Chap. 297.—An ACT to authorize the Board of Supervisors of Nelson
county to let to contract the public roads, and Jevy a tax to keep the
sume in order.

Approved March 4, 1884.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the county
of Nelson, to take charge of and have kept in order the public
roads in said county, and in order thereto, they shall, as soon
as practicable after this act shall take effect, proceed to
lay off all the public roads in said county into road districts,
properly designating each by boundaries, numbers or limits,
and apportion the hands thereon according to law, which
hands shall be required to work on the road districts to
which they shall be assigned, not more than three days in
any one year.

2. The said board of supervisors shall annually levy a tax
not exceeding ten cents on the hundred dollars, on all the
taxable values in said county upon which state taxes are
levied, for the purpose of keeping in order the public roads
in the county, and the fund arising from such tax shall be
set apart and held for that purpose and no other, and shall
be appropriated and paid out under the order of the said
board.

3. It shall be the duty of the said board of supervisors to
let to contract at the lowest bid, all the road districts in the
county, during the month of May for each year, the contract
year to be from the first of June to the thirty-first of May
inclusive. Each contractor shall be entitled to the labor of
all the hands assigned to work the road which he may con-
tract to keep in order, in addition to the sum of money
specified in his contract, and all of said hands shall, upon
notification by the contractor, work on their road precincts
under his direction and management, the number of days
provided in this act, ten hours regular labor to be taken and
held to be a day’s work.

4. If any person whose duty it is under the law to work
on the public roads, shall fail to do so when required by the
contractor, either in person or by a satisfactory substitute,
with proper tools, it shall be his duty, if of full age, if not,
then of his parent or guardian, within thirty days after such
failure, to pay to such contractor the fine imposed by law,
and if he, or his parent or guardian, shall fail to do so within
the time prescribed, then the contractor may make out a
ticket, adding thereto twenty-five cents for each day’s failure,
and place the same in the hands of a constable or sheriff of
the county for collection, who shall receive and collect the
same by distress or otherwise, us taxes and county levies are
collected, and pay over to the contractor the amount of all
fines so collected, reserving the twenty-five cents added to
such fines, as his fee for collecting the same.
5. If such constable or sheriff shall fail to pay over the
amount of any such tickets for sixty days after they shall
have been placed in his hands, or return the same as insolvent
to the contractor, he and his sureties shall be liable to such
contractor, on his official bond for the amount of such fines,
to be recovered by motion before a justice of the peace, or
the county court of the county. Nothing herein contained
shall be so construed as to prevent any contractor from
re-iasuing any ticket which may have been returned insol-
vent, or from collecting the same at any time within five
years from such return.

6. The board of supervisors shall, after proper notice of
the time and place, proceed, during the month of May, to let
to contract, at the lowest bid, all tne road districts ot the
county to be kept in order according to law, but no contrac-
tor shall be required to widen the present road bed, or re-
move any solid rock by blasting, or in any way change the
location of the road bed unless the same be set out in the
specifications and embraced in the contract. Each contrac-
tor shall execute bond, with good security, in double the
amount of his contract, payable to the board of supervisors,
for the use of the county, conditioned faithfully to execute the
same, which bonds shall be returned and filed in the county
court clerk’s office for safe keeping.

7. Should the board of supervisors be unable to let to con-
tract any road precinct on satisfactory terms, they may have
the same worked as now provided by law, and appoint a good
overseer to keep the same in order with the hands assigned
thereto, and may appropriate, in aid thereof, a sum not ex-
ceeding ten dollars, to be paid out of the road fund. A list
of all overseers so appointed, shall be returned to the county
court clerk’s office to be preserved, and the overscer shall be
paid his allowance under the law, out of such appropriation, as
well as all other claims for use of teams and extra labor
which may be allowed by the board of supervisors.

8. If great and unforeseen damages shall casually occur to
any road district, the board of supervisors shall have the same
repaired and paid for out of the road fund in such manner
as they think best, and the least expensive.

9. All contractors under this act, who shall fail to keep their
roads in order according to law, shall be liable to punishment
and fine, as overscers of roads now are, and all fines which
may be collected of such contractors and overseers, shall be
paid into the county road fund.

10. No appropriation by the county court for roads or
bridges in excess of thirty dollars, shall be binding on the
county, or paid, unless and until the same shall bave been sub-
mitted to, and approved by, the board of supervisors.

11. This act shall be submitted to the board of supervisors
of Nelson county, and may be adopted by a majority of said
board voting therefor, a record of such vote to be mado and

reserved on the minutes of the board, and if adopted, sball
be put into operation in the manner and at the time herein pro-
vided for, or on the first day of June of any succeeding year:
provided that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as
to relieve any road overseer for any duty or liability as such,
until bis road precinct shall have been let to contract accord-
ing tolaw: and provided further, that any action of the board
of supervisors adopting the provisions of this act may be re-
scinded by a majority vote in favor thereof, and entered as
aforesaid, the same to take effect at the end of any contract
year.

12. The members of the board of supervisors shall each
receive the sum of thirty dollars for the additional dutier 1m-
posed upon them by this act.

13. Any county in the state may adopt the provisions of
this act through its board of supervisors, as herein provided,
and afterwards may in like manner set aside the same.

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