Chap. 373.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Colonial Beach,
in the county of Westmoreland.

Approved February 25, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That Colonial Beach, in the county of Westmoreland, be,
and the same is hereby, incorporated into a town and sep-
arate municipality and body politic, and shall be known
under and by the name of “ Colonial Beach,” and as such
shall be subject to all the general laws of this state and
all laws that relate to towns of less than five thousand in-
habitants, except such as are in conflict with the powers
conferred and the provisions of the charter by this act
granted.

2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows:
Beginning for the same at the intersection of the main
county road and the Bluff Point farm, now owned by John
B. Hammond and C. W. Ridley, at the northwest corner of
said farm, and running thence in a southeasterly and
southerly direction as the main county road now runs, and
on the west side thereof, so as to include the said road
within the limits of said town, to a gate that opens upon a
road leading into Colonial Beach; thence from said gate
in a direct line south to the middle thread of Monroe creek ;
thence with the middle thread of Monroe creek to its
mouth and junction with the Potomac river; thence in a
northerly direction to and with the line and shore of the
Potomac river, so as to include all bathing-grounds and
wharves erected or to be erected thereon within the limits
of said town, to the northwest point of the said Bluff
Point farm and place of beginning: provided that nothing
in this section shall be construed as amending, altering,
or repealing section thirteen hundred and thirty-eight of
the code of Virginia, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven:
and provided further, that the owners and proprietors of
the lands running from a point at the intersection of the
main county road and Bluff Point farm, the point of be-
ginning in this act, shall keep upa lawful fence along said
line to the Colonial Beach gate, according to the provisions
of section two thousand and thirty-eight, chapter ninety-
three, code of Virginia.

3. The administration and government of the said town
shall consist of one principal officer, to be styled the
mayor, and four councilmen, who, together with the
mayor, shall constitute the council of the town, and such
other officers as are hereinafter mentioned, or may be
provided for by the council for the efficient government
of the said town and carrying out the provisions of this
charter. Three of the council shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business, and the mayor shall have
a vote only in case of a tie. The place and time of meet-
ing of the town council shall be fixed by an ordinance.

4. The council shall have the power to appoint, upon the
nomination of the mayor, a clerk and town sergeant, and
such police officers as may be necessary for the preserva-
tion of the peace and good order of the town, and for car-
rying into effect the ordinances thereof. The clerk and
town sergeant shall hold their offices for the term of two
years, or until their successors are appointed and qualified,
unless removed for cause by the council, on recommenda-
tion of the mayor. The policemen shall hold their offices
during the pleasure of the mayor.
5. In addition to the enumerated powers conferred upon
councils of towns by section ten hundred and thirty-eight
of the code of Virginia, eighteen hundred and eighty-
seven, the town council of Colonial Beach shall have the
power to establish bathing regulations; to regulate bath-
ing suits; the building and dimensions of hath-houses,
and the location thereof; to prevent hogs, dogs, cattle,
horses, and other animals and fowls from running at large
in said town, and to subject the same to such confiscation,
regulations, and taxes as they may deem proper, and to
prevent the trespasses of the same upon private property ;
and to this end may provide a pound for such as are taken
up astray and prescribe the penalty for release therefrom;
to regulate the building of privies, and to prevent the
same from becoming nuisances; to regulate the building
of stables for horses and cows, and the location thereof;
to regulate the building of wharves by private parties; to
regulate and license and impose a tax on the sale of intox-
icating liquors as they may deem proper, and to designate
the places for the sale thereof, with power to grant or re-
fuse a license to sell intoxicating liquors to any person
applying therefor as they, in their judgment, may deem
prudent: provided the applicant shall apply to the proper
authorities for the license under the present general laws
of the state relating to granting of license for the sale of
intoxicating liquors; to repress gambling in public places,
and the use of profane language; to prevent the indecent
exposure of the person; to prevent drunken and disorderly
conduct; to regulate the disposition to be made of garbage
and offal, and generally to pass such sanitary ordinances
as will protect the health of the town; to prohibit and
punish the cruel treatment of horses and other animals in
said town; to lay out new streets and alleys; to grade and
improve the same, and to plant and protect shade trees
along the same; and whenever any new street shall be laid
out or a street graded or paved, or any public improvement
whatsoever made, the council shall] determine what portion,
if any, of the expense thereof shall be paid out of the town
treasury and what portion by the owners of real estate
benefited thereby. To this end the town council shall have
the power to condemn the ground necessary for laying out
any new street, paying the owner of the same just compensa-
tion therefor; and shall have power to impose an additional
and special tax on the real estate of persons benefited to
that imposed generally for improvement of streets, and shall
have power to accept donations of personal or real estate
for the benefit of the town or for any special improvement ;
and for carrying into effect these and their other powers,
they may make such ordinances and by-laws and prescribe
euch fines and penalties or fines and imprisonment for the
violation thereof as they may deem proper; and when by
the provisions of this act or under the general laws of Vir-
ginia the council of Colonial Beach have authority to pass
ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe any penalty
not exceeding five hundred dollars for a violation thereof,
and may provide that the offender, on failing to pay the
penalty recovered, shall be imprisoned in the county jail
of Westmoreland county (until the said town have a jail
of its own) for a term not exceeding ninety days, which
penalty may be prosecuted, with costs, in the name of
Colonial Beach, or may compel the offender to work on
the streets or other public improvements of said town;
and it is further provided that the jailer of the county jail
of Westmoreland county shall receive into custody and
confine in said jail (until Colonial Beach shall have a jail
of its own) all persons committed thereto by the mayor of
Colonial Beach for a breach of any ordinance of said town,
and keep them so confined until discharged by proper au-
thority or till the expiration of their terms of imprison-
ment; provided, however, it shall be the duty of the coun-
cil of Colonial Beach to make provisions for and pay the
expense of the keep of persons so confined.

