CHAP. 112.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved February 7,
1835, providing a charter for the town of Bridgewater, as amended by
an act approved March 3, 1884, and as amended by an act approved Au-
gust 26, 1884, and as further amended by an act approved February 16,
1901, arid all other acts heretofore passed amendatory of said charter.

Approved March 11, 1912.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
un act entitled “‘An act to establish the town of Bridgewater,
in the county of Rockingham,” passed February seventh, eigh-
teen hundred and thirty-five, as amended by an act entitled “An
act to amend and re-enact an act to incorporate the town of
Bridgewater, approved February seventh, eighteen hundred and
thirty-five, and all acts amendatory thereof,’ and as amended by
an act entitled, ‘‘An act to amend and re-enact sections one, two
and seven of an act approved March third, eighteen hundred
and eighty-four, entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act
to incorporate the town of Bridgewater, approved February
seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, and all acts amenda-
tory thereof” approved August twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred
and eighty-four, and as further amended by an act entitled
“An act to amend and re-enact section one of an act approved
February seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, providing
a charter for the town of Bridgewater, as amended by an act
approved March third, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and
as amended by an act approved August twenty-sixth, eighteen
hundred and eighty-four, and all other acts amendatory there-
of on condition,” approved February sixteenth, nineteen hun-
dred and one, and all other acts amendatory thereof be amended
and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

§1. The corporate limits of the town of Bridgewater, in the
county of Rockingham, as heretofore established by law are
hereby re-established as follows: Beginning at a large oak tree
on the north bank of North river, at a point on a line with the
road running between the lands of Samuel Webb and Jacob H.
Wynant; thence with the west side of said road in a north-
easterly direction to Commerce street; thence in a straight line
in a northernly direction to a large white oak tree on the north
bank of the Mount Crawford road; thence continuing the last-
mentioned straight line in a northernly direction to the south
side of the Brethern church road; thence in a westerly direction
with the line of said road to the Warm Springs turnpike;
thence in a straight line continuing same bearing, crossing the
Warm Springs turnpike to a point where said line extended
strikes the east side of Dry river; thence in a southerly direc-
tion along the east bank of said river, following the meander-
ings of same, to a point where said Dry river empties into
the North river; thence with the east bank of said North river,
following the meanderings thereof, to the point of beginning.

§2. The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor
and six councilmen, who shall constitute the,,council of said
town and shall be chosen and elected from the qualified voters
of said town at the times and in the manner prescribed by
law. ,

§3. The mayor and council, as soon as they shall be elected
and qualified, as hereinafter provided, shall be a body politic
incorporate by the name of the town of Bridgewater, and shall
have perpetual succession and a common seal, and by that name
may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, may purchase
and hold real estate and sell and convey the same needful for
the public good, and may exercise all the powers of said cor-
poration, except where otherwise provided.

§4. The mayor and councilmen of said corporation shall be
elected by the citizens of said corporation, who are residents
thereof, and entitled to vote for members of the General assem-
bly and otherwise qualified as the electors of said town under
the provisions of the general law.

§5. Their term of office shall be for two years, except when
filling vacancies, and they shall enter upon the duties of the
office on the first day ot September next succeeding their elec-
tion, and shall continue in office until their successors are quali-
fied.

$6. The mayor and councilmen must be citizens of the town
entitled to vote for members of the common council.

§7. All vacancies occurring from any cause in the offices of
common councilmen, shall be filed by appointment by the coun-
cil, except where otherwise provided by law.

§8. Municipal elections, provided under this act, shall be
conducted in the manner prescribed by the general law, and in
case of a tie at any election, the duly elected members of the
council shall decide between the candidates and shall also hear
and decide contested elections.

§9. A majority of the whole number of officers constituting
the council of said town, as mentioned in the second section of
this act, shall be necessary to the transaction of any business
whatever.

$10. The officers herein mentioned shall each, before enter-
ing upon his official duties, take and subscribe an oath that he
will truly, faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his
said office, so long as he shall continue therein. The recorder
shall take such oath before some person authorized to admin-
ister the same, and shall thereupon be authorized to administer
the same to other officials, and shall keep a record thereof in
the journal of the council; if any of these officers shall fail
for the period of thirty days so to qualify after the time for
his induction into office, as now provided by law, his office
shall be vacant, and whenever a majority of the members of
the common council shall have qualified, as aforesaid, and en-
tered upon the duties of their said offices, as provided by law,
they shall supersede the former council of said town.
§11. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of
the town of Bridgewater for the term of two years and until
his successor shall be elected and qualified, and no person shall
be qualified to hold the office of mayor except such as shall be
qualified to hold office under the Constitution of this State.
He shall receive such salary as the council may within the limi-
tations of the general law fix and determine, payable at stated
periods, and no regulation increasing or diminishing such com-
pensation after it has been once fixed shall be made to take
effect until after the expiration of the term for which the mayor
then in office shall have been elected. The salary of the mayor
when fixed, shall so continue until changed by the town council
as aforesaid.

