Chap. 302.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved March 14, 1904,
entitled an act to provide a charter for the town of Narrows, in Giles county,
Virginia,

Approved March 13, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the act
approved March fourteenth, nineteen hundred and four, entitled an
act to provide a charter for the town of Narrows, in Giles county, Vir-
ginia, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows: That the
territory embraced and contained in the following boundaries: Begin-
ning at a mile-post near the west end of the bridge on the Norfolk and
Western railroad crossing Wolf creek, and running northeast in a
straight line three-fourths of a mile to a point on the south bank of
New river opposite the mouth of a hollow on the land of B. T. Johnson,
junior; thence southwest three-fourths of a mile to a cliff near the
corner of B. T. Johnson’s and H. W. Hale’s land; thence one mile to the
southwest corner of D. W. Johnson’s lot; thence one-half mile north
to the corner of the lands of Rufe Roland, William Hale, and the
United States leather company corners; thence one mile east to the
beginning, all of the said territory being in the county of Giles, shall
be deemed and taken as the town of Narrows, for all purposes for which
towns are incorporated in this Commonwealth; shall continue to be
one body politic, in fact, under the name and style of the town of
Narrows, and as such shall have, exercise, and enjoy all the rights,
powers, and privileges and immunities conferred upon towns as mu-
nicipal corporations by the general laws of this Commonwealth and by
the terms of this charter.

2. The officers of said town shall consist of a mayor and eight council-
men, who shall be elected as hereinafter provided; the following are
herein stated to be the present officers: N. A. Boggess, mayor; J. E.
Lemon, H. W. Hale, Doctor A. 8. Cover, B. T. Johnson, J. E. Hopkins,
J. H. Johnson, and I. I. Wolfe, councilmen. The council of said town
may elect a sergeant and such other officers as the council shall deem
necessary, and the terms of the officers elected by the council shall be
such as the council may prescribe.

The council shall have power and authority to pass and ordain such
by-laws and ordinances for the government of said town as the council
shall deem necessary; provided, the same are not in conflict with the
laws and Constitution of this State, or that of the United States.

The mayor and five members of the council, or in the absence of
the mayor, five members of the council, one of whom shall act as chair-
man, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

3. An election for mayor and councilmen shall be held on the fourth
Thursday in May, nineteen hundred and five, and every twelve months
thereafter. The officers so elected shall begin their term of office on
the first day of July succeeding their election, and shall hold their
term of office for one year, or until their successors are elected and
qualified. If any vacancy occur in the office of mayor or in the council,
the same shall be filled by the council, but the present incumbent in the
office of mayor and the members of the council shall continue in office
and exercise all powers conferred by this charter until the first day of
July, nineteen hundred and five, or until their successors are duly elected
and qualified.

4. Any person entitled to vote in Giles county and as prescribed by
law and residing within the corporate limits of the town of Narrows
three months next preceding any election, and six months in the dis-
trict, shall be entitled to vote at all elections under this act of incorpo-
ration. The mayor shall cause ten days’ notice to be given of all elec-
tions by posting notice at three or more places in said corporation. The
mayor, with the consent and approval of the council, shall appoint
three qualified voters, who shall preside as judges at corporation elec-
tions, who shall have the right to appoint two clerks of elections, as
well as to decide the right of any individual to vote at such election,
and shall hold said election between sunrise and sunset of the day on
which said election shall be held.