6. The clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of
the town council, and shall perform such other duties as
the town council may prescribe. He shall perform all the
duties in relation to the assessment of property for the
purposes of levying the town taxes that may be ordered by
the town council. He shall keep his office in some conve-
nient place in said town, and shall keep therein such
books, schedules, and records in such manner as the mayor
and town council may direct and prescribe, which books,
records, and other papers shal! be subject to the inspection
and examination of the mayor, the members of thé town
council, or any committees thereof, and of the town ser-
geant, and generally of any tax-payer in the said town.
He shall receive for such services such compensation as
the town council may from time to time direct. The clerk
in ascertaining the value of real property taxable in said
town, for town or municipal purposes, shall fix the same
at the actual cash value of said property at the time of as-
sessment, irrespective of the value assessed for the pur-

ses of state taxation, until the next general assessment.

e shall issue tickets for all taxes and assessments voted
by the council, and place them in the hands of the sergeant
for collection, and shall also issue licenses to conduct any
business or trade when such are required, upon the exhi-
bition to him of a receipt by the sergeant that the tax has
been paid. He shall give such bond as may be required
by the town council, payable to the town of Colonial Beach,
as may be prescribed by the town council, for the faithful
performance of his duties as clerk and assessor of said
town.
7. The sergeant of the town shall have and exercise the
powers and duties of a constable. He shall collect all the
taxes, levies, and assessments imposed by the council, and
fines imposed on offenders by the mayor. He shall act as
treasurer of the town, and perform such other duties as
may be prescribed by the mayor and council; and for the
faithful performance of his duties shall give such bond,
payable to the town of Colonial Beach, as may be pre-
scribed by the town council. The sergeant, in addition to
the fees allowed by law for the services so to be performed
by him, shal] have such compensation as may be prescribed
from time to time by the council. No money shall be paid
out by the sergeant for the purposes of the town and as an
officer of the town except on a warrant of the clerk of the
council, countersigned by the mayor; and he shall keep a
separate account of each fund and appropriation, and the
debits and credits belonging thereto.

8. The police officers appointed by the council shall be
conservators of the peace; shall preserve law and order
and act under the orders of the mayor; shall wear a
badge or uniform, such as may be prescribed by the
mayor. Their compensation shall be such as may be pre-
scribed from time to time by the council.

