Boundaries. Style. No. 265. AN ACT To incorporate the district of Belmont, in the county of Philadelphia; fixing the place for holding elections in the township of Elk Creek, Erie county; to the election of township treasurers in certain townships in Allegheny county; changing the place of holding elections in Manchester township, York county; authorizing the sale of real estate of William P. Davidson, de ceased; and fixing the place for holding elections in the township of Eldred, in the county of Warren; to a State road in Carbon county; to elections in Knox township, Jefferson county; to auditors of the borough of Mauch Chunk, in Carbon county; to the hunting of deer in Pike county; to highways in Chester county; to elections in Edenburg, Lawrence county; to the bounty on wild cat scalps in Carbon county; repealing certain sections of an act relating to hawkers and pedlers in Bradford county; relative to the election of supervisors and to working out road tax in Fayette county; and relative to Gunner's Run Bridge, Kensington, Philadelphia county. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen tatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passage of this act, all that portion of the township of Blockley, in the county of Philadelphia, comprised within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at a point in the river Schuyl kill, opposite to the mouth of Sweetbrier creek, on the northern boundary line of the district of West Philadelphia; thence by and on said line and by the several courses thereof to a point where it crosses the centre of Westminster Avenue; thence westwardly along the centre of said avenue to a point in the centre of Haverford plank road; thence north-westwardly along the centre of said road and the several courses thereof to a point opposite to the centre of Fountain road, at the south-west corner of John Miller's estate; thence northwardly along the centre of said road to a point opposite to the dividing line between the lands of Jacob P. Jones and George Prentice; thence westwardly by and on said line to the centre of the Merrion road; thence northwardly along the centre of said road and the several courses thereof to a point opposite to the dividing line between the lands of Lewis Jones and Wm. P. Walters; thence westwardly by and on said line and the several courses thereof to a point in the centre of the Virginia road; thence along the centre of said road by the several courses thereof to the dividing line between the properties of A. J. Pleasonton and Leonard Frailey; thence northwardly by and on said line to the dividing line between the lands of the heirs of Joseph George, deceased, and Israel W. Morris; thence by and on said line to a corner stone; thence by the same course through the lands of Israel W. Morris to the county line; thence north-eastwardly by and on said line to low water mark in the river Schuylkill; thence southwardly along said river and by the several courses thereof to the place of beginning; shall constitute a separate and distinct district in the county of Philadelphia, to be called the district of Belmont. SECTION 2. That the inhabitants residing within said district be, and they and their successors forever are hereby constituted a body politie, in fact and in law, by the name, style and title of "The commissioners and inhabitants of the district of Belmont," and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and they and their successors shall at all times forever be able and capable in law to purchase, have, hold, take, Privileges. receive, possess and enjoy, lands, tenements, hereditaments, liberties, franchises, jurisdictions, goods, chattels and effects, and the same to grant, bargain, sell, alien, convey or devise, at their pleasure, and by the name aforesaid are and forever shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all courts of record and elsewhere, in all manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes, and matters and things, that to them as a body politic and corporate in law and in fact shall and may appertain, and to have and to use one common seal, and Seal. the same from time to time at their will to change and alter. SECTION 3. That the inhabitants residing within said district who Election of are or who shall be qualified to vote for member of Assembly of this officers, when Commonwealth, shall meet on the first Friday in May next, at the and where to be Columbia hotel, on the Lancaster turnpike in said district, and on the held. third Friday in March in every year thereafter, and elect by ballot, in accordance with the general election laws of this Commonwealth for the election of township officers, nine citizens, residents and qualified voters of said district, to serve as commissioners in and for the said district, three to serve for one year, three to serve for two years, and three to serve for three years, and such other officers as are required to be elected by the election laws of this Commonwealth for township purposes, except supervisors of highways and road commissioners of Blockley township, and every year thereafter they shall elect three citizens qualified as aforesaid, to serve as commissioners for three years; and the said commissioners who shall be elected on the first Friday in May next, as aforesaid, shall meet together at the house aforesaid, between the hours of three and six o'clock P. M. on the second Monday after said election, and after being qualified as hereinafter directed, shall organize by electing a president, clerk, and solicitor, and make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for their government, and shall fix upon the place for their future meetings, which place, and rules and regulations, may be altered by said commissioners from time to time as they shall deem necessary, and after every succeeding annual election the commissioners elected at the time shall, together with those whose period of service has not expired, meet at the place appointed for holding such meetings, and shall, after the said commissioners elect be qualified as hereinafter directed, proceed to the business of the corporation: Pro- Proviso. rided, That no officer appointed by virtue of this act shall be a commissioner except the president elected at the first election held under the provisions of this act, shall expire as follows: That the terms of the commissioners and other officers elected at the first election under this act shall expire as follows; those elected for one year on the third