Chap. 453.—An ACT to provide for the working and keeping in repair, open-
ing, and discontinuing the public roads in the county of Brunswick, and for
the building and keeping in repair the bridges in the said county.

Approved February 20, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it shall
be the duty of the board of supervisors of Brunswick county, at their
annual mectings in July of each year to levy a tax not exceeding twenty
cents on the one hundred dollars’ value on the property, real and per-
sonal, in the said county, which tax shall be known as the road tax;
and said tax in each magisterial district of said county shall be kept
separate, and the amount received from each district shall be expended
in said district in the manner hereinafter provided; except, however,
that the road tax collected from the Atlantic and Danville railway and
Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina railway, shall be expended among
the several districts of the county in parts proportional to the road
tax levied upon the other property in the said districts.

2. The board of supervisors shall, as soon as practicable after the
passage of this act, recommend to the county court of said county a
suitable person for each magisterial district of said county as superin-
tendent of roads and bridges of their respective districts: provided, that
it shall be lawful for the said board to adopt the provisions of section
eighteen of this act as to any one or more of the said magisterial
districts.

3. It shall be the duty of the county court of said county, upon the
receipt of such recommendations (which shall be certified to said court
by the clerk of said board), if it approves the same, to appoint such
persons as such superintendents; and in like manner thereafter, upon
like recommendations of the board of supervisors, the said county
court, if it approves the same, shall annually at its October term make
such appointments. In case the court shall not concur in any recom-
mendations made by the board of supervisors, other recommendations
shall be made by the board, as herein provided, until recommendations
are made which are concurred in by the court. But if the county court
shall not concur in the recommendation of board of supervisors within
thirty days from the first recommendation, the county court shail
appoint suitable persons superintendents of roads of the several dis-
tricts in the county.

4. The superintendents first appointed under this act shall hold office
until the first day of January, nineteen hundred and one, and those
annually appointed thereafter shall hold office for one year from the
first day of January succeeding their appointments.

5. The superintendents so appointed shall qualify at the term of
court, at which they are appointed, by taking an oath faithfully to dis-
charge the duties of their offices, as well as the general oath of ottice
prescribed by law, and by giving bonds, conditioned for the faithful
performance of the duties of their offices, in the penalty of one thou-
sand dollars, with surety to be approved by the county court; said
bonds to be payable to the said county for the benefit of the said

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magisterial districts, respectively. The said bonds shall contain a
waiver of the homestead exemption, and shall be recorded as other
official bonds are required by law to be recorded.

6. In case of vacancy occurring by reason of the death, removal,
or resignation of any such superintendents, or for any other cause,
such vacancy for the unexpired term shall be filled in the same manner
as provided for the original appointment.

7. It shall be the duty of the said superintendents of roads and
bridges to take charge of the opening, working, repairing, discon-
tinuance, and alteration of the public roads and the building, construc-
tion, and repairing of the bridges in their respective districts, except
as hereinafter provided as to the opening of new roads and as to the
building and repairing of those bridges, the opening, building, and
repairing of which are, by sections twenty and twenty-one of this act,
made charges upon the county levy. They shall, as far as practicable,
with the means furnished them by the board of supervisors, cause the
said roads to be kept cleared, smoothed of rocks and obstructions, of
necessary width, well drained, and otherwise in good order, and secure
from the falling of dead timber therein; they shall cause to be placed
and kept at the crossing or fork of every road a sign-board, on which
shall be stated in plain letters the most noted place to which each road
leads; they shall cause the said bridges to be kept in a safe condition
for public travel, and shall cause a sufficient bench, bridge, or log to be
placed across every stream when necessary for the accommodation of
foot passengers.

8. The said superintendents shall, within their respective districts,
perform all the duties in the opening of new roads, the discontinuance
and alteration of any road, and in the building and repairing of bridges,
which are required of viewers and commissioners appointed by the
county courts under the provisions of chapter forty-three of the code
of Virginia. “In the building and repairing of bridges over streams
constituting the boundary lines between adjoining districts and in the
opening of or discontinuance of roads constituting such boundary lines,
the duties prescribed by this section shall be performed by the super-
intendents of such adjoining districts.”

