cumstances of the town meeting, and the laws in force in regard to false swearing and illegal voting at general elections shall apply to false swearing and illegal voting at town meetings.

SEC. 29. [Time of meeting.]-Town meetings shall be kept open from the time of opening in the morning until six o'clock in the afternoon, unless a majority of the voters present vote to adjourn at an earlier hour, if the business before the meeting shall have been concluded.

SEC. 30. [Minutes.]-The minutes of the proceedings of every town meeting, subscribed by the moderator and clerk of such meeting, shall be filed in the office of the town clerk within two days after such town meeting.

SEC. 31.[Oaths of officers.]-Every person chosen or appointed to the office of supervisor, town clerk, assessor, town treasurer, or overseer of highways, before he enters upon the duties of his office and within ten days after he shall be notified of his election or appointment shall take and subscribe before some authorized person an oath or affirmation to faithfully and impartially perform the duties of his office as prescribed by law, and shall cause a certificate of the same to be filed in the office of the town clerk.

SEC. 32. [Same.]-If any person chosen or appointed to any or either of the town officers shall neglect to take and subscribe such oath, and cause a certificate thereof to be filed as above required, such neglect shall be deemed a refusal to

serve.

SEC. 33. [Terms of office.]--All town officers, except justice of the peace and constables, shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are qualified.

SEC. 34. [Books-Records.]-It shall be the duty of every person retiring from a town office to deliver to his successor in office all the records, books, papers, moneys and property belonging to such office held by him.

SEC. 35. [Bond of treasurer.]--The town treasurer of each town shall give bond to the town in the sum of $5,000.00, or double the amount of money that may come into his hands, to be fixed by the town board. Whenever it shall be ascertained that such bond has been forfeited, suit in the name of such town on said bond may be brought by any resident freeholder of such town. [See also Sec. 19, chap. 10.]

SEC. 36. [Duties of supervisor.]-The supervisor shall prosecute in the name of his town, or otherwise as may be necessary, for all penalties given by law to such town or for its use, and for which no other officer is specially directed to prosecute; and no person shall be disqualified from being a juror in a suit by or against a town by reason of his being an inhabitant of such town.

SEC. 37. [Same.]--The supervisor of each town (who shall be ex-officio overseer of the poor) shall attend the regular meetings of the board of supervisors of the county and every adjourned or special meeting of said board of which he shall have notice; he shall receive all accounts which may be presented to him against the town; he shall lay before the board of supervisors such copies of entries concerning moneys to be raised in his town as shall be delivered to him. by the town clerk.

SEC. 38. [Same.]--He shall keep a just and true account of the receipts and expenditures of all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue of his office, in a book to be provided for that purpose at the expense of the town, and said book shall be delivered to his successor in office.

SEC. 39. [Same.]-On Tuesday preceding the annual town meeting he shall account to the town board for all moneys received and disbursed by him in his official capacity.

SEC. 40. [Auditing accounts.]-At every such accounting, the town board, or a majority of them, shall enter a certificate in the supervisor's official book of accounts, showing the state of his accounts at the date of certificate.

SEC. 41. [Neglect of duty.]-If any supervisor shall refuse or shall willfully neglect to perform any of the duties of his office contained in the preceding sections of this act, he shall forfeit to the town, for the benefit of school fund, the the sum of $50.00, to be recovered by a suit at law or in equity, and be disqualified to act as the supervisor of said town.

SEC. 42. [Assistant supervisors.]-Assistant supervisors, and supervisors elected in the cities of the first and second class, shall have no power or duties as town officers, but shall be members of the county board of their respective counties, and shall have and enjoy the same powers and rights as other members. [See sec. 5.]

SEC. 43. [Town clerk.]-The town clerk of each town in this state shall have the custody of all records, books, and papers of the town, and shall file all certificates of oaths and other papers required by law to be filed in his office; and shall have power to administer the oath of office to all town officers; and it is hereby made the duty of the town clerk to administer all oaths which may be required in the transaction of any township business in the town where he may be clerk; Provided, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to deprive any other person qualified by law from administering said oaths.

SEC. 44. [Same.]-The town clerk shall transcribe in the book of records of his town the minutes of the proceedings of every town meeting held therein, and he shall enter in his book every order or direction, and all rules and regulations of any such town meeting.

SEC. 45. [Same.]-The town clerk shall deliver to the supervisor, before the next regular meeting of the board of supervisors of the county, certified copies of all entries of votes for raising money made since the last regular meeting of said board.

SEC. 46. [Copies of papers.]-Certified copies of all papers filed in the office of the town clerk, and books of record, shall be evidence in all courts in like manner as the original.