5. The council of said town shall have and exercise all the powers
vested by chapter forty-four of the Code of Virginia and other general
‘statutes of this Commonwealth now in force in a municipal corpora-
tion of like character, and such other powers as are granted by this
charter; and the said council may, after paying a just compensation
therefor, tax such private property within the town as may be necessary
for laying out walks, streets, and alleys, widening, altering, or improv-
ing the same, and for other municipal purposes. The method of ascer-
taining what will be a just compensation for private property thus
taxed shall be as follows:

After reasonable notice in writing by the clerk of the council to the
owner of the freehold whose property is proposed to be taxed, or to his
tenant or agent, the mayor of the town shall, at the time and place
mentioned in the said notice, proceed to appoint two freeholders of the
town as commissioners, one of whom may be nominated by the owner
of the freehold, or by his tenant or agent, if either be present, whose
duty shall be to view the property proposed to be taxed and ascertain
what will be a just compensation therefor and the damages to the
residue of such owner’s property beyond the peculiar benefits to be de-
rived in respect to such residue from the work to be done. The said
commissioners, if they cannot agree, may select a third freeholder as
commissioner to act with them, and shall, as soon as possible, report
their proceedings to the council. When such reports have been re-
turned, the council may, by a vote of the majority of its members, either
reject or accept such report. If the report be rejected, the council
may refer the matter to another commission, appointed in the same way
and for the same purpose as the first. If the report be confirmed, the
amount ascertained by it to be a just compensation for the property
shall be paid to those entitled thereto before work shall be begun on or
through said property.
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6. This said corporation of the town of Narrows shall have the right
to collect three-fourths of the road tax levied by the county on the
inhabitants of the town of Narrows; said amount shall be expended
within the limits of the corporation on the streets and roads therein
under the direction and supervision of the said council.

7. Without limiting or affecting the powers heretofore given, the said
council shall have the power to prohibit by ordinances or by-laws
within said town, any misdemeanor prohibited by the laws of this Com-
monwealth and enforce said ordinances or by-laws by a penalty or pen-
alties not exceeding the penalties fixed by the laws of the Common-
wealth for like offenses, said penalty or penalties, whether by fine or
imprisonment, to be for the use and benefit of the said town of Nar-
rows, and'shall have power to alter, amend, or repeal any by-law or ordi-
nance.

8. The said council may establish a chain-gang, and require offenders
under sentence for violation of the laws and ordinances of said town to
work therein on the public streets, roads, or public buildings of said
town, as provided under the general laws of the Commonwealth; and
to restrain and regulate the rate of speed of locomotive engines and
cars upon the railroads within the said town.

9. To prevent horses, hogs, and other animals from running at large
in said town, and subject the same to regulations and confiscation and
taxes as they may deem proper, and to prevent the throwing of stones,
balls, snowballs, playing of marbles, or other sports or employments on
the streets or alleys of said town which may seem dangerous or annoy-
ing to citizens or passengers of the said streets and alleys, as well as to
punish the abuse and cruel treatment of horses or other animals in said
town, and to arrest and punish drunkards, beggars, and vagrants; to
arrest and punish persons for using profane language in said town;
to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve the public peace and good
order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assem-
blages; to prevent boys and others from jumping on moving trains in
said town; to suppress houses of ill-fame and gaming houses; to pre-
vent and punish lewd and indecent conduct and exhibitions in said
town, and for any violations of any such ordinances may impose fines
in addition to those prescribed by laws of the State.

10. The said council shall have the power to lay and levy a tax not
exceeding fifty cents on the hundred dollars’ value of all property, real
and personal, of the said town for the said purposes of said town, and
in addition thereto a poll-tax not exceeding fifty cents on each male
citizen thereof over twenty-one years of age, and the said town shall have
like powers of distress, levy, and sale for collection of such taxes as are
now given to the State officers for the collection of the State taxes.

11. The council of the town shall have the power to regulate the
keeping of dogs within the town, and may, in order to do so, impose
a tax of one dollar on each male dog and on each female dog a tax of
three dollars found or kept within the limits of said town, said tax to
be paid on or before the first day of May, nineteen hundred and five,
and on the same day of each succeeding year, and in case it is not so
paid the council shall have power to impose a fine of not less than one
nor more than five dollars upon the owner of a dog for the non-payment
of said tax, and in addition thereto the mayor of the town shall order
the sergeant to kill every dog kept in the town for which the said tax has
not been paid after the fifteenth day of May of each year.

12. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules and to ap-
point such officers, committees, and clerks as it may deem proper for the
regulation of its proceedings and a convenient transaction of its busi-
ness.

