CHAPTER LIV.

AN ACT to revise and amend the Charter of the City of Perth Amboy.

incorporat

1. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of Inhabitants the State of New Jersey, That the inhabitants of the city of ed. Perth Amboy, as the same now extends and is laid out, and their successors, shall continue to be as now constituted, a body corporate, in fact and in law, by the name, style and title of "The Inhabitants of the City of Perth Amboy," and are hereby absolutely vested with, and possess all the property, rights, causes of actions and estates, whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which at present belong to the inhabitants of the said city, in their corporate name.

2. And be it enacted, That there shall be in said city, a City officers. mayor, who shall be keeper of the city seal; a recorder, who in case of the death or disability of the mayor shall execute the duties of the mayoralty; three aldermen; six members of council, the major part of whom shall constitute a city council, of whom the mayor, or recorder, shall be one, to preside at all meetings, and have a casting vote only, which city council shall have power to meet on their own adjournments, and the whole legislative authority shall be exclusively vested therein; provided, no ordinance Proviso. or by-law be passed, altered, or repealed, without the consent of six members of the city council, and no ordinance shall be passed on the same day that it is introduced.

take oath.

3. And be it enacted, That the mayor shall, before he Officers to enters upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe before the clerk, the oath or affirmation of allegiance to the state, and an oath or affirmation that he will faithfully, impartially and justly perform all the duties of such office, so far as in him lies; and the other officers elected by virtue hereof, shall in like manner, take and subscribe before the mayor or clerk similar oaths or affirmations, which shall be taken and subscribed within ten days after

Annual election.

Officers to

be elected.

Manner of conducting election.

the election, to be held as hereinafter to be mentioned, and shall be filed by the clerk.

4. And be it enacted, That the election in and for the said city shall be held on the second Monday of April, and the clerk shall cause public notice of the time and place of holding such annual election to be set up in five public places in the city or advertised in the newspapers published therein, at least one week previous to the day of such election; and all persons, inhabitants of said city, who now are or may hereafter be qualified to vote at township meetings in the several townships of this state, shall be entitled to vote thereat.

5. And be it enacted, That at the next annual election, to be held on the second Monday of April next, it shall and may be lawful for the electors of said city to assemble at the city hall therein, and then and there, by ballot and a plurality of votes, to choose from among the citizens residing therein and entitled to vote at such election, one mayor, one recorder, three aldermen, six members of council, one clerk, one assessor, one collector, one or more overseers of the poor, one or more school trustees, one or more constables, three or more commissioners of appeal in cases of taxation, two chosen freeholders, two surveyors of the highways, one auditor, one judge of election, one town superintendent of public schools, who shall continue in office for one year, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified, and on the second Monday of April annually thereafter, the electors qualified as aforesaid shall and may assemble at the place appointed by the city council, and elect, in manner aforesaid, said officers for the like term of one year and till their successors are chosen and qualified.

6. And be it enacted, That all elections hereafter to be held in the city for officers of the general and state governments, that may be eligible by the people, shall be held therein at the place appointed for holding the city election, on the day or days now or hereafter to be designated by law for holding such election, and shall be regulated and

conducted in the same manner as like elections in the several townships now are or may be subjected to and conducted; and the judges thereof shall possess the same power, perform the same duties, receive the same emoluments, and incur the same penalties as are imposed on the judges of the like elections in the several townships of this

state.

opening and

7. And be it enacted, That the poll for the next and each Time of succeeding election shall be opened at the hour of eight closing poll. o'clock A. M., and closed at the hour of seven o'clock in the afternoon; the judge of election, assessor, and collector of the city of Perth Amboy, shall be the judges of the next election, and the same officers as chosen by virtue of this act shall be the judges of each succeeding election; any vacancy or vacancies shall be filled in the manner regulating the same in the several townships of this state; the names of all persons voting shall be written in a poll-book, to be kept by the city clerk; and the judges shall, after counting the votes for the several candidates, certify the result under their hands, and file the same in the office of the clerk.

