Chap. 569.—An ACT to amend the special road laws in the coun-
ties of Scott and Lee, and to provide for the working of roads
in the counties of Scott, Lee, and Wise.

Approved March 1, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That each magisterial district of the counties of Scott,
Lee, and Wise shall keep in good repair the roads within
such districts.

2. There shall be a commissioner of roads within each
district in each of said counties, who shall be appointed
by the judge of the county court of each of the said coun-
ties of Scott, Lee, and Wise, and he and two other persons
within the district, to be also appointed by the court at
the same time, shall constitute a board styled the road
board of said district.

3. The board in each district shall lay off the roads
in the district into sections, not exceeding one mile and a
half when practicable, clearly designated, and as nearly
equal as may be as to the work required to be done on each
section, and the sections shall be numbered one, two,
three, and so on.

4. For each section the board shall appoint a suitable
person as overseer, and assign to each overseer 80 appoint-
ed a number of hands who are liable to work on roads, and
the hands thus assigned shall be as nearly equal to the
character of the work and its magnitude as may be, and
regard to the convenience of overseers and hands shall be
duly considered by the board.

5. All male persons in each road district who are able-
bodied and between the age of sixteen and fifty-five years
shall be compelled to work on the roads within such dis-
trict, except ministers of the gospel regularly and actually
in charge of a congregation.

6. Each member of the several road boards shall qualify
within ten days after due notification of his appointment.
He shall take an oath before some one authorized to ad-
minister an oath that, he will perform his duties to the
best of his ability and judgment. A certificate thereof
shall be forwarded by him to the clerk of the county court,
in whose office it shall be filed.

7. The road boards of the several districts shall pro-
ceed, within thirty days of the notification of their ap-
pointments, to lay off the road in their respective districts
into sections, and appoint overseers and assign hands as
hereinafter provided. The commissioner of each district
shall keep a record thereof in a book kept by him for that
purpose, which shall be open for inspection to any one in-
terested. A report thereof, signed by the board, shall be
returned to the county court as soon as practicable. The
same shall be examined by the court, and if there be no
objection on the face of the report, or valid objection made
thereto, the same shall be noted on the records as con-
firmed, and it shall have the same effect as an order of
court duly made and entered. The same shall be filed in
the clerk’s office and properly labeled. Each board shall
have the right, from time to time, to modify the sections
of roads within the district, assign hands liable to work,
in conformity with the provisions of this act, and such
changes, modifications, and assignments of hands shall
be reported to court, and notice shall be given by the com-
missioner of the action of the board to the interested
overseers.

8. The commissioner of roads in each district shall, as
soon as practicable, make off a list of the different over-
seers, showing the hands assigned to each of them and
the section of road to be kept in repair by each overseer.
He will place these lists in the hands of a constable of
the district, or the sheriff of the county, who will serve

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without delay a copy on the overseer to whom it is di-
rected, and make return to the commissioner of the exe-
cution, or the commissioner may serve on the overseer
said list of hands.

9. The persons sv assigned by the board of the district
to work under overseers of sections of roads shall work
three days in each year, and eight hour each day, when
notified so to do by the overseer or any one authorized by
him. And if the hands are warned to work by a road
hand, he shal! have credit on his time for the time he is
actually employed in warning said hands.

10. Each overseer shall cause the roads under his charge
to be kept clear and smooth, free from loose rocks, from
gates unlawfully kept up and other unlawful obstructions,
of the required width, well drained and otherwise in good
condition and secure from falling of dead trmber thereon.
When necessary and practicable, a sufficient bridge shall
be made across streams, and a foot-log or bench for the
accommodation of foot passengers when necessary. And
when the grade on any road exceeds five degrees, it shall
be put on a new location or cut down, when practicable,
to this degree, as may be deemed most expedient by the
board of the district, who shall determine the same.

11. If the work, prescribed under section nine of this
act, shall prove insufficient to put and keep the road under
any overseer in the condition required by the preceding
section, then the overseer of such section shall hire hands
who, in his estimation, shall do the best work to put his
road in the condition required by law.

12. The overseers of roads shall require the work by the
hands under their charge to be done between the first of
April and the first of October in each year; but if any
obstruction or other injury occur on any road between the
first of October and first of April, it shall be removed or
repaired as soon as practicable.

13. Any overseer failing to have the section of road
under his charge in the condition required by section ten
of this act, on or after the first day of October in each year
shall be liable to an indictment on information, and for
his failure shall be subject to the fine hereinafter provided
for, and for every thirty days after he is convicted on such
indictment that such failure shall continue shall be a new
offence, which will subject such overseer to another in-
dictment and like punishment.

14. Any hand failing to attend in person or by an able-
bodied substitute to work, when notified to do so by the
overseer or his agent, under the foregoing section, shall be
subject to a fine of eighty cent’ for each day which he
should have worked and failed to do so.

