventeen hundred and seventy-nine,
seventeen hundred and eighty and seventeen hundred and eighty-
one of the Code of Virginia, of which sections seventeen hundred and
thirty-eight, seventeen hundred and forty-three, seventeen hundred
and forty-nine, seventeen hundred and fifty, seventeen hundred and
seventy-one, seventeen hundred and seventy-four and seventeen hun-
dred and eighty-one, of the Code of Virginia were amended by an
act approved March twenty-second, nineteen hundred and twenty,
and sections seventeen hundred and thirty-eight, seventeen hundred
and thirty-nine, seventeen hundred and forty-four, seventeen hun-
dred and fifty-two, seventeen hundred and fifty-three, seventeen
hundred and sixty-four, seventeen hundred and seventy-one, seven-
teen hundred and seventy-five and seventeen hundred and seventy-
eight of the Code of Virginia, were amended by an act approved
March twenty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, be amended
and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 1737. Jurisdiction to establish drainage districts.—The
circuit courts of the several counties of this State shall have juris-
diction, power and authority to establish a levee, or drainage district
or districts, in their several counties, and in districts as hereinafter
set out, and to locate and establish levees, drains or canals and cause
to be constructed, straightened, widened or deepened any land
drainage, ditch, drain or water course, and to build levees or embank-
ments and erect tide gates and pumping plants for the purpose of
draining and reclaiming wet, swamp or overflowed lands; and it is
hereby declared that the drainage of the surface water from wet
agricultural lands is essential for the successful cultivation of said
lands and the prosperity of the community, and the reclamation of
overflowed swamps and tidal marshes shall be considered a public
benefit and conducive to the public health, convenience, utility
and welfare.

And it is further declared, that the preliminary work, establish-
ment and completion of a drainage district shall be classified as a
public improvement of an integral part of the county in which said
district or part thereof be located, and that it shall be the duty of
the county board of supervisors of each county to co-operate in the
promotion of the development of each of the said parts of their
county, including the construction of public roads, public bridges
and the drainage canals of preliminary or finally established drainage
districts, and that the indirect benefits received by said development
of each of said parts of a county are indeed substantial benefits
received also by said county, and that the value of said indirect
benefits received by said county is full compensation for the per-
formance of said duty assigned to said board of any county by this
act, and that the preliminary payment of costs and expenses of
surveys of drainage districts, and the assumption of responsibility
for necessary bond issues required for established drainage districts,
public bridges and public roads shall be construed as revenue produc-
ing investments for said county, from which increased revenues will
be derived from increased assessments by reason of said improvements
and the preliminary payment of said costs and expenses and the
assumption of said responsibility by the county board of super-
visors of a county, shall be considered the performance of a duty
towards the several integral parts of their county, for which said
county receives full potential value.

Section 1738. Petitions; bonds; board of viewers.—Whenever a
petition, signed by fifty-one per centum or more of the owners of
land, irrespective of area, owned by each, within a proposed drainage
district, according to the county-land book or books or to the latest
assessment lists of the county or counties in which said district is
located, or by the heirs, guardians or executors of estates or by those
having color of title, or by those in adverse possession, or by the
officers of corporations, whose lands will be affected by or assessed
for the expense of the proposed improvements, shall be filed in the
office of the clerk of the circuit court of any county in which a part
of said lands are located, setting forth that any specific body or
district of land in the county or adjoining counties, described in such
a way as to convey an intelligent idea as to the location of such land,
is subject to overflow, or too wet for cultivation, or in need of drain-
age, and the public benefit or utility or the public health, convenience
or welfare, will be promoted by draining, ditching or leveeing the
same, or by changing or improving the natural water course or courses;
and setting forth therein, as far as practicable, the starting point,
route and terminus and lateral tile or open branches, of the proposed
improvement, and there is filed therewith a bond for the amount or
product of seventy dollars, multiplied by the square root of the
estimated number of acres within the bounds of the proposed district,
signed by two or more sureties or by some lawful and authorized
surety company, to be approved by the said clerk, and conditioned
for the payment of all costs and expenses incurred in the proceedings
in case the court does not grant the prayer of said petition, the said
clerk shall issue a summons, to be served on all the defendant land-
owners, including any railway company, who have not joined in the
petition and whose lands are affected or included in the proposed
drainage district, to show cause, if any there be, why the lands in
said proposed drainage district should not be drained or leveed.

For the convenience of the petitioners, duplicate originals of the
same petition may be circulated and separately signed by the several
petitioners without the others being present, which the court shall
treat in all respects as if the signatures had been placed upon the
same copy at the same time.

The summons may be served by publication as to any defendants
who cannot be personally served, as provided by law. Said summons
shall be returnable to the first day of any regular term of the circuit
court of said county, during which term, or some succeeding term, the
said court, after determining the sufficiency of said petition, shall
immediately appoint two disinterested resident freeholders. of the
county or counties in which said lands are located and the drainage
engineer selected and recommended by the petitiohers, or by their
attorney, provided such engineer be disinterested, experienced with
drainage districts, competent and is in good standing, both a certified
land surveyor and civil engineer by the State board of examiners for
such, as a board of viewers to make a preliminary survey and report
thereon. After the appointment of said board the question of the
sufficiency of the said petition may not be again raised, unless the
boundary of said district be subsequently changed by the court.

If the court fails to appoint the recommended engineer within
ten days from the first day of any regular term after said summons
is returnable, the clerk of the said court, or the attorney for the
petitioners shall ap oint him, provided said engineer be qualified
according to this section, which appointment shall be forthwith
confirmed by the said court.

If no qualified engineer according to this act be recommended by
the petitioners, or they could not agree upon one, the said court shall
select and appoint an engineer possessing the qualifications provided
for by this section. The clerk of the said court thereupon shall mail
a written notice to each member of the board of viewers so appointed,
notifying him of his appointment, and requesting that the board pro-
ceed without delay to discharge its duties as such according to law.
If any member of the said board decline, the said court, or the judge
thereof in vacation, shall appoint another person of like qualifications
to the one so declining who is willing to act. Vacancies occuring in the
board of viewers shall be filled by the court, or by the judge thereof
in vacation as soon as possible after their occurrence. The com-
pensation for the services of the board of viewers, together with their
incidental expenses to be fixed as herein provided, shall be paid
preliminarily by the county treasurer upon the certificate of the
circuit judge; said sum or sums so paid to be refunded, with interest
at the rate of six per centum per annum, when the drainage fund is
subsequently provided for by the sale of bonds, or otherwise, or out
of the bond given by the petitioners in case the district be not sub-
sequently established.

