Chap. 230.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 3 of an act entitled an
act to provide for a charter of the town of Onancock, in the county of
Accomac, approved February 15, 1882; and to amend and re-enact section
5 of the above mentioned act as amended by an act entitled an act to amend
and re-enact section 5 of an act to provide charter for the town of Onan-
cock, in the county of Accomac, approved February 14, 1898.

Approved January 30, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
three of an act entitled an act to provide for a charter for the town of
Onancock, in Accomac county, approved February fifteenth, eighteen
hundred and eighty-two, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as
follows:

§ 3. The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor to be
elected annually on the fourth Thursday in May, and in six councilmen,
who shall be elected on the fourth Thursday in May, in the year nine-
teen hundred, three of whom shall hold office for the term of one year,
and the remaining three for the term of two years; and thereafter three
councilmen shall be elected each year on the fourth Thursday in May,
to fill vacancies so accruing, who shall hold office for the term of two
years. The mavor and councilmen so elected hereunder shall be chosen
by the qualified voters of said town. Any person entitled to vote in the
county of Accomac, and who has resided within said town for three
months previous to any election, shall be entitled to vote at all elections
under this act of incorporation. The mayor shall appoint two members
of the council, who, with the town clerk, shall hold said elections between
the hours of one, postmeridian, and sunset, and they shall decide any
contest with reference to the right of any person to vote, and shall count
the ballots, and certify to the council the names of the persons elected
mayor and councilmen. _.

In case of a tie vote, the clerk shall decide, in the presence of the two
councilmen aforesaid, by lot. Said clerk shall immediately thereafter
make out and deliver to the mayor, and to each councilman elected, a
certificate of his election. All officers of said town shall take the oath of
office before the town clerk, or some other officer authorized to administer
oaths. The council shall appoint the times when it shall meet.

2. And be it further enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
section five of the above named act, as amended and re-enacted by an act
entitled an act to amend and re-enact section five of an act to provide for
a charter for the town of Onancock, in Accomac county, approved Feb-
ruary fourteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, be further amended
and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

$5. The said council shall have power to elect a treasurer, a clerk,
a sergeant, and any other officer they may deem necessary, for the said
town, to regulate their compensation, prescribe their duties, remove them
from office, and require bond, with approved security for the faithful
performance of their respective duties. The council shall also have power
to pass all by-laws and ordinances for the government of the said town,
which they may deem proper, not in conflict with the constitution of
this state or the United States, to mark accurately the bounds of exist-
ing streets, and alter or change the same, and to lav off new streets,
alleys, or sidewalks, and keep them in order, and to make other improve-
ments, for which purposes the council of said town shall have the same
powers and jurisdiction for condemning land for streets, alleys, and side-
walks, as the county court has for condemning lands for roads in the
county: to prescribe the limits within which no building shall be con-
structed except of bricks, stone, or other inecombustible material with fire-
proof roof, and to impose a penalty for the violation of any such ordi-
nance; to cause to be made a survey and plat of the said town, showing
distinctly its boundaries, its publie streets, allevs, and sidewalks, and
their width, with such remarks and explanations as they may deem
proper: to regulate or prohibit the running at large of animals; to pro-
vide and protect shade trees; to establish a fire department with suitable
and necessary conveniences: to make regulations in reference to con-
tagious diseases: to abate nuisances: to provide for order and quiet and
observance of the Sabbath, within said town and one mile beyond its
limits; to punish violations of the ordinances and by-laws of the council
with stripes, fine and imprisonment. or either; to appoint annually three
electors of said town to assess the value of all real and personal property.
within said town, for the purpose of taxation, who shall certify their
assessment to the council; and, in addition to the powers conferred by
this act, shall have the same powers and authority as the councils of
towns of less than five thousand inhabitants, under the general laws of
this state: and for the purposes of this incorporation, the said council
may levy such taxes as they may deem proper, on all property, real and
personal, within the said town, not to exceed forty cents on the one hun-
dred dollars assessed value; a capitation tax not to exceed fifty cents per
year; a tax on dogs not to exceed one dollar per vear; and a license tax
on every vocation, profession, or business for which a state license is re-
quired. In ease of failure to pay the tax on any dog or bitch, the same
shall be killed by the town sergeant, under regulations to be prescribed
by the council.
3. ‘This act shall shall be in force from its passage.