§12. It shall be his duty to communicate to the council an-
nually, as soon as may be after the fiscal year, and oftener if
he shall deem it expedient, or be required by said council, a
general statement of the situation and condition of the town
in relation to its government, finances and improvements, with
such recommendations as he may deem proper.

§13. He shall exercise a constant supervision over the con-
duct of all subordinate officers, have power and authority to in-
vestigate their acts, have access to all books and documents
in their offices, and may examine said officers and their subordi-
nates on oath. He shall also have power to suspend all offi-
cers elected by the council, until the next regular meeting of the
council for misconduct in office, or neglect of duty, to be speci-
fied in the order of suspension, and of the suspension of such
officer or officers, the mayor shall report the same, with his
reason therefor, to the council at their next regular meeting.

§14. In case of the absence or inability of the mayor, the
recorder shall possess the same powers and discharge the muni-
cipal duties of the mayor during such absence or inability, ex-
cept where otherwise provided by law.

§15. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor,
the council shall elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy until
the first general election, which may be held in the town there-
after, when the vacancy shall be filled by election.

§16. He shall have jurisdiction to try all violations of the
town ordinances, and inflict such punishments and impose such
fines as may be prescribed for a violation of the same, and in
all criminal cases occurring within the town, he shall exercise
all the powers and authority of a justice of the peace of the
county of Rockingham, and be entitled to the fees in such cases
by law allowed to justices of the peace.

§17. In case of any vacancy happening in the town council
by death, resignation, removal, or otherwise, the council shall
elect by ballot a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the
next election which may be held in the town.

$18. When, for any cause, the mayor shall be absent, the
council shall elect a president pro tempore, who shall preside
over the council(duxingidhe absence of the, mayor. 'The.minutes
and record of the préceedings of the council chal] he cioned hy
the mayor. The mayor shall have power to call a meeting of
the council whenever he deems it necessary, or in case of his
absence or inability or refusal the council may be convened by
the order, in writing, of any three members of the council.

§19. The council shall, by ordinance or resolution, fix the
time for their stated meetings; and no business shall be trans-
acted at a special meeting, but that for which it shall be
called.

$20. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules,
and appoint such officers or committees as they shall deem
proper for the regulation of their proceedings and for the con-
venient transaction of business; to compel the attendance of
absent members; to punish its members for disorderly behavior;
and, with concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member for mal-
feasance in office. They shall keep a minute book in which the
recorder shall, in a brief manner, note the proceedings of the
council, and shall record said proceedings at large on the record
book, and keep the same properly indexed. The meetings of
the council shall be open, except when the public welfare shall
require secrecy.

§21. A majority of the members of the council shall con-
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business; but no ordi-
nance shall be passed nor resolution adopted having for its ob-
ject the levy of a tax or appropriation or borrowing of money,
except by the concurrence of two-thirds of the council; and
upon demand of any member, on the passage of any ordinance
or resolution, the yeas and nays shall be taken and entered on
the record. No vote or question decided at a stated meeting
shall be reconsidered or rescinded at a special meeting, unless
there be at least six members present, and four of them shall
concur. _

§22. The town council shall have, subject to the provisions
of this act, the control and management of the fiscal and muni-
cipal affairs of the town, and of all property, real and perso-
nal belonging to said town, and may make such ordinances,
orders and by-laws relating to the same as they shall deem prop-
er and necessary; and they shall likewise have power to make
such ordinances, orders, by-laws, and regulations as they may
deem necessary and proper to carry out the following powers,
which are hereby vested in them:

First. To establish a market, or markets, in and for said
town and appoint such proper officers therefor, prescribe the
time and places for holding the same, provide suitable buildings
and grounds therefor, and to enforce such regulations ag shall
be necessary and proper to prevent huckstering, forestalling,
or regrating.

second. To erect and provide, in or near said town, suit-
able workhouses, houses of correction and reformation, and
houses for the reception and maintenance of the poor and desti-
tute; and they shall possess and exercise authority over all
persons within the limits of the town, receiving or entitled tc
the benefit of the poor laws, appoint necessary officers and
other persons proper to be connected with the aforesaid insti-
tutions, and regulate pauperism within the limits of the town;
and the councils, through the agency they shall appoint for the
direction and management of the poor of the town, shall exer-
cise the powers and perform the duties vested by law in over-
seers of the poor.

Third. To erect and keep in order all public buildings neces-
sary and proper for said town; to erect within the town a town
prison, and said prison shall contain such apartments as shall
be necessary for the safe-keeping and employment of all per-
sons confined therein.

Fourth. To establish, enlarge, or operate a system of sewer-
age, water works, gas works, telephone works, and electric light
works within or without the limits of the town; to contract or
agree with the owners of any land for the use and purchase
thereof, or to have the same condemned according to law, within
or without the town, for the location, extension, and enlarge-
ment of their said works, the pipes or wires connected there-
with, or any of the appurtenances or fixtures thereof; and shall
have power to protect from injury, by ordinances prescribing
adequate penalties, the works, pipes, fixtures, and land, or any-
thing connected therewith, whether within or without the lim-
its of said town.

