Vacancy. Elections. Clerk of Duties of. Assessor and Duties of. Road Treasurer. Duties. in the township thereafter to be held, and shall give notice of such appointments at least five days before the election is held; and in case of a vacancy in any township office, the Board of Trustees shall order an election to fill the same; provided, the unexpired term of said office exceeds three months; and they shall give previous public notice of such election, for a period of not less than five nor more than ten days, and shall give a like notice of all other elections in the township. In case when the unexpired term of an office vacant is less than three months, the Board of Trustees may fill the vacancy by appointment. Should any of the Judges or Inspectors, appointed to hold any township election, fail to attend, the electors present may appoint others in their stead. The Judges and Inspector of Election may appoint two Clerks, and all elections for township officers shall be conducted according to the laws regulating elections, and the Judges and Inspector of township elections shall make returns to the Board of Trustees, who shall issue certificates of election to the person having the highest number of votes; provided, at all general elections the Judges and Inspectors shall make returns directly to the County Clerk, as now provided by law. SEC. 9. The Township Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Board of Trustees. He shall keep a record of all estrays taken up in his township, with full description of the same; he shall file all certificates of election, with the oaths indorsed thereon; shall receive, file, and safely keep, all official bonds of the township; and keep a record of all marriages, births, and deaths; and shall receive, and place on file in his office, chattel mortgages and bills of sale of mining claims and personal property, and make certified copies of the same, when required; and such filing shall have, to all intents and purposes, the full force and effect of a record at the County Recorder's office, under the laws of this State; he may administer and certify oaths of officers of the township. SEC. 10. The powers and duties of Township Assessor and Township Tax Collector shall be the same, within the limits of the township, as are now conferred upon County Assessors and County Tax Collector by the revenue laws of this State; and the said revenue laws, which are now in force in any county, are hereby declared to be in force in the several townships therein, except such part of said revenue laws as regulate the compensation for services; provided, the Township Tax Collector shall pay all taxes collected, into the Township Treasury, and return all delinquent lists to the County Auditor. SEC. 11. The powers and duties of Road Overseers shall conform to the present laws in force, and applicable to the various counties throughout the State at the date of the passage of this Act, except that their reports shall be made to the Board of Township Trustees. SEC. 12. The Township Treasurer shall receive all local and general taxes, and give his official receipt therefor, and pay over county and general taxes to the County Treasurer, ten days prior to the time required by the revenue law for County Treasurers to pay over money to the State Treasurer, in the several counties, and pay out township moneys, in the manner pre. scribed by the Board of Trustees, and shall, annually, on the first Monday in April, report, in detail, to the Board of Trus. tees, all moneys received and paid out by him for the year next preceding, and the balance remaining on hand. officers. SEC. 13. Each township officer, before entering upon the du- Bonds of ties of his office, shall take the oath of office prescribed by law, and shall give bond, with sureties, payable to the township, in such sum of money as may be determined by the Township Trustees, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office; said bond to be of no effect till approved by the said Trustees. In case such bond shall become insufficient, in the opinion of said Board, the said Board may require of any officer such additional bond as they may deem necessary. property tax SEC. 14. The compensation to be allowed townships, for col- Per centage lecting property tax, shall be three per cent. ; for all other for collecting taxes, townships shall be allowed the per centage prescribed by etc. the existing laws of the State; the whole to be paid into the Township Treasury. Trustees. SEC. 15. The Board of Trustees shall, annually, on the sec- Annual ond Tuesday in April, make out a full and correct statement of report of all moneys received and expended, from whom, and for what purpose, received, and to whom, and for what purpose, expended, during the year next preceding, and shall cause such statement to be posted up in three of the most public places in the township. of powers. SEC. 16. The said Board of Trustees, under this Act, shall Limitation have no power to contract liabilities, either by borrowing money, loaning the credit of the township, or contract any debt or debts, which singly, or in the aggregate, shall exceed the sum of three thousand dollars. duties of. SEC. 17. Each Justice of the Peace in the various townships Justices of of this State shall, at least five days before the general election the Peace, to be held in eighteen hundred and sixty-two, post three written notices in the most public places of his township, said notices to state the time and place for the election of township officers, provided for in this Act; provided, that after the first general election, the Trustees shall appoint the time and place of holding elections. Books and SEC. 18. The books and records of all township officers shall be township property, and shall, at the expiration of each term records. of office, be handed over, by incumbents in office, to their successors, whenever legally qualified. Said books and records shall always be open for public inspection. neglect of SEC. 19. Any member of the Board of Township Trustees, or Violation or other township officer, for any violation or neglect of his duties, duty. as defined in this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be fined in any sum not less than ten nor more than Penalty. five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not to exceed three months. SEC. 20. The provisions of this Act shall apply to and be in Application force in the several townships, as now bounded and defined, of Act. throughout the State, and to all townships which may hereafter be created by the Board of Supervisors of any county in the State, but shall not apply to towns and cities already in Act to be the votes of electors. corporated under special or general laws of the State, or to present incumbents for assessing and collecting county and general taxes. SEC. 21. The Board of Supervisors of the several counties in submitted to this State shall submit this Act to the people of their respective counties, at the next general election, and the people are hereby authorized to vote on the same by ballot, upon which shall be written or printed "Township Law-Yes;" or "Township Law-No;" and in those counties in which the affirmative have the majority, the law shall be in force from and after the second Tuesday of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-three; but to those counties in which the negative have the majority, this Act shall not apply or be in force. Counties excepted. SEC. 22. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to the Counties of Tuolumne, Mono, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Trinity, Sutter, Plumas, Placer, Colusa, San Diego, El Dorado, Siskiyou, Merced, Stanislaus, Butte, and Alameda. Proofs or CHAP. CCCCLV.-An Act to amend an Act entitled an Act concerning Conveyances, passed April sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. [Approved May 15, 1862.] The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and SECTION 1. Section four of an Act entitled an Act concerning Conveyances, passed April sixteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty, is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Section 4. The proof or acknowledgment of every conveyacknowledg- ance, whereby any real estate is conveyed or may be affected, conveyances shall be taken by some one of the following officers: ments of First-If acknowledged or proved within this State, by some Judge or Clerk of a Court having a seal, or some Notary Public or County Recorder, or by a Justice of the Peace of the proper county, where the conveyance is executed, and to be recorded only in such county. Second-If acknowledged or proved without this State, and within any State or Territory in the United States, by some Judge or Clerk of any Court of the United States, or of any State or Territory, having a seal, or by a Commissioner appointed by the Government of this State for that purpose. Third-If acknowledged or proved without the United States, by some Judge or Clerk of any Court, of any state, kingdom, or empire, having a seal, or any Notary Public therein, or any Minister, Commissioner, or Consul, of the United States, appointed to reside therein. When any of the officers above mentioned are authorized by law to appoint a deputy, such acknowledgment or proof may be taken by such deputy in the name of his principal. |