Chap. 543.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Clinchport, in Scott county.

Approved March 2, 1894.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
town of Clinchport, in the county of Scott, as the same has been or
may be laid off into lots, streets and alleys, shall be, and the same is
hereby, made a town corporate by the name of the town of Clinch-
port, and by that name shall have and exercise all the powers con-
ferred upon towns of less than five thousand inhabitants, and be sub-
ject to the provisions of chapter forty-four of the code of Virginia
and acts amendatory thereof, as applicable to such towns, so far as
the provisions of the same are not inconsistent with the provisions
of this act.

2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows: Beginning at
the mouth of branch on the north side of Clinch river below Hum-
phry Reed’s; thence northwest to R. A. Smith’s, near the mouth of
Little Stock creek; thence with the Clinchport improvement com-
pany’s line on top of the ride to the said company’s northeast cor-
ner; thence south to Clinch river; thence with meanders of said
river to the beginning.

38. The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor and a
council of six, who shall be residents of said town, and shall be
elected on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, and every two years thereafter, by the qualified voters who re-
side within the corporate limits of said town, as prescribed by the
state law.

4. The mayor of said town shall preside at the meetings of said
council, and shall, in case of a tie, vote upon any question, cast the
deciding vote. He shall also exercise all jurisdiction, civil and
criminal, now by law conferred upon a justice of the peace, and shal]
preserve peace and good order in said town, and during his absence
or inability to act, then his power shall be invested in any one of
said council.

5. C. C. Johnson, D. C. Sloan, B. J. Broadwater, J. F. Necessary
and A.J. Percey, who shall compose the council, and H. R. Meade,
mayor, are hereby appointed to serve until the fourth Thursday in
May, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and until their successors
shall be elected and qualified according to law.

6. The said council shall, when organized, appoint a sergeant and
a clerk to serve until the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred
and ninety-four, and every two years thereafter appoint a sergeant
and clerk; the sergeant shall be invested with the full power of a
constable within the limits of said town, and also have power to
arrest offenders within one mile of said limits for offences committed
therein. He shall collect town taxes and have power to distrain and
sell therefor in like manner as a county treasurer may distrain and
sell for state taxes, to pay out the money in his hands on the order
of the council, which shall be certified to him by the warrant of the
mayorand clerk. The said sergeant shall give such bond as shall
be from time to time prescribed by the council.
7. The said council shall have power to impose a tax, not exceed-
ing twenty cents on the hundred dollars, for all purposes: provided,
however, that said council may impose a further tax, not exceeding
forty cents on the hundred dollars, when authorized by a two-thirds
vote of all legally qualified voters of said town.

8. The said council shall have power to fill any vacancies in the
offices of said town, from whatever cause the same may originate.
The officers so elected shal! hold the office for the unexpired term
of their predecessors. Said council, for good cause and by a ma-
jority vote, may remove from office any officers of said corporation.

9. It shall not be lawful for the council to impose or collect any
taxes, levies or assessments on any tract of land within the town
limits, which is not platted and laid off in streets, which have been
dedicated to public use and blocks or squares, and which is lying
unused or is used only for farm or garden purposes: provided that
for the purpose of making roads or preparing the same to or through
such lands, the same may be taxed or assessed.

10. License to sell vinous, spirituous or malt liquors shall be
granted by the town council, but only when the application shall
have been first licensed by the county court of Scott county; but the
fact that any applicant has been licensed by the said county court
shall not make it incumbent on the council to grant him a license.
No license to sell liquor shall be granted by the council unless and
until it be made to appear to the satisfaction of the said council
that the applicant is a fit and proper person, of good moral character.
and also that the situation in which the applicant is t6 conduct the
business of selling liquor is a fit and proper place for such purpose;
and until the applicant shall have furnished a bond, payable to said
town, with security to be approved by the council, conditioned upon
the observance by the said applicant, his partners, agents, or em-
ployees, of all the ordinances, resolutions or by-laws of said town,
in force when said license is granted or which may be passed there-
after.

11. Said council shal] have power to pass ordinances to carry into
effect the objects of this incorporation, and to punish the violation
of the same by fine or imprisonment, or both; to provide for order
and quiet and the observance of the Sabbath within the corporation;
to provide suitable burial places for the dead, either within or with-
out the corporation, and to regulate and govern the same.

12. The clerk of the council shall keep a correct record of all the
proceedings of the council, shall provide the books and stationery
therefor at the cost of the town, make out the certificates of election,
make out a list of property to be assessed, real and personal, also a
capitation tax, a tax also on dogs within the limits of the corpora-
tion, and shall issue tickets for taxes voted by the council, and for
said services he shall be allowed annually a certain sum to be fixed
by the council.

13. The said council may build a jail, and may establish a chain-
gang composed of the prisoners of said corporation in said jail who
are there in default of payment of their fine and costs or for their
term of imprisonment.
14. The said council shall have power to pass all by-laws and
ordinances necessary for the proper government of the said town not
in conflict with the constitution and lawsof the state or of the United
States, and also to provide for keeping the street-walks and alleys in
order and paving the same, and other necessary improvements.

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