Chap. 736.—An ACT to provide for the working and keeping in repair the pub-
lic roads and bridges in the counties of Northumberland and Westmoreland.

Approved March 4, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
boards of supervisors of the counties of Northumberland and West-
moreland, respectively, shall have full charge of the working and
keeping in repair of all public roads and bridges within said counties,
and may do so either by the contract system or by the system of
hiring day labor, as to them may seem best, and to this end may
adopt such regulations as are necessary and expedient.

2. The said board of supervisors, in their repective counties afore-
said, are authorized and empowered to annually levy and fix, along
with the county levy, a tax upon all the property assessed for taxa-
tion in the several magisterial districts of the said counties, not ex-
ceeding in any one year twenty cents upon the hundred dollars as-
sessed value of taxable property in said magisterial districts within
the respective counties, and this tax shall be known as the road tax.
The county treasurer of each of the said counties shall keep separate
the funds that are collected from this tax in each of the magisterial
districts and shall pay out the same upon the warrants of said boards,
and a different rate of tax may be prescribed for different districts
within the same county. The tax shall be expended within the same
magisterial district in which it was collected.

3. Whenever, in the discretion of the boards of supervisors of each
of the said counties, the contract system isto be used, it shall be their
duty at any regular meeting which they may agree upon to proceed
© advertise in such manner as may seem best to them for proposals
‘or working and keeping in repair the public roads and bridges of
-heir respective counties, and when such proposals shall have been
‘eceived they shall proceed to award contracts, for a period not ex-
seeding five years, to the lowest responsible bidders, who shall furnish
20nd, with approved security, for the faithful and efficient perform-
zmce of the work: provided that in the absence of any bids for the
working of the roads in any district the contract may be awarded to
30me responsible person within said district, for such a sum as the
poard of supervisors may agree upon, in which case the person re-
>elving the contract shall give bond and security similar to that re-
yuired in cases where bids have been submitted. The work shall be
done and the same paid for in accordance with such regulations as
the boards of supervisors of the said counties may determine upon.
F;ach member of the board of supervisors of the respective counties
shall be the inspector of the roads within his own magisterial dis-
trict, and it shall be his duty twice each year to inspect the work
done upon the various roads within his district, and shall report to
the board of supervisors at their next regular meeting succeeding
such inspection whether the work has been properly done and whether
the contracts made under this act are being complied with. For
this service each supervisor shall receive the sum of one dollar.

(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed as impairing the obli-
gation of any contract heretofore made by the boards of supervisors
of either of the counties aforesaid relating to the working of the pub-
lic roads within the respective counties.

4. (a) Whenever, in the judgment of the board of supervisors of each
of the said counties, it is desirable to work the roads in any district
within the respective counties other than by the contract system,
they shall have power to employ some responsible person who resides
in the district in which the work is desired to be done, who shall be
the superintendent of the work and attend to the hiring of so many
men at the rate of seventy-five cents per day as are required to per-
form the necessary labor, and this superintendent shall receive for
summoning hands to work on the public roads in his district a sum
not to exceed five cents for each hand summoned, and he shall re-
ceive in addition thereto the sum of one dollar per day for each day
that he may superintend the working of the roads. Every superin-
tendent shall present to the county court at its next regular term
succeeding the completion of the work his account for services, to-
gether with a full list of the men who have performed work upon
the roads in his district in obedience to call, an itemized statement
of the time engaged, and the amount respectively due for such work,
and also a statement of the number of teams, wagons, carts, plows
and such other implements ured, by whom furnished, the amount
due for each, and time actually employed in work, together with all
expenses incurred by him in working the roads under his charge.
This return shall be sworn to before the court by the superintendent
at the time it is made, and the court may, if it deem it necessary,
require any other evidence as to its correctness. No such return
shall be passed upon less it is in proper form. Such return may be
approved by the court in whole or in part, or it may reject the eame
in toto. If approved in any way it shall, as approved, be certified
by the court to the board of supervisors, which shall issue the pro-
per warrants upon the county treasurer for payment of amounts due.

(b) It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to carefully
scrutinize each return so certified, and if, from the knowledge of any
member or from other evidence not known to the court at the time
of return, there be any reason why any return or any part thereof
should not be allowed, the board shall send the same back to the
court at the next term, giving reasons in writing for its action. In
such case the court may take such action as it may deem proper and
necessary, and if it allows the same in whole or in part shall again
certify the return to the said board for payment as aforesaid.

(c) A day for work mentioned in this act shall not be less than
eight hours.

(qd) All warrants issued by virtue of this act shall be received in
payment of all dues and demands held by the county against the
legal holder thereof, except what may be due for county or district
free school purposes.

' §. The clerk of the board of supervisors of the respective counties
aforesaid shall receive for his services in performing the duties im-
posed by this act the sum of five dollars per annum.

6. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby re-
pealed, and especially’an act entitled an act to provide for working
the county roads of Northumberland and Westmoreland counties,
approved March first, eighteen hundred and ninety-four.

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