Fifth. To close or extend, widen or narrow, lay out, grad-
uate, curb and pave, and otherwise improve streets, sidewalks,
and public alleys in the town, and have them kept in good or-
der and properly lighted; and over any street or alley in the
town which has been or may be ceded to the town, or conveyed
to the town, by proper deed, they shall have like power and
authority as over other streets and alleys; they may build
bridges in and culverts under said streets, and may prevent or
remove any structure, obstruction, or encroachment over or
under, or in any street, sidewalk or alley in said town; and
may permit shade trees to be planted along said streets; but no
company shall occupy with its works or appurtenances thereof
the streets, sidewalks, or alleys of the town without the con-
sent of the council, duly entered of record, after due compliance
with the provisions of the general law of the Commonwealth
in such case made and provided; and wherever, in the con-
struction of any sewer or duct, it is necessary that the same
should pass through or under private property, the said coun-
cil shall have authority to contract and agree with the owners
thereof for the use and purchase of the right of way through
or under the same, or have the same condemned according to
law, and in the meantime no order shall be made and no in-
junction shall be awarded by any court or judge to stay the
proceedings of the town in the prosecution of its work, unless
it be manifest that they, their officers, agents, or servants are
transcending the authority given them by this act, and that the
interposition of the court is necessary to prevent injury that
cannot be adequately compensated for in damages. The said
council shall have power to authorize the laying down of rail-
way tracks and the running of cars thereon by horse power,
electricity, or other motive power, in the streets of the town,
under such regulations as the council may prescribe, not in con-
travention of the general law.

Sixth. To prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys,
lanes, or bridges in the town in any manner whatever, and to
have full and complete control of the same.

Seventh. To determine and designate the route and grade
of any railroad to be laid in said town, and to restrain and
regulate the speed of bicycles, traction engines, automobiles,
motor cycles, locomotives, engines, and cars upon the railroads
within said town, and may wholly exclude such engines and cars,
if they please, provided that no contract be hereby violated.

Eighth. To make provision for and regulate the weighing of
hay, fodder, oats, shucks, or other long forage; they may also
provide for measuring corn, oats, grain, coal, stone, wood, lum-
ber, boards, potatoes, and other articles for sale or barter.

Ninth. To require every merchant, retailer, trader, and deal-
er in merchandise, or property of any description, which is
sold by measure or weight, to cause their weights and measures
to be sealed by the town sealer, and to be subject to his inspec-
tion, and may impose penalties for any violation of any such
ordinance.

Tenth. To secure the inhabitants from contagious, infections,
or other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect, regulate hos-
pitals; to provide for and enforce the removal of patients to
said hospital; to appoint and organize a board of health for
said town, with the authority necessary for the prompt and
efficient performance of its duties, and provide for the inter-
ment of the dead and regulate the same.

Eleventh. To 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 shall be; to prevent and regulate
slaughter houses and soap and candle factories and tanneries
within said town, or the exercise of any dangerous, offensive,
or unhealthy business, trade, or employment therein, and to
regulate the transportation of coal and other articles through
the streets of said town.

Twelfth. If any ground in said town shall be subject to be
covered with stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, or
occupier or occupiers, thereof shall permit any offensive or un-
wholesome substance to remain therein, the council may cause
such grounds to be filled up, raised, or drained, or may cause
such substance to be covered, or to be removed therefrom, and
may collect the expense of so doing from the said owner or
owners, occupier or occuplers, or any of them, DY Gisthtss as
sale, in the same manner in which taxes levied upon real estate
for the benefit of said town are authorized to be collected ;
provided, that reasonable notice shall be first given to the said
owners or their agents. In case of non-resident owners who
have no agents in said town, such notice may be given by pub-
lication for not less than four weeks in any newspaper printed
in the county of Rockingham.

Thirteenth. To direct the location of all buildings for stor-
ing gunpowder, fire-crackers, or other fireworks manufactured
or prepared therefrom, kerosene oil, nitro-glycerine, cam-
phene, burning fluid, or other combustible material; to regu-
late the exhibition of fire-works, the discharge of fire arms, the
use of candles, lights in barns, stables, and other build-
ings, and to regulate or restrain the making of bonfires in
streets and yards.

Fourteenth. To prevent horses, cattle, hogs, dogs, and all
other animals from running at large in said town, and may
subject the same to such confiscation, regulations, and taxes as
they may deem proper; and the council may prohibit the rais-
ing and keeping of hogs in the town or any part thereof.

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

Sixteenth. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and
street beggars; to prevent vice and immorality, obscenity and
profanity; to preserve peace and good order; to prevent and
quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to sup-
press houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to prevent and
punish lewd, indecent, and disorderly conduct or exhibitions in
said town, and to expel therefrom the persons guilty of such
conduct who have not resided therein as much as one year.