SEC. 47. [Town board.]-In each town the supervisor, town clerk, and justices of the peace of the town shall constitute the town board, and shall examine the accounts of the supervisor and overseer of highways for moneys received and disbursed by them, and shall require all town officers to account to them for any and all money received or disbursed by them in their official capacity, and shall examine and audit all charges and claims against the town; and the compensation of all town officers, except the compensation of supervisors for county services. In case of the absence of either or any of said officers, or their failure to attend any meeting of the board, those attending may associate with them the assessor of the town in place of any absentee, who shall act for the time being as member of such board.

SEC. 48. [Same-Meetings.]-The board shall meet at the town clerk's office for the purpose of examining and auditing the town accounts three times in each year, as follows: On the Tuesday next preceding the annual town meeting, and on the Tuesday next preceding each of the regular meetings of the board of supervisors of the county, and at such other times as the interests of the town may require.

SEC. 49. [Same-Auditing accounts.]-The accounts so audited, and those rejected, if any, shall be delivered with the certificates of the auditors, or a majority of them, to the town clerk, to be by him kept on file for the inspection of

all persons; they shall also be produced by the town clerk at the next annual town meeting, and shall be there publicly read by him.

SEC. 50. [Town orders.-Orders for the payment of money shall be drawn on the town treasurer, and signed by the town clerk, and countersigned by the supervisor. All claims and charges against the town duly audited and allowed by the town board, shall be paid by orders so drawn. No order shall be drawn on the town treasurer in excess of seventy-five per cent. of the amount of taxes levied for the current year on the property of said town, subject to be expended by said town, unless the money is in the treasury of said town to pay the order so drawn on presentation. When any order drawn as aforesaid is presented to the town treasurer for payment, and is not paid for want of funds, the town treasurer shall endorse on said order, presented and not paid for want of funds, and shall note in a book of registration, to be kept by him for that purpose, the fact of the presentation and non-payment of said order, and said order shall draw interest at seven per cent. per annum from the date of presentation, until there are funds sufficient in the hands of said treasurer to pay the same, after paying all orders drawn against such tax levy presented prior thereto, and said orders shall be paid in the order of their presentation and registration. The money received by the town treasurer as the proceeds of the tax levied in any year, shall be applied first in payment of the orders drawn against said levy, and such levy shall be deemed specifically appropriated, so far as the same may be lawfully expended by said town, to the payment of orders drawn against said levy. [Amended 1885, chap. 42.]

SEC. 51. [Accounts.]-The board shall require all accounts presented to be verified by affidavit, setting forth that the same are correct and just and unpaid.

SEC. 52. [Same-Certificate.]-Said board shall make a certificate, to be signed by a majority of said board, specifying the value of the claim, and to whom the amount is allowed, and shall cause such certificate to be delivered to the town clerk of said town, to be by him kept on file for the inspection of all persons, and a statement of the aggregate amount shall be delivered to the supervisor of the town, to be by him laid before the board of supervisors at their regular annual meeting. [Amended 1885, chap. 42.]

SEC. 53. [Town charges.]-The following shall be deemed town charges, to-wit: The compensation of town officers, for services rendered their respective towns, contingent expenses necessarily incurred for the use and benefit of the town, the moneys authorized by the vote of any town meeting for any town purpose, and every sum directed by law to be raised for town purposes.

SEC. 54. [Same-Taxes.]-The moneys necessary to defray the town charges of each town shall be levied on the taxable property in such town, in the manner prescribed by law for raising revenue. The rate of taxes for town purposes shall not exceed, for roads, two mills on each dollar of the valuation; for bridges, two mills on each dollar of the valuation; for all other purposes, three mills on each dollar of the valuation. And if the electors at the annual town meeting fail to vote a tax to pay the town charges herein before specified, or the town board fail to certify up to the county board the amount of tax voted, if any, by a town meeting, then the county board shall have power, and it shall be the duty of such county board to levy upon the taxable property in said town, a tax sufficient to pay all such town charges. [Amended 1885, chap. 42.]

SEC. 55. [Pay of officers.]-The following town officers shall be entitled to compensation as hereinafter specified: Town treasurer, three per centum on the amount collected by him as taxes, excepting on school taxes, on which taxes he shall receive one per centum; the town clerk and supervisor shall each receive two dollars per day for each day actually and necessarily employed in attending to the

duties of their respective offices; Provided, That the town clerk shall receive fees for the following services and not a per diem: For serving notices of election, as required by law, twenty-five (25) cents each; filing papers, ten (10) cents each; posting notices, as required by law, twenty-five (25) cents each; for recording any order or instrument of writing authorized by law, five cents for each one hundred words; for copying any record in his office and certifying the same, ten cents for each one hundred words, to be paid by the person applying for the same; and for copying by-laws, for posting or publication, five cents for each one hundred words. [Id.j

SEC. 56. [Same.]-The members of the town board shall be entitled to two dollars per day each, for their services while actually engaged in their duties as such board. [Id.]

