Chap. 63.—An ACT to amend and re-enact the Charter of the Town
of Woodstock, in the County of Shenandoah.

Approved February 28, 1874.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That an act cna:
passed March, seventeen hundred and sixty-one, entitled an x
act to incorporate the town of Woodstock, then in the county Acte
of Frederick, and the act passed and approved February °
fourteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, incorporating p. 7
the said town of Woodstock, in the county of Shenandoah,
under the provisions of the act entitled an act for the gov-
ernment of cities and towns of Jess than five thousand in-
habitants, approved November fifth, eighteen hundred and
seventy: be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

1. That the town of Woodstock, in the county of Shenan- cou:
doah, as chartered by an act of assembly of March —, sev- of,"
enteen hundred and sixty-one, entitled an act to incorporate
the town of Woodstock, then in the county of Frederick, as
heretofore laid off, and as may be hereafter extended, shall
continue to be a body politic, in the name of the council of
the town of Woodstock, and as such shall have, exercise and Gen
enjoy all the rights, immunities and powers, and be subject Cha
to all the duties now incumbent upon the said town as a sup,
body politic, shall have and exercise all the powers, and be inte
subject to all the provisions of the Code of Virginia (eigh-
teen hundred and seventy-three), except so far as may be
herein otherwise provided.

2. The municipal authorities of said town shall consist of may
one mayor and six councilmen, who shall be elected bien- ©?
nially, by the qualified voters of said town. The mayor elect
shall have all the powers and privileges such office confers Pow
in the general law governing towns within the state of Vir- y,,
ginia. The mayor and councilmen shall constitute the coun- tate
cil of said town, and all the corporate powers of said town
shall be exercised by said council, or under its authority, ex-
cept when otherwise ordered.

3. That the said council shall hold an election biennially, pier
on the fourth Thursday in May, having given ten days’ no- tion
tice of the time and place of holding the same, at which said whe:
election all persons living within the then corporate limits
of said town, who are, under the laws of this state, entitled tion
to vote, may elect one mayor and six councilmen, who are
resident citizens and qualified voters in said town, and twen-
ty-one years old, and qualified to hold office under the laws
of this state, as officers of said town, whose term of office ten
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shall be for two years, or until their successors shall have
been elected and qualified. But if, from any cause, the bien-
nial election herein provided shall not be held on the fourth
Thursday in May, it shall be lawful for the council of said
town to hold the said election as soon thereafter as may be
practicable. In case any two or more persons voted for in
such election, for the office of mayor, shall receive the same
number of the votes cast, and a higher number than any
other person voted for, for said office, the judges of said elec-
tion, who are hereby designated the commissioners of elec-
tion of said town, shall, immediately after canvassing the
vote, ascertain by lot who shall be declared elected to said
office. And if six of the persong voted for at such election,
for councilmen shall not each have received a majority of the
votes cast, said commissioners shall determine, by lot, which,
of such as have received an equal number of the highest vote
cast, shall be declared elected.

4, That the said council shall judge of the election, quali-
fication and return of its own members. Whenever, from
any cause, a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor or
councilman, the same shall be filled by the council at its next
regular meeting.

5. That the said council shall be invested with and exer-
cise, individually or collectively, all the powers and authority
which can be exercised by justices of the peace under the
charter, by-laws and ordinances of said town, and under the
laws of the state, for prosecuting and suppressing unlawful
assemblies, disturbances, violent and disorderly conduct, with-
in the corporate limits of said town. They shall have power
to enforce fines, not exceeding fifty dollars in amount, for
violations of the peace, as may be regulated by ordinances of
said council, and may commit to the jail of said county of
Shenandoah, till said fines are paid, or compel such person
or persons so committed, to work on the streets and public
buildings for a term not exceeding sixty days; and to have
exclusive jurisdiction in all cases arising under the by-laws
and ordinances of said town, and to issue any and all proper
process, whether mesne or final, which may be necessary to
enforce their authority.