Seventeenth. To prevent, forbid and punish the selling or
giving of liquors and intoxicating drinks to be drunk in any
place not duly licensed, and the selling or giving to be drunk
any intoxicating liquors to any child or minor, and the selling
or giving of cigarettes to any minor under sixteen years of age,
without the consent in writing of his or her parents or guardian;
and for the violation of any such ordinance may impose such
fines as permitted under the Constitution and laws of the Com-
monwealth. ;

Any person applying to the court of Rockingham, having
jurisdiction to grant licenses for license to sell liquors of any
kind, either as the keeper of a barroom, wholsesale or retail
liquor dealer, within the corporate limits of the town of Bridge-
water, Rockingham county, or within one mile of the limits
of said corporation, shall produce before the court of said
county, a certificate of the council of said town of Bridgewater,
signed by each member of the council, to the effect that the
applicant is a suitable person, and that no good reason is
known to said council why said license should not be granted;
and the courts having jurisdiction shall not grant any license
to sell liquors within the limits above prescribed until and un-
less such certificates be given.

Eighteenth. To prevent the coming into town of persons
having no ostensible means of support and of persons who may
be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town, and may
compel said persons to leave the town; provided that such
order to leave be issued within thirty days after their arrival.

Nineteenth. The council may organize and maintain a fire
department for the town, and appoint a chief engineer, assist-
ant, and other officers, with any and all the powers which may
have been or may be vested by law in such officers; and may
make rules and regulations for the government of the officers
and men of said department, may prescribe their respective
duties in case of fire, or alarms of fire, may fix their pay, and
may impose reasonable fines for the breach of such regula-
tions, and may make such ordinances as they may deem proper
to extinguish and prevent fires, to prevent property from being
stolen, and to require citizens to render assistance to the fire
department in case of need.

Twentieth. For the purpose of guarding against. the calam-
ties of fire the town council may, from time to time, designate
such portions and parts of the town as they may deem proper
within which no buildings of wood shall be erected; they may
prohibit the erection of wooden buildings in any portion of
the town without their permission, and shall, on the petition
of the owner or owners of at least one-fourth of the ground
included in any square of the town, prohibit their erection on
such square of any building, or addition to any building, un-
less the outer walls thereof be made of brick and mortar, or
stone and mortar, and may provide for the removal of any
such building or addition which shall be erected contrary to
such prohibition at the expense of the builder or owner there-
of; and if any such building shall have been commenced be-
fore said petition can be acted upon by the council, or if any
building in progress of erection appears clearly unsafe, the
council may cause such building to be taken down.

Twenty-first. In addition to the jurisdiction, functions and
authority herein specifically enumerated, the council shall
exercise the powers granted to and discharge the duties im-
posed upon them by the constitution and laws of Virginia.

$23. Where, by the provisions of this act, the council have
authority to pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe
any penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars for violation
thereof, and may provide that the offender, on failing to pay
the penalty recovered, shall be imprisoned in the jail of the
town, or in the jail of Rockingham county, for any term not
exceeding ninety days, which penalty may be prosecuted and re-
covered, with costs, in the name of the town of Bridegwater.

§24. No ordinance hereafter passed by said council for the
violation of which any penalty is imposed, shall take effect until
the same shall have been published, either in one or more of the
newspapers published in Rockingham county, or by hand bills,
as the council may order; such hand bills shall be posted in
at least ten public places in different localities of said town.
A certificate of such posting shall be filed by the town ser-
geant in the office of said council; and all laws, regulations,
and ordinances of said council certified by the recorder may
be read in evidence in all courts of justice, and all proceedings
before any officer, body or board in which it shall be necessary
to refer thereto, but after the expiration of six months from the
date of such ordinance its publication shall not be questioned,
or its validity affected, by any failure to publish the same.

§25. The town council shall not take or use any private
property for streets or other public purposes without making
to the owners thereof, just compensation for the same; but in
cases where the council shall fail, by agreement, to obtain title
to the ground for such purposes, it shall be lawful for said
council to apply to and obtain from the circuit court of Rock-
ingham county for authority to condemn the same, which shall
be applied for and proceeded with, according to law.

§26. In every case where a street in said town has been or
shall be encroached upon by any fence or otherwise, the coun-
cil may require the owner, if known, or if unknown, the occu-
pant of the premises encroaching to remove the same; and if
such removal be not made within the time prescribed by the
council, they may impose a penalty of five dollars for each and
every day it is allowed to continue thereafter, and may cause
the encroachment to be removed, and collect from the owner
all reasonable charges therefor, with costs, by the same process
that they are hereinafter empowered to collect taxes. No en-
croachment upon any street, however long continued, shall con-
stitute adverse possession to, or confer any right upon the per-
son claiming thereunder or against the said town.

§27. Whenever any street, alley, or lane in said town shall
be open to and used as such by the public for the period of
five years, unless notice of a contrary intention on the part of
the landowner be given to the mavor of the town, the same
shall thereby become a street, alley or lane for public purposes,
and the council shall have the same authority and jurisdiction
over and rights and interests therein as they have by law over
the other streets, alleys and lanes laid out by them; and any
street or alley reserved in the division or subdivision into lots
or any portion of the territory within the corporate limits of
said town by a plat or plan of record shall be deemed and held
to be dedicated to public use, unless it appears by said record
that the street or alley so reserved is designed for private use;
but upon a petition of the majority of the persons interested
therein, the council shall have the power to open the same for
the use of the public.

