Chap. 411.—An ACT to Amend and Re-enact an Act entitled an Act Pro-
viding for the Reassessment of the Lands Throughout the Commonr-
wealth, approved July 9, 1870.

Approved November 5, 1870.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That theact en-
titled an act providing for the reassessment of the lands through-
out the commonwealth, approved July ninth, eighteen hundred
and seventy, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as fol-
lows:

Ҥ 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That it shall
be the duty of the several county and corporation courts, and
of the hustings court of the city of Richmond, at their July
or August terms, in the year one thousand eight hundred and
seventy, and at their June or July terms in every fifth year
thereatter, to appoint proper persons to assess the value of all
lands and lots, together with the improvements thereon, within
their respective counties and corporations : provided, that there
shall be but one assessor for aaah corporation, except the city
of Richmond, where there shall be three, and for each county
as many as there are commissioners of the revenue for the
same; and no person shail be appointed assessor for any county
or corporation who is not a resident and freeholder in the
same. In those counties in which two or more assessors are
to be appointed, the court shall appoint one for each district
to which a commissioner is assigned; but the said districts
shall be re-arranged by the said court by township lines, so
that no part of a township shall be in more than one dis-
trict.

Ҥ 2. Each assessor, before entering upon the duties of his
office, shall, in open court, execute a bond, with security deemed
good by the court, in the penalty of five thousand dollars, con-
ditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office,
and shall moreover take an oath, in open court, that he will
faithfully and impartially, and ‘to the best of bis skill and un-
derstanding, execute all the duties of his office according to
law.

Ҥ 3. The register of the land office, as soon as possible after
the passage of this act, shall forward to the clerk of each county
and corporation court, a list of all grants of land within his
county and corporation, issued between the thirty-first day of
December, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, and the time of
making out such list; and it shall be the duty of the clerk,
without unnecessary delay, to deliver to the assessor of such
county or corporation, the said list of grants, with a copy of
the land book for his county or corporation, last returned, and
a list of the conveyances recorded since the said book was
made out. In any county in which there shall be more asses-
sors than one, the clerk shall furnish to each of them a copy of
the list of grants and of the land book, and also a list of con-
veyances as aforesaid, for the district for which he is appointed.
For the services aforesaid, the clerk shall receive sach compen-
gation as the court of his county or corporation may think
proper to allow, which sball be embraced in and paid out of
the first corporation or county levy made after the services
shall have been rendered. And any clerk who shall fail to
perform any duty hereby enjoined upon him, shall be fined, for
the use of the literary fund, a sum not exceeding one hundred
dollars, at the discretion of a jury.

Ҥ4, The said assessors shall, immediately after their ap-
pointment, proceed to examine all the lands and lots, with the
improvements thereon, within their respective counties, dis-
tricts, and corporations, and shall, upon such examination, as-
certain and assess the cash value thereof; and if at any time
the court shall be satisfied that any assessor appointed under
this act will not, or that from any cause he cannot, perform the
duties devolved on him within the time prescribed, it may
wholly supersede him and appoint another in his place, or ap-
point one or more assistants to aid him in his duties, as it shall
deem most expedient; but before any person thus appointed
shall enter upon the duties of his office, he shall take the oath
and execute the bond, with such penalty as the court shall fix,
prescribed in the second section: provided, however, that the
cash value of the lands, lots, and improvements thereon, shall
be fixed by first ascertaining the value, upon the usual credits,
in the neighborhood, and rebating legal interest, when interest
is not usually allowed on such credits or deferred payments.

Ҥ 5. As soon as the assessors shall have completed the as-
sessments in their respective counties, districts, or corpora-
tions, they shall make out two copies of the assessment in the
form in which the land books are now made out, and shall
certify on oath that no lots or Jands are omitted, and that there
are no errors on its. face; and of these copies, so certified, one
shall be filed and preserved in the clerk’s oflice of the county
or corporation, and the other forwarded by mail, or other safe
conveyance, to the auditor of public accounts, at Richmond,
on or before the first day of December in the year in which
assessment is made: provided, that for good cause shown, the
judges of the county courts of this commonwealth may extend
the time of making the returns of said assessment to the first
of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-one: and provided
further, that where lands already assessed have been damaged
since said assessment, by the recent heavy rains, the assessors
are hereby authorized and required to reassess said lands when-
ever requested so to do by any person interested therein.
Each assessor who shall fail to comply with any requisition of
this section, shall forfeit all right to compensation for his ser-
vices. It shall be the duty of the auditor of public accounts,
as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, to prepare
proper forms of return, so arranged as to show the lands and
lots in each township separately, with blanks to be filled up by
the assessors, and instructions, and cause the same to be printed,
and forward a suffivient number of copies, for the use of the
assessors, to the clerks of the courts of the several counties
and corporations.

Ҥ 6. Any person feeling himerelf aggrieved by the assess-
ment of his lands or lots, made under the provisions of this act,
may, upon giving notice to the assessor, apply to the court by
which the assessor was appointed, at the first, second, or third
term after such assessment shall have been filed in the clerk’s
office of his said county or corporation court, and not after, to
have the assessment of his lands or lots corrected; which no-
tice shall be in writing, and shall have appended thereto an
affidavit, that in the opinion of the affiant, the assessment
of his lands or lots is above the true value thereof; which affi-
davit may be sworn to by the owner or his duly authorized
agent. In all such applications, it shall be the duty for the at-
torney for the commonwealth in such court to attend to the
interest of the commonwealth. And if the court shall he sat-
isfied that the assessment is too high, it shall reduce the same
to what is, in its opinion, the true value of sucb lands or lots;
but if it shall be of opinion that the assessment is too low,
then it shall increase it in like manner; and such application
shall have precedence over all other causes pending in said
court. In any case in which the owner of lands or lots, or his
agent, shall be dissatisfied with the value assessed, because it
is too low, the assessor shall adopt the estimate of the owner
or Lis agent, but in cases of appeal from decision to court, as
herein provided for, costs shall not be taxed for or against the
appellant or the commonwealth.

Ҥ 7. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each county or
corporation court to‘certify to the auditor of public accounts
all changes made by the courts of their several counties and
corporations aforesaid, in order that the books of assessment
in which such alterations have been ordered, and which are on
file in the office of the said auditor, may be 80 changed as to
conform to the valuations affixed by the court. And it shall
be the duty of the clerks aforesaid to certify in like manner to
the assessor whose assessments are so changed or corrected,
the re-valuations made by the court, that they may so correct
the books on file with the clerk in conformity to the said orders
of re-valuation.

Ҥ 8. Each assessor and assistant assessor shall receive the
sum of three dollars for each day he shall be necessarily em-
ployed in the execution of the duties of his office. Their ac-
counts shall be made out and verified, and shall be paid out of
any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.”

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