It shall keep a journal in which the clerk shall record the proceed-
ings of each session, and the same shall be properly indexed. All reso-
lutions and ordinances shall be recorded in a book to be called the ordi-
nance book, which shall be properly indexed. The council shall fix the
pay of the mayor, sergeant, treasurer, and clerk, and any other officers
or employees of the said town as they see fit.

13. It shall be the duty of the mayor to enforce the laws and ordi-
nances of the town, and all orders and resolutions of the council. He
shall see that the duties of the various town officers are faithfully
performed. He shall have power to investigate their acts, and have
access to all books and documents in their office. He shall have the
right to suspend any municipal officer elected by the council for mis-
conduct in office or neglect of duty, to be specified in the order of sus-
pension.

Whenever the mayor shall suspend any such officer he shall report
the facts, with his reasons therefor, at the next regular meeting, and
the council shall take such action in the case as it may deem proper
by reinstating or removing such officer. In case of the absence or in-
ability of the mayor, the council shall appoint one of its members acting
mayor, who shall possess the same powers and discharge the same
duties as are possessed and discharged by the mayor during such
absence or inability.

14. It shall be the duty of the mayor to communicate to the council
at the end of each fiscal year a general statement of the condition of
the town in relation to its government, finances, and improvement, with
such recommendations as he may deem proper. The treasurer and col-
lector shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, execute
before the council of the said town satisfactory bonds in such sums as
the council may prescribe; the bonds shall be made payable to the
town of Narrows, and shall be conditioned for the faithful performance
of their respective duties.

15. All moneys belonging to the said town from taxes on persons
and property shall be paid to the collector, who shall at the end of each
week make a settlement with the treasurer by paying over to him all
money coming into his hand from taxes during said week, and all
moneys belonging to the said town from fines or other evidences of
debts shall be collected by the sergeant and paid over to the treasurer ai
the end of each week, and no money shall be paid out by the town
treasurer except as the same shall have been ordered to be paid by the
council, and the said treasurer shall pay the same only upon warrants
drawn upon him, which are signed by the mayor and countersigned by
the clerk of the council. He shall keep a regular account with the town,
crediting it by all moneys received, and charging it with all money
disbursed, which books, as well as all others relating to business of the
town, shall be open to inspection of the mayor and of the councilmen
or any member thereof.

He shall also keep a book in which shall be registered all warrants:
presented, payment for which is refused for want of funds to meet
the same, giving the number of the warrant and the name of the holder,
and the warrants so registered shall be paid in the order in which they
they are registered when funds applicable thereto shall come into his
hands, except that the person to whom any warrant is made payable
may use the same in the payment of his taxes. Should the person to
whom any warrant is made payable be indebted to the town for taxes
or otherwise, then the said indebtedness shall be deducted therefrom.
He shall annually on the first day of June settle his account with the
council, at which time he shall furnish a statement of all moneys re-
ceived by him during the preceding year, and of all disbursements made
with the warrants upon which said payments were made, which war-
rants shall be inspected, and, if approved, cancelled by said council.

16. There shall be a lien on the real estate in the town of Narrows for
the taxes assessed thereon for the said town from the commencement of
the year for which they are assessed, and when any of the said taxes are
returned delinquent a list of the same shall be returned to the clerk of
the circuit court of Giles county. The circuit court of Giles county,
on the application of the council of the town of Narrows, through its
mayor, may order real estate delinquent for the non-payment of taxes
to be sold by the collector of taxes for the town at public auction for
such and at such times as it may direct; said sale and advertisement
thereof to be made in conformity to the State law with reference to the
sale of delinquent lands.

17. The council of the town of Narrows may levy and cause to be
collected a license tax of not exceeding five dollars per day on all ped-
dlers or itinerant salesmen who may offer their goods or wares for sale
within the corporate limits of the town of Narrows.

18. All lots within the town of Narrows shall be listed for taxation
by both section and number.