§28. The council may impose a tax upon abutting land
owners for making and improving the walkways upon then
existing streets and for improving and paving then existing
alleys, and for either the construction or for the use of sewers;
provided that the procedure for the imposition of said tax or
assessment shall conform to the provisions of the general law.

§29. The council shall grant and pay to all town officers
elected under or appointed in pursuance of this act such salaries
or compensation as the said council may, from time to time,
deem just and proper, subject to provisions of the general law.

§30. If any person, having been an officer of said town,
shall not within ten days after he shall have vacated or been
removed from office, and upon notification and request of the
mayor, or within such time thereafter as the council shall allow,
deliver over to his successor in office, all property, books, and
papers belonging to the town, or appertaining to such office, in
his possession or under his control, he shall forfeit and pay to
the town the sum of five hundred dollars, to be used for and
recovered, with costs; and all books, records, and documents
used in any such office by virtue of any provision of this act,
or of any ordinance or order of the town council or any superior
officer of said town, shall be deemed the property of said town
and appertain to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall
be responsible therefor.

§31. There shall be one treasurer, one assessor, one ser-
geant for the town, the treasurer and assessor to be elected by
the qualified voters of the town, and the sergeant to be elected
by the common council.

§32. The town council may appoint to those herein pro-
vided for such officers and clerks, as they deem proper and
necessary, and define their powers and prescribe their duties
and fix their compensation, and may take from any officer so ap-
pointed a bond, with surety to be approved by the council, in
such penalty as they may deem proper, payable to the town by
its corporate name, for the faithful discharge of said duties.
All officers appointed by the council may be removed from office
at their pleasure. In case of any vacancies occuring in any
municipal office, where it is not herein otherwise provided, the
town council shall elect a qualified person to fill such office
during the unexpired term; but two-thirds of the council shall
concur in creating any such office or in afterwards abolishing it.

§33. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
town at each biennial election, one treasurer, who shall hold
office for the term of two years, and until his successor be elected
and qualified, unless sooner removed from office. He _ shall
qualify before the council and give bond, with surety approved
by it in a penalty to be determined by the council, but not less
in any case than double the amount that will probably be in
the hands of said treasurer as treasurer of the town at any one
ime.

§34. The said treasurer shall receive all money belonging to
the town, and shall keep his office in some convenient place in
the town. He shall keep his books and accounts in such man-
ner as the town council may prescribe, and such books and ac-
counts shall always be subject to the inspection of the mayor
and any member of the town council, or any committee or com-
mittees thereof.

§35. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer, except
upon the warrant of the recorder of the council, countersigned
by the mayor of the council; and he shall keep a separate ac-
count of each fund on appropriation, and the debits and credits
belonging thereto.

§36. All moneys to be paid into the treasury of the town,
except taxes and such other assessments as the town council
may so ordain, shall be paid by the person liable to pay the
same, or his agents, to the treasurer in the following manner:
A warrant shall first be obtained from the recorder of the
council directing the treasurer to receive the sum to be paid,
specifying on what account the payment is to be made; upon
the payment of the money to the treasurer he shall give a re-
ceipt for the same, which shall be carried to the recorder, and
his receipt therefor shall be the acquittance of the party mak-
ing the payment.

§37. The treasurer shall also report to the town council at
the end of each fiscal year, and oftener if required, a full and
detailed account of all receipts and expenditures during the pre-
ceding year, and the state of the treasury. He shall also keep
a register of all warrants—their dates, amount, number, the
fund from which paid and the person to whom paid, specifying
also the time of payment; and all such warrants shall be ex-
amined at the time of making such report to the town council
by the council or the finance committee thereof, who shall ex-
amine and compare the same with the books of the recorder
and report discrepancies, if any, to the town council.

§38. The treasurer shall collect all taxes and assessments
which may be levied by said town, and for the purpose shall
be invested with the power and be subject to the liabilities and
penalties now prescribed by law in regard to county treasurers.
He shall also perform such other duties as may be herein pre-
scribed or ordained by the town council. He may appoint one
or more deputies to aid him in the duties of his office, who shall
qualify in the manner now prescribed for the qualification of
sergeant, who may perform all the duties devolved on the treas-
urer by law, and shall be subject to removal by him or by the
town council. - The treasurer may take from any person so ap-
pointed such bonded security as he shall deem necessary for his
indemnity; the treasurer and his surety. shall nevertheless be
responsible for the performance of the duties of any such
deputy.

§39. All moneys received on any special assessment shall be
held by the treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the pay-
ment for which the assessment was made, and said money shall
be used for no other purpose whatever.

$40. The treasurer shall be required to keep all moneys in his
hands belonging to the town in such place or places of deposit
as the town council may by ordinance provide, order, establish,
or direct; such money shall be kept separate and distinct, and
he is hereby expressly prohibited from using, either directly or
indirectly, the corporation money or warrants in his custody
or keeping for his own use or benefit or that of any person or
persons whomsoever, and any violation of this provision shall
subject him to immediate removal from office. In case of his
removal, the town ccuncil shall elect a qualified person to fill
said office until the next general election which may be held in
the town. The compensation of the treasurer shall be fixed by
the council.

