CHAPTER III.

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

Townships.-The State is not only divided into counties, but each county is divided into smaller divisions called townships. The township is the smallest division of our political system. It approximates to a pure democracy. Here the people meet together to discuss the affairs of the township, and to adopt measures for the general welfare.

A ward in a city corresponds to a township in the county.

Township Meetings.-The annual meeting of each township is held on the first Monday in April. At this annual meeting officers are elected, money is appropriated to meet the expenses of the township, and matters of interest connected with the township are discussed. Townships have been truly called the nurseries of a free government. influence can not be overestimated. learn the art of self-government.

Their

In them the people

Special meetings of the township may be ordered by the Township Board to fill vacancies or transact business.

Township Officers.-At the annual meeting of the township the following officers are elected :—

Township officers are elected for one year, with the exception of Justices of the Peace, who are elected for four years, and School Inspectors and the Drain Commissioner, who are elected for two years.

1. Most of the township officers are obliged to give bonds for the faith. ful performance of their duties.

2. When there is a vacancy in any township office, except Justice of the Peace and Treasurer, the Township Board may make a temporary appoint. ment, until a special town meeting is held for the purpose of choosing some one to fill the vacancy. If the office of Treasurer is vacant, the Township Board is authorized to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. A vacancy in the office of Justice of the Peace may be filled by a special township meeting.

Supervisor.-The Supervisor is the principal officer of the township. He is,

I. The moderator of all township meetings for the transaction of any business, except the election of township officers.

Certain officers designated by law have charge of elections.

2. The chairman of the Township Board, and a member of the Board of Supervisors of the county.

3. The representative of his township in the transaction of all legal business. The township sues through him, and all processes against the township are served upon him.

The Supervisor is annually required to make out a complete list of all persons liable to be taxed, together with a correct valuation of all taxable property. He then assesses upon the property of each, his proportion of the tax to be raised for

State, county, and township purposes.

This tax-list is handed

He also

over to the Township Treasurer for collection. provides temporary relief for the poor of his township, and performs various other duties.

Every tenth year the Supervisor is required to take a census of all the inhabitants of his township, and every year he is also required to ascertain the number of births and deaths during the year. He reports the results

to the County Clerk.

Clerk.-The Township Clerk is required to keep a correct report of the proceedings of the Township Board and of township meetings. He has the custody of the records, books, and papers of the township, keeps an account of all funds received and paid out by the Treasurer, and performs many other duties.

The Clerk is a member of the Township Board and of the Board of School Inspectors. He appoints a deputy, who discharges his duties in case of absence, sickness, or death.

Treasurer.-The Treasurer receives and has charge of all money belonging to the township, keeps an account of all receipts and expenditures, and accounts to the Township Board for all money received or paid out by him. Money is paid out of the township treasury on the order of the Township Board, signed by the clerk and countersigned by the chairman. The Treasurer collects the taxes, and pays over to the County Treasurer the State and county tax.

No one is eligible to the office of Township Treasurer for more than two years in succession.

School Inspectors.-The School Inspectors are members of the Township Board of School Inspectors, whose duty it is to divide the township into school districts, and to regu late and alter boundaries as circumstances render necessary. They also receive from the Township Treasurer all money

belonging to the township library, they purchase books, and have the general management of the library. The Board of Inspectors consists of the School Inspectors and the Township Clerk.

Highway Commissioner.-The Commissioner of Highways has the general care and supervision of all highways and bridges within the township. He has the power, within cer

tain limitations, of establishing new roads and discontinuing old ones. It is his duty to divide the township into road districts, and to select persons residing within each district to work on the highways. Over each district is placed an Overseer of Highways.

Overseers of Highways.-At each annual meeting of the township, one Overseer of Highways is appointed for each road district. It is his duty to repair and keep in order all the highways within his district, see that persons assessed to work on the highways perform their duties, cause all noxious weeds within the limits of the highways to be destroyed, and execute the orders of the Commissioner of Highways.

If the township meeting neglects to elect Overseers of Highways, or there should be a vacancy in the office, it is the duty of the Commissioner of Highways to fill any such vacancy.

Fence Viewers.-Overseers of Highways act as Fence Viewers. It is their duty to settle disputes respecting the building of partition fences. If persons occupying adjoining lands are unable to agree in regard to the building or repairing of a partition fence, a complaint may be made, by either one of the parties, to two or more Fence Viewers of the Township. The Fence Viewers after due notice to each party, and after proper examination, assign to each his share of the fence to be built or repaired, and designate the time within which the work must be done.

1. Fence viewers are paid one dollar a day by the persons employing them.

2. It is the duty of the occupants of adjoining lands to keep up and maintain partition fences in equal shares, so long as both parties continue to improve the lands.

Drain Commissioner.—It is necessary that there should be a uniform system of drainage within a township, and for this reason an officer is elected to supervise the construction of all drains. This officer is called a Drain Commissioner. It is his duty to establish and open up all water-courses within his township, to locate and construct ditches or drains, and to alter or extend those already established. The Drain Commissioner is elected for a term of two years.

When there is a vacancy in this office, it is the duty of the Township Board to fill the vacancy.

Justices of the Peace.-Justices of the Peace are the judicial officers of the township, and are elected for a term of four years, one being elected each year. They issue warrants and orders, administer oaths, and have jurisdiction, within their own township, of offenses of minor importance. They may also try offenses committed in a neighboring township of the same county. A Justice of the Peace is authorized to solemnize marriages.

Justices of the Peace, as well as ministers, are required to make a record of all marriages solemnized by them, and to send a copy of each to the County Clerk.

Constables.-Constables are the ministerial officers of the Justices of the Peace. Their duties in the township and in a Justice's Court correspond, in a great measure, to the duties of a Sheriff. They preserve the public peace of the township, arrest disorderly persons, have the custody of prisoners, and