9. Said superintendents shall have charge of and provide for all
horses, mules, oxen, implements, tools, and machines which the said
board of supervisors, whenever it deems it expedient, is hereby author-
ized to buy for the several magisterial districts, and deliver to said
superintendents, taking their receipts therefor.

10. The board of supervisors may authorize the said superintendents
to hire hands, teams, and implements for carrying on the work by the
day, week, or month, and at a cost to be fixed by the board from time
to time.

11. The superintendents may take from any convenient lands so
much wood, stone, gravel, or earth as may be necessary to be used in
constructing or repairing any road, bridge, or causeway, and may, for
the purpose of draining the road, cut a ditch through any lands adjoin-
ing the same, the owner or tenant of such lands to be compensated
therefor, as provided in section nine hundred and eighty-six of the

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code of Virginia: provided, such wood, stone, gravel, or earth be not
taken from and such ditch be not cut through any lot in a town, yard,
or garden, or such earth be not taken from any cultivated land without
the consent of the owner.

12. Whenever any superintendent deems it necessary, he may, with
the consent of the board of supervisors, and for a compensation, to be
fixed by said board, engage a civil engineer or surveyor to assist in the
construction of any road or bridge.

13. For the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred by the
superintendents in performing the duties prescribed in this act, the
treasurer of said county shall pay to said superintendents such sums
of money, derived from the road tax of their respective districts, as
may be necessary, not to exceed five hundred dollars at one time; such
payments to be made on the application of the superintendents until
the amount coming to their respective districts shall be fully paid.

14. The said superintendents shall make reports in writing to the
board of supervisors at the regular meetings of, or whenever required
by, the said board, showing their transactions as such superintendents
and the general condition of the-roads and bridges in their respective
districts, and furnishing itemized statements of the money received
by them and their disbursements thereof, which reports shall be sworn
to by the superintendents, and shall be supported by proper vouchers.

15. ‘The said superintendents shall be subject to the general direction
of the board of supervisors, and the said board is hereby authorized to
prescribe any system or regulations for working the roads that it may
deein expedient.

16. It shall be the duty of the several supervisors from time to time
to inspect the roads and bridges in their respective districts, and ascer-
tain and report, at the regular meetings of the board, whether or not
the said superintendents have faithfully performed their duties. The
reports so made by the several supervisors shall be sworn to by them
and filed hy the clerk of said board in his office. For rendering the
services prescribed by this section, the said supervisors shall receive
out of the road fund of their respective districts a compensation at the
rate of two dollars per day for the time they shall be actually engaged,
not to exceed ten days in one year.

17. The board of supervisors shall determine what compensation
shall be allowed the said superintendents, and fix the time of payment
of the same, and may either make such compensation uniform during
the vear or compensate said superintendents by the day, week, or month,
as the said board shall determine. But such compensation shall not
exceed two hundred and fifty dollars for one year, and no compensation
shall be allowed any superintendent, except at a regular meeting of the
board, nor unless the supervisor of his district shall have filed a report
as required by the preceding section, and it shall appear from said
report that such superintendent has faithfully performed his duties.

18. The board of supervisors may, if it deem proper, let to contract
the working, repairing, and supervision of the roads and bridges in any
magisterial district of said county, or in different parts or sections of
such districts, such contracts, however, not to include the actual build-

