Chap. 338.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the town of Luray, Virginia.
[S B 305]
Approved March 21, 1928

I. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
inhabitants of the territory in the county of Page, contained within
the boundaries prescribed and defined in the section immediately
following, shall continue to be, and they are hereby declared to be,
a body politic and corporate, in fact and in name, under the name
and style of the town of Luray, and as such shall have and exercise
all the powers conferred by and be subject to all the laws of the
State of Virginia now in force or that may hereafter be enacted
for the government of towns, so far as the same are not inconsis-
tent with the provisions of this act.

2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows: Begin-
ning at a planted stone in the rear of the lot now owned by J. A.
Racer on the east side of Brumback avenue, thence south two de-
grees and five minutes, west two thousand nine hundred and forty
feet to a planted stone on the lot now owned by James F. Berry,
in block fifty-eight of the Valley Land and Improvement Com-
pany, thence north eighty-seven degrees and fifty-five minutes,
west two thousand and seventy-nine feet to a planted stone on the
E. C. Harnsberger farm, thence leaving the south line and running
even lines north two degrees, east two hundred and one feet to an-
other stake on said farm, thence north eighty-seven degrees and
fifty-five minutes, west eight hundred and forty-one feet to another
stake on said farm, thence south two degrees, west two hundred
and one feet to a stone on said farm; thence north eighty-seven
degrees and fifty-five minutes, west three thousand and eight hun-
dred feet to a planted stone in a field of the H. V. Hudson estate
southwest of the road; thence north two degrees and five minutes,
east two thousand nine hundred and forty feet to a planted stone
in the rear of the Julia Goodrich lot, now owned by Jackson Pat-
terson, on the west side of the Bixley’s ferry road; thence south
eighty-seven degrees and fifty-five minutes, east six thousand seven
hundred and twenty feet to the place of beginning, which boundaries
are fully described and set forth on a plat of said town made by
FE. A. Wilson and filed in the clerk’s office of Page county, Virginia.

3. The government of the said town of Luray shall be vested
in a mayor and council.

4. The municipal officers of the said town shall consist of a
mayor, six councilmen and a justice of the peace, each of whom
shall be a qualified voter within the said town.

5. The mayor, councilmen and the justice of the peace shall be
elected on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and
twenty-nine, and every two years thereafter, and shall hold office
for two years from the first day of September next succeeding their
election.

6. The qualified voters shall register and vote at the place or
places prescribed by the council.

7. The council shall appoint a town clerk and a town treasurer,
who may be either a member of said council or not, and a town
sergeant, and may also appoint such other officers, agents, and
employees as may be necessary to conduct the business of the
town, fix their compensation and prescribe their duties, and may
1928] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 887

appoint such committees of the council, and create such boards and
departments of town government and administration, with such
duties and powers, and subject to such regulations as it may see
fit, consistent with the provisions of this act. The terms of all
officers, agents and employees appointed or employed by the coun-
cil, unless sooner removed from office as provided herein, shall ex-
pire with the council. The duties and compensation of all munici-
pal officers, except as herein defined or provided for, shall be de-
fined and prescribed by the town council.

8. In addition to the power to appoint such officers as are herein
expressly mentioned, the council shall have the power and author-
ity to appoint a health officer, chief of the fire department and two
wardens, a commissioner of streets and public works, and such
officers and employees as the council may deem proper, and any
committees of the council, any municipal board, the mayor of the
town and any head of a department of the town government may
appoint such officers and employees as the town council may deter-
mine. The duties and compensation of such officers and employees
shall be fixed by the council, except so far as the council may
authorize such duties to be fixed by such committee or other ap-
pointing power.

9. The council may require of any of the officers and employees
appointed under the two preceding sections, bond with surety in
proper penalty, payable to the town in its corporate name, with
provisions for the faithful performance of said duties, and the
town in its name and for its benefit shall have the same remedies
in the event of default on any bond so given, as the State has in
like cases.

