Chap. 804.—An ACT to authorize the board of supervisors of Alexandria
county to enforce the lien for all county, road, and school taxes that may
now be due or may hereafter become due by suit in equity, and to empower
the circuit court of Alexandria county to entertain such suit and enforce
the provisions of this act by sale of the real estate upon which said taxes
are a lien.

Approved March 5, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the board
of supervisors of Alexandria county be, and hereby are, authorized to
enforce the lien for all county, road, and school taxes that may now be
due, or may hereafter become due, the county of Alexandria by suit
in equity.

2. That the said board of supervisors are authorized to sue in the
name of the board of supervisors of Alexandria county, and said suit
shall be brought in the circuit court of said county, and shall proceed
as any other suit in equity; process shall be served upon persons living
within the state, upon the owner or owners of the real estate upon which
the tax is due, and said process may be served in any city or county
within this state, and in case of non-residents the suit shall proceed as
against residents, except process shall be had by publication the same as
would be had in an equity suit for any other purpose.

8. Costs shall be taxed as in other equity suits, and in all cases
shall the amount due the state for taxes be first paid out of the fund
derived from the sale of the said property, but in no case shall a decree
for a sale of real estate be had unless an affidavit of the county treas-
urer be filed with the bill, stating that the taxes sued for cannot be
collected by levy, but in everv such case the court is hereby empowered
to decree a sale of the real estate which may be delinquent for taxes
or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the taxes due. The
amount of real estate necessary to be sold shall be determined by the
court as in other suits for the sale of real estate; the court shall appoint
a@ commissioner to conduct said sale, and to execute a deed to the pur-
chaser, who shall acquire a fee simple title, free from all liens and en-
cumbrances whatsoever, and there shall be no appeal from the decree
of sale or any bill filed to set aside such sale after the expiration of six
months from the term of the court at which said sale is confirmed; the
court shall have the power to fix the terms of sale, and will make sale
of the real estate after such notice, by advertisement, as the court may
think proper, and shall have full power to enforce its decrees for the ac-
complishment of the full purposes of this act as in other suits in
equity.

4. Where the property sought to be sold is encumbered by mortgage
deed of trust, or otherwise, the mortgagor, mortgagee, trustee, anc
beneficiary, in whose name or names the encumbrance stands upon the
records, shall be made parties defendant, and process may be by persona
service, or by order of publication as in other suits in equity.

5. The funds shall be distributed after the payment of all state taxe:
and of all costs of suit and expenses of sale to payment of county taxes
and as the interest of parties may appear, and all trusts, mortgages, anc
judgments to be paid in accordance with the priority, whether saic
trusts or mortgages be due or not at time of sale.

6. This act shall be construed liberally, in order to accomplish th
purposes for which it is enacted.

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