SEC. 57. [Same.[-No justice of the peace or town officer shall be entitled to any fee or compensation from any individual elected or chosen to a town office for administering to him the oath of office.

SEC. 58. [Suits,]-Whenever any controversy or cause of action shall exist between any towns of this state, or between any town and individual or corporation, proceedings may be had and suits brought, either at law or in equity, for the purpose of trying and finally settling such controversies. In all such suits and proceedings, the town shall sue and be sued by its corporate name, except where town officers shall be authorized by law to sue in their name of office for the benefit of the town.

SEC. 59. [Same-Service of process.]-In all legal proceedings against the town by name, the first process and all other writs or proceedings required to be served shall be served on the supervisor of the town, and whenever any suit or proceeding shall be commenced against the town, it shall be the duty of the supervisor to attend to the defense thereof, and lay before the electors of the town at the first town meeting a full statement of such suit or proceeding for their consideration and direction.

SEC. 60. [Same-Judgments.]—All judgments recovered against a town or against town officers, in actions prosecuted by or against them in their name of office, shall not be collected by execution, but shall be a town charge, and when levied and collected shall be paid to the person or persons to whom the same shall have been adjudged.

SEC. 61. [County board-Pay of supervisors.]-The board of supervisors shall meet at such times as may be provided by law, and each member thereof shall be allowed, when actually employed, the sum of two dollars per day, and mileage at the rate of five cents per mile for each mile necessarily traveled, and no more, as compensation for his services and expenses in attending the meetings of the board or any other business for the benefit of the county; Provided, That the salary of any member of said board shall in no case exceed seventy-five dollars per annum.

SEC. 62. [Act not applicable to cities.]-None of the provisions of this act in regard to meeting of electors of their respective towns and their powers shall apply to towns whose limits are co-extensive with cities of the first and second class, but such cities and the inhabitants thereof shall continue to be governed by the laws specially applicable thereto, with such power only as conferred by law or election in the choosing of supervisors, assessors, judges, and clerks of election and other county officrs.

DISCONTINUANCE OF TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

SEC. 63. [Discontinuance.]-Any county of the state of Nebraska which may have adopted township organization or that may hereafter adopt the same pursuant to the constitution and any statute of the state, shall discontinue the same whenever the majority of the electors of said county voting on the question of such discontinuance shall so decide in the manner herein provided. [1885, chap. 43.]

SEC. 64. [Question submitted.]-Whenever a petition or petitions for a submission of the question of the discontinuance of township organization to the voters of his county, signed by not less than one-third of the number of electors, of the county voting at the last general election, shall be filed in the office of the county clerk not less than thirty days before the date of any general election, it shall be the duty of said county clerk to cause said question to be submitted to the voters of said county at such election and give notice thereof in the general notice of such election.

SEC. 65. [Ballots.]-The forms of ballots shall be respectively "for continuance of township organization" and "against continuance of township organization," and the same shall be written or printed upon the regular ballots cast for officers voted for at such election, and shall be counted and canvassed in the same

manner.

SEC. 66. [Returns.]-If it shall appear from the returns of said election that a majority of the votes cast on the question are against the continuance of township organization, then such organization shall cease to exist as soon as a board of county commissioners are appointed and qualified, as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 67. [County commissioners.]-When township organization shall cease in any county, as provided by this act, the office of county commissioner which became vacant by reason of its adoption, is hereby restored, and such county is hereby divided into commissioner districts, with the same boundaries and comprising the same territory as such districts had when township organization was adopted.

SEC. 68. [Same-Appointment.]-On the first Saturday after the first Tuesday of January following the election at which township organization shall be voted to be discontinued, the county commisioners of such county, for the purpose of temporary organization under this act, shall be appointed by the county clerk, treasurer, and county judge of said county and their successors shall be elected at the next general election in the manner provided by law in cases of the first election of a board of commissioners in any county.

SEC. 69. [Same-Government.]-The board of county commissioners, appointed as herein provided, shall be the legal successors of the board of supervisors in said county; and the county in which township organization shall be discontinued, and such board of county commissioners, shall thereafter be governed by the laws that shall govern counties not under township organization, and in the same manner that said county would have been governed had not such organization been adopted.

SEC. 70. [Duties of town clerk-Disposition of town property.] -Where township organization shall be discontinued in any county, it shall be the duty of the town clerk in each town in said county, as soon as the board of

BECS, 63-70. "An act to provide for the discontinuance of township organization in any county, to adjust the affairs and provide a revenue to pay the indebtedness of the towns, and establish a temporary county organization."