15. Each overseer shall keep a record of the work done
by each of his hands, and when such work was done, and
when any hand fails to do the work which he should have
done, he shall report the fact and the number of days of
his failure. He shall also keep a record of the work of any
hand entitled to pay under the provisions of this act;
also an account of the work of hired teams, and any other
expenses incurred, and return such report to the commis-
sioner of roads of his district, verified by affidavit, by the
first day of May in each year next after the work is done.
And such report shall be prima facie evidence of the mat-
ters therein stated.

16. When it appears to any commissioner from the re-
ports filed with him by the overseers of roads in his dis-
trict that there is a liability on any hand in his district,
he shall make off an account in the name of the district
board against such person, showing the amount of the
claim, and place it in the hands of a constable for collec-
tion, who shall collect the same as other smal] claims, and
pay over the same to the commissioner, who shal}! account
therefor; and when judgment is rendered against any one
on such claim, and the same remains unpaid for sixty
days thereafter, the constable shall return the judgment to
the clerk’s office of the county court, and the same proceed-
ings shall be taken thereon as if it were a judgment of the
commonwealth rendered upon an indictment.

17. All fines collected for the delinquency of hands in
any road district shall be paid to the treasurer of the
county, who shall be charged with so much received for
the benefit of the road district in whose favor the judg-
ment was rendered.

18. When it becomes necessary for overseers on sections
to have a team, wagon, plow, or other implements to work
on the roads, the board of the district may authorize such
overseer to hire the same on the best terms he can, so that
for a driver and yoke of oxen and wagon he shall not pay
more than two dollars per day, and for a team of horses
or mules and wagon, with driver, he shall not pay more
than two dollars and fifty cents a day, and for any hired
hand, under section eleven, seventy-five cents per day of
ten hours each. An account of such services shall be
made by the person to whom it is due, verified on oath,
and when approved by the board of the district the same
shall be allowed as other expenses.

19. When it becomes necessary to take from lands stone,
gravel, and such like material, to make or put a road iu
good condition, or timber to make or repair a bridge, or do
other necessary work, if the board of the district cannot
agree with the owner upon a stated price, the same shall
be condemned by the board and such price fixed as they
think just and proper. But no stone, gravel, or such like
material shall be taken from any yard, garden, or orchard,
or other place where undue damage would result to the
owner of the land. If the owner of the land is not satis-
fied with the price fixed by the board, he shall have the
right to an appeal to the county court, whose judgment
shall be final as tosuch damage. Every such appeal shall
be taken within ten days, and the commissioner of the
‘district shall be notified thereof, and he shall send the
proceedings to court for further adjudication.

20. When it becomes necessary to drain a road the over-
seer shall have the right and privilege to dig a ditch
through the adjacent lands for this purpose, but such
ditch shall be made, when practicable, where the least
Injury will result to the owner of such lands.

21. When an alteration and change in location of road
is deemed expedient by an overseer, or by the commis-
sioner of roads, such commissioner, when desired to do so
by an overseer, or when he deems it proper so to do, shall
notify the board of the district. They shall view the
proposed change, and if it is deemed proper by the board
that the change in the road be made, and the owner of the
land through which the proposed change to be made con-
sents thereto, the change will be made by the board, who
.8hall make a report of such change, with a plat and

diagram, to the county court. If any damages result
to the owner of the land through which it is made, the
board shall assess the same, and a levy shall be made
therefor. But if the owner of the land objects to such
change being made, the board shall nevertheless make the
change if deemed proper and expedient: provided that
no special damage is done to a mill, house, yard, garden
or orchard, and assess the damages to the owner thereof,
who shall be entitled to an appeal to the county court as
to the damages, and on his application for such an appeal
to the commissioner of the board he shall transmit the
papers to the court at itsnext term. The views of the board
shall be set forth, with a report and diagram, and the same
shall be heard by the county court, whose action shall be
final, and costs awarded as may seem just and proper.
And when any change is made the overseer shall be noti-
fied thereof.

22. Where a bridge or causeway is necessary between
two districts, if the respective road boards cannot by
agreement have such a bridge or causeway made, the court
of the county, on its own motion, or on the motion of any
interested party, have the bridge or causeway let to con-
tract, and the expense incident thereto shall be borne by
said districts in such proportions as to the court may seem
just; or if the court deem the expense too onerous, it may
be ordered to be laid on the county; and when a bridge
across a stream within a district should be built or re-
paired, or other work on a road of an unusual character
to be done, upon the application of the board of such
district the court may, if it sees that the building of such
bridge or other work is too onerous on the district, order
that a levy be laid on the county for such an amount as
may seem to it just and fair to be expended on such
bridge or work. .

23. When it becomes necessary, in the opinion of the
board of any district, that the overseer of any section
within such district should have a sledge-hammer, drill,
or other necessary implements to work his road, or to have
powder and fuse for blasting, that the same be furniehed
on the order of the board by the commissioner of the road
district, and the actual cost shall be paid by the district.

24. When a water-course runs across any road for the
special benefit of any one, such person shall keep a good
bridge across the same at least twelve feet in width, and
with substantial railing on each side, when deemed neces-
sary by the district board. The water-course shall be kept
by the beneficiary thereof in such condition as not to in-
jure the road or impede travel ; if he fails to do so, he will
be liable to be indicted, and on conviction shall be fined
not less than five dollars; and, on a second conviction,
such water-course may be viewed as anuisance and abated
by order of the county court, upon a rule or other due pro-
ceeding.

