Chap. 401.—An ACT to provide for the working of roads in
Gainesville district of Prince William county.

Approved February 25, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That it shall be lawful for the district of Gainesville, in
the county of Prince William, after the first day of Janu-
ary, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, to locate, open,
change, and repair highways, roads, and bridges, as fol-
lows:

2. That for Gainesville magisterial district, in the
county of Prince William, there is hereby created and
established a board, consisting of the supervisor, a com-
missioner of the roads, and one of the justices of the peace
of said district, which board shall have the exclusive cor-
trol of the roads and bridges within its limits, and all
taxes levied for road purposes, and for building and re-
pairing bridges, shall be expended in said district, as
hereinafter provided. The justice of the peace constitu-
ting a member of the board, shall be chosen and designa-
ted by the three justices of the peace elected and com-
missioned in said district, and the commissioner of roads
shall be elected by the voters of the district as hereinaf-
ter provided. The designation of the justice who is to
serve on said board shall be in writing, and shall be pre-
served and recorded by the board, The board hereby
created and constituted is declared to be a body politic
and corporate, and shall be known and designated as the
board of commissioners of roads for Gainesville magiste-
rial district.

3. That the sub-road districts as now laid out and de-
scribed by metes and bounds within the lines of the
district shall remain as they now are, unless and until
they shall be changed by said board.

4. That annually, there shall be appointed by said board
(not later than the fourth Saturday in May in each year)
one overseer of roads for each eub-road district, whose
term of office shall be for one year, beginning on the first
day of July succeeding his appointment. He shall re-
side in the district for which he shall have been appointed,
and shall have charge of the roads in his district. If
any such overseer refuse to serve after being appointed,
or fail to work the roads in his district when directed by
the road commissioner, he shall be liable to a fine, on
presentment by the grand jury, not exceeding fifty dol-
lars; but any person, after being overseer for two con-
secutive years, may give up his office on producing a
certificate to the board from the road commissioner, or
other satisfactory evidence, that the roads in his district
are in proper order, and he shall not, within two years
thereafter, be appointed overseer without his consent.

5. That his duties shall be to see that the roads of the
district are kept in good repair; that the bridges are in
safe condition; that the roads are kept free from obstruc-
tions; that all loose stones are removed; and for these
purposes may employ such number of laborers, teams,
wagons, and plows as may be necessary, and a just allow-
ance shall be made for the labor, teams, plows, and other
implements which may be hired, such allowance not to
exceed that paid by the county for like service immedi-
ately prior to the passage. of this act, and a day’s work
shall be fixed at ten hours. He shall purchase or hire all
tools and implements necessary for working the roads,
subject to the approval of the commissioner of roads, and
shall have the custody of the same, and shall perform
such other duties as may be prescribed by law or directed
by the commissioner of roads. His compensation shall
be one dollar and fifty cents per diem for each day actu-
aly employed.

. That on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hun-
dred and ninety-three, and every two years thereafter,
there shall be elected in said magisterial district, accord-
ing to the provisions of the general election law, one com-
missioner of roads, whose term of office shall be for two
years, beginning on the first day of July next succeeding
his election. He shall reside in the district for which he
is elected. Each commissioner of roads thus elected shall
qualify at the time and in the manner prescribed for the
qualification of magisterial district officers, and shall at the
time of his qualification, or if he shall have already quali-
fied, give bond with good personal security in not less than
five hundred or more than one thousand dollars.

7. That the commigsioner of roads shall have charge of
all the roads.in his magisterial district. His duty shall
be to see that all the roads in his district are of the proper
width, and in al] cases where they are not to notify the
person trespassing by written notice; and if the obstruc-
tions are not removed after reasonable notice, not to ex-
ceed ninety days, he shal! direct the overseer of the dis-
trict to remove the fencing or other obstruction, and may
recover the expenses, with cost, from the trespasser, upon
a judgment of a justice of the peace. He shall examine
the roads in his district twice in each year, in the months
of May and October, and see that the roads and bridges
are kept in good repair by the overseer; and if he shall
find any overseer delinquent in the discharge of the duties
imposed upon him by this law, or by the commissioner of
roads, the said commissioner shall give him notice in
writing, and on his failure to discharge said duties in a
reasonable time, he shall, unless good cause be shown, re-
move him from his office and forthwith appoint another
in his place. His compensation shall be two dollars per
diem for each day in which he has been or may be em-
ployed in discharging his duties under the provisions of
this law, and to be paid by the road board of the district:
provided, however, that persons applying for a new road,
or to lay out, open, alter, or change a public road, shall,
when the same is rejected, be charged with the per diem
compensation of the commissioner of roads.