If the majority of the landowners in any wet, swamp or over-
flowed lands petition the court for a drainage district based on the
widening, deepening, cleaning or straightening of such natural streams
only as the United States government or the State drainage authorities
pronounce as essential for the drainage of such lands, and agree in
said petition to a tax levy for such draining, spread equally over each
acre, then the court shall entertain such petition and all proceedings
shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, except
that the viewers shall not classify the lands as to the benefit derived.
Furthermore, in‘: any case where it is made to appear, after the
said natural stream has been widened, re-opened, cleaned out or
straightened, that the majority of the landowners of any district,
formed under the provisions of this paragraph of this section, desire
that such district be divided into subdistricts, the court may, in its
discretion so order. If during the proceedings, before or after the
filing of the petition, any of the petitioners withdraw from the said
petition so as to render the number of petitioners whose signatures
remain upon the said petition insufficient according to this section,
and sufficient additional signatures to the petition of the same or
other landowners, whose lands will be affected, are not obtained
before the next succeeding term, the court shall dismiss the petition
at the cost and expense of those who withdrew from the said petition,
including an engineer’s and an attorney’s fee for counseling the
petitioners, and shall apportion all of the said costs and expenses
theretofore accrued among those who withdrew at a flat rate per
acre, according to the acreage owned by each within the bounds of
the proposed drainage district, as indicated in the petition, or other-
wise, and judgment shall be entered against those who withdrew and
shall be docketed in the judgment docket of the court of the county
in which the petition was filed by the clerk thereof if not paid within
thirty days from the entry of the order. Ten days’ notice, however,
shall be given by the said clerk to each person affected thereby,
of such order of the court. To render the practical application of
this chapter possible in all drainage cases, it shall be sufficient for
the petitioners to exercise due diligence to ascertain the names of all
the landowners and those having title to land in the said proposed
district, and it shall not be necessary for the said petitioners to list
and include with said petition, filed with the said clerk, the names of
all the landowners in said proposed district, but after the filing thereof,
with the said clerk, as the proceeding progresses, the said petition
may be amended as often as may be necessary to include the names
of additional landowners when, and if others are subsequently as-
certained, so that the said petition may finally show the names of
all the landowners it is possible to ascertain in the said proposed
district. The names of landowners, if any, in the proposed district,
which it was impossible to ascertain after the exercise of due diligence,
as aforesaid; shall be classified as unknown owners, who may, at
any time, become parties to the proceeding as provided for in section
seventeen hundred and forty. Whenever a supplementary petition
signed by the owner or owners of any tract of land in the said pro-
posed district, be subsequently filed with the clerk of the said court,
requesting that tile be used to drain said tract, the said clerk shall
immediately notify the engineer of the district of such petition. The
said engineer shall thereupon design and lay out a system of tile
drainage upon said tract, and the board of viewers, appointed to
classify the lands in said district, as hereinafter provided for, shall,
in the schedule of classification, place a special assessment upon said
tract and also classify said tract in a class which will result in the
total assessment being equal to the cost of the tile drainage of said
tract, in addition to the proportional part of the liability for other
benefits derived from the drainage canals of said district.

The said tile drainage system shall become part of the said pro-
posed drainage district, and shall be governed by all the provisions
of this chapter, insofar as the same may be applicable.

Section 1739. How compensation of engineer, assistants and mem-
bers of the board provided for.—The board of supervisors of the
county in which the petition has been filed, or such board or persons
in said county having charge of and jurisdiction over same, shall at
its first meeting after the appointment of such drainage engineer,
make provision for the compensation to be paid him and his necessary
assistants, and the other members of the board of viewers together
with their incidental expenses; and within thirty days after the
approval and certification by the judge of the circuit court of said
county of any accounts of said engineer and his necessary assistants,
and of the other members of the board of viewers, shall take such
action as will insure the issuing of a county warrant or warrants for
the amounts approved and certified. The said accounts, when
rendered, after being examined and found correct and according to
law, shall be approved and certified by the judge of the said court
and shall be paid monthly as the work progresses as provided for in
section seventeen hundred and thirty-eight.

When the lands proposed to be drained and created into a drain-
age district are located in two or more counties, the clerk of the
circuit court of either county shall have and exercise the jurisdiction
herein conferred, and the venue shall be in that county in which the
petition is first filed.

Section 1740. Publication against unknown owners; when pro-
ceedings to be in rem; appearance of owner.—If, at the time of the
filing of the petition, or at any time subsequent thereto, it shall be
made to appear to the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, by
affidavit or otherwise, that the owner or owners of the whole or any
share of any tract or tracts of land affected or within the bounds of
the proposed drainage district, whose names are unknown, and cannot,
after due diligence, be ascertained by the petitioners, the court or
the judge thereof, shall order a notice in the nature of a summons
to be given to all such persons by a publication of the petition, or of
the substance thereof, and describing generally the tract or tracts of
land as to which the owner or owners are unknown, with the order of
the court or the judge thereof thereon, in some newspaper published
in the county wherein the land is located or in any city within the
geographical limits of said county. If no newspaper shall be pub-
lished in said county or city, then in some newspaper designated in
the order of the court or the judge thereof, and a copy of such pub-
lication shall also be posted in at least three conspicuous places within
the boundaries of the proposed district, and at the courthouse door
of the county. Such publication in a newspaper shall be made once
a week for four successive weeks. After the time of publication shall
have expired, if no person claiming and asserting title to the tract
or tracts of land and entitled to notice shall appear, the court or the
judge thereof, in its or his discretion, may appoint some disinterested
person to represent the unknown owner or owners of said lands, and
thereupon the court shall assume jurisdiction of the said tract or
tracts of land, and shall adjudicate as to the said lands to the same
extent as if the owners were present and represented, and shall pro-
ceed against the land itself. If at any time during the pendency of
the drainage proceeding the owner or owners of the said lands shall
appear in person, they may be made parties defendant of their own
motion and without the necessity of personal service, and shall
thereafter be considered as parties to the proceedings, but they shall
have no right to except to or appeal from any order or judgment
theretofore rendered as to which the time for filing exceptions or
notice shall have expired.

Section 1743. Examination; preliminary report.—The board of
viewers shall proceed, as soon as practicable, to examine the land
described in said petition and other land if necessary, to locate
properly such improvement or improvements as are petitioned for,
along the route described in the petition, or any route answering the
same purpose, if found more practicable or feasible, unless previously
surveyed by United States or other engineer and may run levels
such as may be necessary to determine the elevation of the several
parts of the district, and shall make and return to the clerk of the
court of said county, within sixty days, unless, either before or after
the expiration of the said period, the time shall be, for good cause
shown, extended by the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, a
written report, signed by the members of said board or by the ma-
jority, thereof, which shall in the case of drainage, set forth:

(a) Whether the proposed drainage is practicable or not;

(b) Whether it will benefit the public health or any public high-
way or be conducive to the general welfare of the community;

(c) Whether the improvement proposed will benefit the lands
sought to be benefited;

(d) The character of the lands and their probable value after
the proposed drainage has been completed:
(e) Whether or not all the lands that are benefited are included
in the proposed drainage district; and naming the owners thereof
and the approximate acreage of each which they estimate will be
affected. They shall also file with this report a map of the proposed
drainage district, showing the location of the ditch or ditches or
other improvements to be constructed and the lands that will be
affected thereby, and such other information as they may have
collected that will tend to show the correctness of their findings.

Section 1744. Filing preliminary report.—At the first term after
the filing thereof, the circuit court shall consider this report. If
the board of viewers report that the drainage is not practicable or
that it will not benefit the public health or any public highway or
be conducive to the general welfare of the community, the court
shall approve such finding, and the petition shall be dismissed at the
cost of the petitioners, which shall be apportioned among them each
according to acreage in the proposed district. Such petition or pro-
ceedings may again be instituted by the same or additional land-
owners at any time after six months upon proper allegations that
pajous have changed or that material facts were omitted or over-
ooked.

If the board of viewers or the majority thereof, including the
engineer, report that the drainage is practicable and that it will
benefit the public health or any public highway, or be conducive to
the general welfare of the community, the court shall entertain their
preliminary report, and shall fix a day, either at the same or some
succeeding term, when the said report will be heard and considered.