8. And be it enacted, That the clerk, assessor, collector, judge of election, commissioners of appeal, chosen freehold ers, surveyors of the highways, constables, school trustees, town superintendent of public schools, and overseers of the poor, shall respectively possess the powers and perform the duties of the like officers of any township of this state; so far as shall be consistent with this act; and the city council shall possess the powers and perform the duties which are now vested in the township committee of any township in this state, so far as the same are consistent. herewith.

Powers and

duties of

officers.

collector.

9. And be it enacted, That the city assessor shall assess Assessor and upon persons and property, and the city collector shall collect the state and county taxes in like manner as the same now or may be hereafter assessed and collected in the several townships.

Duties and power of

10. And be it enacted, That the city council in their legiscity council. lative capacity shall, and may make, pass, seal with the common seal of the said city, and publish such and so many regulating by-laws or ordinances for the following enumerations, and for such other purposes and things as may hereafter be ordered by the regular annual city or town meeting, viz.: for the establishment and maintenance of one almshouse, or workhouse or more, for the relief of the poor, and to regulate the same, and to direct or order what persons shall be placed therein, and for what length of time, and the manner of ordering, placing, and keeping persons therein; vendues; weights and measures; gauging of casks of liquors and liquids; also ordinaries; victualling-houses; and the vending of fish, meats, and vegetables; also hawkers, peddlers, and petty showmen; of all the officers and persons inhabiting or making a temporary residence of the said city; and of the commerce thereof; the goods, wares, and merchandise necessary to be gauged, measured, or weighed; the inspection of vessels, passengers, or goods; the fees and salaries of all officers to be chosen by the electors, or appointed by the city council of said city; the fares and rates of ferriage to and from the said city; the anchoring and mooring of vessels within the harbor of the said city; the wharves, public and private; the building of wharves and bulkheads; wharfing and wharfage; nuisances within the said city or haven, and obstructions within the harbor; the planting and protecting of shade trees; the erection of houses, factories, and other buildings, as to their materials and construction, in reference to the health, safety, and comfort of the occupants, and of persons residing in the immediate neighborhood of the same; to declare by a general law what are nuisances, and to cause the same to be abated or removed; public walks; trespasses committed in gardens and other inclosures; the cleaning of chimneys; the organization, maintenance, and control of a fire department, prescribing, from time to time, its officers and the number of its members; to make such provisions in regard to the time and mode of appointment and

removal of either such officers or members; to make such requisitions in respect to their qualifications and period of service; to define their office and duties; to fix and pay such compensation for their services; and, in general, to make such regulations in regard to their conduct and management, and the management and conduct of fires, and persons attending fires, subject to the penalties provided for the breach of the city ordinances; likewise to make all such ordinances for the adoption and provision of suitable safeguards against fire, as they shall deem it expedient; the oaths or affirmations of office of all the officers not provided for by this act, or other statutes of this state; the penalties on all officers for refusing or neglecting to qualify into office, when elected or otherwise appointed, and penalties for the breach of ordinances or by-laws; the burial of the dead; public lights and lamps; the making and laying out of all alleys, streets, and public grounds or parks, to ascertain and establish the lines and boundaries of the same, and to prevent and remove all encroachments, encumbrances, and nuisances upon the same; the improvement of streets and sidewalks; and to compel the occupiers and owners of lots to keep thè sidewalks and the gutters opposite their lots swept and clean, and clear of snow and ice, and other impediments; building, repairing, and cleaning of sewers; preventing horses, cattle, dogs, swine, or other animals from running at large in the streets, and to provide for the impounding and sale of the same; preventing immoderate driving in any streets, and riding or driving over or on the sidewalks; the erection and maintenance of a city prison; the construction and regulating of wells and pumps; and the laying of water or other pipes in the streets of the city; the erection and maintenance of one or more public markets; the erecting and regulation of gas-works, and their necessary appendages; the construction of railroads in the streets of the said city; railroad depots; and the speed and running of locomotive engines and railroad cars through said city; licenses of public cartmen, draymen, teamsters, omnibus drivers, carriage drivers, porters,