Chap. 160.—An ACT to authorize the Board of Supervisors of Mathews
County, after an election held for the purpose, to establish a free terry
from Gwynn’s Island to the main land of said county.

Approved February 25, 1884.

1. Beit enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
it shall be the duty of the judge of the county court of
Mathews county, as soon as practicable after the passage of this
act, upon the petition of fifty voters of said county, to order
an election to be held in the said county on the question of
establishing a public free ferry across Milford Haven, in the
county of Mathews, from the terminus of the public road, at
Crickett Hill, to the terminus of the Gwynn’s Island public
road, opposite to Crickett’s Hill; and the county judge shall,
within ten days after the receipt of said petition, certify that
fact. to the sheriff of said county, and it shall be bis duty to
post, at each voting place in the said county, notice of the
said clection at least thirty days prior to the day of election.

2. That it shall be the duty of officers conducting the elec-
tions of said county, after they shall have received notice of
a vote to be taken on the question of establishing a public
free ferry, to prepare a separate ballot-box for each voting
precinct in the said: county, in which shall be deposited the
ballots of the then qualified voters who may desire to vote upon
the question. The ballots shall be, respectively, as follows
“For establishing a public tree ferry.” “Avainst establish-
ing a public free terry.”

3. The manner of receiving and canvassing the ballots at
said election on said question, and making returns and ab-
stracts thereof, shall conform in all respects to the require-
ments of the general election law of the state, except that the
certificate of the judges shall be as follows:

We hereby certify that at the election held on the ———
day of ———_——-, ——— votes were cast for establishing a
public free ferry ; and votes were Cast against estab-
lishing a public free ferry.

A in Clerks.

G. H. Judges.
.K

And the county canvassers of the returns made to the
clerk’s office in other elections, shall canvass these returns in
like manner as other election returns, and certify the votes
cast for and against establishing a public free ferry, a copy
of which shall be laid betore the. county court by the clerk at
the next term thereafter, and shall be entered of record in
said court ; and if it appears to such court that a majority of
the votes cast in said election have been for the establishment
of the ferry, such court shall certify that fact to the board of
supervisors of the county.

4. Whenever, and as soon as the fact has been certified to
the board of supervisors, that a majority of the votes cast
in said election were for the establishment of a public free
ferry across Milford Haven, at and between the points or ter-
mini named in this act, the said board of supervisors shall,
and they are hereby authorized to establish such ferry ; and
to this end the said board is authorized to supply and furnish
sufficient boats and fixtures for carrying all persons across
the said water-course who may desire to cross the same,
together with all horses and other animals, gigs, buggies, car-
riages, wagons, carts, and so forth, the owner or proprietor
of which may desire to be carried across, and to have built,
if they deem it necessary, a suitable house for the keeper of
said ferry.

5. The board of supervisors shall let the keeping of said
ferry to the lowest bidder by the year or for a longer period,
if they may deem it best: provided it shall not be for a lon-
ger time than five years under one contract. Said board
shall be required to take of said lowest bidder, bond, with
good security, in the penalty of five hundred dollars, payable
to the board of supervisors for the faithful discharge of the
duties required of the keeper of the said ferry by the provisions
of this act, and to make report of their action to the county
court, and file said bond with the clerk of the said county to
be preserved among the records of said court.

6. The keeper of said ferry shall be required to keep one
or more efficient hands always at the said ferry, for the pur-
pose of carrying across said water-course, all persons, animals,
vehicles, and so forth, named in section four of this act; and
he shall be required to carry across all persons who reside in
said county, with their horses and other animals, vehicles and
so forth, tree of charge, in regular turn as they may arrive at
said ferry; and all others than residents of the county shall
pay him five cents a head for persons and horses, and three
cents a head for all other animals, and three cents a wheel
for all carriages, wagons, carts, and so forth.

7. Ifthe said ferry be established, the said board of super-
visors is hereby authorized and required, at the usual time
of laying the county levy, to levy, for the keeping of the said
ferry, and for supplying sufficient boats, fixtures, and so forth,
and for building a house for the keeper of said ferry, if they
deem such house necessary, upon all property then taxable
in the county, both real and personal, an amount sufficient,
with what may be collected by the ferry, to pay the keeper
of said ferry the sum for which he shall have agreed to keep
the same and to furnish said boats and other fixtures.

8. The bond given by the keeper of said ferry may be put
in suit; for a breach of any of the conditions thereof, by any
person aggrieved thereby, at his own proper costs and charges
in the name of the board of supervisors, to whom the same
shall be made payable; and the said bond shall not become
void by reason of the first recovery thereon, but may be put
in suit as aforesaid by any person agerieved by any breach
of the condition thereof, from time to time, until the whole
penalty thereof shall be recovered.

9. The action of the board of supervisors in establishing
a public free ferry for the accommodation of the public at the
point at which a ferry is herein authorized to be established,
is hereby legalized, and the board of supervisors empowered
from time to time to levy such sum as may be necessary to
pay all charges and expenses incurred in establishing and
keeping up such terry.

10. Lf this board of supervisors shall deem it proper and
necessary to build or have built a house for the keeper of said
ferry, to buy or lease or to condemn any land on which to
build said house, they are hereby authorized to buy or lease
so much land asmay be necessary for the purpose of building
suid house thereon, at or near cither terminus of said ferry,
and have the said ferry house built thereon; and if they shall
fail to agree with the owners of the land on which they deem
it proper to build the said house, it shall be lawful for them
to proceed to condemn so much as may be necessary therefor,
according to the provisions of the law in relation to public
highways, bridges and fences.

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