Section 1745. Notice.—After the petition is entertained by the
court, notice shall be given by publication in five consecutive issues
of any daily newspaper published in any city, town or village situated
within the original geographical bounds of the county or counties in
which the proposed district is located, if such there be, otherwise in
any daily newspaper designated by the court or the judge thereof,
and also by posting a written or printed notice at the door of the
courthouse, and at five conspicuous places within the drainage dis-
trict, that on the date set, naming the day, the court will consider
and pass upon the preliminary report of the board of viewers. At
least five days shall intervene between the date of the fifth publication
and the posting of the notices and the date set for the hearing.

Section 1748. Right of appeal.—Any person or corporation
owning lands within the drainage or levee district, which he or it
thinks will not be benefited by the improvement, and should not be
included within the district, shall have a right to appeal as provided
by chapter two hundred and sixty-seven of the Code; but such appeal
shall be perfected within sixty days from the date of the order finally
establishing the drainage district, after which time, no appeal shall
be allowed.

Section 1750. Complete report.—The board of viewers shall
have power to employ such assistants as may be necessary to make a
complete survey of the drainage district, and unless already com-
pletely surveyed and chartered, by United States or State engineers,
shall enter upon the ground and make a survey of the main drain, or
drains, and all its laterals, as approved by the court at the preliminary
hearing, or any other drainways, answering the same purpose, if
found more feasible or economical.

The line of each ditch, drain or levee shall be plainly and sub-
stantially marked upon the ground, by the cutting or marking of
necessary trees, staking or otherwise. The course and distance of
each ditch shall be carefully noted and sufficient notes made so that
it may be accurately platted on the plan of the drainage district.
A line of levels shall be run for the entire work, and sufficient data
secured from which accurate profiles and plans shall be made.

Frequent bench-marks shall be established along the line, on
permanent objects, and their elevation recorded in the field books.

If it is deemed expedient by the board of viewers, other levels
may be run to determine the fall from one part of the district to
another. If an old water course, land drainage, ditch or channel is
to be widened, deepened, or straightened, it shall be accurately cross-
sectioned so as to compute the number of cubic yards saved by the
use of such old channel. -A drainage map of the district shall then
be completed, showing the location of the ditch or ditches, and other
improvements,’ and the acreage as closely as may be determined by
the records, or if necessary, from the notes of the survey, by the
drainage engineer, of the lands, designating each tract by a number,
owned by each individual landowner or corporation within the dis-
trict. The location of any railroads or public highways and the
boundary of any incorporated town or village within the district shall
be shown on the map. There shall also be prepared to accompany
this map a profile of each levee, drain, or watercourse, showing the
surface of the ground, the bottom of the grade of the proposed im-
provement, and the number of cubic yards of excavation or fill in
each mile or fraction thereof, and the total number of cubic yards
in the proposed improvement and the estimated cost thereof, the
cost of any other work required to be done, including the cost of the
rights of way for the levees, drains and ditches of the district, and
the report shall state an estimate of the cost thereof and what rights
of way are required to be purchased or condemned, and the said
board of viewers is directed to obtain the consent in writing of such
landowners as will permit the said levees, ditches and drains to be
constructed through their lands without charge on their part for the
land so to be taken and occupied, and before the county board of
drainage commissioners hereinafter mentioned shall advertise for bids
under the provisions of this chapter, they shall proceed to condemn
such lands as shall have been reported by said board of viewers and
approved by the court as necessary to be condemned; such con-
demnation proceedings to be in accordance with section seventeen
hundred and forty-seven. But in any case where surveys have been
made by or under the direction of any engineer, surveyor, corporation,
town, city, county, State or of the United States government, of lands,
in any part or parcel of land included within any proposed drainage dis-
trict, authority is hereby given to the court in which the proceedings
involving such land are condemned to adopt such survey or surveys
and such information concerning the same as can be obtained from
the said engineer, surveyor, corporation, town, city, county, State
or United States government, and to dispense with any other survey
work which in its judgment can be omitted without prejudice to the
rights of any party whose lands are affected.

Section 1752. Classification of land according to benefits.—It
shall be the further duty of the board of viewers to personally examine
the land in the district and classify it with reference to the benefit
it will receive from the construction of the levee, ditch, drain, or
watercourse or other improvement. In the case of drainage the
degree of wetness of the land, its proximity to the ditch or a natural
outlet, the fertility of the soil and benefits derived from flood waters
being diverted, shall be considered in determining the amount of
benefit it will receive by the construction of the ditch. When
difference in the benefits to be derived from the improvements are
found the land may be, when necessary, classified into as many as
seven classes. The land receiving the greatest benefit shall be marked
“Class A’’; that receiving next to the greatest benefit ‘‘Class B”’;
that receiving the next “Class C’’; that receiving the next ‘Class
D”’; that receiving the next ‘Class E”: that receiving the next “ Class
F’’; that receiving the smallest benefit “Class G.”

The holdings of any one landowner need not necessarily be all
in one class, but the number of acres in each class shall be ascertained
and listed, though its boundary need not be marked on the ground,
but shall be shown on a separate map of the district and marked
classification map.

The total number of acres owned by one person in each class and
the number of acres benefited shall be determined approximately.
The total number of acres in each class in the entire district shall be
obtained, approximately, and presented in tabulated form. The
scale of assessment upon the several classes of land returned by the
board of viewers shall be in the ratio of one, two, three, four, five,
six and seven—that is to say, as often as seven mills per acre is
assessed against the land in Class A, six mills per acre shall be assessed
against the land in Class B, five mills per acre in Class C, four mills
per acre in Class D, three mills per acre in Class E, two mills per
acre in Class F, and one mill per acre.in Class G. This shall form
the basis of assessment of benefits to the lands for drainage purposes.

Section 1753. Cost of survey.—The board of viewers or the
drainage engineer shall keep an accurate account and report to the
court or the judge thereof in vacation the name and number of days
each person was employed on the survey, the kind of work he was
doing and the rate of pay of each, and all other incidental expenses
whatsoever, supported by vouchers, that have been incurred in the
execution of said survey, including cost of maintenance, transporta-
tion, supplies and materials, which when paid by one of the members
of said board shall be allowed by the court or the judge thereof and
for which he shall be reimbursed in addition to his compensation.

When a separate account of a member of the board of viewers,
approved by the engineer, if other than his own, has been rendered
for his personal services performed under decree of the circuit court
and incidental expenses in connection with the said survey, the said
court or the judge thereof in vacation, shall examine the same and
when found correct, in proper form and according to law, the said
judge shall thereupon, without further delay, approve and certify
to the said account, and shall enter an order that the same shall
be paid, as provided for in section seventeen hundred and thirty-nine.

Section 1754. Delay; extension of time.—In case the work is
delayed by high water, sickness or any other good cause, and the
final report is not completed at the time fixed by the court, the
engineer on the board of viewers shall communicate with the court
or the judge thereof in vacation, either before or after the expiration
of said time, and state in writing the cause of such failure and ask for
sufficient time in which to complete the work and the court or the
judge thereof shall set another date by which the said report shall
be completed and filed; the action of the court or judge in such a case
to be conclusive evidence as to the sufficiency of the grounds for such
postponement or extension.

Section 1755. Final report—notice of hearing—When the final
report is completed and filed, it shall be examined by the court, and
if it is found to be in due form and in accordance with the law, it
shall be entertained, and if not in due form, it may be referred back
to the board of viewers, with instruction to secure further informa-
tion, to be reported at a subsequent date to be fixed by the court.