8. That every petition for a new road, or to lay out,
open, alter, or change a public road, must first be pre-
sented to the road board of the district, who shal! endorse
thereon their approval or disapproval of the same and
their reasons therefor, which petition and the report of
the board shall be laid before the county court at its next
term in open court, and the court shall appoint three dis-
creet freeholders to view the ground of any new road or
proposed change oralteration of an old road. The county
or other competent surveyor shall accompany the viewers
and survey and map the road orchange. The whole num-
ber of viewers must view, but a majority may decide for
or against, and they may view and make report of and
estimate for any modification of the route.

9. That notice of the time and place when the viewers
shall meet shall be given in some public manner in the
vicinage of the proposed road at least five days before the
time of meeting. A copy of said notice duly verified shall
be returned tothe court. The viewers, before they proceed
to discharge their duties, shall be severally sworn by the
commissioner of roads, or some other person authorized to
administer oaths, to perform their duties impartially and
to the best of their judgment. If they decide that there
is a public necessity for the road or change, they shall lay
out the same, having respect for the shortest distance and
the best ground, and so as to do the least injury to private
property, and also as far as practicable to be agreeable to
the petitioners. They shall assess the damage done to the
land through which the road passes, taking into conside-
ration the advantage to be derived from the road passing
through the land, and shall report in writing to the next
term of court, but in no case shall any yard, garden, or
orchard, or any part thereof, betaken without the consent
of the owner.

10. That the court shall examine the said report and the
amount of damages assessed, and if satisfied that the pub-
lic interest and convenience will be subserved by its pay-
ment and the opening of the road or the proposed change,
shall approve the report and order the damages to be paid
by the district for the portion of the road within said dis-
trict; but upon the return of the report of the viewers, the
proprietors or tenants of lands upon which said road will
be established shall be summoned to show cause against
said report, and any proprietor or tenant of said lands may
enter himself a party defendant to said petition, after which
the same proceedings shall be had as under the general
road law of the state upon the return of the report of the
commissioner of roads: provided that the viewers and sur-
veyor shall be paid out of the county treasury.

11. That the county court, at the time when any new
road shall be established, shall direct what width the
road-bed shall be made, and shall have the power to regu-
late the width of all roads: provided that the land con-
demned for any new road shall not be less in width than
thirty feet.

12. That the court may, at its discretion, grant a second
or third review, the viewers to be paid the sum of one
dollar per diem, to be paid as provided for in section ten
of this act.

13. That the clerk of the county court shall keep a road
docket, in which all proceedings in regard to roads in the
county court shall be kept of record.

14. That in case a road is a dividing line between the
district of Gainesville and any adjoining magisterial dis-
trict, and the road board of the district cannot agree with
the supervisors of the said district as to the proportionate
expense to be borne by the respective districts, that the
county court shall decide the same, and any other matter
of controversy arising in regard thereto.

15. That under the direction of the road commissioner
the overseers in their several districts shall erect at all
points where roads cross or intersect, or diverge from each
other suitable indicators showing the next most promi-
nent place on the road and the distance. A failure to
comply with this provision shall be punished by a fine of
not less than five dollars for each offence; and any person
who defaces, removes or in any way injures any indicator,
shall be subject to a fine of five dollars, to be recovered
by the commissioner of roads, upon a judgment of a jus-
tice of the peace; and any overseer shall have power to
enter upon any lands adjoining his road to make neces-
sary repairs, drains or ditches.

16. That the road board of the district shall annually,
in the month of July of each year, lay a road tax not
exceeding thirty cents on the dollar of the amount of state
revenue, and a like percentage on licenses within the
district as adjusted for the state and county tax, and shal!
certify the amount to be raised to the commissioner of
the revenue, and he shall extend the taxes against all
property and persons in the district levied for road pur-
poses, a copy of which shall be returned to the clerk’s
office of the county court, and from the said copy so re-
turned the sheriff shall make out his book for the collec-
tion of said tax.

