Chap. 50.—An ACT declaring Stuart's creek, in Halifax county, to be a highway

Approved December 23, 1901.

1. Be it enacted by the gencral assembly of Virginia, That Stuart’
creek, from Scottsburg to Banister river, in the county of Halifax, shal
he considered, and is hereby declared to be, a highway, and shall be sub
ject to all the provisions of law in reference to public highways now i1
force and applicable thereto, except as hereinafter provided.

2. It shall be the dutv of the owners of the land lving and bordering
on each bank of the said creek above designated as a highw av to keep th
said creek lying within or bordering on their lands, and the hanks thereof
properly cleared out and free from all obstructions, except when au
thorized by law; and where the said creek is the line between differen
land owners, the owners om each side shall keep their banks and the bor
46 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

dering creek to the middle of the stream properly cleared and free from
such obstructions.

3. The county court of Halifax shall, from time to time, appoint one
overseer of the said creek, who shall hold office for two years from date of
his qualification, unless sooner removed for cause by said court. The
said overseer shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the said creek
above designated as a highway during the months of April and October
of each year, and at such other times as obstructions in the said creek or
on the banks thereof may be reported to him. If the said owner or owners
shall fail or refuse to clear out such obstructions in the said creek, or on
the banks thereof, the said overseer shall at once proceed to cause the
said obstructions to be removed, and report the cost to the board of super-
visors of the county, who, if they approve of the amount of the bill ren-
dered for the removal of said obstructions, shall order the treasurer of
the county to pay the same, and shall, at the same time, levy a tax on the
said land owner or owners sufficient to defray all the expenses incident to
the removal of the said obstructions, including the cost of collecting the
same, and the said tax shall have the same lien and be collected by the
treasurer of the county as other taxes assessed by the said board. But if
the land owner or owners shall furnish the said overseer with labor to
remove the said obstructions, they shall have proper credit therefor.

4. The board of supervisors of Halifax county shall allow the said
overseer the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for each day he may be
necessarily employed in discharging the duties imposed upon him by this
act, to be paid out of the county treasury.

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