10. All officers, agents and employees appointed by the council
of said town may be removed at its pleasure, and where appoint-
ment is made by a committee or board, by a vote of such committee
or board, or where such appointment is made by the mayor or head
of a department, such removal may be made by order of the mayor
or head of the department.

11. If any person having been an officer, agent or employee of
said town shall not within ten days after he shall have vacated, or
been removed from office and upon notification or request of the
clerk of the council, or within such time thereafter as the council
may allow, deliver over to his successor in office, or the clerk of the
council, all property, books and papers belonging to the town or
appertaining to such office in his possession or under his control,
he shall forfeit and pay to the town the sum not exceeding five
hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered by the said town,
with cost, and all books, records and documents used in any office
by virtue of any provision of this act, or any ordinance or order of
the town council, or any superior officer of the said town, shall be
deemed. the property of said town, appertaining to said office, and
the chief officer thereof shall be held responsible therefor.
12. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the town,
and shall receive a salary to be fixed by the council in conformity
with the laws of this State.

' 13. The mayor shall see that the by-laws and ordinances of the
town are fully executed and enforced, and shall preside over the
meetings of the town council, voting only in case of a tie.

14. Every ordinance or resolution having the effect of an ordi-
nance shall before it becomes operative be presented to the mayor.
If he approve he shall sign it, but if not, he may return it to the
clerk of the council with his objection, or objections, and the coun-
cil shall enter the same at length on its journal and proceed to
reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the
members elected to the council shall agree to pass the ordinance
or resolution, it shall become operative, notwithstanding the objec-
tions of the mayor. If any ordinance or resolution shall not be
returned within five days (Sunday excepted), after it shall have
been presented to him, it shall become operative in like manner as
if he had signed it, unless his term of office, or that of the council,
shall expire with said five days. The mayor shall have the power
to veto any particular item or items of any appropriation ordinance
or resolution, but such veto shall not affect any item or items to
which he does not object. The item or items objected to shall not
take effect except in the manner provided in this section as to
ordinances or resolutions not approved by the mayor.

15. The mayor shall see that the duties of the various town
officers, agents, employees, members of the police force, and fire de-
partment, whether elected, or appointed, are faithfully performed.
He shall have power to investigate their accounts, have access to
all their books and documents in their office, and may examine them
or their subordinates on oath, but the evidence given by persons so
examined shall not be used against them in any criminal proceed-
ing.

16. The mayor shall have power to remove any officer appointed
by him, and to suspend any municipal officer, agent or employee,
other than the councilmen, whether elected by the people or ap-
pointed by the council, or any appointing power designated by the
council, for misconduct in office, inefficiency or neglect of duty,
to be specified in the order of suspension.

17. Of the suspension of any officer not appointed by the mayor,
the mayor shall report the same to the town council at their next
stated meeting for their consideration, but in no case shall the
suspension or removal by the mayor of any officer not appointed
by him be binding until ratified by the council by a two-thirds vote
of all the members elected thereto, after reasonable notice to the
ofhcer complained of, and an opportunity be afforded him to be
heard in his defense.

18. The mayor shall communicate to the town council annually
at the beginning of each fiscal year, or oftener if he be required by
the council, a general statement of the condition of the town in
relation to its government, finances, and improvement, with such
recommendations as he may deem proper, and may from time to
time communicate with the council such suggestions and recom-
mendations as he shall deem proper.

19. In case of the absence, illness, or inability of the mayor, the
president pro tempore, who shall be chosen by a majority of the
council at its first meeting in September for a term of two years,
or in his absence or inability, some other member of the council
chosen by the majority of the council present at a regular meeting,
shall possess the same power and discharge the municipal duties
of the mayor during such absence, illness or inability; and when
so discharging the municipal duties of the mayor during his ab-
sence, illness or inability, the said president pro tempore, or in
the case of his inability, the other member of the council so chosen
for the purpose, shall receive a reasonable compensation to be fixed
and allowed by the town council.

20. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mavor, the
vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the town council of any
one eligible to such office.

21. The mayor shall have power to call a meeting of the coun-
cil whenever he deems it necessary, and in case of the absence,
inability, or refusal of the mayor, the council may be convened
by the order of any two members thereof.

22. The mayor shall by virtue of his office possess no power,
authority or jurisdiction to try violations of the ordinances of the
town or to act as a justice of the peace in either civil or criminal
matters, and all such powers, authority and jurisdiction as is cus-
tomarily exercised by the mayor of towns shall be vested in the
justice of the peace to be elected by the said town of Luray as
hereinafter more fully set forth.

23. The town council, in addition to the mayor, shall be composed
of six members, to be elected by popular vote of the qualified electors
of the town. The addition to, alteration or diminution of. the area of
the town shall not increase or diminish the number of councilmen.

24. The town council shall by ordinance fix the time of their stated
meetings, and they shall meet at least once a month, and no business
shall be transacted at a special meeting thereof, except that for which
it shall be called, unless all members of the council be present.

25. Four members of the council, of whom for the purpose of con-
stituting a quorum the mayor shall be counted as one, shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business. No vote shall be recon-
sidered or rescinded at a special meeting unless at such special meet-
ing there be as large a number of members of the council present as
were present when such vote was taken. At least one councilman
must be present who was present when the vote was taken.

26. The meetings of the council shall be presided over by the
mayor, or in his absence or inability to act, the president pro tempore,
or in his absence, or inability, some other member of the council chosen
by a majority of that body.

27. The meetings of the town council shall be open to the public
except when by a recorded vote of two-thirds of those members present
shall declare that the public welfare requires secrecy.

28. The town council shall have authority to adopt rules for the
regulation of their proceedings, and appoint such officers, agents, com-
mittees, and employees as they may deem proper; to compel the at-
tendance of absent members; to punish its members for disorderly
behavior and by a vote of two-thirds of the whole council to expel a
member for malfeasance or misfeasance in office.

29. A journal or minute book shall be kept of the proceedings of
the town council, and, at the request of any member present, the yeas
and nays shall be recorded on any question. At the next meeting the
proceedings shall be read and signed by the person who was presiding
when the previous meeting adjourned; or if he be not then present by
the person presiding when they were read.

30. The clerk of the council shall keep the said journal and shall
record the proceedings of the council at large thereon, and keep the
same properly indexed.

31. The town council shall judge of the election, qualification and
returns of its members.

32. All vacancies occurring from any cause whatsoever in the of-
fice of mayor, councilman, or any other office, whether filled by ap-
pointment or by election, shall be filled for the unexpired term by the
council.

33. The council shall have power to suspend and remove all off-
cers and employees, whether elected or appointed, for misfeasance,
malfeasance, inefficiency, or neglect of duty, to be specified in the
order of suspension or removal, but no such removal shall be made
without reasonable notice given to the person so suspended, or removed,
and an opportunity afforded for a defense thereto; and no removal
of any town officer, agent, or employee, other than an officer appointed
by the mayor, shall be final until the same shall be ratified by a two-
thirds vote of the town council.

34. The town council shall have all powers and authority that 1s
now or may hereafter be granted to councils of towns by the general
laws of this State and by this act; and the recital of special powers
and authorities herein shall not be taken to exclude the exercise of any
power and authority granted by the general laws of this State to town
councils, but not herein specified.

35. And the said council shall have power to enact ordinances pro-
viding for the exercise within its jurisdiction of all police powers which
the State itself may exercise under the circumstances, except such as
may be specifically denied towns by the acts of the general assembly.

36. And it shall have the further power to control and manage the
fiscal and municipal affairs of the town and all property, real and per-
sonal, belonging to the said town, and may make such ordinances,
orders and resolutions relating to the same as it may deem proper and
necessary.