§41. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
town at each biennial election one recorder, who shall attend
the meetings of the town council and keep a record of its pro-
ceedings. He shall have the custody of the corporate seal. He
shall keep all papers that, by the provision of this act or the
direction of the town council, are required to be filed with or
kept by him. It shall also be his duty immediately after the
close of each session of the town council to make and present
to the mayor a transcript of every ordinance, resolution, or
order concerning any public improvement or for the payment
of any money, and every ordinance, resolution, order and act
of a legislative character passed by the town council at such
session. He shall, in like manner, transmit to the treasurer a
transcript of all ordinances, resolutions, or orders appropriating
money or authorizing the payment of money, the issue of bonds
or notes. He shall, in like manner, give notice to all parties
presenting communications or petitions to the town council of
the final action of the council on such communication or peti-
tion. He shall publish such reports and ordinances as the town
council is required by this act to publish, and such other re-
ports and ordinances as it may direct, and shall, in general,
perform such other acts and duties as the town council may,
from time to time, require of him.

$42. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
town at each biennial election one assessor, who shall hold of-
fice for the period of two years, and until his successor shall be
elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from office. He
shall give bond, with surety, in such amount as the council may
determine, said bond to be approved by the town council enterec
on their record and filed in the office of the town recorder.

In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of assessor, the
town council shall elect a qualified person to fill said office unti
the next general election which may be held for the town.

$43. The assessor shall perform all the duties in relation
to the assessment of property for the purpose of levying the
town taxes that may be ordered by the town council. He shal!
keep his office at some convenient place in said town, and shall
keep therein such books, schedules, records, and other papers,
and in such manner as the council may direct and prescribe,
which books, schedules, records and other papers shall be sub-
ject to the inspection and examination of the mayor, the mem-
bers of the town council, and any committee or committees
thereof, and of the collector of the town taxes. His compen-
sation shall be fixed by the town council.

§44. There shall be elected by the common council of the
town, at such time as they may fix during the month of Sep-
tember succeeding each biennial election, one town sergeant,
who shall collect all fines and penalties imposed by the town
council, the mayor, or other officer of the town, unless other-
wise ordered by the council, and shall within the town and for
one mile beyond the corporate limits thereof, exercise all the
powers and perform all the duties that a constable can legally
exercise and is required to perform in regard to making arrest,
conserving the peace, the collection of claims, and executing and
levying process. _He shall be entitled to the same compensation
therefor, and shall, together with his sureties, be liable to all
the fines and forfeitures to which a constable is now or shall
hereafter be liable, to be recovered in the same manner and be-
fore the same tribunal as such fines and forfeitures are now or
shall hereafter be made recoverable against constables. He
shall hold office for two years and until his successor shall qual-
ify, and may be removed from office by the council who may fill
such vacancy till the next election.

§45. The council of the town may elect a collector of taxes
who shall collect all taxes and claims of all kinds due to said
town, placed in his hands by the town treasurer, and for that
purpose shall have all the power and authority and be subject
to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed for county
treasurers in the collection of State and county taxes and claims,
and may be proceeded against in the same manner so far as is
applicable and not inconsistent with this act or the general law.
The treasurer, when so ordered by the council, shall place in
the hands of said collector for collection all town taxes required
by the order and all other claims at such time as directed by the
town council, and take his receipt therefor. The said collector
shall proceed at once to collect said taxes and claims, and shall
pay over to the treasurer of the town (or into the treasury of
the town, as may be prescribed by the council) weekly, or of-
tener if he thinks proper, all money which may come into his
hands for taxes or otherwise belonging to said town. He shall
make full and complete quarterly settlements on the fifteenth
day of August, November, February, and May, of each year,
with the town treasurer, under the supervision of the finance
committee of the council, for all taxes and claims that may come
into his hands. He shall report to the council, in writing at
each stated meeting the amount of all moneys collected by him
for the town and paid over as herein directed. Said collector’s
receipts to the town treasurer for all taxes and claims thus
placed in his hands for collection shall be a voucher for said
treasurer in his settlement with the town council, and he (the
said treasurer) shall receive no compensation for any taxes or
claims thus collected by the said tax collector. But before en-
tering upon the duties of his office as collector of the town taxes
and other claims, as above set forth, he (the said collector) shall
furnish a bond, to be approved by the council, in such sum as
the council may direct, said bond to be payable to the town of
Bridgewater, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the
duties of said office; and said bond shall be entered on the
records of the council, and the original shall be filed with the
recorder of said town. And the council for said town shall, by
ordinance, prescribe the compensation to be allowed the said
collector for the performance of his duties under this act. He
shall be elected for two years at the same time herein prescribed
for the election of sergeant and shall be subject to like removal
by the council.