6. That for the purpose of carrying into effect the police
regulations of said town, the said town shall be allowed the
use of the county jail of Shenandoah county for the safe-
keeping and confinement of all persons who shall be sentenced
to imprisonment under the ordinances of the said town.

7. That the council of the said town shall have power,
from time to time, to elect such officers are not provided for
by the constitution, and, if necessary, to appoint, through
the mayor, a police sufficient to preserve order in said town,
and to elect a treasurer, secretary and sergeant, and such
other officers as may be necessary; to regulate the salaries

- of such officers, and to remove any of such officers, and to

appoint others, and to require from any officer a bond, with
approved security, for the faithful performance of his duty;
and that the sergeant for the said town shall have the same P
powers, within the limits of said town, and for one mile ®
ground the same, in all matters arising within said town, as
a constable; perform the same duties, receive the fees, and x
be subject to the same penalties prescribed by law as to con- ®
stables. In collecting the town taxes the sergeant may dis-f
train and sell therefor in like manner as any collector of the +
revenue may distrain and sell for state taxes, and shall have,
in other respects, like powers to enforce the collection thereof.
8. That the mayor or any two of said councilmen shall &
have power to summon a meeting of said council, which ¢
meeting shall be composed of not less than four members, «
including the mayor, or in his absence, a mayor pro tempore,
elected by said councilmen who may be present for the trans-
action of business, each having one vote, except the mayor,
who shall have no vote at any meeting, except in case of a
tie. The said councilmen shall, moreover, keep a complete z
record of all their proceedings and accounts in suitable ™
books, and deliver such to their successors in office; the same
shall, at all times, be open to the inspection of persons quali-
fied to vote. . i
9. That the mayor, as chief magistrate of the corporation, »
shall preside over the said council, and shall take care that
the by-laws and ordinances of said town be faithfully exe- t
cuted. .
10. That the said council shall also have power and au- P
thority to make all necessary provisions to prevent accidents ¢,
by fire, and to supply the town with water for all necessary *
purposes, and to purchase engines, hose, fire hooks, ladders, F
and other fixtures useful for preventing accidents by fire, and
to organize fire companies. The councilmen of said town L
shall also have power and authority to negotiate any loan or @
loans for the purpose of buying necessary real estate and for &
the erecting of public buildings, and for the general improve- &
ment of the said town, and shall also have authority to issue
istered or coupon bonds for said loan, payable at not more
than twenty years after date of said bonds, bearing interest &
at a rate not greater than eight per centum per annum, pay- o
able annually: provided, the said loan shall be sanctioned by
a two-third vote of the property-holders of said town. They
shall also have power and authority to establish markets and
regulate the same, to graduate and pave and in any other
manner improve the streets, side-walks, and alleys of said
town; to prevent and punish by reasonable fines the practice
of firing guns, or pistols, or in any manner setting fire to
wder, of running or straining horses, and.of all else detri-
mental to the peace and quiet of said town; to license and
regulate shows and other public exhibitions, and the same to
tax to such extent as they may deem reasonable and expe-
dient; to prescribe rules for the orderly and regular building
of houses and chimneys; to regulate blaeksmiths’ shops an
all other shops considered likely to oceasion accidents by
fire; and the erection of stoves and stove-pipes; to regulate
the erection of privies, hog-pens, stables, and cow-sheds, and
prescribe their locations; to regulate butchers’ stalls and
slaughter-houses; to remove and abate nuisances within said
town at the expense of those who may occasion them; to
prohibit hogs, dogs, horses, and cattle from running at large
within the limits of said town; to prevent the exhibition of
stud horses and jackasses in said town; and, generally, to
pass all by-laws and ordinances not contrary to the laws and
constitution of this state or of the United States which the
said council may think necessary and proper for carrying
into effect the foregoing powers or that may hereafter be
vested in them, and for regulating the police, preserving the
peace and good order and government of said town, and to
amend or repeal the same at their pleasure, and to enforce
the observance of such by-laws and ordinances under penal-
ties not exceeding fifty dollars for each offence, to ‘be recov-
ered, with costs, in the name of said corporation, before the
mayor of said town, and applied in aid of the taxes imposed
upon said town.