17. That the sheriff of the county shall collect the road
tax and pay the same over to the commissioner of roads
of the district. He shall be charged with the full amount
of the road taxes levied for the year, and credited by all
sums paid over in money, or otherwise, as herein provided.
He shall, in the month of December in each year, give
notice, by posting handbills in each road district to tax-
payers, requiring them to call on him and pay their road
tax. Such as shall make payment on or before the first
day of March thereafter shall be entitled to a deduction
of five per centum. The sheriff shall receive as an
equivalent to money all accounts for labor, teams, wagons,
ploughs, materials furnished, or for services rendered in
any way, when properly certified to by commissioner of
roads or overseer, and the same shall be receipted for by
the commissioner as if paid to him in money. The com-
missioner of roads, acting under the provisions of this
act, shall settle with the road board of the district on the
first Monday in June of each year, or as soon thereafter
as said board shall meet, and account for all moneys re-
ceived by him from the sheriff for road purposes, and pay
over any balance in his hands to his successor in office,
which shall be placed to the credit of the board and ap-
propriated for road purposes.

18. That if any person shall neglect to make payment
of road taxes until after the first day of March, the sheriff
shall make out a list of delinquents and the amount of
taxes due from each, and shall collect them as now pro-
vided by law for the collection of state taxes.

19. That the road board shall annually, on the second
Monday in June, audit, adjust and settle the accounts of
the sheriff for the preceding yéar; that they shall charge
the sheriff with the full amount of the road tax levied in
the district, and shall credit him by his commissions, de-
linquents and all payments made by him to the commis-
sioner of roads for which he has the proper receipt. He
shall receive the same per centum for collecting road
taxes as are allowed for collecting the state revenue.

20. Any person or persons causing water to be diverted
from its natural course and conveyed across a public
highway, or who by the erection of waste-gates, or any other
means, shall cause water to flow or be conducted over such
public highway, shall place and keep in good repair bridges
over the same at his or her expense; and if the commis-
Bioner or overseer of roads shall notify such person or per-
sons that his or their bridge is unsafe, and such person or
persons shall fail to make the necessary repairs, he or they
shall be held responsible for all damages, to be recovered
by warrant before a justice of the peace or court of com-
petent jurisdiction, that may result from such failure.
Within ten days after such failure the commissioner or
overseer shall make such repairs and require each party or
parties to pay all costs thereby incurred, which costs may
be recovered before a justice of the peace or court of com-
petent jurisdiction.

21. That upon the petition of fifty freeholders the road
board of the district may direct that the county surveyor
shall make a survey and map of the district, showing on
the same the boundaries of the district, marking on the
same the location of towns, stores, mills, post-offices,
churches, school-houses, and other prominent objects, indi-
cating beds of minerals—all the mappings to be completed
within two years from the first of January, eighteen hun-
dred and ninety-three.

22. That the compensation of the surveyor shal! be fixed
by the road board, and shall not exceed two dollars and
fifty cents for the time actually employed.

23. That the price of the map on rollers shall not ex-
ceed two dollars, and each person whose levy for map pur-
poses shall in three years be equal to two dollars, shall be
entitled to a copy; and each person whose levy does not
reach two dollars shall have a copy by paying the differ-
ence between his levy and the price of the map. The said
maps shall be under the control of the surveyor: provided,
the price of the same shall be fixed by the road board.

24. The general road law of this state, except so far as
the same is in conflict with this act, shall remain and be
in force in Gainesville district.

25. That one-third of all road taxes levied and col-
lected by virtue of this act within the limits of any in-
corporated town within the district shall be paid over to
the proper authorities of such towns: provided, they, by
their town ordinances, provide for and keep their streets
in good order and repair.

26. That all incumbents of offices under the road law
now in force in Gainesville district ‘shall continue in of-
fice and discharge the duties of the same until their suc-
cessors are appointed and qualified under the provisions
of this act, and all contracts made in pursuance of law
shall remain in full force and effect.

27. That all special acts in relation to roads and the
working of roads heretofore passed by the general assem-
bly for the district of Gainesville be, and the same are
hereby, repealed.
28. That this act must be ratified by receiving a ma
jority of the votes cast in Gainesville district at an elec
tion to be held on the first Saturday in August, eighteen
hundred and ninety-two, and if a majority of such votes
cast should be against its adoption, it shall be void and
of none effect.

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