If it appears from the said final report that there is any land within
the proposed levee or drainage district that will not be affected by the
leveeing or drainage thereof, such lands shall be excluded and the
names of the owners withdrawn from the proceeding, and if it shall
be shown that there is any land not within the proposed district that
will be affected by the construction of the proposed levee or drain,
the boundary of the district shall be so changed as to include such
land, and such additional landowners shall be admitted as parties
plaintiff or shall be made defendants, and if made defendants sum-
mons shall issue against them, they to have at least ten day’s notice.
When the final report is fully completed and has been entertained
by the court, a date shall be fixed for the final hearing upon the said
report, and notice thereof shall be given in like manner as set out
in section seventeen hundred and forty-five. At least the same time
shall’intervene according to said section, between the date of the
publication and the date set for the hearing. During this time the
said report or a copy thereof, shall be on file in the office of the clerk
of the circuit court, in which the petition was filed and shall be open
to the inspection of any landowner or other person interested within
the district.

Section 1756. Adjudication; final report.—At the date set for
the hearing any Jandowner may appear in person or by counsel and
file his objection in writing to the final report of the board of viewers,
and it shall be the duty of the court to carefully review the said
report of the board of viewers and the objection filed thereto, and make
such changes as are necessary to render substantial and equal justice
to all the landowners in the district, but when taken under advise-
ment the court shall make no change in the classification of the lands
without conferring with the board of viewers. If, in the opinion of
the court, the cost of construction, together with the amount of
damage assessed is not greater than the increased value of the lands
affected and of the benefits that will accrue to the said lands, the
court shall confirm the said final report of the board of viewers, and
shall declare the said drainage district to be finally established, and
shall approve the survey and plans therefor; but nothing in this
chapter shall be construed as depriving the court of the power of
re-opening the proceedings in any case after the approval of the said
final report and before the letting of the contract in accordance with
section seventeen hundred and sixty-one, in order to make such
changes in the plans as may be necessary to an economical or cheaper
completion of the work, provided, such reopening is upon ten days’
notice to all parties. If, however, the court finds that the cost of
construction, together with the damages assessed is greater than
the value of the resulting benefit that will accrue to the lands affected,
or greater than the potential value of said lands after the completion
of the proposed drainage, the court shall dismiss the proceedings at
the cost of the petitioners, and apportion said cost among them,
each according to acreage in the proposed district, also for the ex-
penses incurred by reason of the filing of the petition including the
compensation paid to the engineer, his assistants, and the other
members of the board of viewers.

Either party shall have a right to appeal from the judgment of
the court as provided by chapter two hundred and sixty-seven of
the Code. Such appeal shall be perfected within sixty days from the
entry of the order confirming the final report of the board of viewers.
The court may, from time to time, order the petitioners to pay into
court, or as the court may direct, such amounts at a flat rate per
acre according to the area owned by each within the bounds of said
district as may be necessary to pay costs and expenses theretofore
accrued, such amount to be repaid from the drainage fund to said
petitioners in equal sums as were received together with interest
thereon at the rate of six per centum per annum by order of the
court when, and if the bonds of the district are sold, or the drainage
fund otherwise provided and such order to pay into court when
entered, shall have the force and effect of a judgment, and it shall
be docketed in the judgment docket of the court of the county in
which the petition was filed by the clerk thereof, if not paid within
thirty days from the entry of the order. Ten days’ notice, however,
shall be given by the said clerk to each person affected thereby, of
such order of the court. The total amount of said costs and ex-
penses, or any part thereof may be paid by any person, which amount
shall be returned with interest as herein provided for.

Section 1757. Assessment of lands benefited, not heretofore in-
cluded.—If, at any time after the final confirmation of the final report
of the board of viewers, and final establishment of the district, the
county board of drainage commissioners hereinafter mentioned having
jurisdiction over the drainage district, are advised that the lands of
any person or persons are benefited by the drainage, such lands not
having been included in the said district or assessed theretofore on
account of said drainage, the said board, after giving not less than
ten days’ legal notice to such person or persons, shall hear and de-
termine whether any, and if any, what monetary benefit has been
received by such person or persons by reason of the drainage, and the
amount so ascertained by the county board of drainage commissioners,
if any, shall be assessed against the lands of said person or persons,
in like manner and collected in the same way as if said lands had
been classified, listed and assessed in the original assessment of the
lands in said drainage district. Such person or persons shall have
the right of appeal, from the findings of said board to the circuit
court of the county in which the petition was filed. Such appeal
shall be perfected within ten days from the date of the findings of
said board, after which time no appeal shall be allowed.

Section 1759. County board of drainage commissioners; organi-
zation.— After the said drainage district shall have been declared
finally established as aforesaid, and the survey and plans therefor
approved, the said court shall appoint three persons, who shall be
designated as ‘‘the county board of drainage commissioners for the
county in which the petition was filed if such a board does not thereto-
fore exist, who shall administer all subsequently established drainage
districts in said county. Any vacancy occurring shall be filled in
like manner by the said court or by the judge thereof in vacation as
soon as possible after its occurrence. Such three drainage com-
missioners, when so appointed, shall immediately be, and constitute
a body corporate, under the name and style of the ‘‘The county board
drainage commissioners of...............0.005. county,’ with the
right to hold property and convey the same, to sue, and be sued, and
shall possess such other powers as usually pertain to corporations.
They shall organize by electing from among their number a chairman
and a vice-chairman. They shall also select a secretary, either
within or without their body. The treasurer of the county in which
any of the lands affected are located, shall be ex-officio treasurer for
his county of such board of county drainage commissioners. Such
board of county drainage commissioners shall adopt a seal which
they may alter at pleasure.

The county board of drainage commissioners shall have and
possess such powers as are herein granted and shall administer the
provisions of this chapter as herein set forth.

After the establishment of each drainage district in his county,
the clerk of the said court shall notify each member of said board
by letter of the establishment of said district, and requesting that the
said board proceed with the administration of the same according to
aw.

The drainage district shall bear the name or number of........
eee eee ees county already given said district, as provided for
in section seventeen hundred and forty-six, or the said board may
number all districts in said county consecutively, in the order of the
establishment of said districts.
Section 1760. Superintendent of construction.—The county board
of drainage commissioners may, if necessary, appoint a competent
person as superintendent of construction and shall retain the services
of the engineer of the drainage district, or his duly appointed successor
in the case of such change having been made, to see that the work
be performed according to the plans and specifications. Such en-
gineer and superintendent shall each furnish a bond the cost of which
shall be paid by the district and to be approved by and payable to
the county board of drainage commissioners in the penal sum of
ten thousand dollars each, conditioned upon the honest and faithful
performance of their respective duties.

Section 1761. Notice of letting contract; bond.—The county
board of drainage commissioners having charge of the drainage dis-
trict shall cause notice to be given daily for two consecutive weeks
in some newspaper published in the county wherein such improvement
or a part thereof is located if such there be, or in any newspaper within
the geographical bounds of said county and in such additional pub-
lications elsewhere as they may deem expedient, of the time and place
of letting the work of construction of said improvement, and in such
notice they shall specify the security to accompany each bid, the
approximate amount of work to be performed and the time fixed
for the completion thereof; and, on the date appointed for the letting
they, together with the superintendent of construction, or the en-
gineer, shall convene and let to the lowest responsible bidder, either
as a whole or in sections, as they may deem the most advantageous
for the district, the proposed work. No bid shall be entertained
that is not accompanied by sureties in an amount equal to five per
centum of said bid or exceeds the estimated cost, of the work to be
awarded to a contractor and they shall have the right to once reject
all bids and advertise again the work, if, in their judgment, the
interests of the district will be subserved by so doing, but if, upon
the second bidding, all the bids exceed the estimated cost of said
work, the bids shall be reported to the court by the county board of
drainage commissioners and the court thereupon, after giving notice
to all parties affected in a manner similar to that required before the
hearing of the final report, as set out in section seventeen hundred
and fifty-five, shall hear and decide anew the question of finally
establishing the district, taking as the basis of cost the lowest re-
sponsible bid as reported to it by the county board of drainage com-
missioners, and the proceeding thereupon shall be as set forth in
section seventeen hundred and fifty-six, and if the court anew decides
that the value of the benefits or the increased value of the lands will
exceed the costs it shall direct the county board of drainage com-
missioners to accept the lowest responsible bid, otherwise the petition
shall be dismissed at the cost of the petitioners; said cost shall be
apportioned among them each according to acreage.

