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Common Council in Common Hall assembled, that is to say, a vacancy in the office of Mayor or Recorder shall be supplied out of the Aldermen; a vacancy in the office of Alderman out of the Common Council;

and vacancy in the Common Council out of the freeholders and inhabitants of the said City. The Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen to be elected for this present year, shall not enter upon the execution of their office before they shall respectively take an oath or affirmation before some Justice of the Peace for the county of Henrico, for the faithful discharge of the duties thereof; and the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen to be elected afterwards shall take such oath or affirmation before they respectively enter upon the duties of their office, in presence of the Court of Hustings, or of some meeting of the Common Council hereafter mentioned.

2. And be it enacted, That the said freeholders, house-keepers, and inhabitants, and those persons who shall hereafter become freeholders, house-keepers or inhabitants as aforesaid, shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Richmond, and by that name have perpetual succession and a common seal: They and their successors by the name aforesaid, shall be able and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, enjoy, possess and retain to them and their successors forever, any lands, rents, tenements, hereditaments of what kind, nature or quality soever; and also to sell, grant, demise, alien or dispose of the same; and by the same name to sue and implead, be sued and impleaded, answer and be answered, in all courts and places, and from time to time, under their common seal, to make and establish such bye-laws, rules and ordinances, not contrary to the Constitution or Laws of the Commonwealth, as shall by them be thought necessary for the good ordering and government of such persons as shall from time to time reside within the limits of the said City and Corporation, or shall be concerned in interest therein.

3. And be it enacted, That they and their successors, by the name aforesaid, shall especially have power to rent, erect or repair workhouses, houses of correction, a court-house, prison, market-house, and hospitals for the reception of persons infected with contagious disorders, and other public buildings for the benefit of the said City, to pay the charge of removing such infected persons to the hospital, to provide doctors, nurses and other necessary attendants, as well as guards to prevent the spreading of such disorders; to purchase fire-engines, to hire proper fire-men to keep such engines at all times, in good order and to be ready for service; to cause wells to be sunk and pumps provided; to appoint and pay watchmen, and to repair and keep in order the streets and lands in the said city, and to impose taxes on the white and black male tithables, and on the property real and personal within the said City, for the execution of all or any of the powers hereby given them, taking care however, that not more than one third of the sum to be levied shall be levied on the tithables aforesaid, to make provision and regulations for collecting and accounting for the taxes raised, by appointing a collector, or directing distress to be made for delinquencies, or by any other ways or means; to erect wharves, and to lay a

reasonable duty on the vessels coming to and using the same, for the purpose of defraying the expence of erecting and keeping in repair the wharves so erected; to hold two fairs in each year, to wit: one on the first Thursday in May, and the other on the first Thursday in October; to fix fines upon every billiard-table and tippling-house, booth or tent, within the jurisdiction of the corporation, and to demand reasonable fees for every ordinary-license within the same, over and above those established for raising a revenue; and to expel disorderly persons who shall not have been resident therein for twelve months.

4. And be it further enacted, That all acts herein directed to be done by the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Council, shall be done by them when assembled in Common Hall. They shall be said to be assembled in Common Hall when seven members, of which the Mayor, Recorder or eldest Alderman shall be always one. They shall meet upon the summons of such Mayor, or in his absence, sickness or disability, of the Recorder; or in the absence, sickness or disability of both Mayor and Recorder, then of the eldest Alderman.