Friday in March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four; those elected for two years on the third Friday in March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five; and those elected for three years on the third Friday in March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six: And provided further, That the qualified voters of the township of Blockley, Philadelphia county, shall hold all general, special and township elections at the house of Charles Gamber, Farmers' and Mechanics' inn, in said township. SECTION 4. That the inhabitants aforesaid shall also elect three citi- School directors zens qualified as aforesaid to serve as school directors, one to serve for to be elected. one year, and one to serve for two years, and one to serve for three years, and annually thereafter they shall elect two citizens qualified as aforesaid to serve as school directors for three years, and also such other officers as are required to be elected by the election laws of this Commonwealth for township purposes, except supervisors of highways and road commissioners of Blockley township, and in case a vacancy or vacancies occur in the board of school directors, by death, resignation or otherwise, the remaining school directors may and shall fill such vacancy or vacancies at their next stated meeting, and the person or persons so chosen shall serve until the next annual election. SECTION 5. That all elections to be held in pursuance of this act Elections, how to be conducted. shall be held and conducted in like manner as by the laws of this Commonwealth is or shall be directed for holding the general election for persons to serve in the House of Representatives, under and subject to the same rules and penalties, and when such elections shall be closed, the judge and inspectors of the same, or a majority of them, shall, under their respective hands and seals, certify to the board of commissioners the names of the commissioners elect, with the number of votes in favor of each, and shall within two days after such election, give notice in writing to each of the commissioners elcct of their respective elections; and all elections to be held after the first Friday in May next shall be held at such place as the said commissioners shall appoint within the said district, of which elections the said commissioners shall give at least ten days' notice, by hand-bills posted up in at least ten of the most public places within said district: Provided, That it shall be the duty of the road commissioners of Blockley township to give notice of the time for holding the first election provided for by this act. Proviso. Commissioners SECTION 6. That each commissioner elect and returned as aforesaid, to take an oath shall before he enters on the duties of said office, take an oath or affiror affirmation. mation, before some judge or justice of the peace of the county of Philadelphia, well and faithfully to execute the office of a commissioner of the said district, and shall thereupon, without any further or other commission, enter upon the duties thereof. Vacancies, how to be filled. Quorum. Powers of SECTION 7. That in case of a vacancy or vacancies occurring by death, resignation or otherwise, the remaining commissioners, being a majority of the whole number, shall at any of their stated meetings have power to fill such vacancy or vacancies, as the case may be, and the person or persons so appointed shall, after being duly sworn or affirmed, as aforesaid, enter upon and execute the duties of a commissioner until the next general election, when the qualified voters of said district shall elect a person or persons, as the case may be, to fill said vacancy or vacancies. SECTION 8. That a majority of the whole number of commissioners when met, shall constitute a quorum for transacting business, except for the purchase and sale of real estate, for mortgaging or incumbering the same, or for borrowing money, for which purposes the concurrence of two-thirds of the whole number of commissioners shall be essential, and in the absence of the president they shall elect one of their body president pro tem., and the said commissioners shall not receive any com pensation for their services, and at all of their meetings, which shall be at least once in every month, the door of their place of meeting shall be open for the admission of any peacable and orderly citizen. SECTION 9. That the commissioners shall have full power and authoCommissioners. rity to make, ordain and establish such laws, ordinances and regulations, not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of this Commonwealth, and to appoint such officers and fix their compensation, under such restrictions as they shall deem necessary for the good order and govern. ment of the said district, and the same to alter and annul, as circumstances may seem to require. SECTION 10. That no law or regulation of said commissioners shall go Laws and reguinto operation until the same shall be published in one or more public lations to be newspapers in the city or county of Philadelphia, and in handbills published. posted up in not less than ten of the most public places in said dis trict. SECTION 11. That it shall be the duty of said clerk to attend all the Duties of the meetings of the commissioners when assembled on business of the cor- cierk. poration, and keep and preserve the common seal and records of the corporation, and be answerable for the same, and also, for the faithful discharge of all the duties which may be enjoined upon him by virtue of this act or of the acts of the said commissioners, and his attestation, with the corporate seal, shall be good evidence of the thing or act so certified, and the said commissioners shall fix and determine the amount of his compensation. SECTION 12. That the said commissioners be and they are hereby Treasurer. authorized and enjoined to appoint a treasurer of the said corporation, who shall not at the same time be a commissioner, and who, before he enters on the duties of his office, shall give satisfactory security to the said commissioners, in such penalty as they may deem sufficient, conditioned that he will well and faithfully execute the duties of his office, under the direction of the said commissioners, that he will not apply the moneys of the corporation to his own private purposes, and that Duties. he will once in every year, or oftener if required, render and settle his accounts to and with the commissioners; he shall receive all moneys due the