11. That the council shall also have power and authority
to make all necessary by-laws and ordinances to suppress
riots or riotous conduct, cursing or swearing, using profane
or obscene language, and to prevent drunkenness, gambling,
and all other misdemeanors, and to enforce the observance
of such by-laws and ordinances under penalties not exceed-
ing fifty dollars for each offence, tc be recovered, with costs,
in the name of said corporation, before the mayor of said
town, and applied in aid of the taxes imposed upon said
town.

12. That the council of said town shall appoint, annually,
two assessors who shall choose a third, all of whom shall be
citizens and property-holders of said town, and the three
shall, between the first and fifteenth days of April, in each
year, assess the value.of the real property in the corporate
limits of said town, and one of whom may, by the direction
of said council, also assess the value of the personal property
of said town, which assessments shall form the basis of taxa-
tion within the said town; and also have power and authority
to levy and collect annually a tax on real and personal prop-
erty within said town, and on such other subjects within
said town as aré or may be taxed by the revenue laws of
this state, and on dogs belonging to persons residing in said
town, and for the privilege of carrying on any regular busi-
ness in said town by persons who do not reside within the
corporate limits of eaid town: provided, that the tax on real
estate shall not exceed in any one year fifty cents on every
one hundred dollars’ value thereof, and that the poll tax shall
not exceed fifty cents on each male person in any one year,
and for the purpose of doing a regular business, or followin
any trade, profession, occupation, or calling within the sai
town by person or persons who do not reside within said
town not exceeding the sum of ten dollars for any one year:
and provided also, that the tax to be imposed on all other
property shall not exceed the taxes on like subjects by the
revenue laws of this state for the same year.

13. That in order the better to determine who shall be
liable to taxation in the said town under this act, it is hereby
declared that all persons liable to taxation, as hereinbefore
provided, and residing in or in pursuit of any business, trade,
occupation, calling, or profession in said town as aforesaid,
annually, on the first day of February, shall be subject to
taxation the current year.

14. That the said council shall have power and authority,
whenever they deem it expedient to have the sidewalks and
gutters along any street or alley within said town, of such
width as they may prescribe, properly paved or otherwise
suitably improved and repaired and altered whenever they
may think fit, at the proper cost and expense of the owners
or occupants of the lands or lots along the front or side of
which such foot ways, sidewalks, or other improvements ex-
tend, and to levy and collect for that purpose a special tax
on each 6f such lots or pieces of land proportioned to the
number of feet of the same fronting on such pavement or
other improvement, which special tax shall be collected by the
sergeant of said town, as other taxes on real estate within the
said town are herein directed to be collected: provided, how-
ever, that before any owner vr occupant of any land or lot,
shall be required to make any such pavement or other im-

rovement at his own proper cost and expense, or a tax shall

e levied upon the same for that purpose, there shall be on
such land or lot fronting the side along which such pavement
or other improvement shall be required, a house or building
at least twenty feet square: provided, further, that the tax
levied under this section, shall not exceed one per centum
of the assessed value of such property for any one year. In
all cases where a lessee or tenant shall pay the expense of
any such pavement along the side or sides of the land or lot
by him occupied, for which land or lot by contraet with his
lessor or landlord, he shall be bound to pay rent, the amount
of any such expense paid by him, or collected from him, or
made out of his property, shall be a good and valid setoff
against so much of the rent due or accruing to his lessor or
landlord.

