Payments due in coin. Vacancy in office. Supervisors certain funds. ten days after its passage, it shall become valid the same as if it had been approved by him. SEC. 47. All taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due the city, and all assessments, costs, penalties, and interest for work or improvements in the city, shall be paid in the gold or silver coin of the United States. SEC. 48. If, from any cause, a vacancy should occur in any city office, the Common Council shall, by appointment, fill such vacancy until the next city election, when such vacancy shall be filled by election for the unexpired term. SEC. 49. When not herein otherwise provided the Common Council shall fix the compensation of any city officer, except for members of the Council or the Mayor. SEC. 50. All ordinances in force in said city, and all proceedings commenced, had, or maintained, shall not be affected by the passage of this Act. SEC. 51. All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed." SEC. 52. This Act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage. CHAP. CCIX.-An Act to authorize the Board of Supervisors and County Treasurer of the County of Stanislaus to transfer certain funds. [Approved March 13, 1876.] The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and SECTION 1. The Board of Supervisors of the County of to transfer Stanislaus are hereby authorized to transfer, from the Swamp and Overflowed Land Fund to the County General Fund of said county, such amounts as they may deem proper; provided, the amounts so transferred shall be returned to the said Swamp and Overflowed Land Fund whenever it shall be required therein; and the County Treasurer of said county is hereby authorized to make the aforesaid transfer and repayment whenever the Board of Supervisors may direct. SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect immediately. Highways defined. CHAP. CCX.-An Act concerning roads and highways in the [Approved March 13, 1876.] The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and SECTION 1. Highways are roads, streets, or alleys, and bridges, laid out or erected by the public, or, if laid out or erected by others, dedicated or abandoned to the public. SEC. 2. Roads laid out and recorded as highways by order same. of the Board of Supervisors, and all roads used as such for a period of five years, are highways. Whenever any corporation owning a toll-bridge or a turnpike, plank, or common wagon road, is dissolved, or discontinues the road, or has expired by limitation, the bridge or road becomes a highway. SEC. 3. A road not worked or used for the period of five years, ceases to be a highway for any purpose whatever. SEC. 4. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors must keep Road a book, in which must be recorded separately all proceedings we of the Board relative to each road district, including orders laying out, altering, and opening roads; and, in a separate book, a description of each road district, its Overseer, its roads, highways, contracts, and all other matters pertaining thereto. records, how kept. SEC. 5. By taking or accepting land for a highway, the Rights public acquires only the right of way and the incidents nec- acquired. essary to enjoying and maintaining it. All trees within the highway, except only such as are requisite to make or repair the road or bridges on the same land, are for the use of the owner or occupant of the land. upon. SEC. 6. Any owner or occupant of land may construct a sidewalks, sidewalk on the highway along the line of his land, subject, trespass however, to the authority conferred by law on the Board of Supervisors and Overseers of Highways, and any person using such sidewalks with horse or team, without permission of the owner, is liable to such owner or occupant in the sum of five dollars for each trespass, and for all damages suffered thereby. trees on SEC. 7. Any owner or occupant of land adjoining a high- Planting of way not less than three rods wide, may plant trees on the highways. side contiguous to his lands. They must be set in regular rows, at a distance of at least six feet from each other, and not more than six feet from the boundary of the highway. If the highway is more than six rods wide, the rows must not be less than six nor more than twelve feet from the boundary of the highway. Whoever injures any of them is liable to the owner or to the occupant for the damages which is thereby sustained, and is guilty of misdemeanor. SEC. 8. Every gaslight or water corporation has the power Powers of to lay conductors through the public ways and squares in corporations. any city, village, or town, when it is established with the consent of the municipal authorities thereof, and under such reasonable regulations as they may prescribe. SEC. 9. The Board of Supervisors are authorized and Powers and required: First-To divide the county into a suitable and convenient number of road districts, which shall conform to township lines, as far as practicable, and appoint annually, or whenever vacancies occur, Overseers therefor, with power to remove them at pleasure. Second-To caused to be surveyed, viewed, laid out, recorded, opened, and worked, such highways as are necessary for public convenience, as in this Act provided. Third-To cause to be recorded as highways such roads as have become such by usage or abandonment to the public. duties of Supervisors. Road districts to be described. Supervisors to appoint Overseers. Oath and bond. Duties of Fourth-To abolish or abandon such as are unnecessary. Fifth-To contract, agree for, purchase, or otherwise acquire the right of way over private property for the use of public highways, and for that purpose institute, or require the District Attorney to institute, proceedings under the law regulating the exercise of the power of eminent domain, and to pay therefor from the District Road Fund of the particular district. Sixth-To levy a property tax, not exceeding fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property, each year, to be assessed and collected at the same time and manner, and by the same officers, as other taxes are assessed and collected, for the use of the road districts respectively from which the same is collected. Seventh-To order and direct Overseers specially in regard to work to be done on particular roads in their district. Eighth-To cause to be erected and maintained on the highway, guide-posts properly inscribed. Ninth-To cause the road tax collected each year to be apportioned to the road districts entitled thereto, and kept by the Treasurer in separate funds. Tenth-To audit and draw warrants on the funds of the respective road districts when required to pay for right of way or work or improvements thereon. SEC. 10. The road districts must be defined and described and designated by the municipal towns or townships; until such division is made, the road districts of the County of Sonoma must continue as they are at present defined. Road districts may be altered, changed, created, or modified by the Board of Supervisors, as occasion requires. SEC. 11. Overseers of road districts receive notice of their appointment from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, and within ten days thereafter must give the official bond