Chap. 267.—An ACT to provide for a re-assessment of lands in the
county of Page that have been injured by freshets since the general
assessment of 1885.

Approved February 27, 1886.

Whereas great injury has been done by freshets to the lands
and other property lying along the streams in Page county;
and whereas it would be unjust to require persons whose lands
or other property have been materially injured, or entirely de-
stroyed, to pay taxes upon them at their present assessed
value: therefore,

1, Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
the judge of the county court of Page caqunty, at any time
within two months from the passage of this act, in- term time
or vacation, shall, upon the petition of any person or persons
owning lands within said county, who shall allege that his
lands, or other property, have been materially injured by fresh-
ets since the last general assessment of the lands of the com-
monwealth, appoint three intelligent, discreet, and disinterested
freeholders, whose duty it shall be, within fifteen days after
their appointment, to proceed upon the lands or other prop-
erty mentioned in said petition, and, after having taken an
oath for the faithful discharge of their duty, to be administered
by any person authorized to administer oaths in said county,
they shall personally inspect and examine said lands, and if
they shall be of opinion that they have in fact been materially
injured by freshets since the last general assessment, they shall
proceed to reassess said lands in accordance with their true
cash value; after which they shall, within ten days, return their
assessment to the office of the clerk of the court of said county:.
provided, that the reduction made under this act shall in no case
exceed the damage done to the property assessed, And for
such services the said commissioners shall receive one dollar
per diem for each day so engaged, to be paid by the county.

2. Any person feeling aggrieved by the assessment herein
provided for, may, upon giving notice to the attorney for the
commonwealth of said county, apply to the court of said
county at the first or second term after such assessment shall
be made, and not after, to have said assessment ‘corrected,
which. notice shall be in writing, and shall have appended.
thereto an affidavit that, in the opinion of the affant, the as-
sessment of his lands or lots is above the true value thereof,
which affidavit may be sworn to by the owner or his duly
authorized agent. Whenever in the judgment of the commis-
sioner of the revenue for said county, the assessment made as
aforesaid shall be too low, it shall be his duty, after having
given ten days’ notice to the owner of the property, to apply
to the county court of said county to have said assessment in-
creased. In all such applications it shall be the duty of the
attorney for the commonwealth of said county to attend to the
interest of the commonwealth, and if the court shall be satis-
fied that the assessment is too high or too low, it shall reduce
or raise the same, as the case may be, to what is in its opinion
its true value, upon the basis mentioned in the first section of
this act. |

3. If no appeal be taken, as authorized in, section two of this
act, at the first or second term of the court after the report of
the commissioners has been returned, as above provided for,
the judge of said county court shall, if he approve said assess-
ment, in term time make an order causing such assessment to
be entered upon the land-books by the commissioners of the
revenue, and the clerk of the said court shall, within thirty
days thereafter, transmit a copy of the order to the auditor of
public accounts.

4. The reassessment of the lands or other property pro-

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vided for by this act, shall be taken as the basis of taxation
upon such real estate by the commissioner of the revenue for
the year eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and every year
thereafter, until a further reassessment is made pursuant to
law. .°

5. Any person applying for a reassessment of his lands un-
der the provisions of this act, shall pay all costs of the pro-
ceedings under said petition, and on any appeal taken by him
under this act; but the clerk of the county court and the com-
missioner of the revenue shall be entitled to receive ane-half of
the fees usually allowed for such services.

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