Chap. 225.—An ACT to provide for working and repairing the roads
and bridges in the county of Buckingham.

Approved March 12, 1878.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
for the purpose of providing for working and repairing the
public roads and bridges in the county of Buckingham, there
is hereby established for each magisterial district in said
county, a board, to be called ‘The Board of Road Commission-
ers for Magisterial District of the County of Buck-
ingham, which is hereby declared to be a body politic and
corporate, under the name and style aforesaid, and which, as
such, may sue and be sued. Each of the supervisors of the
county shall be, ex-officio, the president of the board for his
respective magisterial district, and, together with the jus-
tices of the peace of the district, shall constitute said board.
One of the justices shall be selected by the board to be clerk
thereof.

2. The board of road commissioners of the respective
magisterial districts shall have control of all the public roads
and bridges therein, and the right to ‘disburse all taxes im-

posed for building and repairing the same, and keeping them
inorder, It shall be the duty of said boards to ascertain
annually the amount necessary, in their judgment, in con-
Junction with the labor hereinafter provided for, to keep the
roads and bridges in order in their district, and report the
said amount to the board of supervisors of the county.

3. The board of supervisors of the county shall, upon the
requisition of the boards of road commissioners of the respec-
tive magisterial districts, levy an annual tax upon real and
personal estate, not exceeding ten cents of the bundred dol-
lars’ worth thereof, which amount shall be collected in the
manner and subject to the same provisions established by
law for ihe collection of county taxes; and when collected
by the county treasurer, shall be placed by bim to the credit
of the boards of road commissioners of the several districts,
each district to be credited with the amount collected there-
from. And said amount shall be disbursed by the county
treasurer upon the warrant of the respective boards of road
commissioners, signed by the president and countersigned by
the clerk of the board.

4. The board of road commissioners for each district sball
appoint ay many overseers of roads as they may deem
proper, not exceeding five for each district. They shall also
define the road precincts in their districts, and increase or
diminish the number thereof, in their discretion.

. It shall be the duty of overseer of roads to see that the
roads in his precinct are keptin good repair and the bridges
in safe condition; to cause proper sign-boards to be put up,
and perform such other dutics as may be prescribed by law.

6. All male persons in each road precinct, except such as
are exempt by law, shall be appointed by the overseer of
roads, and compelled to work four days in each year on some
public road therein, as near as may be: to their homes, and
on such roads, or portions thereof, as may not have been pro-
vided for fully by contract, as hereinafter mentioned.

7. Every person required to work shall, either in person
or by a sufficient substitute, attend, when required by the
overseer of roads of his precinct, with proper tools, and
work the roads as required in the preceding section. Every
person failing so to attend, shall, if adult, be liable to pay a
tax of fifty cents for each day he fails to work; or, if he be
a minor, his parent or guardian shall be so liable; and said
tax, if not paid to the overseer in twenty days thereafter,
shall be collected by the overseer and paid over to the board
of road commissioners for district road purposes.

8. The overseer of roads shall receive a compensation of
one dollar a day for every day he is actually engaged in
bummoning hands, and the same compensation for every day
he is actually engaged in working or supervising the per-
sons working under his control; but their accounts shall be
subject to the revision and approval of the board of road
com missioners.
9. The boards of road commissioners shall have power to
contract with proper parties for building, working, and keep-
ing in good repair such of the roads and bridges in their
respective districts as they may think best: provided that
contracts shall be open to competition, shall be advertised
by notice posted for at Jeast ten days upon the county court-
house door, and shall be awarded by public outcry to the
lowest bidder, at the time and place advertised as aforesaid:
provided, also, that the total amount contracted to be paid,
shall not exceed the tax authorized to be levied, as afore-
said, for each magisterial district. The performance of all
contracts shall be subject to the supervision of the respective
boards of road commissioners, and no amount shall be paid
out on account thereof, until and unless the work done be
accepted and approved by them.

10. Each member of the board of road commissioners shall
receive a8 Compensation, two dollars for each day of actual
employment in the exercise of official duties: provided the
whole amount does not exceed ten dollars per annum to each
member thereof.

11. Such provisions of the general road law of the state as
do not conflict with this act, shall continue in force in Buck-
ingham county. All acts or parts of acts, so far as the county
of Buckingham is concerned, inconsistent with this act, are
hereby repealed.

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