required by the Board of Supervisors in the order of appointment or confirmation, and take the usual oath of office. The notice and certificate that the bond has been filed, and oath taken indorsed thereon, or a certified copy thereof, constitute a commission, and authorizes the person named in and holding the same to discharge the duties of Overseer until superseded. SEC. 12. Road Overseers must: First-Take charge of the public highways within their respective districts. Second-Keep them clear from obstructions, and in good repair. Third-To make semi-annual reports of all labor performed in his district, and how all moneys were expended, to the Board of Supervisors, under oath. Fourth-Receive and present petitions for new roads, recommend or disapprove the same, and assist in laying them out. Fifth-Sue for or otherwise, in the mode provided for the collection of poll-taxes, to collect all road poll-taxes and fines, and faithfully account for and pay over the same; provided, that inhabitants of incorporated cities shall not be liable to pay a road poll-tax, except as prescribed in their Acts of incorporation. Sixth-To pay over to his successor, or into the fund of his road district in the county treasury, all road moneys in his hands unexpended, and reported as such. Seventh-To receive for his services, out of his Road District overseer's Fund, the sum of three dollars for each day's services actually salary. performed by him, to be audited and allowed by the Board of Supervisors, which shall not exceed four hundred dollars in any one year. purposes. SEC. 13. From the road tax collected from all sources the Road tax, Board of Supervisors may annually set apart a sum, not for general exceeding twenty per cent. of the aggregate, for general county road purposes, from which they may direct such amounts to be paid as may be found necessary for such general road purposes in which the inhabitants of all the districts are more or less interested. The object of the appropriation must be specified in each order made therefor. SEC. 14. The Board of Supervisors must each year, prior Estimate of to the meeting at which they are required to levy the prop- work. erty tax for county purposes, from information derived from the Overseers, or otherwise, estimate the probable amount of work in value to be done in each road district, and regulate their annual levy of property and road poll-tax thereby. tax, amount SEC. 15. When a road poll-tax is levied throughout the Road pollcounty, it must not exceed three dollars per capita annually, tax and road tax receipts must be prepared, signed by the Auditor and Treasurer of the county, and issued to the respective Road Overseers, who must collect the same in money. SEC. 16. The annual property tax for road purposes must Property be levied by the Board of Supervisors, at their session when tax. the tax is by them levied for county purposes. SEC. 17. It shall be the imperative duty of the Assessor, Assessment. when assessing the property for other taxes, to assess all property in each road district, when the owner of such property resides in a township other than that in which the property is situated. SEC. 18. Corporations or other employers of residents in Liability of any highway district, are responsible for the road poll-tax employer. assessed against their employés, and a notice to the overseer or managing agent charges such employer or corporation with such road poll-tax. SEC. 19. Every Overseer must make to the Board of Super- Overseers to visors, semi-annually, a verified written account, containing report. a description of the repairs, work, and labor done, and improvements made, and the general condition of his dis trict. SEC. 20. The Board of Supervisors may require special reports from Road Overseers when deemed proper, showing all the facts relative to their several road districts. SEC. 21. The Overseers must accompany their reports overseers to with all unexpended moneys remaining in their hands at ve the date of report, and a statement of all moneys in the county treasury to the credit of their road districts. moneys. Penalty for failure. Petitions. Petitioners SEC. 22. For a failure to make a report as required, or to pay over to the order of the Board of Supervisors any moneys in his hands, subjects the Overseer to a penalty of twenty-five dollars, to be recovered in an action on his bonds, together with any balance due from him. Suit therefor may be instituted by the District Attorney, under order of the Board of Supervisors. SEC. 23. Any inhabitant of a road district, taxable therein for road purposes, may petition, in writing, the Board of Supervisors to alter or discontinue any road, or to lay out a new road therein. SEC. 24. The petitioners must accompany the petition to give bond with a good and sufficient bond, to be approved by the Board of Supervisors, in double the amount of the probable cost of the viewing and laying out or altering of any road, conditioned that the bondsmen will pay all the costs of viewing and surveying in case the prayer is not granted and the road finally not opened. Supervisors to appoint Viewers. Supervisors may order road SEC. 25. Upon filing such petition and bond the Board of Supervisors must appoint three Viewers, one of whom must be a surveyor, to view and survey any proposed alteration of an old or opening of a new road, to be made in accordance with the description in the petition, and submit to the Board an estimate of the cost of the change, alteration, or opening, including the purchase of the right of way, and their views of the necessity thereof. SEC. 26. The Board of Supervisors may order any road to be altered or discontinued on such petition, indorsed and abandoned. recommended by the Overseer of the district, or without such recommendation, if deemed necessary, and thereafter such road, so ordered to be, is discontinued or abandoned, and all alterations so directed must be made by the Overseer of the district. Compensa tion of Viewers. Hearing of report of Viewers, notice of. SEC. 27. The Viewers must be paid three dollars each per day for their services, out of the Road Fund of the district through which the road passes, and the surveyor his legal fees for services in running out and mapping the road, and making the plat and field notes, which must be filed, when required, before he receives his compensation; no payment to be made till the services are certified to as necessary and actually performed by the Road Overseer of the district. SEC. 28. The Board of Supervisors, on the coming in of the report, must fix a day for hearing the same; must notify the owners of land not consenting to give the right of way, of the hearing, by having written notices served on them personally, or on the occupant or agent of the owner, or if neither, by posting notice at the most conspicuous place on the lands, or left at the owner's, agent's, or occupant's residence, ten days prior to the day fixed for the hearing, and must, on the day fixed, or to which it may be postponed or adjourned, hear evidence and proof from all parties interested, for and against the proposed alteration or new road; ascertain, and by order declare, the amount of damage awarded to each non-consenting land owner, and declare the report of the |