Chap. 418.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 812. 813, 814, 815, 817, 818,
819, 820, 821, 822, and 824 of the Code of Virginia.

Approved December 10, 1903.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That gections
eight hundred and twelve, eighteen hundred and thirteen, eightecd yun-
dred and fourteen, eight hundred and fifteen, eight hundred and seven-
teen, eight hundred and eighteen, eighteen hundred and nineteen, eight
hundred and twenty, eight hundred and twenty-one, eight hundred and
twenty-two, and eight hundred and twenty-four of the Code of Virginia

e previously amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as fol-
OWS:

§ 812. When and how officers qualify.—Every county and district offi-
cer elected by the people, every city and town officer, unless otherwise
provided by law, and every county surveyor and superintendent of the poor
appointed for a term shall, on or before the day on which his term of office
begins, qualify by taking the oath prescribed by section one hundred and
sixty-eight, and the oath prescribed by section one hundred and sixty-
nine, or section one hundred and seventy, as may be proper, and give
the bond, if any, required by law, before the circuit court of the county
or corporation court of the corporation, having jurisdiction in the county,
district, town, or city for which he is elected or appointed, or before the
judge of the circuit or corporation court of said county or corporation in
vacation, or before the clerk of the circuit or corporation court of such
county or city in his office. When the officer qualifies and gives the bond
before a judge in vacation the judge shall certify the fact, and the bond
and certificate shall be returned to the clerk of said circuit or corpora-
tion court, and the certificate shall be entered by him in the order book
of the said court on the law side thereof, and such bond, and also any
bond given before the court, shall be recorded by the clerk. When the
officer qualifies and gives bond before such clerk in his office, said clerk
shall enter the fact of such qualification in the order book of said court,
on the law side thereof, and record the bond: provided, the clerk of the
chancery court of the city of Richmond, the clerk of the law and equity
court of said city, and the clerk of the court of law and chancery of the
city of Norfolk may qualify and give bond before the court of which he
is clerk, or if he qualify and give bond before the judge in vacation, as
hereinbefore provided, his bond and certificate of qualification shall be
returned to and recorded in said court.

§ 813. When office deemed vacant.—If any such officer fail to qualify
and give bond, as required by the preceding section, on or before the day
on which his term begins, his office shall be deemed vacant.

§ 814. Bonds of officers—Every county treasurer, the sheriff of a
county, county clerk, every clerk of a city court, every clerk of a circuit
court, and every commissioner of the revenue, superintendent of the
poor, county surveyor or supervisor, constable, and overseer of the poor,
shall, at the time he qualifies, give such bond as is required by section one
hundred and seventy-seven. The penalty of the bond of each officer, to
be determined within the limits herein prescribed, by the court, judge,
or clerk before whom he qualifies, shall be as follows: Of the bond of the
county treasurer, not greater than the amount to be received annually by
him, nor less than seventy-five per centum thereof; of the bond of a
sheriff of a county, not less than five thousand nor more than thirty thou-
sand dollars; of the bond of the county clerk or clerk of a city or cir-
cuit court, not less than three thousand dollars, and the bond of such
clerk shall bind him and his sureties not only for the faithful discharge
ef his duties as clerk of said court, but also for the faithful diseharge of
such other duties as may be imposed upon him by law, in like manner
and with the same effect as if it was so expressed in the conditions of his
said bond; of the bond of the commissioner of the revenue, three thou.
sand dollars ; of the bond of the superintendent of the poor, not less thar
four thousand dollars; of the bond of a county surveyor, not less thar
two thousand dollars; of the bond of a supervisor, not less than one thou.
sand nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars 3 of the bond of
constable, not less than five hundred dollars; of the bond of an oversee:
of the poor, double the amount that will actually pass through his hand:
as such overseer, not less in any case than five hundred dollars: provided
however, that every such treasurer, sheriff, and clerk shall give as suret}
on his bond some guaranty or security company doing business in thi:
State, and deemed sufficient by the court, judge, or clerk before whom h
qualifies, the form of said bond to be prescribed by the attorney-general
and such blank forms shall be furnished by the auditor of public ac
counts to the clerks of the several courts, but nothing herein containe
shall be construed as requiring or authorizing the Commonwealth or an;
county or city in the State to pay the cost of said security: and pro:
vided, further, that nothing contained in this section shall apply to th:
penalty of the bond of the treasurer of Rockbridge county as fixed by ar
act of the general assembly, approved February twenty-eighth, eighteer
hundred and ninety-six: provided, further, that no guaranty compan
doing business in this State shall charge a greater rate of premium o1
the bond given under this section than they do on bonds of like characte
of employees and officials generally: and provided, further, that if n¢
guaranty company doing business in this State shall agree to furnis}
such bond for such rate of premium, then such official shall'give such se
curity as may be approved by the circuit court, the judge thercof in va
cation, or the clerk of said court, as the case may be, in the penalty o
not less than double the amount to be annually received by him.

