enforced the against the owner thereof, or the person to whom the same is lawfully assessed, from the time of levying the same until the Special taxes same be paid; and all special assessments for local improvements shall be collected, and payment thereof enforced, in the same manner as in this act provided for the collection of Village not general taxes; but nothing in this act contained shall be con same as general taxes. to be obliga provements special tax. ted for im strued as authorizing the common council, or any officer of to be paid by said village, by contract or otherwise, to bind or obligate the said village to pay the cost or expenses, of grading any street, road, or alley, or making any other local improvement, the cost and expense of which is by this act required to be paid for by special assessment on the property mentioned herein. Council may But when streets shall be graded, paved, or improved, or sidefrom general walks constructed or repaired, in front of or adjoining any lots, provements. parts of lots, or premises, or lands by this act exempt from taxation, the common council may, in their discretion, appropriate from the general or highway fund such sum as [would] otherwise be properly chargeable to such lots or premises, towards such improvement. appropriate fund for local im Distress and sale for taxes Notice of and sale of Sec. 12. If any person shall neglect or refuse to pay the sum he or she is so taxed or assessed, the treasurer is hereby authorized and required to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person who ought to pay the same. first giving public notice thereof, as is required by law to be goods, etc. given by township treasurers, and in case the goods and chattels distrained shall be sold for more than the amount of the tax assessed, with charges of distress and sale, the surplus shall be paid to the owner of such goods and chattels, on demand; and in case the treasurer shall be unable to collect the taxes assessed on any real estate, for any of the purposes in this act authorized to be assessed, he shall cause so much of the land charged with such tax and assessment and interest, together with all costs thereon, to be sold, first giving at least seven weeks' notice of the time and place of sale, by advertisement posted up in three of the most public Notice sale of land for taxes. places in said village, or by causing the same to be published pnblication in a newspaper in said village for six successive weeks. An Proof of affidavit of such publication, recorded in the manner pre- of notice. scribed in the twelfth section of this act, shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the fact of such publication. Sec. 16. On the day mentioned in said notice, the said Sale. treasurer shall commence the sale of said lands, and continue the same from day to day until so much thereof is sold as will pay the taxes and assessments as aforesaid, with the interest and charges due, assessed, and charged thereon, as aforesaid, and the said treasurer shall give to purchaser or purchasers of Certificate of said lands a certificate in writing, describing the lands purchased and the sums paid therefor, and the time when the purchaser will be entitled to a deed of the land, and unless Redemption. within one year from the date of the sale thereof there shall be paid to the treasurer, for the use of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the sum mentioned in said certificate, together with the interest thereon, at the rate of twenty per centum per annum from the date of such certificate, the treasurer, or Issue of deed to purchaser his successor in office, shall, at the expiration of the said one year, execute to the purchaser, his heirs and assigns, a conveyance of the lands sold, which conveyance, when the proceed- Legal value ings have been in accordance with the provisions of this act, shall vest in the person or persons to whom it shall be given, an estate in fee simple, except it may appear that such lands were not subject to taxation, or that the tax or taxes have been paid, subject to all the claims the State may have thereon, and said conveyance shall be prima facie evidence that the sale, and all things pertaining thereto, was regular according to the provisions of this act; and every such conveyance, executed by the said treasurer under his hand and seal, witnessed and acknowledged, and recorded in the usual form, may be given in evidence in the same manner and with like effect as a deed regularly drawn, executed, and acknowledged by the owner, and duly recorded, may be given in evidence. The treasurer of same. Fees for sale of said village shall receive the same fees in cases of sale as aforesaid, as are by law allowed to the county treasurer in like Expense of cases, and the expenses for the advertising of any land for sale in pursuance of this act shall, by the treasurer, be added to such taxes respectively as are charged upon all land delinquent for State and county taxes. advertising. Sections re pealed. Sec. 13. Section thirteen of said act is hereby repealed. Sections amended. Boundaries. [ No. 241. ] AN ACT to amend sections one, three, four, seven, nineteen, thirty-two, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, forty-two, and sixty-two of the charter of the city of Big Rapids. SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, That