A successful bidder shall be required to enter into a contract with
the county board of drainage commissioners and to execute a bond
for the faithful performance of such contract, with sufficient sureties
in favor of the county board of drainage commissioners, for the use
and benefit of the levees, or drainage district in an amount equal to
twenty-five per centum of the amount of the contract price of the
work awarded to him

In canvassing bids ‘and letting the contract, the superintendent of
construction or the engineer shall act only in an advisory capacity
to the county board of drainage commissioners. The contract shall
be based on the plans and specifications submitted by the board of
viewers in their final report as confirmed by the court, the original
of which shall remain on. file in the office of the clerk of the county
in which the petition for the district was filed and shall be open to
the inspection of all prospective bidders. All bids shall be sealed
and shall not be opened except under the authority of the county
board of drainage commissioners, and on the day theretofore appointed
for opening the bids. The county board of drainage commissioners
shall have power to correct errors and modify the details of the report
of the board of viewers, if in their judgment they can increase the
efficiency of the drainage plan and afford better drainage to the
lands in the district without increasing the estimated cost submitted
by the board of viewers, and confirmed by the court.

Section 1762. Monthly estimates.—The superintendent in charge
of construction or the engineer shall make monthly estimates of the
amount of work done, and shall furnish one copy to the contractor
and file the other with the secretary of the county board of drainage
commissioners and the said board shall, within five days after the
filing of such estimate, meet and direct the secretary to draw a
warrant in favor of such contractor for ninety per centum of the
work done, according to the specifications and contract; and upon
presentation of such warrant, properly signed by the chairman and
secretary, to the treasurer of the drainage fund he shall pay the
amount due thereon. When the work is fully completed and ac-
cepted by the superintendent or the engineer, said engineer shall
make an estimate for the whole amount due, including amounts
withheld on the previous monthly estimates, which shall be paid
from the drainage fund, as before provided.

Section 1763. Failure of the contractor—reletting.—If any con-
tractor to whom the work or a portion of said work shall have been
let shall fail to perform the same according to the terms specified
in his contract, action may be had in behalf of the county board of
drainage commissioners against such contractor on his bond in the
circuit court for damage sustained by the levee or drainage district,
and recovery made against such contractor and his sureties. In
such an event the work shall be advertised and relet in the same
manner as the original letting.

Section 1764. Highway affected.—Where any public ditch, drain
or watercourse established under the provisions of this chapter crosses
a public highway, one-half of the actual cost of constructing the same
across the highway, or of removing old bridges or culverts or building
new ones, shall be paid by the county, and one-half shall be paid
from the fund of the drainage district, but the said bridges or culverts
shall thereafter be maintained by and at the expense of the board
of supervisors of such county, or by such other official board or
authority as by law shall be required to maintain such highway so
intersected. Whenever any highway within the levee or drainage
district shall be beneficially affected by the construction of any 1m-
provements in such district, it shall be the duty of the board of
viewers appointed to classify the land, to give in their report the
amount of benefit to such highway, calculated upon an acreage basis.
and shall not exceed thrice the rate per acre that is finally assessed
against the land adjoining said highway. Notice shall be given by
the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the petition was
filed to the clerk of the board of supervisors in the county where the
road is located of the amount of such assessment, and the supervisors
or road board shall have the right to appear before the court and file
their objection, the same as any landowner.

Section 1766. Assessment of benefits to railroads.—The board of
viewers shall also assess the benefits that will accrue to the right-of-
way of said company by affording better drainage or a better outlet
for drainage, as provided in section seventeen hundred and sixty-
four, in the case of highways; but no benefits shall be assessed because
of the increase of business that may come to said road because of the
construction of the improvement. The benefits shall be assessed as
provided in section seventeen hundred and fifty-two, and it shall be
reported by the board of viewers as an assessment, due personally
from the railroad company; and unless the same is paid when due
by the company as an assessment, it may be collected in the manner
of an ordinary debt in any court having jurisdiction; but the county
board of drainage commissioners of each county shall have the right
to enter into contracts with any such railroad company looking to a
further assessment by virtue of the benefits received under this
chapter.

Section 1769. Control and repairs; penalty for injury to con-
struction.—Whenever any improvement constructed under this chap-
ter is completed, it shall be under the control and supervision of the
county board of drainage commissioners of the county in which the
petition was filed. It shall be the duty of the said board to keep the
levee, ditch or watercourse in good repair, and for this purpose they
may levy on assessment on the lands benefited by the construction of
such improvements in the same manner and in the same proportion
as the original assessments were made, and the fund that is collected
shall be used for repairing and maintaining the ditch, drain or water-
course in perfect order; but if any repairs are made necessary by the
act or negligence of the owner of any land through which such im-
provement is constructed, or by the act or negligence of his tenants,
agents or employees or the same. is caused by cattle, hogs, or other
stock of said owner, employee, or agent, then the cost thereof shall
be assessed and levied against the lands of said owner alone, to be
collected by proper suit instituted by the county board of drainage
commissioners.

It shall be unlawful for any person to injure or damage or obstruct
or build any bridge, roadway, fence or flood gate in such a wav as to
injure or damage any levee, ditch, drain, or water course constructed
or improved under the provisions of this chapter, and any person
causing such injury shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con-
viction thereof may be fined any sum not exceeding twice the damage
for injury done or caused.

Section 1770. Outlet for lateral drains ——The owner of any land
that has been assessed for the construction of any ditch, drain or
water course as herein provided, shall have the right to use the ditch,
drain or watercourse as an outlet for lateral drains from said land;
and if said land is separated from the ditch, drain or watercourse by
the land of another or others, and the owner thereof shall be unable
to agree with said other or others as to the terms and conditions on
which he may enter their lands and construct said drain or ditch,
he may file his ancillary petition to the court in such pending pro-
ceeding, and the procedure shall be as now provided by law. When
the ditch is constructed it shall become a part of the drainage system,
and shall be under the control of the county board of drainage com-
missioners and kept in repair by them, as provided in this chapter.

Section 1771. Assessment tax roll and amount to be assessed;
collection of assessments and sale of lands to pay delinquent assess-
ments.—After the contract for the work of construction of the im-
provement has been let, the county board of drainage commissioners
shall ascertain the total cost of the improvement, including damages
awarded to be paid to owners of land, all costs of incidental expenses,
and including a reasonable attorney’s fee to counsel for petitioners for
conducting the proceedings on behalf of the petitioners, the amount
of such fee to be fixed by the court, and also including an amount
sufficient to pay the necessary expenses of maintaining the improve-
ment for a period of three years after the completion of the work of
construction, after deducting therefrom any special assessments made
against any railroad or highway, and thereupon the county board of
drainage commissioners, under the hand of the chairman and secre-
tary of the board, shall certify to the clerk of the circuit court the
said total cost, ascertained as aforesaid; and the said certificate shall
be forthwith recorded in the drainage record and open to inspection
of any landowner in the district.