) gle
ing or repairing of any bridges, which are, by section twer
of this act, made a charge upon the county levy. And for that pi
pose the said board shall adopt specifications for the working, repairit
and supervision of such roads and bridges, fix the terms upon which t
contractors shall be paid, and the time for which such contracts will
entered into, and shall direct the respective supervisors of the distric
to which the provisions of this section shall be applied, to receive p
posals for the working, repairing, and supervision of the roads a
bridges in such districts, or in such parts or sections thereof as may
determined upon by the said board. It shall thereupon be the di
of the said supervisors to post notices in writing, for at least ten da
at three or more public places in the said districts, that such propos
will be received. Such notices shall specify the time and place at wh
such proposals will be received; shall state the specifications adop'
by the said board, the length of time for which such contracts will
entered into, and terms of payment, and shall show that the contr
tors will be required to perform the duties prescribed by section twen
one of this act. The supervisors, after receiving such proposals, sh
report the same to the board of supervisors, and such proposals as |
board of supervisors shall approve, shall be certified to the county co
of said county. It shall thereupon be the duty of said court to dir
the said supervisors to reduce to writing contracts between their resp
tive districts and the contractors, which shall be signed by the sup
visors on behalf of their respective districts and the said contracto
and the court shall also require such contractors to enter into bon
payable to the said county for the benefit of the districts with wh
they shall have contracted, in penalties and with sureties to be fi:
and approved by the court. Upon the execution of such bonds
said contracts shall be binding upon the said districts and the s
contractors: provided, that no member of the board of supervisors s!
directly or indirectly become a contractor under this section. 1
bonds executed by such contractors shall be recorded as other offi
bonds are required by law to be recorded.

19. It shall be the duty of the several supervisors to inspect the w
done by the said contractors in the same manner and for the s:
compensation as is provided in section sixteen of this act, and file
the regular meetings of the board of supervisors like reports as to
manner in which such contractors have discharged their duties; |
mo compensation shall be allowed any contractor unless the superv
of the district with which he contracted shall report that he has fa
fully discharged his duties under such contract.

20. The said board of supervisors shall, as soon as practicable a
the passage of this act, make out a list of the bridges in said cow
and those over streams constituting the boundary lines of said cou
the building, rebuilding, and repairing, of which shall be paid for
of the county levy. And the building, rebuilding, and repairing o:
other bridges not included in such list, shall be paid for out of
district road tax of the district in which they are located, or in e
proportions out of the road tax of adjoining districts, when they
over streams constituting the boundary lines between such districts
21. The county court of said county shall let the building, rebuild-
ing, and repairing of all bridges to be paid for out of the county levy
under the preceding section, and the opening of new roads, in the
manner provided in chapter forty-three of the code of Virginia, except
that the district superintendents of roads and bridges of the several dis-
tricts, or the contractors appointed under section eighteen of this act, as
the case may be,shall, within their respective districts or parts of districts.
perform all the duties of viewers and commissioners prescribed by said
chapter. And whenever any superintendents or contractors shall re-
port to the said county court, or to the judge thereof in vacation, that
any of the bridges that are to be kept in repair, built, or rebuilt out
of the county levy, need repairing or rebuilding, it shall be the duty of
the said court, or the judge thereof in vacation, to enter an order
directing the said superintendent or contractor, as the case mav be,
to receive proposals for the work; and the said judge is hereby author-
ized to confirm, in vacation, the report of any superintendent or con-
tractor, letting such work when said judge deems it necessary, and to
direct the work to proceed or refer the matter to the board of super-
visors, as the law prescribes in such cases. And it shall be the duty
of the said superintendents or contractors, as the case may be, to report
to the said court, or the judge thereof in vacation, when any of the
bridges to be paid for out of the county levy need repairing or re-
building.

22. The board of supervisors, with the consent of the countv court.
or the judge thereof in vacation, shall have power, and the said board
is hereby authorized to employ upon the county roads, or anv portion
thereof, all vagrants and convicted criminals confined in the county
jail, and all persons confined in the said jail in default of the payment
of fines imposed npon them; said persons to be worked under the super-
vision of the said superintendents of roads and bridges of the several
districts subject to such rules and regulations as the said board mav
prescribe. But in such case the board, maintenance, and cost of guard-
ing such persons, where necessary, shall be paid for out of the road
tax of the district in which they may be worked.

23. The road taxes levied for or collected in the several magisterial
districts of said county, and not vet expended, under the provisions
of the act entitled an act providing for the working, opening, and keep-
Ing in repair the roads in the counties of Brunswick, Nottoway, an‘
Amelia, and for the building and keeping in repair the bridges in said
counties, approved on the third dav of March, eighteen hundred and
ninety-six, shall be used and expended as provided in this act.

24. The expenses incurred under the provisions of this act, unless
otherwise provided, shall be paid out of the road taxes of the several
districts in which such expenses are respectivelv incurred.

25. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this
act, or in conflict therewith, are hereby repealed.

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