37. And it shall have the further power to acquire by purchase,
condemnation or otherwise, or to construct or lease and operate its own
plant, factory and equipment for supplying its inhabitants, streets,
grounds, and buildings with water, light. power, fuel, and sewerage,
and to that end it may acquire by purchase or lease any plant existing
in or near the town and may acquire lands, and franchise outside of
the limits of the said town, and may by purchase. condemnation or
otherwise acquire easements and rights of way, and to pass all neces-
sary and needful rules and regulations for the operation of said public
works.

38. And it shall have the further power to purchase, condemn, or
otherwise acquire one or more locations for a site for fire engine
houses, stables, town buildings, parks, playgrounds, and for all munici-
pal uses and purposes, within or without the town.

39. And it shall have the power to provide for the regular and sate
construction of houses in the town for the future; to designate and
prescribe from time to time the part of the town in which no buildings
of wood shall be erected, and to regulate the construction of buildings
in the town, so as to protect it against danger of fire: to remove or
require to be removed any building, structure or addition thereto,
which by reason of dilapidation, defects of structure, fire, or other
causes may become dangerous to life or property and also refuse a
permit to repair any such building or structure; and to require the
standard of dwelling houses to be maintained in residential sections
in keeping with the majority of residences therein.

40. And it shall have the power to lay off streets, walks or alleys,
to alter, improve and light the same, and to govern and regulate the
uses thereof, for the purposes and to the extent as provided by the
general laws of this State.

41. And it shall have the power to require the owners of real estate
abutting upon paved or concrete sidewalks to remove the snow there-
from, to prevent skating or riding of bicycles thercon, and of all other
Improper uses thereof, and to punish such violation by fine.

42. The town of Luray shall constitute a separate road district and
no property in the town shall be liable for any assessment for road
purposes in the county of Page.

43. And it shall have the power to pass all resolutions and ordi-
nances not repugnant to the Constitution and the laws of the State,
or in conflact with this act, which it may deem necessary for the good
order and government of the said town, the management of its prop-
erty, the conduct of its affairs, the peace, comfort, convenience, order,
morals, health and protection of its citizens or of their property, and
do such other things and pass such other laws as may be necessary or
proper to carry into full effect any power, authority, capacity, or juris-
diction, which is or shall be granted to or vested in the said town or
in the council, or the officers thereof, or which may be necessarily inci-
dent to a municipal corporation.

44. The treasurer of said town shall be appointed for a term of
two years, and shall collect and receive all money belonging to the
town, and shall perform such other duties as are prescribed by the
council. He shall keep his office at some convenient place in the town,
provided by the town council. He shall keep his books and accounts
in such manner as the town council may prescribe, and such books and
accounts shall always be subject to the inspection of the mayor and
council, or any committee or committees of the council. He shall re-
ceive for his services such compensation, either in fees or salary, as
the town council may from time to time allow, and when such com-
pensation has been fixed by the council, the same shall not be diminished
during the term of his office. °

45. No money shall be paid out by the town treasurer except by
order of the council and upon a warrant of the clerk of the council,
countersigned by the mayor.

46. The town treasurer or his deputy duly appointed by the council
and qualified, or by order of the council of the said town sergeant, or
any other person appointed by the town council, shall collect all the
taxes, revenues and assessments, which may be levied by the said town
council, and for this purpose shall be vested with all the powers pro-
vided by the general laws of this State.

47. The treasurer shall be required to keep all money in his hands
belonging to the town in such place or places of deposit as the town
council by ordinance may provide or direct.

48. The treasurer shall report to each stated meeting of the coun-
cil the amount of cash then on deposit to the order of the town, and
in what depositories deposited, and shall annually at the end of each
fiscal year publish, either in the newspapers or ‘by posting in front of
the treasurer’s office, a statement showing all the receipts and income
of the said town and from what sources, and all disbursements made
and for what purpose.