corporation for fines, taxes, or otherwise, and pay all orders drawn for the same, signed by the president or president pro tem., and countersigned by the clerk, and shall keep a just and true account of all receipts and payments, and at the expiration of his term of office pay over and deliver to his successor in office all moneys, books, papers and accounts, belonging to the corporation or appertaining to his official duties. levy a tax. SECTION 13. That the said board of commissioners shall have full Commissioners power and authority to lay annually a tax not exceeding one-half of authorized to one per cent. on the value, agreeably to the assessment made by the assessor or assessors of the aforenamed township, of all the real estate within said district, and also on all persons residing within the same, and their occupations, to be applied to the purposes of defraying the expenses of the said corporation in carrying this act into full effect: Provided, That the president of the said board of commissioners, one Proviso. member of said board, and the treasurer, or any two of them, shall constitute a court of appeal, and prior to the collection of any district tax, they shall appoint a day for hearing of appeals, of which, and of Court of apthe amount of his, her or their taxes, and the place where the appeal will be held, the collector shall notify each taxable by a written or printed notice, in the usual form and manner, at least ten days before peal. the day of appeal, and when the said tax shall have been properly ad- Taxes how to justed, it shall be the duty of the president, or in his absence or ina- be collected. bility to act of the treasurer, and he is hereby authorized to issue his precept, directed to the collector, commanding him to collect all the taxes so assessed, and vesting him with like powers and authorities given to the collectors of county rates and levies by the laws of this Commonwealth, and the amounts so collected shall be paid into the treasury for the use of the corporation: Provided always, That the said district shall not hereafter be assessed or bound to contribute towards any tax whatever, or in maintaining and repairing any roads or highways other than those within the limits aforesaid, and that all the taxes collected by virtue of the powers hereby given to the said board Proviso. President to sign orders. of commissioners, shall be expended exclusively within their own boundaries, for the repair of their own streets, lanes, alleys and publie highways, and the other purposes heretofore enumerated. SECTION 14. That the president of the said board of commissioners, or in his absence or inability to act, the president pro tem., shall sign all orders drawn on the treasurer for the moneys so as aforesaid deposited. Landing places SECTION 15. That all public landing places at the junction of any on Schuylkill, of the streets with the river Schuylkill, or otherwise, which now are commissioners or hereafter may be opened, shall be under the jurisdiction of the to have juris- aforesaid board of commissioners and their successors, who shall have authority to lease or let permits for landings on said wharves or landings, and all funds arising from the same shall be appropriated to the use and benefit of the corporation of said district. diction of. Court of Quarter Sessions, Philadelphia county, to try offenders. Proviso. SECTION 16. That the court of quarter sessions of the peace of the city and county of Philadelphia shall have, and they are hereby vested with full power and authority to inquire of, hear, try and determine all offences which shall be committed within the said district contrary to this act or against any of the laws or ordinances or regulations that shall be made, ordained or established in pursuance of this act, and punish the offender or offenders, as by the said laws, ordinances or regulations, shall be prescribed or directed: Provided, That when the fines, penalties or forfeitures shall not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars, they shall be recoverable before any justice of the peace or alderman of said county: Provided always, That if any person or persons shall think him, her or themselves aggrieved by any judgment given by any justice of the peace or alderman, as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for such person or persons, at any time within Right of appeal. twenty days next following the date of such judginent, to appeal therefrom to the next court of quarter sessions of said county, he, she or they first entering into recognizance with at least one sufficient security, in double the amount of such judgment, to prosecute such appeal with effect and abide the order of the court. Proviso. In controver sies, who wit nesses. No misnomer to create a forfeit ure. 1st and 4th sections of an act SECTION 17. That any inhabitant of said district, if otherwise quali fied, may be a witness in all controversies arising under this act. SECTION 18. That no misnomer of said corporation, provided the intent of the parties sufficiently appear, shall defeat any act or intention of such party or parties, nor shall any nonuser or neglect of the rights, liberties, privileges, jurisdictions and authorities hereby granted to the said corporation, create a forfeiture thereof. SECTION 19. That the provisions of the first and fourth sections of an act entitled "An Act supplementary to an act entitled An Act to of April 6th, provide for the election of commissioners for the opening and repairing 1850, to apply the public highways in Blockley township, Philadelphia county, and to this district. for other purposes, approved April sixth, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, shall in all respects be taken to be enforced in the aforesaid district. Property late of streets, &c., to SECTION 20. That the owner or owners, or a majority of them, of the property lately belonging to the estate of the late Richard Peters, deceased, are hereby authorized to cause a survey of said property to be made, and lay out streets, roads or alleys thereon, and for the proper regulation of the heights and descents of said streets or alleys, and the more ready discharge of waters thereof, shall cause leads to be taken, and shall on or before the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, file or deposit a plan of said streets or alleys, with the regulations of the heights and descents thereof, with marks, notes and explanations necessary for the proper understanding of the same, |