Preamble.

Repealing for

mer act.

CHAPTER CLXX.

AN ACT to create from the town of Bergen, in the county of Hudson, a new township to be called the township of Greenville.

WHEREAS, By an act of the legislature of New Jersey, approved March eleventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, all that part or portion of Hudson county known as Bergen township, (at the time of the passage of said act,) was incorporated into a town proper, to be known in law as "the town of Bergen ;" and whereas, it appears by the petition of the inhabitants of all that southwesterly part of the said town embraced within the limits (or nearly so) of what is known as Washington school district number three, that the act incorporating them into a town proper is not in accordance with their wishes, believing the same, as applied to their locality, premature, and complaining of the unfair operation of being taxed, either directly or indirectly, for the support of a corporation from which they derive no benefit; and from the peculiar and advantageous situation of their lands in that particular section of Hudson county, having within its limits hundreds of acres of farms and gardens, with a water front of over two miles on New York harbor, and nearly or quite as much on Newark bay and the Hackensack river, and claiming that the concentration of their resources within their own limits would not only be beneficial to themselves, but more to the interest of the state; therefore,

1. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, That so much of the act entitled "An act to incorporate the town of Bergen," approved March eleventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, as applies or was intended to apply, to all that southwestern part or portion of the township of Bergen, as it existed immediately previous to the passage of said act, and comprised, or nearly so, within the limits of what is known as Washington school district, number three, bounded on the southeast by New York harbor, on the west by the Morris canal and lands of James Currie, Esq., on the northwest by Newark bay and

the Hackensack river, on the northeast by a road or lane known as Myrtle avenue, with a continued line running southeasterly from said avenue to New York harbor, and northwesterly from said avenue to the Hackensack river; (this last boundary being the unadjusted dividing line between the "town of Bergen" and the township hereinafter incorporated,) be and the same is hereby repealed.

Greenville.

2. And be it enacted, That all that part or portion of the Township of late township of Bergen, now "town of Bergen," Hudson county, and embraced within the limits as described and bounded in section first of this act, be and the same is hereby created into a township to be designated and known in law as the inhabitants of the township of Greenville; and the inhabitants of the said township of Greenville are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate in law, and shall be entitled to all the rights, powers, authority and privileges, and subject to the same laws as were the inhabitants of the township of Bergen previous to the passage of the act incorporting the "town of Bergen," and all other existing laws of the state not conflicting with this act.

tion.

3. And be it enacted, That the inhabitants of the township Annual lec of Greenville, by their legal voters, shall, at their annual election, to be held on the second Tuesday in April of each and every year, elect five persons, to be denominated the township committee; one clerk, who shall also be the clerk of elections; one or more assessors, a collector, three commissioners of appeal, one chosen freeholder, two surveyors of the highways, one or more overseers of the poor, one or more constables, two or more overseers of the highways, one or more poundkeepers, a superintendent of schools, one or more justices of the peace; the said election to be conducted as by law provided for conducting township elections; the township committee, as soon as organized, shall appoint a treasurer; the collector elect and the treasurer shall, before they or either of them enter upon the duties of their office or offices, enter into a bond or bonds to the inhabitants of said township, in their corporate name, with one or more surety or sureties, being a freeholder or freeholders, and resident in the said township, to be approved of by the township committee of said township, and in such sum or sums as the said township committee shall direct, conditioned for the faithful performance of all the duties of the said office or offices according to law.

4. And be it enacted, That John Waters, Peter Rowe, Commission

era

Proviso.

Commissioners empow

Henry Van Nostrand, James Currie, and George Vreeland, senior, shall constitute a commission, with power to fill vacancies in their own body, in case of the neglect, inability or refusal of any member thereof to discharge the duties imposed upon him or them by this act; provided nevertheless, that the person or persons so appointed to fill such vacancy or vacancies shall be citizens resident of the township of Greenville; the said commissioners, as soon as may be after the passage and approval of this act, shall notify the councilmen of the "town of Bergen" to appoint a similar committee of five persons, citizens resident of the "town of Bergen," to meet and confer with the commissioners above named; the councilmen of the said "town of Bergen" shall and they are hereby enjoined and authorized to appoint such committee, and they the committee so appointed and the commissioners above named, shall adjust the dividing line between the "town of Bergen" and the township of Greenville; the avenue aforementioned as Myrtle avenue, forming the basis of the line of demarcation; a copy of the decision of this conjoint settlement of the dividing line between "the town of Bergen" and the township of Greenville, with the signatures of the parties as above authorized to adjust and define the same, shall be filed, one with the town clerk of the town of Bergen, and one with the clerk of the township of Greenville, and the decision thus made and filed shall be obligatory on all parties concerned until otherwise altered or amended by due course of law.