49. The treasurer shall execute -bond with satisfactory surety,
payable to the town for the faithful performance of all duties of his
office, and to account for all money coming into his hands.

50. The clerk shall attend the meetings of the council and keep the
record of its proceedings; he shall have the custody of the corporate
seal; he shall keep all the papers that, by the provisions of this act, or
the direction of the council, are required to be filed with or kept by
him: he shall 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 council is required to publish, and such other reports and ordi-
nances as it may direct, and shall, in general, perform such other acts
and duties as the council may from time to time prescribe and require
of him. He shall receive such compensation as the council may direct.

51. The offices of town clerk and town treasurer may be held by
the same person, provided the council does not appoint one of its own
members to said offices.

52. The town council shall have the power and authority to pre-
scribe for the town sergeant such general and other duties as it may
see fit, and shall fix his compensation, and in all civil and criminal
cases arising under the State laws, the sergeant shall receive the same
fees as are provided by law for constables, and in all cases arising under
the town ordinances where not otherwise provided, he shall receive the
same fees as constables receive in similar cases arising under the State
laws, and he may receive such other compensation as may be pre-
scribed by the council.

53. The town sergeant shall perform the duties, receive the com-
pensation and be subject to the liabilities prescribed by this act, the
ordinances, by-laws and regulations of the town council, and by the
laws of this State, and also shall have the powers and discharge the
same duties as constables within the corporate limits of the town, and
be subject to the same liability touching all process lawfully directed
to him, as constables are subject to under the laws of this State.

54. The town council shall have the power and authority to appoint
a chief of police, and such additional police officers as it may deem
necessary or proper. Until the town council shall appoint said chief
of police, the town sergeant shall perform the duties of such office.

55. The policemen of the town shall have no power or authority in
civil matters, but shall in all other cases execute such warrants or
summonses as may be placed in their hands by the justice of the peace
of said town and shall make due return thereof.

56. The sergeant and the police officers of the town shall have the
power to arrest without warrants and carry before the justice of the
peace of said town or other proper authority, to be dealt with accord-
ing to law, any and all persons who shall violate any ordinance of the
town or laws of the State in their presence and it shall be their duty
to swear out warrants of arrest for any person where they have reason
to believe any offense has been committed.

57. The sergeant shall be collector of all fines and penalties imposed
for the violation of town ordinances, by-laws, rules and regulations,
and of delinquent town levies, and all tax tickets declared delinquent
by the town council, and allowed the treasurer in his settlement with
the town council, shall be turned over to the sergeant to collect, and
for that purpose he shall have the power and authority and be suhiect
to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed by the general law
of the State.

58. The sergeant shall pay over to the treasurer monthly or oftener
if he thinks proper all money which comes into his hands for taxes,
or levies, or otherwise, belonging to the town.

59. He shall be required to give bond with satisfactory surety,
payable to the said town for the faithful performance and discharge
of all of his duties as sergeant, and to faithfully account for all money
coming into his hands by virtue of his office.
60. A justice of the peace shall be elected by the qualified voter:
of the said town, as hereinbefore provided, for a term of two vears.

61. The said justice of the peace shall be a conservator of the peace
within the corporate limits of the town of Luray, and within one mile
beyond the corporate limits of said town, except as otherwise provided
by law, and within such limits shall have exclusive original jurisdiction
for the trial of all offences against the ordinances of said town, and
shall have the same jurisdiction in all other matters as is granted to
justices of the peace by the general law of this State.

62. Appeals may be taken to the circuit court of Page county from
the decision of said justice of the peace in both civil and criminal mat-
ters, in the same manner and upon the same terms and be tried in the
same way as appeals from the decision of a justice of the peace elected
under the general laws of this State are taken, and in like cases, except
that no appeal shall be granted from a decision imposing a fine for vio-
lation of any of the ordinances of the said town, for offences not made
criminal by the common law or the statutes of Virginia, until and after
bond be given by the persons so fined with security approved, condi-
tioned to pay all fines, costs and damages that may be awarded by the
said court on appeal, the penalty of said bond to be double the sum
sufficient to pay all such fines, costs and damages. Should the deci-
sion be affirmed in whole or in part, the said court shall enter judg-
ment against the said principal and surety for the amount so affirmed
with costs, and the costs of the appeal, and execution shall issue thereon
in the name of the town against both principal and surety.