25. Persons appointed by the county court to constitute
a road board, and overseers of sections appointed by the
road board, shall be compelled to act, unless released by
the county court for cause shown; but if any person is ap-
pointed on any road board, or as an overseer of a section,
who would not be liable to work on roads, such person
shall not be compelled to act. And any one who dis-
charges his duties for two consecutive years may resign,
if his road is in the condition required by this act, and
shall not be compelled to serve again for a period of four

ears.
y 26. The county court may at any time for cause shown
remove any member of a road board, and the board of any
road district for good cause may at any time remove an
overseer of such district.

27. When a vacancy occurs from any cause in a road
board the same shall be filled by the county court in the
same manner as anoriginal appointment; and if from any
cause there is no overseer of a section of road, the same
shall be filled by appointment by the board of such dis-
trict.

28. The commissioner of roads in the several districts
shall convene the other members of the board whenever it
becomes necessary to do anything by their joint action.

29. The commissioner of roads in the several districts
shall inspect the roads thereof yearly, beginning on the
first day of October, and make report thereof at the next
November term of the condition of each section, and if he
finds any section not to be in the condition required by
the tenth section of this act, he shall state the fact and
the name of the overseer in default. The attorney for the
commonwealth shall examine the several reports within
thirty days after the return thereof, and when he finds any
overseer in default he shall lay the matter before the grand
jury or file the information hereinafter provided for. Such
reports shall be prima facie evidence of the matters there-
in stated.

30. An account of the commissioner of roads and the
treasurer shall be audited on the first, second, or third
days of May in each year, before the clerk of the county
court, who shall show how much money has been collected
and disbursed in each year by the commissioner and treas-
urer. The account of each district shall be kept separate-
ly, and the money collected in each district shall be the
property of such district, whether by taxation or fines im-
posed on delinquent lands.

31. The said clerk shall keep a book showing how the
treasurer and commissioner of each road district stand
with such district, and the clerk shall furnish to each com-
missioner, a8 soon as practicable, a statement of the ac-
count with his district.

32. The commissioner of each district shall make an
estimate of the amount which will be required in his dis-
trict to defray the road expenses for the coming year, and
report the same to the supervisors yearly, at the time of
laying the levy, and if the amount seems reasonable to the
supervisors they shall lay a levy therefor on the district;
but no levy for road purposes shall exceed twenty cents on
one hundred dollars of the assessed value of lands and
property.

33. If the treasurer should be found to be in arrears to
any road district as shown by the account provided for by
section thirty, he may be proceeded against on his bond
in the name of the commonwealth for the benefit of the
road district to which he may be indebted.

34. All debts which may be due from the road districts
under the provisions of this act shall be paid by the treas-
urer on or before the first of June of the year after the
levy is made for such expenses, upon the warrant of the
district road board, attested by the commissioner of such
district.

35. The commissioner of the road board of each district
shall keep a book showing the amount levied in each year
for the road expenses of his district, which shall be open
for inspection by any one interested, and the road board
shall not issue warrants for claims exceeding the amount
which may have been levied for the road expenses in such
district, and when any commissioner ceases to act his suc-
cessor in office shall be entitled to the said book.
36. If there should be a deficit in any year to pay the
expenses of that vear, such deficit shall be included in the
levy of the ensuing year, and the creditor or creditors
whose debts have not been paid in the year in which they
fall due shall be first paid out of the levy for the succéed-
ing year, and in making off such claims the road board
shall show this fact.

37. Each commissioner of the several road boards shall
be entitled to receive a compensation for its services of one
dollar per day: provided, that no one shall receive more
than twenty dollars in any one year. The other members
of the road boards shall each receive one dollar per day for
services, not to exceed ten dollars in any one year; and
each overseer of sections shall receive seventy-five cents
for each day he superintends such hands as may be hired
under this act: provided that he be not allowed more than
five dollars in any one year.

38. New roads shall be established and made in the
manner prescribed by the existing general road law, and
the hands to make the same designated by the county
court; but no hands shall be compelled to work on any
new road more than five days in any year.

39. The commissioners of the revenue shall report the
magisterial districts in which a tax-payer resides and in
which real estate is situated, so that levies for road pur-
poses under this act can be properly made against the dis-
trict.

40. The clerk of the county court shall be allowed a just
compensation for his services in auditing the accounts
herein provided for, which he shall be paid out of the
county levy.

41. Any officer or person appointed under this act fail-
ing to discharge any duty imposed by this act may be pro-
ceeded against by information filed showing the delin-
quency complained of. A summons shal! be served on the
delinquent, citing him to appear before the county court,
on the first day of some term, to answer the charge. Such
summons shall be served at least ten days before trial, and
the same shall be tried by the said court, unless a jury
shall be demanded by the defendant, and if found guilty
he shall be fined not exceeding twenty dollars.

42. All laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

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