ham, John Pope, William Linton, Thomas Lee, John M'Crae, Willoughby Tebbs, and Nathaniel Chapman Hunter, gentlemen, are hereby constituted and appointed trustees of the town of Dumfries. They, or the major part of them, shall have power from time to time, to settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds of the lots in the said town, establish such rules for the regular building of houses thereon, as them shall seem meet and convenient and be vested with the same powers and authority given to the trustees of the said town when the same was established.

11, And be it further enacted, That from and after the passing of this act, the trustees shall be resident in, or freeholders of the said town; and upon the death or other legal disability, of any of the said trustees, the vacancy thereby occasioned shall be supplied by the remaiding trustees; and the person or persons so elected, shall have the same powers and authority as any one in this act particularly appointed.

CHAP. LXXXIV.

An act prescribing the method of advertising strays taken up in the district of Kentucky.

Mode of advertising strays,in Ken

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That so much of the act concerning strays, as directs the adverusing of them in the Virginia Gazette, shall not be tucky. in force in the district called and known by the name of the Kentucky district, and instead thereof, the like advertisement shall be posted up at the door of the court-house of the supreme court for two days at two different succeeding sessions; a list of which advertisements shall be noted in a book to be kept by the clerk of the before recited court, for the recording of which he shall receive the sum of two shillings.

Town of Fai

CHAP. LXXXV.

An act to enlarge the town of Falmouth.

I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That mouth enlar it shall be lawful for the trustees of the town of Falged. mouth, and they are hereby directed, to survey and lay off a quantity of land, not exceeding twenty acres, on the north-west side of the said town, into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets, which shall thenceforth be added to and made a part of the said town.

II. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That the said trustees, in forming and extending the streets within the said lots, shall not interfere with any buildings erected thereon.

Place of hold

ing courts in Henry county altered.

CHAP. LXXXVI.

An act for altering the place of holding courts in the county of Henry.

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That it shall be lawful for a majority of the acting justices of the peace for the county of Henry, and they are hereby required, to fix on a place for holding courts in the said county, at or as near the centre thereof, as the situation and convenience will admit of; and thenceforth proceed to erect the necessary public buildings at such place, and until such buildings be compleated, to appoint any place for holding courts as they shall think proper.

Provision for

opening and

CHAP. LXXXVII.

An act for opening and straightening certain public roads.

I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That straightening Thomas Prosser, Hezekiah Henley, George Clough,

to Richmond.

John Anderson, (of Taylor's-creek) Robert Armistead, road from Charles Barret, Beverley Winslow, Thomas Fowler, Chester's gap Charles Porter, William Pannel, French Strother, and William Roberts, gentlemen, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners; and they, or a majority of them, shall on or before the first day of March next, view and fix upon the most convenient and direct way for opening a road from Chester's-gap, in the county of Culpeper, to the city of Richmond, having regard as well to the situation of the ground, as the convenience of individuals, through whose lands the said road is to be opened, and make report of their proceedings to the courts of each of the counties of Culpeper, Orange, Louisa, Spotsylvania, Hanover, and Henrico; and the courts of the said counties shall severally within two months thereafter, appoint a proper person or persons, and allot him or them a sufficient number of hands for clearing and opening the road, where the same is fixed to go by the said commissioners within the county, in such manner as is by law directed for puplic roads. The commissioners failing to view and fix on the way for opening the said road, and make report within the time aforesaid, shall each forfeit and pay the sum o ten pounds. The justices of each of the said counties, failing to appoint proper persons and hands for opening and clearing the said road, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred pounds; which several penalties shall be recovered by information, and applied, one moiety to the informer and the other moiety towards lessening the levy of the county where such forfeiture shall arise.

Road from

dria to be

straightened,

11. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners appointed by an act, intituled "An act for vestall's and keeping certain roads in repair," or any three of them, Snicker's gap being first sworn, shall have full power, and are hereby to Alexan required, to view and mark out the most convenient, way for turning and straightening the roads leading from Vestall's and Snicker's-gaps to Alexandria, having regard as well to the situation of individuals, who may be affected thereby, as the convenience of the public, and to direct the same to be opened and repaired agreeable to the said act.

III. And be it further enacted, That Nathaniel Wil- So from Fredkinson, Daniel Laurence Hylton, Thomas Tinsley, ericksburg to Richmond. John Winston, James Taylor, George Philips, Jona

than Clarke, and James Tutt, gentlemen, are hereby constituted commissioners; and they, or a majority of them, shall on or before the twentieth day of March next, view and fix on the most convenient and direct way for opening a road from Fredericksburg to the city of Richmond, having regard as well to the situation of the ground, as the convenience of individuals, through whose lands such road is to be opened, and make report thereof to the courts of the counties through which the same is to pass; and thereupon the like proceedings shall be had, and the same penalties inflicted, and recovered in like manner, as is herein before directed, and prescribed in opening the road from Chester's-gap to the city of Richmond.

IV. And be it further enacted, That no county court shall have power, by any order or proceeding, to alter or change the ground or course of either of the said recited roads, established as aforesaid.

'I own of York incorporated.

CHAP. LXXXVIII.

An act for incorporating the town of
York.

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That on the first Monday in March next, and on the same day in every year afterwards, the freeholders of lots within the town of York, whether improved or not, and whether such freeholders reside therein or not, and the housekeepers and inhabitants of the said town, who shall have resided therein at any time for the space of three months without the intermission of one twelve month, and possess in their own right within the same, moveable or immoveable property to the value of fifty pounds, shall meet at the court-house of the county, or at such other place as shall by a bye-law be hereafter appointed, and shall then and there elect by ballot twelve fit and able men, being freeholders and inhabitants of the said town, who, or a major part of them, shall on the same or second day thereafter, between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon, publicly elect by ballot from among themselves, one person to

act as mayor, another as recorder, and four others as aldermen, of the said town, and the other six of whom shall be common-council. The power of the persons at any time elected mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common-councilmen, shall not be continued longer than until other persons shall have been elected to those offices respectively, or than the expiration of the second day immediately following the said first Monday in March in every year, as the case may be; but they may nevertheless be re-elected, except that no person shall be capable of acting as mayor more than once in any term of three years. Vacancies occasioned by death, disability, or resignation, at any time before the annual election, shall be supplied by the choice of the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and 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 a vacancy in the common-council, out of the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town. The mayor, recorder, and aldermen, to be elected on the said first Monday in March next, shall not enter upon the execution of their office until they have respectively taken an oath, or affirmation, before some justice of the peace of the county of York, 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 the presence of the court of hustings, or of some meeting of the common council hereafter mentioned. 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 Style of corname of the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, of the poration. town of York, and by that name have perpetual succession and a common seal. They and their successors by the name aforesaid, shall be capable in law to have, purchase, receive, enjoy, possess, and retain to them and their successors forever, any lands, rents, tenements, or 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 anVOL. XII. X2