The county board of drainage commissioners, with the assistance
of the engineer, shall immediately prepare, in duplicate, the assess-
ment rolls, or drainage tax lists, giving thereon the name of the
owners of land in the district, so far as can be ascertained from the
public records, or, 1f necessary, from the survey made by the drainage
engineer a brief description of the several tracts of land assessed,
designating each by the number shown on the classification map,
and the amount of the assessment against each tract of land. The
first of these assessment rolls shall provide assessments sufficient
for the payment of interest on the bond issue to accrue the third
year after their issue, and the instalment of principal to fall due at
the expiration of the third year after the date of issue, together
with such amounts as shall have to be paid for collecting and handling
of the same. The second assessment roll shall make like provision
for the fourth year; the third for the fifth year; and in like manner
for each succeeding year, and in each year commencing with maturity
of the bonds, the tax levied shall be one hundred and ten per centum
of the maturing principal and interest on the bonds, in this manner
providing for the payment of maturing principal and interest on the
bonds one year in advance; provided, however, that when the sum
actually collected on any such assessment shall be more than sufficient
to pay the said principal and interest for the next succeeding year, a
proper allowance for such surplus shall be made in the following
assessment, and the percentage may be reduced accordingly. Each
of said assessments rolls shall specify the times when collectible, and
be numbered in their order, and the amount assessed against the
several tracts of land shall be in accordance with the benefits received,
as shown by the classification of ratio of assessments made by the
board of viewers. These assessments rolls shall be signed by the
chairman of the county board of drainage commissioners and by the
secretary of the board. One copy of each of the said assessment
rolls shall be filed with the drainage record and one copy shall be
delivered to the county treasurer, or treasurers of the county or
counties in which the lands are located, after the clerk of the circuit
court in which the petition was filed has appended thereto an order
directing the collection of said assessments, and the said clerk is
hereby authorized and directed to make and append said order, and
the said assessments shall thereupon have the force and effect of a
judgment as in the case of State and county taxes. These assess-
ments shall constitute a lien upon the lands assessed with the pay-
ment thereof, second only to State, county and district taxes and
levies and shall be collected in the same manner by the same officers
as the State and county taxes are collected. The said assessments
shall be due and payable on the first Monday in September in each
year, and if the same shall not be paid in full by the thirty-first day
of December following, they shall be delinquent and shall be entered
as such by the treasurer of the county in which the lands whereon
the assessments are delinquent are located, on his copy of the said
assessment rolls, which entry shall be notice of the lien of any such
delinquent assessment to the same extent as the entry of lands in the
delinquent tax books is notice of the lien thereon. From the date of
delinquency of any assessment it shall bear interest at the legal rate,
and a penalty of five per centum of the assessment shall be added
thereto.

If any assessment be delinquent for more than a year, the treasurer
of the county within which the land assessed lies, shall, after the ex-
piration of such year, proceed to sell the said land by having notice
of such intended sale served on the record owner of the said land,
if he be a resident of this State and his whereabouts herein be known,
as process is served in actions at law, by publishing the notice of
such sale in a newspaper published or having general circulation in
his county, and by posting the notice at the courthouse door, such
service, publication and posting to be not less than thirty days
in advance of the date set for the sale; such publication and posting
shall be sufficient notice of the sale to all parties in interest except
the said owner resident in this State. Such notice with the return
thereon, if it be served, and the certificate of the treasurer setting forth
the date and medium of publication shall be filed by the said treasurer
in his office. If the land upon which assessments are delinquent
lies in more than one county, the treasurer of each county shall
sell the portion lying therein.

The sale of said lands for failure to pay such assessments shall
be made at the courthouse door of the county in which the lands are
situated, between the hours of ten o’clock in the forenoon and four
o'clock in the afternoon of the first Monday in February of each
year; and if for any necessary cause the sale cannot be made on that
date, the sale may be continued from day to day for not exceeding
four days, or the lands may be re-advertised and sold on the first
Monday in March succeeding during the same hours without any
order therefor.

The existing general tax law in force when sales are made for
delinquent assessments shall have application in redeeming lands so
sold, and in all other respects, except as to the time of sale of lands,
the existing law as to the collection of State and county taxes shall
apply to the collection of such drainage assessments. If the county
treasurer fail to make sale of-any lands on the first Monday in Feb-
ruary or March in any year because of the lack of bidders or for any
other reason, he may sell same upon the first Monday of any sub-
sequent month in the same year or any succeeding year after giving
notice as required by law. No bid at any sale shall be received
unless sufficient in amount to discharge all the drainage assessments
and other charges due by the delinquent lands or owner thereof,
together with all costs and expenses of sale. If no sufficient bid be
received, upon the third attempt to sell said lands, the county board
of drainage commissioners of the county in which the petition was
filed shall be deemed the purchaser in its corporate capacity at a sum
sufficient to pay all assessments which are due, and costs, as above
stated, and shall be entitled to receive a certificate of purchase and
deed in the manner provided by law for purchase at: tax sales.

The county board of drainage commissioners in their corporate
capacity shall be in like position and have the same rights and be
subject to the same duties as the purchaser of lands at any tax sale
under the general law. The owner of said lands so sold or any
person having an estate therein or having a lien thereon, may redeem
the same in the manner provided by law; and if the county board of
drainage commissioners shall have been the purchaser of said lands,
the amount paid in redemption shall include the sum bid therefor
plus the penalty. The county board of drainage commissioners shall
pay to the treasurer or treasurers of the county or counties in which
the lands lie, the amount representing their bid at the sale of said
lands before they shall be entitled to receive a deed therefor, in the
same manner as other funds are received by them. The county
board of drainage commissioners, after acquiring a deed for said
lands, may hold the same as an asset of the district of which said
lands are a part, and shall be liable for the payment of all drainage
assessments and State and county taxes accruing after the sale
at which the district was a bidder, and in all respects be deemed the
owner of said lands and subject to the same privileges and liabilities
as any other landowner, including the right to convey the said lands
for a consideration and pay the proceeds of said sale to the county
treasurer for the credit of the district, of which said lands are a
party, which may be distributed by the county drainage commissioners
lor fhe benefit of said district in the same manner as other district
unds. :

The sale of lands for failure to pay such assessments, and the
collection of such assessments, except as herein provided, shall be in
accordance with general law as to the collection of State and county
taxes.

If no objection be made in any sale of land under this section
within thirty days after the date of sale, and the purchase price has
been paid, the clerk of the circuit court of the county wherein the
land lies shall convey, by special warranty deed to the purchaser the
land sold, receiving therefor the fee provided by law for the convey-
ance of land sold for delinquent taxes. Such conveyances shall be
indefeasible to the same extent as a conveyance by a special com-
missioner acting under court appointment, and all persons having
actual or constructive notice of the sale shall be precluded by such
conveyance from thereafter objecting to the sale.

It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the county in which the
land is located and without any previous order from the county board
of drainage commissioners, out of the amount received by him as
aforesaid, to provide and pay the instalment of interest at the time
and place as evidenced by the coupons attached to said bonds, and
also to pay the annual instalments of the principal due on said bonds
at the time and place as evidenced by the said bonds; namely, so far
as they affect and are liens by virtue of this chapter, upon the lands
in his county, and any county treasurer. shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor, if he shall wilfully fail to make prompt payments of the
said interest and principal upon said bonds, and shall likewise be
liable in a civil action for all damages which may accrue either to the
county board of drainage commissioners or the holder of said bonds,
to either or both of which a right of action is hereby given.

