Chap. 1.—An ACT to empower the board of supervisors of Rock-
bridge county to make a loan and issue bonds therefor, for the
pu of erecting a new court-house and clerks’ offices for
Paid county, if approved by a eg digi of the voters voting at
an election authorized to be held in said county.

Approved December 10, 1891.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That it shall be lawful for the county court of Rockbridge
county to make an order requiring the sheriff and judges
f elections of said county, at a time to be designated in
said order, not less than one month from the date thereof,
fo open polls at all of the voting places in said county, to
take the sense of the qualified voters of said county upon
the question whether the county shall make a loan, of not
xxceeding sixty thousand dollars, to provide the necessary
means for erecting a new court-house and clerks’ offices
for the use of the people of said county. The said court
shall cause a copy of said order and a notice of said elec-
tion to be published for at least three successive weeks
before said election, in at least one newspaper published
in the county of Rockbridge, and the sheriff of said
county shall cause a notice of said election to be given by
posting a copy of said notice at each voting place in his
county at least ten days before said election.

2. The judges of election in said county shall open polls
at their respective voting places in said‘county at the time
designated in the said order of said court, and shall con-
duct such election and close the polls as is provided by
law in respect to other elections. And at such election
each of said voters who shal! be in favor of said loan shall
deposit with the judges of election a ballot, on which shall
be written or printed the words, “ for the court-house loan,”
and each of said voters who shall be opposed to such loan
shall deposit with the judges of election a ballot on which
shall be written or printed the words, “ against the court-
house loan.”

3. Immediately after the closing of the polls the judges
of election at the several voting places in said county shall
count the ballots deposited at such election, and shall,
within twenty-four hours after such election, make return
to the clerk of the county court of Rockbridge county of
the number of votes cast at their voting places respectively,
“for the court-house loan,” and the number of votes cast
“against the court-house loan,” and shall also return to
and deposit with the clerk of said court, in separate pack-
ages, the ballots cast for and against such loan; and it
shall be the duty of the commissioners of election of said
county to meet in the clerk’s office of said county, on the
second day after such election shall have been held, to
canvass the returns from the several precincts of said
county, and to ascertain the result of said election in said
county, and to make return thereof, in writing, both unto
the board of supervisors and to the county court of said
county, who shall cause said return to be spread upon their
respective minutes. Said election shall be conducted and
the result thereof ascertained and certified, in all respects
not herein particularly prescribed, in the same manner in
which other elections provided for by law are required to
be conducted, and the results thereof ascertained and cer-
tified, in so far as the provisions of the general law of
Virginia upon this subject are applicable to the election
herein provided for, and are not inconsistent with the pro-
visions of this act.

4. If a majority of the votes cast at such election in
said county shall be ascertained to have been cast in favor
of said court-house loan, then it shall be lawful for the
board of supervisors of said county to make a loan for the
purpose of erecting a new court-house and clerks’ offices,
or public county building in said county, in an amount
not exceeding sixty thousand dollars, and to provide for
the payment of the same as follows: The said board of
supervisors may authorize the bonds of the county of
Rockbridge to be issued in amount not exceeding sixty
thousand dollars, bearing not exceeding six per centum
interest per annum, payable semi-annually at such times
and place as may be prescribed by said board; such bonds
to be of such form and denominations as may be pre-
scribed by said board, and they may be either coupon or
registered; the principal of said bonds to be payable, not
exceeding forty years after date, as may be prescribed by
the board of supervisors, and the bonds to be redeemable
at the pleasure of the county of Rockbridge, not less than
ten years after the date of such bonds. And said board
of supervisors may stipulate and provide that said bonds
shall be exempt from taxation by the county of Rock-
bridge, and the mayor and council of the town of Lexing-
ton may stipulate and provide that said bonds shall be
exempt from taxation by the town of Lexington. The
said bonds shall be signed by the president of the board
of supervisors and countersigned by the clerk thereof, and
the coupons for interest upon said bonds shall be signed
by the treasurer of the county, whose signature may be
either lithographed or engraved thereon, with like effect
as though actually written by him.

5. The board of supervisors may cause said bonds to be
sold, and may, in their discretion, employ an agent, or
agents, for this purpose: provided, however, that none of
said bonds shall be sold for less than par and interest;
and provided further, that all money realized from the sale
of said bonds shall be paid directly to the treasurer of the
county, and shall be placed by him to the credit of the
‘““new court-house fund,” and be paid out by him to par-
ties entitled, under proper warrants or authority from the
board of supervisors, under regulations to be prescribed
by said board.

6. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of
gaid county, at such times as it shall make a levy in said
county, to levy on all Jands and other subjects liable to
taxation, a sufficient tax to pay promptly the semi-annual
interest upon the bonds issued under this act, and to cre-
ate a sinking fund sufficient to extinguish the whole of
said bonds by the time fixed for the maturity thereof; and
when said bunds shall be paid off and redeemed they shall
be called in and redeemed in the reverse order of their
issue, beginning with the highest number outstanding
first; and said calls shall be made by an advertisement
for two successive weeks in some newspaper published in
the county of Rockbridge, and in such other manner as
the board of supervisors may direct.

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