9. The mayor and councilmen, in addition to their other
duties, shall be conservators of the peace.

10. In cases only where the fines imposed by the mayor
for the breach of the town ordinances are over twenty-five
dollars, or the offender is sentenced to imprisonment,
shall appeals be allowed to the county court of Westmore-
land county. In all cases, except when the fine is twenty-
five dollars or under, appeals may be taken from his de-
cisions, as allowed by the general law of the state

11. The town council may, by taxes, raise annually, by
assessments in said town on all subjects taxable by the
state, such sums of money as may be necesgary to defray
the expenses of the town: provided that no tax upon
real and personal property in said town for town purposes
shall exceed one dollar and twenty-five cents upon the
one hundred dollars assessed value thereof: provided,
however, that if any person shall feel himself aggrieved
and claim his property to have been erroneously assessed,
he shall have the right to appeal to the town council and
they shall hear his complaint and determine the same.
There shall be a lien on the real estate for the town taxes
asare assessed thereon, from the commencement of the
year for which they are assessed. The council may require
the real estate in the town delinquent for the non-payment
of taxes to be sold for said taxes, with interest thereon at
the rate of ten per centum per annum, and such per
centum as the council may prescribe for charges. Such
real estate may be sold and may be redeemed, or the title
of the purchaser may be perfected and become absolute
in the manner now provided by law. The council of the
said town shall have power to impose a poll-tax on all
male persons, not to exceed fifty cents for any year.

12. The town of Colonial Beach shall be, and consti-
tute, a separate school district, and the town council shall
appoint school trustees as provided by law. But the said
town shall receive no part of the county school fund
levied for the county of Westmoreland.

13. The said town and the taxable persons and prop-
erty therein, shall be exempt and free from the payment
of any poor rates or road tax, and from contributing to
any county taxes or levies or expenses whatsoever, of or
to the county of Westmoreland, for any year in which it
shall appear that said town shall, at its own expense, pro-
vide for its own poor, and keep its streets in order: pro-
vided, however, that the real estate confined in the tracts
of lands and farms known as Classic Shore and Bluff
Point, as the same may be within the limits of the town
of Colonial Beach shall not be exempt from levies and
taxes imposed by the county of Westmoreland. The
town council to have the power, and it shall be their duty
however in any assessments and taxes imposed by the
town on the said tracts of land, to equalize the taxés and
assessments.

14, The mayor and councilmen shall hold their offices
for two years, or until their successors are elected and
qualified, and the qualified voters of the town shall elect a
mayor and councilman for said town on the fourth Thurs-
day in May, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, and every two years thereafter. The qualification of
electors for mayor and councilmen shall be as follows, and
none other: All males of the age of twenty-one years being
residents of Colonial Beach for three months next previous
to any election for mayor and councilmen, and who are
otherwise qualified to vote in any state election. When
two or more persons are to be elected to the same office, the
several persons of the number required having the highest
number of votes shall be declared elected. The town clerk
shall act as registrar for all municipal elections and none
others, and keep open the registration books of the said
town for such purposes until sundown of the day previous
to such election in order to enable the qualified voters in
the municipal elections to register. The town council
shall appoint three judges of election for municipal elec-
tions in said town; and in all other respects, the manner of
conducting the municipal election, and the canvassing of
the vote and the returns to be made, shall conform to the
general law of the state as to municipal elections.

15. The mayor and councilmen of the said town shall
serve without compensation, further than that the mayor
shall be entitled to, and may receive such fees as are now
allowed by law, when he acts in the capacity of or exercises
the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace: provided, that
from and after five years from the passage of this act the
town council may fix the compensation or salary which
the mayor and councilmen are to receive duriig their term
of office.

16. The following named persons are hereby appointed
to fill the following offices until their successors are duly
elected and qualified, namely: Mayor, Frank Schwarz;
councilmen, Thomas J. Brady, W. W. Evans, S. D. Watson,
and C. E. Brayton. Said persons are to take the oaths of
office, and to enter upon the discharge of their duties, as
soon after the passage of this act as practicable, which
oaths may be taken before a justice of the peace or other
person authorized by law to administeroaths. It shall be
their first duty at their first meeting to appoint a clerk
and town sergeant, the first election to be held on the
fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-

our.

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