tions, and rules made pursuant to any act of assembly repealed by this act, shall continue with the same force and effect as if such act had not been repealed. Any person holding office under any act of assembly repealed by this act shall continue to hold such office until the expiration of the term thereof, subject to the conditions attached to such office prior to the passage of this act.

Special Acts of Assembly repealed by the Acts of 1911, P. L. 1047, and 1913, P. L. 268, are not revived even though the latter acts are repealed by this Code.

Com. ex rel., vs. Brennan et al., 258 Pa. 1, affirming 13 Sch. L. R. 108. Com. ex rel. Nicholas Keller, vs. Scherr et al., 258 Pa. 7, affirming 13 Sch. L. R. 102.

Com. ex rel. C. A. Whitehouse, District Attorney, vs. Reese et al., 258 Pa. 9, affirming 13 Sch. L. R. 96.

Under this section an ordinance regulating the soliciting of orders for the sale of goods in the borough, based upon an act repealed by this Code, still remains in force.

Summ vs. Borough of Wilkinsburg, 65 P. L. J. 390.

(4). Section 4. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and, if any of the provisions shall be held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining provisions of this act.

(5). Section 5. Whenever, in this act, reference is made to any act by title, such reference shall also apply to and include any codification wherein the provisions of the act referred to are substantially re-enacted.

(6). Section 6. This act shall apply to all boroughs incorporated under general law and to all boroughs incorporated under special law which have accepted the provisions of the act of April third, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, entitled "An act regulating boroughs," and also to all boroughs incorporated since April third, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, by special act of assembly, which by the act of incorporation have been given the general powers of boroughs incorporated under the general law. This act shall not annul or repeal any local or special act in force at the date of the passage of this act, or any provision thereof.

(Amendment of July 6, 1917, P. L. 704, Sec. 1.)

This amendment enlarged the application of the original section in the Act of May 14, 1915, P. L. 312, to include boroughs incorporated under special law, subsequent to the Act of April 3, 1851, and “which by the Act of incorporation have been given the general powers of boroughs incorporated under the general law."

This act, repealing the Acts of 1911, P. L. 1047, and 1913, P. L. 268, does not apply to boroughs which have not accepted its provisions. Com. ex rel., vs. Brennan et al., 258 Pa. 1.

(7). Section 7. Any borough or incorporated town, incorporated or acting under any local or special act of assembly, may surrender

the provisions of its special acts, so far as they are inconsistent with this act, by presenting a petition to the court of quarter sessions setting forth the desire of such borough or incorporated town to accept the provisions of this act. Such petition shall be made by the burgess, council, or twenty-five qualified electors of the borough or incorporated town.

Upon the presentation of the petition, the court shall fix a day for hearing, of which such notice shall be given as may be directed by the court. At such hearing any inhabitant of the borough or incorporated town may remonstrate against the granting of the petition, and the court may grant or refuse the petition.

If the court grant the petition, the decree shall be recorded in the office for the recording of deeds, and thereafter the borough or incorporated town shall be subject to all the provisions of this act, and any such incorporated town shall become a borough, and the local and special acts of assembly in force in any such borough or incorporated town shall be annulled so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this act. When any incorporated town accepts the provisions of this act the decree of the court permitting such acceptance shall set forth the title of the new borough.

(8). Section 8. When any borough or incorporated town shall accept the provisions of this act, as provided by section seven of this article, all liabilities incurred, rights accrued or vested, obligations issued or contracted, and all suits and prosecutions, pending or to be instituted, to enforce any right or penalty accrued or punish any offense committed prior to such acceptance, and all ordinances, shall continue with the same force and effect as if no such acceptance had been made.

(9). Section 9. This act shall take effect on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and fifteen.

CHAPTER II.

CREATION-CHARTERS.

ARTICLE I.

INCORPORATION.

(10). Section 1. The courts of quarter sessions may incorporate any town or village within their jurisdiction into a borough. Every town or village so incorporated shall be a body corporate and politic, by the title which shall be given by the court.

This section was drafted from part of Sec. 1, Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163. The provisions of that section requiring the concurrence of the grand jury to incorporations, and a population of three hundred inhabitants in the territory to be incorporated, were eliminated. These requirements were repealed by the Acts of June 26, 1895, P. L. 389, Sec. 2, and April 3, 1851, P. L. 320, Sec. 21.

Sec. 7, Art. III, of the Constitution prohibits the General Assembly from passing any local or special law erecting new boroughs.

(11). Section 2. The application for incorporation shall be in writing, and shall be signed, within three months immediately preceding its presentation to the court, by a majority of the freeholders residing within the limits of the proposed borough.

This section was drafted from parts of Sec. 2, Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163, and Sec. 1, Act of June 2, 1871, P. L. 283.

As to whether the application was properly signed and by the proper number, see-In re Incorporation Dupont Borough, 19 Luz. L. R. Rep. 129.

(12). Section 3. The application shall set forth the title of the proposed borough, with a particular description of the boundaries thereof, exhibiting the courses and distances in words at length, and be accompanied with a plot of the same.

This section was drafted from part of Sec. 2, Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163.

A map of the proposed borough should accompany the application or petition, but it is not necessary that it should be attached thereto. In re Incorporation Dupont Borough, 19 Luz. L. R. Rep. 129.

