Chap. 558.—An ACT to authorize the town of Clarksville, in Mecklenburg county,
Virginia, to build, own, operate, and maintain a toll bridge across the Roanoke
river or the Dan and Staunton rivers, at the said town, and to issue its bonds
and certificates of indebtedness to pay for the same.

Approved January 2, 1904.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it shal] be
lawful for the town of Clarksville, in Mecklenburg county, Virginia,
and the said town is hereby authorized and empowered, to build, own.
operate, and maintain a toll bridge across the Roanoke river, or the Dan
and Staunton rivers, at any point thereon within one mile east or west
of the foot of Main or Virginia streets in the said town, when it shall
have first acquired, by purchase or condemnation proceedings according
to law, and paid for the ferries, its franchises, and landings of said fer-
rics now established by law across said river or rivers at and opposite
Clarksville and owned by W. H. Ligon and the heirs at law and next of
kin of J. W. Love, deceased, or made and entered into a satisfactory writ-
ten contract or agreement with the owners in respect to the purchase and
payment for the same.

2. It shall be lawful for the council of the said town of Clarksville to
cause an election to be held in the said town, in accordance with the pro-
visions of its charter, or with the provisions of the general law for the
conduct of town elections, to determine whether or not the said town
shall issue its bonds to the amount of ten thousand dollars, for the pur-
pose of building such toll bridge. If a majority of the votes cast at such
an election, which majority shall include a majority of the freeholders
voting at such election, be in favor of the issue of such bonds, it shall be
lawful for the council of the said town to issue bonds of the town to the
amount of ten thousand dollars for the purpose aforesaid.

3. Bonds issued under this act shall be in such denomination, payable
at such time, bear such rate of interest, not to exceed six per centum per
annum, as the council of the said town may determine, and such bonds
shall not be disposed of by said town at less than the par value thereof.

4. The council of the said town shall have authority and it shall be
its duty to levy a tax on the property taxable for other purposes of said
town, sufficient to pay the interest and to provide a sinking fund to pay
the principal of said bonds when the same shall become due.

5. For the purpose of completing the construction of said toll bridge,
should the proceeds of the bonds authorized to be issued by this act, be
not sufficient for the purpose, it shall be lawful for the said town of
Clarksville to make and issue certificates of indebtetiness of said town,
for a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, bearing interest not
to exceed six per centum per annum, to be paid semi-annually, and the
principal of such certificates at such time as may be fixed and determined
by the council of the said town, not to exceed thirty years, and they shall
be in such denominations as may be fixed by the said council. It shall
be lawful for the said town to secure the payment of the principal and
interest of such certificates by deeds of trust upon the said bridge and
the approaches appurtenant thereto, and also to assign and convey by
such deeds of trust all of the revenues and tolls derived from said bridge,
upon such terms and conditions as the said council may prescribe. Such
deeds of trust may be made, executed, and acknowledged for and on be-
half of the said town by the mayor thereof, and the seal of the said town
oe, thereto by him, and the same attested by the clerk of the said
council.

6. In the event of default in the payment of the interest on said cer-
tificates, or of the principal thereof at maturity, the holders thereof, or
a majority in value of them, may cause such deeds of trust to be fore-
closed and the sale of the said bridge made thereunder, on the terms and
conditions specified in such deeds of trust; and the purchaser of the
said bridge at any sale so made, upon complying with the terms of the
sale, shall become the owner of the said bridge, and shall be entitled to
operate and maintain the same and to collect tolls for the passage of
persons, vehicles, and animals over the same, at a rate of charge not
greater than the maximum rates which the council of the said town
shall have fixed and established as authorized by this act. But the town
of Clarksville and the property within its corporate limits, and the citi-
‘zens or inhabitants thereof shall not be liable for the popment of the
principal of the said certificates of indebtedness or for the interest
thereon, except to the extent of the tolls and revenues derived from the
said bridge, and to the extent of the property rights and interest of the
said town in the said bridge and the approaches appurtenant thereto,
pledged and charged with the payment of said certificates of indebtedness
and the interest thereon; and such exemption from liability shall appear
on the face of such certificates. The bonds and certificates issued under
this act shall be exempt from taxation by the town of Clarksville for
municipal purposes.

7. It shall be lawful for the council of said town, at the time of or
before the completion of said bridge, to prescribe and fix a maximum
rate of toll to be charged for the use of such bridge and provide for the
collection of the same.

8. The said town shall have authority to acquire, by purchase or con-
demnation, in the manner provided by law, the land needed for abut-
ments, piers, and approaches to the said bridge, and may open streets
and roads leading to and from such bridge, necessary to connect the same
with the nearest streets and county roads now established and used.

9. That work on said bridge shall commence before June first, nine-
teen hundred and five, and be completed before January first, nineteen
hundred and nine.

10. If the said town of Clarksville shall complete the bridge hereby
authorized by the first of January, nineteen hundred and nine, no other
toll or highway bridge shall be built across said rivers within three miles
of the said town within fifty years from the date of the passage of this
act without the consent of the owner of the bridge built under the pro-
visions of this act.

11. Any registered voter of said town who was qualified under the
Constitution and laws of Virginia to vote at the last general election
held in said town, next preceding that at which the sense of the voters
of said town shall be taken upon the question of the issue of said bonds.
shall be entitled to vote at any such election.

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