5. And be it enacted, That the commissioners before named ered. and appointed by this act, or their substitutes, shall, and they are hereby empowered to meet and confer with the committee, as before stated, appointed by the councilmen of the town of Bergen, or a similar committee of five which they, the said councilmen of the town of Bergen, are hereby authorized and enjoined to appoint; and they the said commissioners and the committee appointed by the councilmen of the "town of Bergen," shall arrange, settle and adjust an equitable division of the debts and credits, of the money or moneys in the hands of the treasurer of the town of Bergen, or to be hereafter collected, and all other the assets of the town of Bergen, as appertaining or in any wise belonging to the "town of Bergen" immed.ately preceding or prior to the passage and approval of this act, as well also of a just division of their proportion of their estate in and to the poor house farm and the property or properties thereunto apper

taining, and all or any other matters and things of a pecuniary or financial character whatever, which may be or was intended to be vested in the said town of Bergen, and in which the inhabitants of the township of Greenville had rights, privileges or interests, as part of the town of Bergen, immediately preceding or prior to the passage and approval of this act; they the parties to this conjoint settlement shall file a copy of so much of their proceedings as shall embody the decision of a majority of them, in all or any of the matters and things referred to them for adjustment, with their signatures thereunto annexed, one with the clerk of the town of Bergen and one with the clerk of the township of Greenville; and their decision, thus made by a majority of them, and filed, shall be obligatory on all parties interested therein, until otherwise altered or amended by due course of law; any three of the commissioners appointed for the township of Greenville, and three of the committee representing the town. of Bergen, shall constitute a quorum under their proceedings; provided nevertheless, that in case of the neglect or refusal of Proviso. any member or members of the commission or committee to attend the meeting or meetings, after having been notified by the chairman of such meeting, then five members of either or both of the parties indiscriminately shall form a quorum under their proceedings; or in case of the inability of the parties to arrive at a decision, in consequence of an equally divided opinion, it shall be lawful, and they the members of the conference are hereby required to select an umpire to decide between them, said umpire being a resident freeholder in the county of Hudson, and in nowise interested as a resident or property holder either in the town of Bergen or in the township of Greenville, or they may, at the outset of their proceedings, select such umpire to act with them, whenever his service as a decisor shall be necessary.

volunteers.

6. And be it enacted, That in case any tax shall be au- Bounties to thorized by law to be laid upon the taxable inhabitants of the present town of Bergen, in the county of Hudson, for the payment of bounties to volunteers, the taxable inhabitants and property of so much of said township as shall be set off by this act into a new township to be called the township of Greenville, in said county, shall be and are hereby made liable to pay the part or proportion of said tax for volunteers which would have been assessed upon them if this act had not been passed; and in order to ascertain such part or proportion, the assessors of the said town of Bergen, in said county,

Commissioners to meet.

Repealer.

shall certify under their hands the amount of the taxable property shown by the assessment roll of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-two, in the part so set off by this act, and also the amount of the taxable property in the remaining part of said town of Bergen, in said county.

7. And be it enacted, That the five commissioners appointed for the township of Greenville, vide section fourth of this act, be and they are hereby authorized and required to meet as soon as may be, and determine the various offices to be filled, according to law, for the township, the number of persons to be elected thereto, the purpose or purposes for which money must be raised by taxation, be it for township, poor, school, road, or otherwise, and they shall name and appoint one clerk and three judges of election, Stephen Terhune being one of them, and in not less than ten days before the day of the annual election of the township, shall post or cause to be posted in not less than five conspicuous places within the limits thereof, the name or names of the offices to be filled, the number of persons to be elected thereto, and the purpose or purposes for which money must be raised by taxation, and make all necessary arrangements for the conducting the said election according to the laws made and provided regulating the annual election of townships.

8. And be it enacted, That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act, be and the same are hereby repealed, and that this act, so far as relates to the appointment of commissioners for the township of Greenville and the appointment of the committee by the councilmen of the town of Bergen, and the proceedings had or held under them, take effect immediately; and so much of this act as incorporates the township of Greenville, as contained in section second of this act, shall take effect from and including the second Tuesday in April, being the fourteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.

9. And be it enacted, That this act shall be considered a public act, and shall take effect immediately. Approved March 18, 1863.