§46. The finances.—The council may, within the limits of
taxation herein set out, in the name of and for the use of the
town, contract loans, or cause to be issued certificates of debt or
bonds; but such loans, certificates, or bonds shall not be re-
deemable for a greater period than thirty years; provided, how-
ever, that said council shall not contract such loans or issue such
certificates of debt or bonds for the purpose of subscribing to
the stock of any company incorporated for internal improve-
ment or other purposes; and provided, further, that the said
council shall not endorse the bonds of any company whatsoever,
nor shall the bonded indebtedness of the town at any time ex-
ceed the per centum of the aggregate assessment of real and
personal property as is now or may be hereafter prescribed by
law for towns of the same class.

$47. Whenever hereafter there shall be contracted by the
council any debt not payable within one year thereafter, there
shall be set apart annually for thirty years, or until the debt is
paid, a sum of not less than one per centum of the amount of
such debt, in addition to the annual interest agreed to be paid
thereon, which sum shall be applied and invested towards the
payment of such debt.

§48. The town council may levy a tax on water and gas, on
licenses to agents of insurance companies whose principal office
is not located in said town, on telegraph, telephone, and elec-
tric light works, to auctioneers, to public theatricals or other per-
formances or shows, to keepers of billiard tables and ten-pin
alleys, to hawkers and peddlers, to agents for the renting of real
estate, to commission merchants and any other business for
which a license could be required by the State, within the limits
of the Constitution.

§49. Any payment of taxes made by the tenant of real estate
situate within the town, unless under an express contract con-
tained in his lease, shall be a credit against the person to whom
he owes the rent; and when any tax is paid by a fiduciary on the
interest or profit of money of an estate invested under an order
of court or otherwise, the tax shall be refunded out of said
estate.

§50. The council may grant or refuse license to owners or
keepers of wagons, drays, or carts, hacks, other wheeled carri-
ages kept or employed in the town for hire; and may require
owners or keepers of wagons, drays, or carts, using them in the
town to take out a license therefor, and may assess and require
taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same to such regula-
tions as they may deem proper, and may prescribe the fee and
compensation.

§51. All goods and chattels, wheresoever found, may be dis-
trained and sold for taxes assessed and due thereon; and no
deed of trust or mortgage upon goods and chattels shall prevent
the same from being distrained and sold for taxes assessed
against the grantor in such deed while such goods and chattels
remain in the grantor’s possession.

§52. There shall be a lien upon real estate for town taxes
as assessed thereon from the commencement of the year for
which they are assessed; and there shall also be a lien on real
estate on which local assessments for improvements may be
made for the amount of such assessments from the time the same
is levied by the council. The council may require real estate in
the town delinquent for the non-payment of taxes or assess-
ments, to be sold for said taxes or assessments, with interest
thereon from the time the same is delinquent, at the rate of six
per centum per annum, and ten per centum of the amount of
the tax to cover costs and charges exclusive of costs attending
the redemption thereof, as hereinafter provided, and cause a
good and sufficient deed to be made to the purchaser; provided,
that it shall not be lawful to impose or receive a higher rate
of penalty for the non-payment of levies than is prescribed in
case of persons delinquent in payment of State taxes.

§53. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the town to make
and deliver to the council at their regular meeting in May in
each year a list of all real estate whereon delinquent taxes
or assessments are due; and thereupon the treasurer of the town
under the direction of the town council, and when so ordered
by it, shall cause a notice of the time and place of such sale to
be published in one or more of the newspapers published in the
county of Rockingham, at least ten days previous to the sale, and
by hand-bills posted for the same time in at least ten different
places in the town; and he shall also cause to be published in one
or more of said papers on some day not more than twenty days,
nor less than ten days previous to the sale, a list of the several
parcels of real estate in the same manner as the same is de-
scribed in the assessment rolls in which the said tax or assess-
ment is imposed thereon, together with the name of the person
to whom each parcel is assessed, and the amount of the tax or
assessment due thereon.

$54. If such tax or assessment and the six per centum inter-
est, and the ten per centum costs and the charges aforesaid, be
not paid previous to the day for which said sale was advertised,
or on some day immediately thereafter to which said sale may
be adjourned, the treasurer shall proceed to make sale accord-
ingly of the said parcels of real estate, or so much thereof as
shall be necessary to satisfy the interest, taxes, and charges
aforesaid, to the highest bidder; and the sale may be adjourned
from day to day until it shall be completed. On such sale the
treasurer shall execute to the purchaser a certificate of sale in
which the property purchased shall be described and the ag-
gregate amount of taxes or assessments, with the interest and
costs, specified; but the treasurer shall not for himself, either
directly or indirectly, purchase any real estate so sold.

$55. If at any sale no bid shall be made for any such parcel
of land, or such bid shall not be equal to the tax or assessment,
with interest and costs thereon, then the same shall be struck
off to the town. On such sale the treasurer shall execute to the
town a certificate of sale, in which the property purchased shall
be described and the aggregate amount of the tax or assessment,
with interest and costs, specified, and shall deposit such certifi-
cate with the recorder of the town.