§ 815. Bonds required of city treasurers.—Every city treasurer, at th
time he qualifies, shall, in addition to any bond required of him by hi
city under its charter and ordinances, give a bond, with sufficient surcty
in a penalty not greater than the amount of the State revenue to be re
ceived annually by him, nor less than seventy-five per centum thereof
payable to the Commonwealth, and with condition for the faithful dis
charge of his official duties in relation to the State revenue, and of suc}
other official duties as are imposed upon him by law otherwise than b
the charter and ordinances of his city: provided, that the penalty of th
bond of the treasurer of the city of Richmond shall be two hundred thou
sand dollars, the penalty of the bond of the treasurer of the city of Nor
folk shall be two hundred thousand dollars, the penalty of the bond o
the treasurer of the city of Petersburg shall be seventy-five thousand dol
lars, and the penalty of the bond of the treasurer of the city of Lynch
burg shall be forty thousand dollars, as provided by acts of assembly
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven-‘vight, chapter four hundred and one
and subject to the provisions therein contained: and provided, that ever,
such treasurer shall give as surety on his bond some guaranty or securit;
company doing business in this State, and deemed sufficient by the cour
or judge before whom he qualifies, the form of said bond to be prescribed
by the attorney-general, and such blank forms shall be furnished by the
auditor of public accounts to the clerks of the several courts, but noth-
ing herein contained shall be construed as requiring or authorizing the
Commonwealth to pay the cost of said security: provided, further, that
no guaranty company doing business in this State shall charge a greater
rate of premium on the bonds given under this section than they do on
bonds of like character of employees and officials generally: and pro-
vided, further, that if no guaranty company doing business in this State
shall agree to furnish such bond for such rate of premium, then sucli
official shall give such security as may be approved by the corporation or
hustings court of his city in the penalty of not less than double the
amount to be annually received by him.

§ 817. Appointment of deputies; their powers; how removed.—The
treasurer of any county or city, the sheriff of any county, the sheriff or
sergeant of any city, any commissioner of the revenue, and any county
surveyor, with the consent of the circuit court of his county or corpora-
tion court of his corporation, any county clerk, the clerk of any circuit
or city court, with the consent of the court of which he is clerk, or in
any case with the consent of the judge of the court in vacation (the said
consent in vacation being given in writing), may appoint one or mor?
deputies, who may discharge any of the official duties of their principal
during his continuance in office, unless it be some duty the performance
of which by a deputy is expressly forbidden by law. The order of ap-
pointment shall be entered on the minute book of such court, whether
made in term time or in vacation. Any such deputy, before entering
upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe the oath now pro-
vided for county officers, which oaths shall be filed with the clerk of the
court by whose assent he has been appointed, and such clerk shall properly
label and file all such oaths in his office for preservation. Any such
deputy may be removed from office either by his principal or by the court,
or by the judge in vacation.

§ 818. Certain officers not to hold more than one office.—No person
holding the office of county treasurer, sheriff, attorney for the Common-
wealth, county clerk, commissioner of the revenue, superintendent of the
poor, county surveyor, or supervisor, shall hold more than one of thee
offices at the same time; and if any person shall be elected or appointed
to two or more of such offices, his qualification in one of them shall be a
bar to his right to qualification in any of the others.

