Chap. 103.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Boykins.

Approved November 24, 1884.

1. Beit enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
the town of Boykins, in the county of Southampton, as the
same has heretofore been or may hereafter be laid off in lots,
streets and alleys, shall be and the same hereby is made a
town corporate by the name of the town of Boykins, and by
that name shall have and exercise the powers conferred upon
towns by the fifty-fourth chapter of the Code of Virginia of
eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and be subject to all the
provisions of said Code, and to all laws now in force, or which
may hereafter be enacted in reference to the government of
towns of less than five thousand inhabitants, so far as the
same are not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.

2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows: Begin-
ing at the county bridge over Farawa creek; thence down
said creek to the railroad bridge; thence in a southerly direc-
tion to a poplar tree on the new road on the land of C. L.
Bendler; thence in a southwesterly direction to the southwest
corner of field of W. J.D. Lootch; thence in a northwesterly
direction to culvert on Seaboard and Roanoke railroad; thence
in a northerly direction to starting point.

3. The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor
and five councilmen, to be elected annually on the fourth
Thursday in May from the qualified electors of said town.
Any person entitled to vote in the county of Southampton,
and who has resided within said town for three months pre-
vious to any election, shall be entitled to vote at all elections
under this act of incorporation. The mayor shall appoint
two members of the council, who, with the town clerk, shall
hold said elections between the hours of one, post meridian,
and sunset, and they shall decide any contest with reference
to the right of any person to vote, and shall count the ballots
and certify to the council the names of the persons elected
mayor and councilmen. In case of a tie vote, the clerk shall
decide in the presence of the two councilmen aforesaid, by lot.
Said clerk shall immediately thereafter make out and deliver
to the mayor and to each councilman a certificate of his elec-
tion. The first election under this act shall be held on the
fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and eighty-five.
All officers of said town shall take the oath of office before
the town clerk or some other officer authorized to administer
oaths. Thecouncil shall appoint the time when it shall meet.

4, The mayor and councilmen shall constitute the council
of said town, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum
to do business, and all the corporate powers of said town
shall be exercised by said council, or under its authority,
except when otherwise provided by law. The mayor shall
be president of the council, and shall have all the rights,
powers, and privileges such office confers under the general
aws governing towns within this state; and shall be invested
with all powers of a justice of the peace within the limits of
said town, and one mile beyond said limits, except that no
civil warrants shall be issued or tried by him, and all fines,
penalties, or imprisonments for violations of the by-laws or
ordinances of said town, shall be recovered before or enforced
under the judgment of the mayor, and for that purpose he
may issue process as a justice of the peace, and shall be enti-
tled to the same fees as a justice for like services; but the
mayor shall have no vote in the council except in case of a
tie. Any vacancy which may occur in the office of mayor
or councilman, shall be filled by the council. The mayor and
councilmen shall hold their respective offices for one year
from the first day of July succeeding their election, and until
their successors are elected and qualified.

5. The said council shall have power to elect a treasurer,
a clerk, a sergeant, and other officers they may deem neces-
sary for the said town, to regulate their compensation, pre-
scribe their duties, remove them from office, and require bond,
with approved security for the faithful performance of their
respective duties. The council shall also have power to pass
all by-laws and ordinances for the government of the said
town which they may deem proper, not in conflict with the
constitution of this state or the United States; to mark accu-
rately the bounds of existing streets and alter or change the
same, and to lay off new streets, alleys or sidewalks, and kee
them in order, and to make other improvements, for whic
purposes the council of said town shall have the same powers
and jurisdiction for condemning land for streets, alleys and
sidewalks, as the county court has for condemning lands for
roads in the county; to cause to be made a survey and plat of
the said town, showing distinctly its boundaries, its public
streets, alleys and. sidewalks, and their width, with such re-
marks and explanations as they may deem proper; to regu-
late or prohibit the running at large of animals; to provide
and protect shade-trees; to establish a fire department, with
suitable and necessary conveniences; to make regulations in
reference to contagious diseases, to abate nuisances; to pro-
vide for order and quiet and the observance of the sabbath
within said town and one mile beyond its limits; to punish
violations of the ordinances and by-laws of the council with
fines and imprisonments, or either; to appoint annually three
electors of said town, to assess the value ot all real and per-
sonal property within said town for the purpose of taxa-
tion, who shall certify their assessment to the council; and in
addition to the powers conferred by this act, shall have the
same powers and authority as the councils of towns of less
than five thousand inhabitants, under the general laws of the
state; and for the purposes of this incorporation the said
council may levy such taxes as they may deem proper, on all
property, real and personal, within the said town, not to ex-
ceed twenty cents on the one hundred dollars assessed value,
a capitation tax not to exceed fifty cents per year, a tax on
dogs not to exceed one dollar per year, and a license tax on
every vocation, profession or business, for which a state
license is required. In case of failure to pay the tax on any
dog, the same shall be killed by the town sergeant, under
regulations to be prescribed by the council. .

6. The sergeant of said town shall be a conservator of the
peace, and be invested with the full powers of a constable,
within the limits of said town, and also have the powers to
arrest offenders within one mile of said limits, for offences
committed within the limits of said town or against its
by-laws or ordinances, and shall be entitled to the same fees
as a constable for like services; and for the purpose of carry-
ing into effect this corporation, the said town shall be allowed
the use of the jail of Southampton county, for confinement and
safe-keeping of all persons arrested or sentenced to imprison-
ment under the by-laws and ordinances of the council of said
town; and the sergeant of said town may convey any person
so arrested or sentenced to said jail, and the jailor shall re-
ceive such person in the same manner as if such person were
committed by a justice of the peace and delivered to said
jailor by a constable.

7. The said town and property, and persons therein, shall
be exempt and free from the payment of any road tax, and
from working on roads outside of said town, for which exemp-
tion the said town shall keep its own streets in order, and shall
not be embraced in any road district of the said county of
Southampton.

8. William M. Beaton is hereby declared and appointed
mayor, and Christopher C. Lewis, Eugene H. Grizzard, Doc-
tor George H. P. Cole, Samuel L. Beaton, and M. Thomas
Vaughan, are hereby declared and appointed councilmen of
the said town of Boykins, and may qualify as such before any
justice of the peace of Southampton county, by taking the
oaths of office, and thereupon they shall constitute the coun-
cil of said town, with all their powers, until the first day of
July, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and until their suc-
cessors are elected and qualified. The council hereby
appointed, shall meet and organize upon the call of said Wil-
liam M. Beaton, as mayor, or any three of the said council-
men. ,

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