sections one, three, four, seven, nineteen, thirty-two, thirtyfive, thirty-six, thirty-seven, forty-two and sixty-two, of act number four hundred and fifty-nine, session laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, entitled "An act to incorporate the city of Big Rapids, and organize the township of Big Rapids," approved April fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, be amended so as to read as follows: SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, That so much of the township of Big Rapids, in the county of Mecosta (being township fifteen north, of range ten west, in said county) as is included in the following descriptions, to wit: the south half of section two, the south half of section three, entire section ten, entire section eleven, entire section fourteen, entire section fifteen, the north half of section twenty-two, and the north half of section twenty-three in said township, is hereby organized and incorporated into a city by the name of the city of Big Rapids. into wards. Sec. 3. The said city shall be divided into four wards. The Division first ward shall include all that portion of the city lying on section fourteen and section twenty-three; the second ward shall include all that portion of the city lying on section two and section eleven; the third ward shall include all that portion of said city lying on section three and section ten, and the fourth ward shall include all that portion of the city lying on section fifteen and section twenty-two. office. Sec. 4. The officers of said city shall be one mayor, one Officers. recorder, who shall be ex-officio school inspector and city clerk, one treasurer, who shall be ex-officio collector, one city attorney, one marshal, two school inspectors, one supervisor in each ward who shall be ex-officio assessor therein, one street commissioner in each ward, two aldermen for each ward, and one justice of the peace in each ward. The mayor, recorder, Terms of supervisors, treasurer, marshal, and street commissioners shall be elected for one year, and shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified, and the aldermen shall be elected for two years, except as is hereinafter provided, and shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified. The city attorney shall be appointed by the common city atcouncil, and shall hold his office for one year unless sooner appointed. removed by the common council, and until his successor is appointed and qualified. At the first election after the passage of this act there shall be elected one school inspector for the term of two years and until his successor is elected and qualified, and one justice of the peace for the term of four years, and at each and every annual election thereafter there shall be elected one justice of the peace for the term of four years and until his successor is elected and qualified; the said justices of the peace shall have like powers and be subject to the same duties and liabilities as justices of the peace in the several townships of this State. One constable torney to be Justices of the peace. Proviso. shall be elected annually in each ward: Provided, That the aldermen, justices of the peace, supervisors, constables, and street commissioners shall be elected by the electors of the Aldermen, wards for which they are respectively elected. At the first election after the passage of this act, there shall be elected two aldermen in each ward, one for the term of one year and one for the term of two years, and at every annual election thereafter there shall be elected one alderman in each ward for the term of two years and until his successor is elected Supervisors. and qualified. The supervisors shall possess the same powers Council to confirm chief engineer. and shall perform the same duties relative to the assessment of property and the extending of the taxes in their respective wards, as supervisors of the several townships of this State. They shall each represent the city on the board of supervisors of the county of Mecosta, with the same powers and privileges as the supervisor of any township. Sec. 7. The common council shall have power to confirm election of the election of a chief engineer for the fire department, after the members of the fire companies of the city have made such To appoint election, and shall have power to appoint such other officers sary officers. not herein specially provided for as they may deem necessary to carry into effect the powers granted by this act, and May remove remove the same at pleasure. They shall also have power to other neces treasurer. May fill vacancies. remove the treasurer for any violation of the lawful orders of the common council; and in case of the death, resignation, or removal from office, or neglect to qualify, or removal from the city, or ward for which he has been elected, of any officer of the corporation, the common council shall, as soon as may be, appoint an officer to fill such vacancy for the unexpired portion of the year, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified, and all officers so appointed shall be notified, and shall qualify as herein directed: Provided, That the common special council may at any time order a special election to fill a fill vacancies vacancy in any office which is elective under this act. Proviso relative to election to |