63. The said justice of the peace shall receive as his compensation
the same fees as are allowed under the general laws of this State for
the issuances of warrants, trials of cases, et cetera, and such other
compensation as may be prescribed by the council.

64. The town treasurer shall, by virtue of his office, also be the town
assessor, and he shall perform all duties in relation to the assessment
of property for the purpose of levying the town taxes or levies, shall
see to it that all persons, firms and corporations chargeable with a
town license tax are assessed with such license tax; tax all dogs within
the corporate limits which are assessed for taxation, and shall perform
such other duties in relation to the assessment of property and other
subjects of taxation as may be ordered by the town council.

65. For the performance of his duties, the assessor of the town
shall be vested with all the power and authority that county commis-
sioners of revenue are vested with under the general laws of the State
of Virginia, and shall have the power and authority to propound in-
terrogatories to any person subject to taxation, and may use such
other evidence as he may be in position to procure; such interrogatories
shall be answered under oath and any applicant refusing to answer
such interrogatories under oath, shall be fined not less than five
dollars, nor more than one hundred dollars, for each offence.

66. It shall be the duty of the assessor to assess for taxation all
persons and property subject to town taxation, whether the same shall
have been omitted from the assessment of the commissioner of reve-
nue for Page county or not.

67. The assessor may procure from the commissioner of revenue
of Page county the assessment of all property which 1s subject to tax-
ation by the town of Luray, and in so far as said commussioner’s
books show the property subject to taxation by the said town, said
assessor may base his assessment for the purpose of levying town
taxes and levies thereon. If said assessor should find any property
subject to taxation by the said town omitted from said commissioner’s
books he shall proceed to assess the same for town purposes in the
manner hereinbefore provided in section sixty-five.

68. All books, schedules and records, and papers pertaining to the
office of assessor shall be open to and subject to the inspection of the
mayor, the members of the town council, or any committee thereof,
and of the collector of town taxes.

69. For the execution of its powers and duties the council may tax
all property, both real and personal, in the said town not exempt by
law from taxation, and not segregated and made subject to State tax-
ation only by the general laws of this State.

70. The council may impose a tax of fifty cents per annum upon
each resident of the town who has obtained the age of twenty-one years.

71. The council may require a license tax for anything for which
a State license tax is required, and for which under the general laws
of the State a license tax may be required by a city or town and in
addition thereto, within the limitations imposed by the Constitution
and laws of the State and of the United States, the council may im-
pose a license tax on any business or thing carried on or done in the
town, whether a license tax is required therefor by the State or not.
This section shall not render it legal to conduct within the town any
business, calling, or vocation which but for this section would be illegal.

72. Vhe council may subject any person, who without having ob-
tained a license therefor shall do any act or follow any employment or
business in the town for which a license may be required by ordinances,
to such fine or penalty as it is authorized to impose for any violation of
its laws.

73. The town council may exempt from all municipal taxation
bonds and other obligations ot indebtedness issued by the town.

74. The council shall not appropriate any part of any sinking fund
or its accrued interest thereon for any other objects or purposes than
that for which the said sinking fund is collected.

75. There shall be a lien on real estate for the town taxes as
assessed thereon from the commencement of the year for which they
are assessed.

76. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the town to make out
and deliver to the council at its regular meeting in July in each year
following the passage of this act, a list of all the real estate whereupon
delinquent taxes or assessments are due and unpaid for the previous
year, and thereupon the council of said town may proceed to have said
real estate sold for the payment of said delinquent taxes or assessments
in the manner provided by the general laws of this State.