§ 819. Where officers shall reside.—Every district officer shall, at the
time of his election or appointment, have resided in the district for which
he is elected or appointed thirty days next preceding his election or ap-
pointment: provided, that when the county courthouse is located within
an incorporated town, residence in such town shall, for the purposes of
this section, be deemed to be a residence in the district, a part of which
is a part of such town; every county officer shall, at the time of his elec-
tion or appointment, have resided one year next preceding his election 0:
appointment, either in the county for which he is elected or appointed,
or in the city wherein the courthouse of said county is: provided, that if
no practicing lawyer, who has resided in the county or in such city for
the period aforesaid, offer for election or appointment, it shall be lawful
to elect or appoint as attorney for the Commonwealth for such eounty 4
non-resident, or one who has not resided in the county, or in such city,
for the period above mentioned. Every city officer shall, at the time of
his election or appointment, have resided one year next preceding his
election or appointment in such city, and every town officer shall, at the
time of his election or apponitment, have resided for thirty days in the
town next preceding such election or appointment.

§ 820. Removal therefrom vacates office—If any officer, required by
the preceding section to be a resident, at the time of his election or ap-
pointment, of the county, corporation, or district for which he is elected
or appointed, or of the city wherein the courthouse of such county is, re-
move therefrom, except from the said county to such city, or from such
city to the county, his office shall be deemed vacant.

§ 821. Removal of officer from office; proceedings therefor.—The cir-
cuit courts of counties and the corporation courts of corporations shall
have power to remove from office all county, city, and district officers
elected or appointed for their respective counties, cities, and districts,
for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, or gross neglect of official
duty: provided, however, that such power to remove the clerk of a court
shall be vested only in the court of which he is clerk: provided, further,
that nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with any power
vested in the mayor of any city by section one hundred and twenty, ar-
ticle eight, of the Constitution of the State, or to repeal any provision of
the charter of any city, or any ordinance in pursuance of such charter,
for the removal of any of its officers. All proceedings under this section
shall be by order of, or on motion before, the proper court upon reason-
able notice to the officer to be affected thereby; and such officer shall have
the right to demand a trial by jury, except in cases where the officer is
an appointee.

§ 822. Supervisors, and so forth, forbidden to have interest in con-
tracts with, or claims against, their counties——No supervisor, superin-
tendent of the poor, or overseer of the poor, constable, special police, or
any paid officer of the county, shall become interested, directly or indi-
rectly, in any contract, or in the profits of any contract, made by or with
any officer, agent, commissioner, or person acting on behalf of the super-
visors or superintendent of the poor of the county, or any overseer of the
poor therein, or in the sale or furnishing of supplies or materials to such
county, and shall not become interested, directly or indirectly, in any
contract, or in the profits of any contract, made by or with any officer,
agent, commissioner, trustee, or overseer for working and keeping in re-
pair the public roads of the county.

And no supervisor shall, except by descent or devise, marriage, or a
a personal representative, committee of an insane person, or guardian,
become interested, directly or indirectly, in any claim against his county,
whether the same shall have been passed upon by the board of supervisors
or not. The amount embraced by any such contract, the value of any
such supplies or materials, and the amount of any such claim shall never
be paid; or, if paid, may be recovered back, with interest, by the county,
in the circuit court of the county, by action or motion, within two years
from the time of payment.

§ 824. Title to real estate for public uses to be approved by circuit
court; appeal.—Whenever it shall be necessary for any county, district
school trustees, or other public officers of the county, having authority
for the purpose, to purchase real estate, or acquire title thereto for pub-
lic uses, the contract therefor shall be in writing, and the evidence of
title be submitted to the circuit court, or to the judge thereof in vaca-
tion, for approval, which approval shall be entered of record by the clerk
of the court. No such contract shall be valid unless and until the title
to such real estate be thus approved; and if the court or judge refuse to
approve the same, the disapproval shall be recorded in like manner. The
supervisors of the county, or any five citizens thereof, may, by motion,
appeal of right from the decision of the court or judge to the supreme
court of appeals.

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