$56. The owner of any real estate so sold, his heirs or as-
signs, or any person having the right to charge such real estate
for a debt, or otherwise interested therein, may redeem the same
by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two
years from the sale thereof, the whole amount paid by said pur-
chaser, and such additional taxes thereon as may have been
paid by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, with interest there-
on at the rate of six per centum per annum, or, if purchased
by the town, with such additional sum as would have accrued
for taxes thereon if the same had not been purchased by the
town, with interest on the said purchase money and taxes at
the rate of ten per centum from the time that the same may
have been so.paid; or the same may be paid within the said
two vears to the said town treasurer in any case in which the
purchaser, his heirs or assigns, may refuse to receive the same,
or may not reside or cannot be found in the town of Bridge-
water. And the said town may sell and convey any such real
estate so purchased.

a
§57. Any infant, insane person, or persons in prison, whose
real estate may have been sold, or his heirs, may redeem the
same by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within
two years from the removal of the disability, the amount for
which the same was sold, with the interest and costs as afore-
said, and such additional taxes on the estate as may have been
paid by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, and the appraised
value of any improvement that may have been made thereon,
with interest on the said items at the rate of six per centum
per annum from the time they may have been paid. Upon
such payment, and the payment of such additional sum as may
have been incurred by the purchaser in obtaining a deed, with-
in two years after the removal of such disability, the purchaser,
his heirs or assigns, shall, at the cost of the original owner, his
heirs or assigns, convey to him or them, by deed with special
warranty, the real estate so sold.

$58. If any real estate so sold be not redeemed within the
time allowed for redemption, the purchaser of such real estate,
cr his assigns, may thereupon petition the mayor and council
that the property shall be conveyed to him; and thereupon,
after due notice to the party or parties for whose delinquent
taxes said real estate was sold, either by personal service, or, in
the event personal service eannot be had by reason of non-
residence or disability of any kind, by publication for four suc-
cessive weeks in some newspaper published in the county of
Rockingham, the said council shall determine whether or not the
requirements as to the assessment, the sale, the purchase, and
the period of redemption shall have been complied with; and
if upon such inquiry it be ascertained that the same have been
regularly complied with, and that the purchaser, or his assigns,
is entitled to a conveyance of said real estate, the council shall
direct the same to be conveyed by the recorder of the town.
Where the purchaser has assigned the benefit of his purchase,
the deed may be, with his consent evidenced by his joining
therein, or by writing annexed thereto, executed to his assignee.
And if the purchaser shall have died, his heirs or assigns may
tinove the council to order the recorder of said town to execute a
deed conveying the property to such heirs or assignee; such in-
quiry shall be deemed conclusive as to the regularity of all pro-
ceedings connected therewith.

§59. When the purchaser of real estate sold for taxes, his
heirs or assigns, shall have obtained a deed therefor, and within
sixty days from the date of such deed shall have caused the
same to be recorded, such estate shall stand vested in the
grantee in such deed as was vested in the party assessed with
the taxes (on. account whereof the sale was made), or any party
claiming under or through him at the commencement of the
year for which the said taxes were assessed, notwithstanding
any irregularity in the proceedings in which the grantee claims
title, unless such irregularity appears upon the face of the pro-
ceedings. And if it be alleged that the taxes for the non-pay-
ment of which the same was made were not in arrears, the
party making such allegation must establish the truth thereof
by proving that the taxes were paid.

§60. All property, real and personal, within the said town,
shall be subject to taxation by said town, except in cases where
they are exempt by the Constitution and laws of this Common-
wealth; but the rate of taxation for all purposes in said town,
together with any levies heretofore authorized by any act of the
legislature for the purpose of paying the interest upon any debt
already created, shall not exceed the rate of one dollar and fifty
cents upon the one hundred dollars of assessed value of real
and personal property in said town.

And out of each annual levy there shall be laid aside by the
common council a sufficient amount for the interest annually
accruing on any indebtedness heretofore authorized by said
town. And in the event there is created by the town any addi-
tional bonded indebtedness at any time, as authorized by the
provisions of this charter, there shall be first laid aside out of the
entire revenue of the town, except such portion thereof as shall
have been specifically levied for the support of public free
schools, a sum sufficient to meet the interest annually, or semi-
annually, accruing on said bonds before any portion of said
revenue, except the school tax as aforesaid, is appropriated to
any other purpose. Subject to the exemptions from taxation al-
lowed by the constitution and general laws of this State, no spe-
cies of property, real or personal, shall be exempt from taxation
by said town.

§61. Whenever the said town of Bridgewater shall keep up
and maintain all public roads now extending through said town,
within the corporate limits thereof, and shall support the poor
within said town, and shall support and maintain its public
schools, without contribution thereto by the county of Rocking-
ham from taxes levied by said county, then, and in that event,
the real and personal property within the corporate limits of
said town shall be exempt from all levies, taxes and assessments,
made by the county of Rockingham for the maintenance of
roads, bridges, the support of the poor, and the support of the
public free schools.

§62. All ordinances now in force in said town, not incon-
sistent with this act, the laws of this State, and of the United
States, shall be, and remain in force until altered, amended, or
repealed by said council.

$63. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are
hereby repealed.