15. That all taxes, whether general or special, assessed
upon any land or lot in said town under this act, are hereby
declared to constitute a lien upon such land or lot, and if the
town sergeant shall not have heen able with due diligence to
collect the said taxes by the thirty-first day of December of
the year in which the same were assessed, he shall at the
first meeting of the council thereafter, make return upon
oath of the taxes so uncollected, and the lands and lots
whereon such uncollected taxes were levied, and thereupon
the said council shall have the same remedy against the said
delinquent lots or lands as this commonwealth now has in
similar cases.

16. That whenever anything for which a state license is
required is to be done in said town, the council may require
a town license therefor, and may impose a tax thereon for
the use of said town. But no license to sell strong or spi-
rituous liquors, wine, beer, ale or porter, or drinks of like
nature within said town, or within two miles of its boundary,
shall be granted by any other person or persons having the
authority to grant licenses, unless the party applying there-
for shall produce to such person or persons the certificate of
the council of said town of its consent to the granting of
such license. The council may require from persons so li-
censed, a bond, with sureties, payable to the said town, in
such penalties and with such conditions as it may think pro-
per, and may revoke such license at any time if the condi-
tions of said bond be broken.

17. That the town treasurer shall collect the taxes in the
same manner as is now provided by law in relation to the
collection of state taxes by county treasurers: provided, that
the time for payment to the town treasurer in each year shall
expire on the thirty-first day of October. All taxes not paid
to the town treasurer by the thirty-first day of October, shall
be placed by him in the hands of the town sergeant, with
five per centum on the amount thereof added. The sergeant
shall collect the taxes thus turned over to him, and shall re-
tain the said five per centum as his commission. He shall
collect all fines, levies and licenses, and after thirty days
from the time of receiving the assessor’s books or the said
taxes or tax tickets, may distrain and levy for said taxes,
fines, levies and licenses, (in like manner as the collector may
for state taxes, fines, levies and licenses) and shall in all re-
spects have the same power to enforce the payment and col-
lection thereof.

18. That the council of said town may, with the consent
of the board of supervisors of Shenandoah county, at any
time proceed to extend the corporate limits of said town,
and at the expiration of each fourth year after such exten-
sion, unless otherwise ordered by a two-thirds majority vote
of the citizens of said town voting on such proposition, to
extend the corporate limits of the town, and make an order
to be recorded among their proceedings, establishing such
extended limits, and particularly describing the same; and
also at any time after the passage of this act, to lay off and
open new streets, cross streets and alleys, of such width and
extent as said conncil may think fit and convenient, or alter
those already laid off and opened, or such as may be hereaf-
ter laid off and opened, whether within the original or ex-
tended limits of the said town.

19. The said town, and persons and property therein shall
be exempt from all road service and taxes for the support of
the poor, or for free school purposes outside of its corporate
limits: provided, the said town shall keep its streets and al-
leys in good order, and shall support its own poor and levy
its own school tax. The council of the said town may keep
and provide for the poor of said town at Bickford parish, in
Shenandoah county, by the payment to the county superin-
tendent of poor for said county such a sum for each pauper
sent from said town as appears to be the actual average costs
of keeping paupers per capita at said place from the annual
report of said superintendent.

20. That for the purpose of maintaining the police regula-
tions of said town under the authority of this act, and for
no other purpose, the jurisdiction of the corporate authori-
ties thereof shall be, and the same are hereby made to extend
one mile beyond the limits of said town; and that the mayor
shall have power and authority to deputize any number of
citizens of the town, and such as may be in town from said
county, he may think requisite and proper, to assist the ser-
geant in the full discharge of his duties, in case of riot and
all misdemeanors as he shall judge necessary.

21. That the by-laws heretofore passed by the trustees of
said town of Woodstock, and which have not been repealed,
shall be and continue in force until altered or repealed by
the council of said town. +

22. ‘That all acts and parts of acts concerning the town of
Woodstock, in the county of Shenandoah, or the lands and
lots therein, conflicting with or contrary to the provisions of
this act, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed.

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