If at any time before or after the preparation of the said assessment
rolls or drainage tax lists the owners of any lands within the boundary
of the drainage district, which are liable for assessment or are assessed,
should sell the whole or part of said lands, the county board of drain-
age commissioners, together with the assistance of the drainage
engineer of the district, or any other competent drainage engineer,
having due regard for the class, or classes in which the said land
or part thereof was placed by the board of viewers, as shown by the
classification map of the district, shall so prepare or change the
assessment rolls to provide for the change in liability due to the
change of ownership of said lands or part thereof.

The new owner’s name shall be added to the assessment roll and
shall thereafter be liable for the drainage assessment upon that
portion of the land purchased.

Section 1772. Time of payment.—The county board of drainage
commissioners of the county in which the petition was filed shall
give notice by publication once a week for three successive weeks
in some newspaper published in the county in which the district, or
some part thereof, is situated, if there be any such newspaper, and
also by posting a written or printed notice at the door of the court-
house and at five conspicuous places in the district, reciting that they
propose to issue drainage bonds for the total cost of the improvement,
giving the amount of bonds to be issued, the rate of interest that
they are to bear, and the time when payable. Any landowner in the
district not wanting to pay interest on the bonds may, within fifteen
days after the last publication of said notice, pay to the treasurer
of the county in which his land is located the full amount for which
his land is liable, to be ascertained from the classification sheet or
assessment list, and the certificate of the county board of drainage
commissioners showing the total cost of the improvements, and have
his lands released from liability to be assessed for the said improve-
ment; but such land shall continue liable for any future assessment
for maintenance or for any increased assessment authorized under
this chapter.

Section 1774. Bond issue.—At the expiration of fifteen days after
publication of notice of bond issue, the county board of drainage
commissioners of the county in which the petition was filed may
issue bonds of the drainage district for an amount equal to the total
cost of the improvement, including all costs as allowed under the
terms of this chapter, less such amounts as shall have been paid
in cash to the county treasurer, or treasurers, plus an amount sufficient
to pay interest on the bond issue for the three years next following the
date of issue. These bonds shall bear not more than six per centum
interest per annum payable semi-annually, and shall be paid within
thirty years, the first instalment of principal shall mature at the
expiration of three years from the date of issue. The county board
of drainage commissioners after widely advertising the sale of said
bonds in such publications as they deem necessary, may sell the
said bonds upon the approval of the court or the judge thereof, to
the highest bidder, or bidders, and devote the proceeds to the pay-
ment for the work as it progresses, and to the payment of the interest
on said bonds; for the three years next following the date of issue,
and to the payment of outstanding indebtedness and the other ex-
penses of the district provided for in this chapter, including a reason-
able attorney’s fee to counsel for conducting the proceedings, the
amount of such fee to be fixed by the court.

The proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds shall be for the
exclusive use of the levee or drainage district specified on their face,
and the bonds shall be numbered by the county board of drainage
commissioners and recorded in the drainage record, which record shall
set out specifically the lands embraced in the district on which the
tax has been paid in full, which land is to be assessed as hereinafter
provided. If any instalment of principal or interest represented by
the said bonds shall not be paid at the time and in the manner when
the same shall become due and payable, and such default shall
continue for a period of six months, the holder or holders of such
bond or bonds upon which default has been made shall have a right
of action against said county board of drainage commissioners, wherein
the circuit court may issue a writ of mandamus against the said
drainage district, its officers, including the county treasurer, or treas-
urers, directing the levying of a tax or special assessment as herein
provided, and the collection of the same, in such sum as may be
necessary to meet any unpaid instalment of principal and interest
and costs of action, and such other remedies are hereby vested in the
holder or holders of such bond or bonds in default as may be authorized
by law; and the right of action is hereby vested in the holder or
holders of such bond or bonds upon which default has been made,
authorizing them to institute suit against any officer on his official
bond for failure to perform any duty imposed by the provisions of
this chapter. The official bond of any county treasurer shall be
liable for the faithful performance of the duties herein assigned him.
Such official bonds may be increased by the board of supervisors of
any county or the board or party having such authority.

The bonds and coupons issued under and by authority of this
and other sections of this chapter shall be exempt from all county
or municipal taxation or assessment, direct or indirect, general or
special, whether imposed for purposes of general revenue or otherwise,
and the interest thereon shall not be subject to taxation as for income,
nor shall said bonds and coupons be subject for taxation when con-
stituting a part of the surplus of any bank, trust company, or other
corporation, but when constituting a part of such surplus shall be
deducted from the total assets in order to ascertain the taxable value
of such shares.

Section 1776. Relevy.—Where the county board of drainage com-
missioners has confirmed an assessment for the construction of any
public levee, ditch, or drain, and such assessment has been modified
by the court to which an appeal had. been taken, but for some un-
foreseen cause it cannot be collected, the county board of drainage
commissioners shall have the power to change or modify the assess-
ments as originally confirmed to conform to the judgment of the
higher court, and to cover any deficit that may have been caused
by the order of the said court or unforeseen occurrence. The said
relevy shall be made for the additional sum required in the same
ratio on the lands benefited as the original assessment was made.

If any person, or any number of persons, claiming to have a
title to any tract or tracts of land subject to assessment or drainage
tax, shall fail to pay an annual assessment levied against such lands,
and acounty treasurer shall be compelled to sell such lands under
the law for the purpose of making such collection, the net proceeds
of such sale shall be held by him and disbursed for the purpose of
paying the current assessment and future annual assessments so
far as the said proceeds may be sufficient. When the fund in the
custody of any county treasurer shall be exhausted in the payment of
annual assessments against such lands, or there shall not be a sufficient
sum to pay the next annual assessment, such treasurer shall im-
mediately give written notice to that effect to the chairman of the
county board of drainage commissioners of the county in which
the petition was filed, and to the clerk of the said board, and also
to the clerk of the circuit court of the county for which he is treasurer,
whereupon the county board of drainage commissioners for the county
in which the petition was filed shall institute an investigation of said
tract or tracts of land to determine the market value thereof, and if
they shall find the market value of the tract or tracts is not equal to all
the future annual assessments to cover its share of instalments of prin-
cipal and interest on the outstanding bonds, they shall proceed to make
new assessment rolls on all the remaining lands in the district and
increase the sum in sufficient sums to equal the deficit thereby created,
and such new assessment rolls shall constitute the future assessment
rolls until changed, according to law, and shall be certified to the
proper county treasurer or treasurers as herein provided in lieu of the
former assessment rolls.

However, the said tract or tracts of land which have been so sold
by any county treasurer shall continue on the assessment roll in the
name of the new owner, but reassessed upon the new basis, and the
drainage tax collected at the same time and in the same manner as
other lands, as long. as said lands may have sufficient market value
out of which to collect the annual drainage tax, and when such lands
shall fail to have such value, or shall be abandoned by the person
claiming title thereto, the county board of drainage commissioners
may omit the same from the assessment roll; but the said lands may
in the same manner at any time in the future be restored to the
assessment rolls.

If the funds in the hands of any county treasurer at any time
arising under this section or in any other manner, shall be greater
than is necessary to pay the annual instalments of principal and
interest, or the annual cost of maintenance of the drainage works,
or both, such surplus shall be held by said county treasurer for future
disbursements for other purposes as herein provided or subject to
the order of the county board of drainage commissioners of the
county in which the petition was filed.

