Chap. 441.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Saxisin the county of Accomac.
Approved February 26, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
town of Saxis, in the county of Accomac, be, and the same is hereby,
made a town corporate by the name of Saxis, and by that name shal]
have and exercise the powers conferred upon towns of less than five
thousand inhabitants by the laws of Virginia now existing or which
may hereafter be enacted, so far as the same are not in conflict with
the provisions of this act.

2. The boundaries of the said town shall be as follows: Beginning
at a point marked by a stone placed at the water’s edge of high-water
mark at the extreme end of a point known by the name of North
End point, belonging to A. S. Matthews; thence fifteen hundred feet
southwardly to a stone on the northeast corner of the land of Sala-
thiel Lewis; thence running one mile soutwestwardly to a stone on
the southwest corner of the land of John W. Drewer; thence one
mile southwardly to George W. Martin’s house on Tunnall’s island;
thence five hundred yards northwardly to the low-water mark in
Pocomoke sound; thence east-northeastwardly one and one-quarter
miles to a stone on the point known as Shelley field; thence four
hundred yards to the place of beginning.

3. The government of the said town shall be vested in a mayor
and six councilmen, to be elected annually on the fourth Thursday
in May from the qualified electors of the said town. All persons
entitled to vote in the county of Accomac and who have resided in
the said town for three months next previous to any election shall
be entitled to vote at all elections held in the said town under this
act of incorporation. The first election under this act shall be held
on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-six.

4, The mayor and councilmen shall constitute the council of said
town, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum to do business,
and all the corporate powers of the said town shall be exercised by
the said council or under its authority. Except where otherwise
provided by law, the mayor shall be president of the council and
shall have all the rights, powers and privileges conferred upon such
officer by the general laws of the state for the government of towns
of less than five thousand inhabitants. He shall be invested with
all the powers of a justice of the peace within the limits of the said
town and one mile beyond the said limits; except, however, no civil
warrants shall be tried by said mayor. All fines, penalties or im-
prisonments for violation of the by-laws or ordinances of said town
shall be recovered or enforced under the judgment of the mayor, and
for that purpose he may issue process as a justice of the peace, and
for such service shall be entitled to the same fees for like services
performed by a justice of the peace. The mayor shall have no vote
in the council except in case of a tie vote. All vacancies which may
occur in the offices of mayor or councilmen shall be filled by the
council. The mayor and councilmen shall hold their respective offi-
ces for one year from the first day of July next succeeding their elec-
tion, and until their successors are elected and have duly qualified.

5. The said council shall have power to elect a treasurer, a clerk,
a sergeant, and such other officers as they may deem necessary for
the proper government of the said town, to regulate the compensation
of said officers, to prescribe their duties, to remove them from office,
to require of them bond with approved security for the faithful dis-
charge of their duties, and to fix the penalty of bonds required. The
council shall have power to enact by-laws and ordinances for tbe
government of said town. The council may annually on the first of
April levy a tax for roads, streets, sidewalks, and other purposes by
a two-thirds vote, to be approved by the mayor, which on no pro-
perty shall exceed twenty cents on the one hundred dollars valuation
except that on a petition of freeholders representing two-thirds of
the valuation within the corporation. The poll tax shall not exceed
one dollar and fifty cents on each male person in any one year.

6. The sergeant of the town shall be a conservator of the peace,
and be invested with all the powers of a constable within the limits
of said town, and also have the power to arrest offenders within one
mile of the limits of said town for offences committed within the
limits of said town or against its by-laws or ordinances, and for such
services the sergeant shall be entitled to the same fees as a con-
stable for the like services. The use of the jail of the county of
Accomac shall be allowed the said town for the confinement and
safe-keeping of all persons arrested or sentenced to imprisonment
under the by-laws or ordinances of the said town; and the sergeant
of the said town may convey any person so arrested or sentenced to
the said jail, and the jailer shall receive such person in the same
manner as if such person were committed by a justice of the peace
of the said county and delivered to the said jailer by a constable.

7. The said town and property therein and residents shall be ex-
empted from the payment of any road tax and from working on any
road outside of the said town, and in consideration of this exemp-
tion the said town shall keep its streets in repair. The said town
shall not be embraced in any road district of the county of Accomac.

8. George W. Glenn is hereby declared and appointed mayor, and
Noah E. Miles, William C. Lewis, George N. Weaver, Charles N.
Lewis, Edward B. Moore and John R. Drewer are hereby appointed
and declared councilmen of the said town of Saxis, and may qualify
as such before any justice of the peace of Accomac county by taking
the oath of office, and thereupon they shall constitute the council of
the said town, and shall hold office until the first day of July, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-six, or until their successors are duly
elected and qualified. The council hereby appointed shall meet and
organize upon the call of mayor, or any three of the said
council.

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