(13). Section 4. Upon presentation to the court the application shall be filed with the clerk, and notice thereof shall be given in one newspaper in the county, for a period of not less than thirty days immediately before the next regular term following the filing thereof, during which time exceptions may be filed to the application by any person interested. The court at said term, if it shall find that the conditions prescribed by this article have been complied with, may grant the prayer of the petitioners and make a decree accordingly; but if the court shall deem further investigation necessary they may make such order thereon as to right and justice shall appertain. The application and decree shall be recorded in the recorder's office of the county, at the expense of the applicant, who shall also pay all other expenses and costs in connection therewith.

This section was drafted from parts of Sec. 3, Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163, and Sec. 1, Act of June 26, 1895, P. L. 389. The provision for "all other expenses and costs" is new.

The second section of the Act of 1895, P. L. 389, repealed that part of Sec. 1 of the Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163, which required the concurrence of the grand jury, and that part of Sec. 1 of the Act of June 2, 1871, P. L. 283, which required applications for incorporation to be laid before the grand jury.

(14). Section 5. When the application and decree have been recorded, such part of a township or townships shall be an incorporated borough, and shall be entitled to the several rights, privileges, and immunities conferred by this act.

This section was drafted from part of Sec. 3, Act of April 1, 1834, P. L. 163.

(15). Section 6. When, in any application, the boundaries fixed by the petitioners shall embrace lands exclusively used for the purposes of farming, the court may, if it deem such land does not properly belong to the proposed borough, at the request of the party aggrieved, change the boundaries so as to exclude therefrom the land used for farming purposes.

This section was drafted from Sec. 1, Act of April 1, 1863, P. L. 200. The time to determine whether farm lands should become part of a borough is at the time of incorporation, and this question cannot be raised collaterally.

Canton Borough vs. Williams, 67 Sup. Ct. 239.

(16). Section 7. The corporate title of boroughs incorporated under this act shall be, "The borough of................................

This section was drafted from Sec. 28, Act of April 3, 1851, P. L. 320. (17). Section 8. All charters granted under this act shall set forth

First. The corporate title of the borough.

This section was drafted from Sec. 29, Act of April 3, 1851, P. L. 320, omitting that part relating to the time and place of holding the annual borough election. This part was superseded by the general election laws.

(18). Section 9. An appeal to the Superior Court may be had from any decree, incorporating a borough, within six months from the date of such decree, by not less than three persons aggrieved thereby.

This section was drafted from Sec. 1, Act of May 9, 1889, P. L. 174. This act originally provided for an appeal to the Supreme Court. In view of the Act of June 24, 1895, P. L. 212, establishing the Superior Court and regulating appeals thereto, this was changed to Superior Court. The words "twenty days" was changed to "six months," in conformity with the ruling in “Scranton Sewer,” 213 Pa. 4, and the Act of May 19, 1897, P. L. 67, regulating appeals to the Superior Court. The day for taking the appeal was changed from the date of recording to the date of the decree.

(19). Section 10. The courts of quarter sessions shall fix the time and place of holding the first election in the borough, designate a person to give notice of the election and the manner thereof, and appoint, from among the electors of the borough, a judge and inspectors to hold the first election. The officers elected at such special election shall hold their office, and their successors shall be elected and qualify, as provided for in chapter eight, article one, section twenty, of this act.

This section was drafted from Sec. 21, Act of April 3, 1851, P. L. 320. To this section was added a clause relating to the term for which the officers at the special election are to be elected.

(20). Section 11. The boundaries of the borough shall, as soon as practicable after its incorporation, be marked, due notice being first given to the commissioners and supervisors of adjoining townships and to the corporate authorities of adjoining municipalities.

This section was drafted from Sec. 25, Act of April 3, 1851, P. L. 320. Originally this section provided for notices to townships or boroughs. The word "or" was changed to "and" because the notice might be necessary to both. The word "boroughs" as used in the original section was changed to "municipalities." This change was made so that notice would be given to an adjoining city, which was, of course, a contingency not apprehended when the Act of 1851 was passed. "Township commissioners" was inserted so that notice may be given to townships of the first class.

CHAPTER II.

CREATION-CHARTERS.

ARTICLE II.

CONSOLIDATION OF BOROUGHS.

(21). Section 1. Whenever two or more boroughs, situate in the same county or in different counties, shall be adjacent, and of compact territory, they may be consolidated into one borough.

This section was drafted from Sec. 1, Act of June 6, 1893, P. L. 335, and Sec. 1, Act of April 14, 1905, P. L. 155. Under the Act of 1893 boroughs could only be consolidated where they were situate in the same county. The Act of 1905 extended this right to boroughs in different counties.

(22). Section 2. Such consolidation shall be made under the following conditions:

(a) The councils of the boroughs may of their own initiative, or shall, within sixty days after each is requested in writing by at least one hundred qualified electors of the respective borough, enter into a joint agreement, under the corporate seal of each borough, for the consolidation thereof into one borough. The joint agreement. shall set forth the name of the new borough, the number of wards, if any, into which the borough is to be divided, the territorial boundaries thereof. It may also set forth such terms as have been agreed upon for the disposition of the assets of each of the boroughs, and for the liquidation of the indebtedness of each of the boroughs, either jointly, separately, or in certain defined proportions, and the adjusting and paying of the same by separate rates of taxation on all property subject to taxation within the boundaries of such boroughs, respectively.