If there shall be any impairment or destruction of the drainage
work by any unforseen cause or occurrence not anticipated during
the period of construction by the contractor, the said contractor shall
nevertheless repair and complete the said works according to the
contract and specifications, and shall be liable therefor and also his
sureties on his bond; but if said contractor shall make default and if
there shall be a failure to collect all the damages from such con-
tractor and the sureties upon his bond; and it shall thereby be neces-
sary to raise a greater sum of money to complete the drainage works
in accordance with the plans, or for any other unavoidance cause it
shall be necessary to raise a greater sum to complete such drainage
work, the county board of drainage commissioners of the county
in which the petition was filed, shall prepare new assessment rolls
upon all the lands in the district upon the original basis of classifica-
tion of benefits, and increase the same in sufficient sums to equal the
deficit thereby created, and the same shall constitute the new assess-
ment rolls until changed according to law, and shall be certified
to the county treasurer or treasurers as herein provided.

Section 1777. Issue of additional bonds.—If for any of the
causes hereinbefore recited, or for any other cause, a sum of money
greater than the proceeds of sale of the drainage bonds shall become
necessary to complete said drainage system, and the county board of
drainage commissioners shall determine that the amount to be raised
is greater than can be realized from the collection of one annual
assessment upon the lands in the district without imposing an undue
burden upon said lands, or if it is advisable or necessary to raise
the money more expeditiously, then and under such conditions ad-
ditional bonds may be issued in such aggregate sum as may be
necessary. The proceedings for the issue of such additional bonds
shall be substantially as follows: The county board of drainage com-
missioners of the county in which the petition was originally filed,
shall issue a notice to all the owners of land within the drainage
district, setting forth all the facts which require the expenditure
of more money and the issue of additional bonds to complete the
drainage system, which shall be accompanied by the recommendation
of the drainage engineer, who was one of the original members of the
board of viewers, or some other expert drainage engineer selected
by the said county board of drainage commissioners directing each
to appear before them on a certain day, mentioning the day, at least
ten days’ notice being given, and show cause, if any they have, why
the additional bonds should not be authorized and issued, which
notice shall be served personally on each such landowner by leaving
a copy at their residence or place of business, and, if the same cannot
be personally served, then it shall be served by publication as herein-
before stated, or in the manner authorized by law. Any landowner
may file an answer denying any material allegation in the notice or
setting forth any valid objection to the same before the return day
thereof. Upon the day when said notice is returnable, or on such
day, as to which the same may have been continued, the county board
of drainage commissioners shall proceed to hear the answers. If they
find that the answers are not material, and that the issue of additional
bonds is advisable or necessary, it shall make an appropriate order
authorizing and directing the issue of such additional bonds, fixing
the amount of the issue, the date of the same, the time when the
interest and principal shall be payable, and all other matters necessary
and appropriate in the premises. Any landowner may appeal from
the order of the county board of drainage commissioners, as provided
by chapter two hundred and sixty-seven of the Code, and on such
appeal only the issue raised in the answer shall be considered. After
the county board of drainage commissioners shall have ordered the
additional issue of bonds the further procedure as to the assessment
rolls, the levying and collecting of drainage taxes, the disbursement
of the revenue therefrom for the payment of said bonds and interest
thereon, and all further procedure shall be the same as required
by the preceding sections of this chapter, and amendments thereto,
for the establishment of drainage districts. The additional bonds
issued shall not exceed twenty-five per centum of the total amount
originally issued, and shall bear not more than six per centum in-
terest per annum, and may be made payable in ten annual instal-
ments, or lesser number of annual instalments as nearly equal as
may be, as recommended by the county board of drainage com-
missioners having jurisdiction over the same.

Section 1778. Fees and expenses.—Any engineer employed under
the provisions of this chapter, shall receive such compensation as is
commensurate with the relative area and importance of the proposed
district, and shall not be less than fifteen dollars or more than twenty-
five dollars per diem. The amount when decided upon by the judge
of the said court, after conferring with the engineer, shall be entered
as an order of record in the drainage record. The viewers, other than
the engineer, shall receive five dollars per day each; the transitmen,
rodmen, chairmen, axemen, and other laborers shall receive wages
not to exceed the wages current at the time in the locality for such
services. The members of the county board of drainage com-
missioners shall receive, from time to time, out of the respective drain-
age district funds, such compensation as the court shall determine
to be reasonable for the time expended and services performed by
them on each district. All other fees and costs incurred under the
provisions of this chapter shall be the same, as provided by law for
like services in other cases, or as fixed by the court if not provided
by law. Said costs and expenses shall be paid by order of the court out
of the proper district drainage fund provided for that purpose, and the
county board of drainage commissioners shall issue warrants therefor
when funds of a drainage district, for which service shall have been
rendered, shall be in the hands of the treasurer or treasurers.

Section 1779. Defects in the proceedings.—The provisions of
this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote the leveeing, ditch-
ing, draining, and reclamation of wet and overflowed lands. The
collection of the assessment shall not be defeated, where the proper
notice have been given by reason of any defect in the proceedings
occurring prior to the order of the court confirming the final report
of the board of viewers; but such order or orders shall be conclusive
and final that all prior proceedings were regular and according to
law, unless they were appealed from. If, on appeal, the court, shall
deem it just and proper to release any person or to modify his assess-
ment or liability, it shall in no manner affect the rights and liabilities
of any person other than the appellant, and the failure to perfect an
appeal within sixty days from the order of the court finally establish-
ing the district shall be a waiver of any illegality in the proceedings,
and the remedies provided for in this chapter shall exclude all other
remedies.

Proceedings under this chapter shall have precedence over all
others excepting writs of habeas corpus, prohibition, and mandamus
and shall be heard at the time set for a hearing by the court or the
judge thereof in vacation with the least possible delay; the widest
latitude shall be allowed by the said court to hasten urgent cases,
where evidence is available to prove the serious consequences resulting
from the flooding of the cultivated lands for which relief is asked.

Section 1780. Removal of engineers, viewers, et cetera.—Any
engineer, viewer, superintendent of construction or other person ap-
pointed under this chapter may be removed by the court upon peti-
tion, for corruption, neglect of duties or other good and satisfactory
cause shown, but not until such person or persons are heard in their
own defense by the said court.

Section 1781. Drainage proceedings to which chapter applic-
able.—This chapter, as amended, shall apply to all drainage proceed-
ings which may be pending when this amendatory act takes effect,
and to all drainage districts theretofore established for which the bonds
of said districts have not been issued at the said time, so far as the
same may be applicable, unless the parties elect to continue to pro-
ceed under the provisions of this chapter existing on the day before
this amendatory act becomes effective; but if such election be not
made, any drainage district receiving the benefits of any amendment
of this chapter of the Code shall thereafter be governed by all the
provisions of the said chapter, as amended.

This chapter shall, subject to the qualifications contained in the
preceding paragraph of this section, apply to parts or stages of drain-
age proceedings which have been instituted but not yet completed,
including duties imposed upon the county board of drainage com-
missioners, the court, the county treasurer, or treasurers, and others
after the confirmation of the final report of the board of viewers;
provided, the same are not inconsistent with the preceding. acts,
decrees and orders in any pending proceeding; but not vested right
heretofore acquired shall be impaired.

All other acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby
repealed, and an emergency existing, said act shall be in force from its
passage.