CHAP. XXII. An act directing the auditors to issue warrants in certain cases. [Chapter CLXVI in original.j [Chan Rev. p. 203.] issue war rants, for pay, to officers of I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Auditors to auditors shall, yearly, issue to such of the officers of the state line and navy as are by law entitled to half pay, half their warrants for the same. 11. And be it further enacted, That the auditors shall state line & make a return of the amount of the said warrants to the To return a next session of assembly, or as soon after as may be, mount to that adequate funds may be provided for the discharge next assem thereof. navy. bly. CHAP. XXIII. An act giving certain powers to the trustees of the town of Portsmouth. Chap CLXVII in original.] 1. WHEREAS it is represented to this present gen- Preamble! eral assembly, by the inhabitants of the town of Portsmouth, that it would tend greatly to their advantage. were the trustees thereof empowered to levy a tax annually on the tithables and real property therein, to be appropriated towards public improvements, and also empowered to make certain other regulations in the said town: "Portsmouth II. Be it therefore enacted, That the trustees of the Trustees of said town, or any four of them, being a majority, shall, town of and they are hereby empowered and required, in the auth rised month of January annually, to assess the freeholders to assess taxand inhabitants of the said town, so as such assessment es un inhado not exceed three shillings for every tithable, and bitants. one and an half per centum on the valuation of the real property therein; the said trustees, or the major part of To appoint them, shall annually appoint a collector of the said a collector. VOL. XI. 12 distress, market house. tax, who shall give bond with sufficient security, in double the sum to be by him collected, for the due and faithful collecting, accounting for, and paying the said tax to the said trustees, or to such person or persons as they shall direct and appoint, who shall receive a commission of two and an half per centum for his trouble Power of in collecting and paying the same. If any person shall neglect or refuse to pay the tax imposed by virtue of this act, within ten days after the same shall be demanded, it shall then be lawful for the collector to make distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person or persons so neglecting or refusing, or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to pay the said tax, in the same manner as is by law directed in the case of county and parish levies; and if other sufficient distress cannot be made, it shall be lawful for the collector to distrain and sell the lot of any person liable to pay the said tax, in the same manner as is by law directed in To erect a the case of non-payment of public taxes. The said trustees, or the major part of them, are hereby empow"ered to contract and agree with any person or persons for erecting a market-house, and shall have power, from time to time, to regulate the same; and moreover contract with any person or persons for repairing the streets, and making such other public improvements as to them shall seem necessary and proper. If the trustees shall fail to apply the taxes for the purposes of this act, each trustee shall forfeit and pay the sum of two hundred pounds; to be recovered, with costs, by information in any court within this commonwealth, to the use of the informer; and moreover be thereafter disabled from acting as a trustee. If the collector shall fail to account for, and pay the taxes by the time fixed by the trustees for the payment thereof, it shall be lawful for the court of Norfolk county, upon motion of the said trustees, to give judgment against such collector or his security, for the amount of the said taxes, and ten per centum interest thereon till paid, with costs, and thereupon to award execution; provided the collector or security has ten days previous notice of such motion. It shall not be lawful for any person or persons, inhabitants of the said town, owners of any swine, to suffer the same to go at large in the limits thereof; and if any swine belonging to an inhabitant of the said town, shall, after the first day of January next, be found Penalties. Hogs belonging to inhabitants of the town not to run at large therein. running or going at large within the said limits, it CHAP. XXIV. Ch. CLXVIII in original. An act for paying the soldiers late from the southern army belonging Repealed, to the Virginia continental line post c. 43. three months wages. I. WHEREAS no provision hath been made for 3 months. advancing three months pay to the troops of this state's pay advanline of continental soldiers, lately arrived in the city of ced to the Richmond, and daily expected therein, from the south- this state, on ern army: soldiers of continental II. Be it therefore enacted, That out of the fund ap- establish. propriated for the defence of the bay of Chesapeake, the southern ment, from and also out of that arising under the law for recruit- army. ing this state's quota of troops to serve in the army of the United States, there shall be so much money paid by the treasurer, to the orders of the executive, as shall be sufficient for the purpose of compleating three months pay to the soldiers now in this city, and such others of the said line as may arrive therein from the southern army. CHAP. XXV. CLXIX in original.] Preamble. [Chapter An act to amend the act, intituled an act to amend the act for calling in and redeeming certain certificates. 1. WHEREAS it has been impracticable for the auditors of public accounts to settle the claims against this state, agreeable to the directions of an act, intituled, "an act for auditing certain public claims;" and the bu siness assigned to the auditors, under the act aforesaid, has been placed in the hands of commissioners, whereby the creditors of the public may be prevented from receiving warrants for the same until the first day of January next; Collections poned. II. Be it enacted, That the collection of the taxes if taxes post-imposed by an act, intituled, "an act for calling in and redeeming certain certificates," which by an act of the last session of assembly was postponed until the first day of August next, shall be, and the same is hereby further postponed until the first day of February next. Provisions Provided, That any sheriff whose time may expire be as to sheriffs fore the first day of November next, and who may bonds, have given bond with security for the collection of the said taxes, such bond shall be cancelled; and the sheriff succeeding in office, in like manner, give bond with security, agreeable to the said act. And whereas by the said last recited act, the courts of every county were required, before the month of November last, to take bond of the sheriff, with sufficient security, in the penalty of ten thousand pounds, payable to the treasurer of this commonwealth and his successors, for the use of the commonwealth, conditioned for the true and faithful collecting, paying, and accounting for, all taxes in his county, imposed by the said act; which bond was omitted to be taken of the sheriffs in several counties; New bonds by sheriffs. III. Be it enacted, That the court of every county where the sheriff has not entered into such bond, for the collection of the said taxes, shall, before the first day of January next, take bond of the sheriff, with sufficient security, as in and by the said act is directed; which said bond shall be recorded in the court of the County where the same is taken, and an attested copy thereof shall be transmitted by the respective clerks, without delay, to the auditors of public accounts, and admitted as evidence in any suit or proceeding founded thereon. IV. And be it enacted, That all free male persons, Exempts and also all slaves, who have been, or shall be, by the from taxacounty courts exempted from payment of taxes under tion. the revenue law, on account of age or infirmity, shall be exempted also from payment of the capitation tax imposed by the said recited act. 17 how regulat ed. V. And be it further enacted, That the tax of one. per cent. on the valuation of land, by the said act im- Tax on land, posed, shall be regulated and collected according to the equalized value thereof, as the same has been charged by the examiners appointed under the act of the last session of assembly, intituled, "An act for equalizing the land tax.” And whereas it is represented to this present general assembly, that the examiners, under the act aforesaid, have committed mistakes in extending the amount of the sums due by the respective persons, on the estimate of the quantity of land belonging to each, at the price so by them equalized; VI. Be it enacted, That the county commissioners shall, and they hereby are required, to estimate every County com. charge in the books to them committed; and where it missioners to shall appear that any mistake has been made by the takes of ex correct mis. examiners aforesaid, the said commissioners shall, and aminers, unthey are hereby required to correct the same in the lists der the eby them delivered or to be delivered to the respective qualizing sheriffs for the collection of the present year, and to extension of transmit to the auditors an account of their proceedings taxes. herein, on or before the first day of November next, to enable them to make corresponding entries in the books returned by the examiners, and to settle with the sheriffs for the sums by them actually received; for which the commissioners of each county shall be allowed the sum of four pounds, to be paid by the treasurer, on the auditors warrants, as their other fees are; all which warrants shall be receivable by the sheriff in payment of taxes, |