Chap. 226.—An ACT amending the charter for the town of Bond Town, in Wise
county.

Approved March 15, 1902.
CHAPTER ONE.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act en-
titled “an act to incorporate the town of Bond Town, in Wise county,
Virginia,” approved February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-four, and amended February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-six, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

CHAPTER TWO.

2. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the town of
Bond Town, in Wise county, Virginia, be made a town corporate by the
name of Bond Town, and by that name may sue and be sued, and shall
have and exercise all powers conferred on towns of less than five thousand
inhabitants now in force by the laws of the State of Virginia, or which
may hereafter be enacted in relation to the government of towns with
less than five thousand inhabitants, so far as the same are not incon-
sistent with the provisions of this act.

3. The officers of said town shall consist of a mayor, five council-
men, recorder, commissioner of the revenue, and sergeant.

4, An election for municipal officers shall be held on the fourth Thurs-
day in June, nineteen hundred and two, and on the same day in each year
thereafter—the polls opening at sunrise and closing at sunset.

5. The election of mayor and councilmen of said town shall be held
and conducted in the manner provided by the laws of the said State of
Virginia.

6. The sergeant, recorder, and commissioner of the revenue shall be
appointed by the council at its first regular meeting in July and at the
regular July meeting in each year thereafter. All officers of said town
shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified, subject
to any provisions made for removal from office.

?. The mayor and all other officers of said town, before entering upon
the duties of their respective offices, shall be sworn in accordance with the
laws of the State of Virginia by any one authorized to administer oaths
under the laws of the State of Virginia. If any person elected or ap-
pointed to any office in said town shall neglect to take such oath, on or
before the day on which he is to enter upon the discharge of the duties of
his office, or shall, after twenty days after the beginning of his term of
office, fail to give such security as may be required of him by the council
of said town, he shall be considered as having declined said office, and the
same shall be declared vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled by the town
council electing a qualified person to fill such office during the unexpired
term.

8. The administration and government of said town shall be vested in
one principal officer, to be styled the mayor, one board, to be called the
council of the town of Bond Town, and in such other boards and offices as
are hereafter mentioned or may be provided by the council.

9. The council may appoint a health officer, and in addition to the
powers conferred by law shall have the power to invest said health officer
with authority to quarantine the town against contagious and other
dangerous diseases, see to, and compel the proper cleansing of all
yards, lots, alleys, and streets, and take such other steps as may be neces-
sary to cleanse and protect the health of the place, and to this end may
impose such fines and penalties as to such council may seem just and
reasonable.

10. In failure to appoint a health officer, as provided in section nine of
chapter two of this act, the duties may be imposed upon the sergeant of
said town.

11. No license shall be granted any person, club, or corporation to sell
wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, or any mixture thereof, cider contain-
ing alcohol, alcoholic bitters, or fruits preserved in ardent spirits, either
by wholesale or retail, or to be drank at the place where sold, or any other
way within the corporate limits of said town, or within one mile thereof,
unless, and until the applicant produce to the court, or to the officer au-
thorized to grant such license, the written consent of the council of said
town, and upon a production of a copy of the record of said council to
said court or proper officer showing such consent and specifying the house
in which it is to be sold; that the applicant is a corporation chartered
under the laws of Virginia, or if the applicant is not a corporation, that
the person so applying is sober, discreet, and of good moral character,
and that the place is suitable and convenient; that the applicant has paid
to the treasurer of said town, which in no case be less than one hundred
dollars, to be paid quarterly at the discretion of the council of said town,
and to the treasurer of Wise county the tax required by law to be paid to
the State for the exercise of said privilege. Said court or proper officer
may grant such applicant a license to sell all or any of the things men-
tioned in this section by wholesale or retail, or to be drank at the place
where sold. Any person who, without first procuring a license as re-
quired by this section, sell ardent spirits, malt liquor, or any mixture
thereof, cider containing alcoholic bitters, or fruits preserved in ardent
spirits, either by wholesale, retail, or to be drank on the premises, or in
any other way within the corporate limits of said town, or within one
mile thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than twenty dollars
and not more than one hundred dollars for each offense. The mayor of
said town, the council, or any member thereof, shall have jurisdiction to
try any person charged with a violation of any of the provisions of this
section, and impose the punishment hereby inflicted.

All fines imposed under this section shall be for the benefit of the town,
and shall be paid into the treasury thereof.
12. Mayor.—The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
town of Bond Town for the term of one year. His salary shall be fixed
by the council of said town, and his salary shall not be diminished
during his term of office.

13. He shall, by virtue of his office, preside over the meetings of the
council, try and determine all cases arising under this charter or any or-
dinance or regulations passed by the council, voting only in case of a tie;
and possess all the jurisdiction, and exercise all the powers and au-
thority of justice of the peace, within the corporate limits, and in criminal
cases within one mile thereof of said town, in addition to powers given
him by virtue of this act.

14. In case of the absence or inability of the mayor, any one of the
council shall possess the same powers, and discharge the municipal duties
of the mayor during such absence or inability.

15. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor, the town
council shall elect a qualified person to fill such office during the unex-
pired term.

16. The mayor, or any three members of the council, may call a meet-
ing of the council.

CHAPTER FOUR.

17. Town council.—The council of the town shall be composed of five
members. They shall be elected by the popular vote of the qualified
voters of the town.

18. The town council shall, by ordinance, fix the time of their stated
meetings, and no business shall be transacted at a special meeting but
that for which it shall be called. :

19. The town council shall have, subject to the provisions of this act,
the control and management of the special and municipal affairs of the
town and all property, real and personal, belonging to the town, and may
make by-laws and regulations as they may deem proper and necessary to
carry out the powers which are hereby vested in them, and all other
powers vested in them by this act or by the general laws of Virginia.