77. The town council shall have no power nor authority to con-
tract any indebtedness, or issue any bonds or other interest bearing
obligations for any purpose except in the manner provided by the
Constitution of Virginia and the general laws enacted in pursuance
thereof, provided, however, that new bonds for the redemption and
liquidation of any lawfully issued bonds now outstanding or that may
be issued under the provisions of this section may be issued according
to the provisions of the section immediately following.

78. The town council shall have the power and authority, without
reference to a vote of the people, to provide by ordinances for the
issuance of new bonds, for the redemption and liquidation of any
lawfully issued bonds, when they fall due, become subject to call, or
can for any reason be refunded or redeemed. Said new bonds shall
not exceed in amount, the original bonds to be redeemed, liquidated,
or refunded, may be registered, serial, or coupon, and shall be sold at
not less than par, to the highest bidder for cash, provided no such new
bonds shall bear a higher rate of interest than six per centum per
annum, and provided, further, that the proceeds of the sale of the new
bonds so issued shall be used only in the payment of the old bonds,
which are subject to call, redemption or can otherwise be refunded or
redeemed. Such bonds shall be payable in lawful money of the United
States and a sinking fund shall be created and maintained sufficient to
redeem such bonds at maturity, and shall be applied to such redemption
and to no other purpose. .

79. All criminal and civil writs and process issued by the justice of
the peace of the town under the general laws of the State of Virginia
shall run in the name of the “Commonwealth of Virginia,” and all
criminal and civil writs or process issued by the said justice for viola-
tion of or under ordinances of the said town shall run in the name of
the “town of Luray,” and writs and process issued in the name of the
town shall conform as near as may be to the form for similar . writs
and processes issued under the general State laws.

80. The jurisdiction of the corporate authorities of the town in
criminal matters, except as otherwise provided by law, and for impos-
ing and collecting a license tax on all shows, performances and exhibi-
tions shall extend one mile beyond the corporate limits of.the town.

81. Appeals from decisions rendered by the justice of the peace of
the town shall lie to the circuit court of Page county, when permitted
or allowed, and upon similar and subject to like conditions as is pro-
vided by law in such cases, unless otherwise provided for herein.

82. If any section or provision of this act or any part of any section
shall be declared unconstitutional, the part so declared unconstitu-
tional shall cease to be operative, but the remainder of this act and
every section or part thereof not so declared unconstitutional shall
continue to be the law governing this town.

83. In case of default on the part of any bonded municipal officer,
the town shall have the same remedies against him and his sureties as
are provided for the State in enforcing the penalty of any official bond
given to it.

&. The same person shall be eligible to, and if elected, or ap-
pointed, may hold a county office and a town office if the said offices
be of the same nature, at the same time; provided, such officer lives
within the town limits; and a person otherwise qualified who is a resi-
dent of the said town shall be eligible to election or appointment to
any county office of Page county.

85. Where by the provisions of this act or the general laws of this
State, the council has the authority to pass an ordinance, resolution,
or regulation on any subject, it may prescribe a penalty not exceeding
ive hundred dollars or confinement in jail not exceeding twelve months,
or both, for the violation thereof and any other form of punishment
provided for by the laws of this State for the punishment of mis-
demeanors. |

86. All ordinances now in force as the ordinances of the town of
Luray not inconsistent with this act shall be and remain in force until
altered, amended, or repealed by the town council. And if the town
council of Luray amend an ordinance continued in effect by this sec-
tion, and such amendment affects only the amount of fine provided as
a penalty for the violation of said ordinance, the said ordinance shall
be valid and binding without a republication thereof.

87. The present mayor, four councilmen and sergeant of the town
shall be and remain in office until the expiration of their several terms.

88. The council shall fill by appointment vacancies and new offices
created by this act.

89. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby re-
pealed, but only in so far as they affect the provisions of this act.

90. An emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act shall be
in effect from and after the date of its passage.