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5. And be it enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen, or any of the four or more of them, shall have power to hold a Court of Hustings on the third Monday in every month: The jurisdiction of such court shall relate to those cases which originate within the limits of the said City, and shall be the same as the jurisdiction of the County Court, as established by the act of the General Assembly, intituled, "An act for establishing County Courts and regulating the proceedings therein," except in the following instances: the said Court shall not hear and determine any pénal case, unless it be for a breach of laws of the Corporation, the penalty whereof does not exceed forty shillings, or two hundred pounds of crop tobacco, nor of any action beyond the value of one hundred pounds, or ten thousand pounds weight of crop tobacco, unless it be in ejectment; the said Court shall have the farther power of examining criminals for all offences committed within the limits of the said Corporation, either at their monthly sessions or in the vacation, according to the act of the General Assembly, intituled "An act directing the method of trial of criminals for capital offences, and for other purposes therein mentioned;" the said Court shall have the sole power of licensing tavern-keepers and settling their rates, appointing a clerk of the market, establishing an assize of bread, wine, wood, coal and other things, and also appointing a Sergeant, who shall have the power of a Sheriff, Constables, and other necessary officers of the Court, and Surveyors of the streets, and any other officers not specially directed in this act to be appointed by any other power; the same fees shall be allowed to the Officers of the Court as are allowed by law to the Clerk and Sheriff of the county of Henrico; and shall be collected and accounted for in the same manner. No Officer of the Court shall enter upon his office until he shall have taken an oath or affirmation before the Court, for the faithful discharge thereof; the Serjeant shall moreover give bond with security, payable to the MayRecorder, Aldermen and Common Council, and their successors, In a reasonable penalty, for the due cxecution of his office.

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6. And be it further enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen shall each be vested with the powers of Justice of the Peace within the said City, and shall have jurisdiction for the space of one mile on the north side of James River, without and round the said City and every part thereof, including so much of the said river to low-water mark on the shore of the county of Chesterfield as shall lie between two lines drawn due south from the eastern and western terminations of the one mile aforesaid, for matters arising within the same, according to the laws of the Commonwealth.

7. And be it enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder, any Alderman or Common Councilman may be removed from his office for good cause, and after due summons, by the opinion of seven members of the Common Hall; and that no bye-law, ordinance or regulation shall be binding, unless the same shall have been passed and entered into by the voice of seven Members of the Common Hall.

8. And be it further enacted, That all the property, real and personal, now vested in Trustees of the Town of Richmond, for the use and benefit of the inhabitants thereof, is hereby transferred to and vested in the Corporation for the benefit of the said City. And in all Courts of Law and Equity, this act shall be construed, taken and held most favorably for the said Corporation, so far as it respects or relates to the same.

11. And be it further enacted, That no ordinary keeper in the City of Richmond shall be capable of serving as Mayor, Recorder, Alderman or Common Councilman for the said City.

CHAP. X.

An Act, for giving certain powers to the Corporation of the City of Richmond, and for other purposes.

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[October 1782, Ch. 31. 11 Stat, Larg. 156.]

1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful, and the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, of the City of Richmond, are hereby required to elect, by ballot, two of the Common Councilmen of the said City, to the office of Aldermen; who upon taking an oath or affirmation before the Court, for the faithful discharge thereof, shall have the same powers and authority as those already elected to that office. That in all triennial elections, as directed by the act "For incorporating the town of Richmond," there shall be elected six Aldermen. The Court of Hustings in the City of Richmond, and Court of Hustings in the town of Alexandria, shall be, and are hereby constituted, Courts of Record, and as such to receive probate of wills and deeds, and grant administrations, in as full and ample manner as the County Courts by law can, or may do.

2. Provided always and be it further enacted, That no will shall be admitted to proof or record in the said Courts, nor shall the said Courts grant administration, unless the testator, or intestate, as the

case may be, was resident within the limits of the jurisdiction of the said Courts at the time of his or her death; nor shall any deed, whereby lands are conveyed, be admitted to proof or record in the said Courts, unless such lands lie within the limits as aforesaid.

3. And be it further enacted, That the Mayor and Commonalty of the said City and town respectively, are hereby authorised to affix their common seal to all transactions, and that due faith and credence shall thereupon be given and paid to the same. That the powers given by law, to the directors of the public buildings in the said City, for improving the navigation of James River, and turning Shockoe Creek into its old channel, by subscription, shall be, and the same are hereby, transferred to, and vested in, the Corporation.

4. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the said Corporation to raise, by way of lottery, such a sum of money as they may think adequate to the expence of erecting a stone bridge. over Shockoe Creek.

CHAP. XI.

An Act, concerning Fairs, in the Town of Fredericksburg, and the Court of Hustings thereof, and for other purposes.

[October 1783, Ch. 6. 11 Stat. Larg. 314.],

4. And Whereas so much of the act, intituled, "An act for giving certain powers to the Corporation of the City of Richmond, and for other purposes," as empowers the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen,. of the said City, to elect by ballot two of the Common Councilmen of the said City to the office of Aldermen; and that in all triennial elections, as directed by the act for incorporating the town of Richmond, there shall be elected six Aldermen, requires explanation and amend

ment:

5. Be it therefore enacted, That the house-keepers and inhabitants of the said City, qualified by law to vote for Common Councilmen, shall meet at the Court-House in the said City, on the first day of January next, and then and there elect by ballot four persons, being freeholders and inhabitants of the said City, as Common Councilmen, in addition to the present Common Council; and that the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, shall meet on the next Monday thereafter, and then elect by ballot two of the Common Councilmen to the office of Aldermen, who, upon taking the oath directed by the said act, shall have the same power and authority as the other Aldermen of the said City.

6. And be it further enacted, That at the triennial elections of the said City, there shall be elected in manner directed by the said act, a Mayor, Recorder, six Aldermen, and eight Common Councilmen; any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

CHAP. XII.

An Act, directing the sale of the public lands and other property in or near the City of Richmond.

[May 1784, Ch. 30. 11 Stat. Larg. 399.]

1. BE it enacted, That all the public lands and other public property in and near the City of Richmond, except so much thereof as shall be set apart by the Executive for the use of the Government, shall be sold for money or military certificates, as the commissioners hereafter appointed may judge most for the public benefit; and the money arising from the sales thereof, together with the interest due or to become due on the certificates, shall be applied towards erecting the public buildings on Shockoe Hill, agreeable to an act, intituled, "An act for the removal of the Seat of Government."

2. And be it further enacted, That Nathaniel Wilkinson, Miles Selden, junior, John Harvie, Thomas Prosser, and William Foushee, Gentlemen, or any three of them, be appointed commissioners for the better execution of this act; who, before they proceed on the duties of their office, shall enter into bond with security, in a reasonable penalty, payable to the Governor for the time being, conditioned for the faithful execution of their trust. The said commissioners shall make immediate application to the Executive for the delivery and possession of such of the said lands and property as shall not be reserved for the use of Government, and having caused the same to be laid off into lots in such manner as to them may appear most beneficial for the public, shall, making due publication thereof in the Virginia Gazettes, proceed to sell the same for the best price that can be got, either for money on twelve months credit, or for certificates, as aforesaid, payable immediately, at the discretion of the commissioners. For all money sales the said commissioners shall take bond of the purchasers with approv ed security, and, in default of payment, are authorised to recover the same by judgment, upon motion in any Court of record, giving ten days previous notice of such motion. All certificates received by the said commissioners in virtue of this act, shall be by them returned to the public treasury; and the Treasurer shall enter the same in his books to their credit in trust, and for the use of the public, paying to the said commissioners the interest due or to become due thereon out of the funds appropriated for that purpose, in the same manner as he would do to individual possessors. All monies received by the said commissioners in virtue of this act, shall be by them paid into the hands of the directors of the public buildings, to be by them applied pursuant to the powers vested in them by the act, "For the removal of the Seat of Government. " And whereas the money arising from the sale of the land and other public property, as herein before directed, may not be sufficient to complete the said public buildings, and the public finances will not admit of an immediate appropriation of a further sum of money in aid thereof, but the completion of the said public buildings may be greatly facilitated by private contribution:

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