First. To erect and keep in order all public buildings necessary and
proper for said town. ‘T'o erect within the said town a town prison, and
said prison shall contain such compartments as shall be necessary for the
safe keeping of persons confined therein, and to establish a chain-gang,
and require of offenders to work therein.

Second. To open, close, improve, narrow or widen streets, avenues, or
alleys, and have them kept in good condition, and properly lighted when
convenient and necessary, and over any street or alley in the town which
has been or may be ceded or conveyed by proper deed they shall have like
power and authority as over streets and alleys. They may prevent the
building of any structure, obstruction, or encroachment over, under, or
in any street, sidewalk, or alley in said town, and may plant or permit
Acts OF ASSEMBLY. 231

shade trees to be planted along said streets, but no company or individual
shall occupy with its or his works, or any appurtenances thereof, the
atreets, sidewalks, or alleys of said town without the consent of the coun-
cil of said town duly entered upon its record book.

Third. To secure the inhabitants from contagious and dangerous dis-
eases, to establish, erect, and regulate hospitals, to appoint and organize
a board of health for said town, with the authority necessary for the
prompt and efficient performance of its duties.

Fourth. To declare what are, and require and compel the abatement
and removal of all nuisances within said town at the expense of the per-
son or persons causing the same, or the owner or owners of the ground
whereon the same may be. To prevent and regulate slaughter-houses
within said town, or the exercise of any dangerous, offensive, or un-
healthy business, trade, or employment therein.

Fifth. To regulate the use of fire-crackers, the exhibition of fire-works,
the discharge of fire-arms, the use of lights or candles in barns or
stables and other buildings, and to restrict the making of bonfires in
streets or yards. To prevent hogs, dogs, or other animals from running
at large in said town, and may subject the said animals to such confisca-
tion, regulation, and taxes as they may deem proper.

Sixth. To prevent the riding and driving of horses or other animals
at an improper speed, throwing stones, or engaging in any employment
or sport on the streets, sidewalks, or public alleys dangerous or annoying
to passengers, and to prohibit and punish the abuse or cruel treatment
of horses or other animals in said town.

Seventh. To restrict and punish drunkards, vagrants, and street beg-
gars; to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve the public peace and
good order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly as-
semblages; to suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to pre-
vent and punish lewd or indecent conduct, or exhibitions in said town.
And for any violations of such ordinance may impose a fine in addition
to those prescribed by the laws of the State.

Eighth. To prevent the coming into the town of persons having no
ostensible means of support, and of persons who may be dangerous to the
peace and safety of the town.

Ninth. To regulate the carrying of deadly or dangerous weapons,
whether concealed or not, without reasonable excuse and in defense of his
or their persons, property, or family: provided, however, this shall not
apply to any police officer, town or city sergeant, constable, sheriff, or
conservator of the peace while in discharge of his official duty.

Tenth. To protect public worship and Christian gatherings, all secret
orders and assemblages not contrary to the laws of the State within said
town or for one mile thereof, and to prescribe penalties therefor.

Eleventh. To prevent the incumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys,
lanes, or bridges in said town in any manner whatsoever.

20. The town council shall have the right to determine the officers who
shall be required to bond, the penalty of said bond, and shall require the
game to be executed before said council, with such security and conditions
R32 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

as the said council may approve, and shall determine in whose custody
the said bonds shall be kept.

21. All fines and forfeitures provided for by this charter may be re-
covered as provided by law in cases of fines and forfeitures imposed by
the laws of the State of Virginia, and shall be paid into the corporation
and used as a part of its revenues.

CHAPTER FIVE.

22. Town officers.—The sergeant of the town shall have and exercise
the powers of constable, and shall have the jurisdiction anywhere within
Wise county to execute warrants in criminal matters. The sergeant shall
collect the town taxes, and may distrain and sell therefor in like manner
as State taxes are enforced and collected, and to perform such other
duties and to receive such compensation as the council may prescribe.

23. The town council may levy a tax on license to agents of insurance
companies whose principal office is not located in said town, to
auctioneers, to public theatricals, or other performances or shows in said
town or within one mile of the corporate limits thereof, to keepers of bil-
liard tables or ten-pin alleys, to commission merchants, and any other
business where a license may be required therefor by the State.

24. The council may require license to owners of or keepers of wagons,
drays, carts, hacks, and other wheeled vehicles kept or employed in the
town for hire, and may require the owners or keepers of wagons, drays, or
carts using them in town to take out license therefor, and may assess and
require taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same to such regulations
as they may deem proper.

25. All officers elected under this act shall enter upon the discharge of
their duties upon the first Monday in July next succeeding their election,
and shall continue in office for the term of one year, and until their suc-
cessors are elected and qualified.

26. The council shall have the power to lay, levy, and collect tax from
all railroad companies and telephone companies running through said
town.

27%. The present officers shall constitute the authority of said town until
the first Monday in July, nineteen hundred and two, and until their
successors are duly elected and qualified.

28. The sergeant and police of said town shall possess and exercise
power, authority, and jurisdiction in all shooting and discharging of fire-
arms on and along the Norfolk and Western railroad within two miles of
said corporation.

29. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby re-
pealed. All parts of acts entitled an act to incorporate the town of Bond
Town, in the county of Wise, approved February twenty-fourth, eighteen
hundred and ninety-four, not in conflict with this act, shall remain in full
force and effect.

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