ordinance, and shall include in any such judgment the costs ineurred by said city, as well as in the proceedings before the mayor as those in court, including a fee to the attorney for the city of ten dollars, and the fees, if any, of the jailor or the keeper of the city prison; and the proceedings to enforce the collection of any such fine and costs, as may be provided in sections ten, eleven and twelve of chapter thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, except that the writ, mentioned in the tenth section, may be issued by the clerk upon the order of the mayor of the city, and the notice contemplated by the eleventh section shall be given to such officer; if the judg ment be for the defendant he shall recover his costs against the city.

Sec. 27. From all judgments by the mayor in cases other than for violation of ordinances, appeals shall be allowed as in similar cases before justices.

Sec. 28. It shall be the duty of the city clerk to keep a journal of the proceedings of the council, and have charge of and preserve the records, bonds, papers and other documents belonging to the city; he shall, in case of sickness or disability of the mayor to act: or in case of his absence from the city, or during any vacaney in the office of the mayor, perform the duties of mayor, and shall be vested with all powers necessary for the performance of such duties: he shall also perform such other duties pertaining to the fiscal affairs of the city, or otherwise, as may be required of him by this act or by the council; he shall receive such salary as may be fixed by council, which shall not be less than one hundred nor more than four hundred dollars per annum.

The sergeant shall be at the head of the police department of the city. It shall be the duty of the sergeant to collect the city taxes, fines, levies and assessments; he has all power to enforce the payment and collection thereof, that the officer collecting the stat tax has or may hereafter be given under the statutes and laws of West Virginia, and the said sergeant shall have all the powers, rights and privileges within the corporate limits of such city in regard to the collection of claims, the arrest of persons, the execution and return of process that can be legally exercised by a constable of the district and he shall be entitled to the same fees and hable to the same penalties, forfeitures, etc. as the constable of the district; the sergeant shall be at the head of the police department

of the city with the same powers within the limits of the city as the sheriff in his county.

Sec. 29. It shall be the duty of the assessor to ascertain the property within said city, subject to taxation, including a capitation upon each male inhabitant of said city who has attained the age of twenty-one years, substantially in manner and form as in the case of assessments by county assessors, and make return thereof to the council on or before the first day of July of each year; he shall also make out the land books for said city in each year, and make proper transfers of such property as shall have changed ownership within the preceding year, and charge the same on said books to the person who by himself has the freehold in his possession, whether in fee or for life, on the first day of April, in such year; when a tract or lot of land becomes the property of different owners, in several parcels, the assessor shall divide the value, at which the whole land had before been assessed, among the different owners, having regard to the value of each interest compared with that of the whole, and enter the same on the land books for said year; he shall also enter in said land book the value of any old building omitted for one or more years, and of addition or improvement to a building, and of any building newly erected, not theretofore assessed, if the same be of the value of one hundred dollars or upwards; he shall have the same power and be subject to the same penalties, in ascertaining and assessing the property and subjects of taxation in said city, as are conferred and imposed upon county assessors by general law; but the council may correct any error on his part in making such assessment, upon the application of any person ag grieved; the council shall have authority to prescribe, by general ordinance such other rules and regulations as may be necessary to enable and require the assessor to ascrtain and properly assess all property subject to taxation by said city, so that such assessment and taxation shall be uniform and equal, and may enforce such rules and regulations by reasonable fines and penalties to be imposed upon any one failing or refusing to comply therewith; the said assessor shall also list the number of dogs or other animals subject to a license tax in said city, and the names of the persons owning the same which list shall be returned to the council at the same time the assessment is returned; he shall receive for his services such compensation as shall be fixed by the council.

Sec. 30. The council shall cause to be made up annually, and

spread upon its minute book, an accurate estimate of all sums which are or may become lawfully chargeable against the city, which ought to be paid within one year, and it shall order, at a meeting held by it in the month of July of each year, a levy of so much as will in its judgment be necessary to pay the same; such levy shall be upon all real and personal property otherwise subject to state and county taxes, and an annual capitation tax of one dollars upon each male inhabitant of said city who has attained the age of twenty-one years; provided, that such levy shall not exceed the rate fixed by the general acts of West Virginia on the ascertained value of such property; at least once in each year the council shall cause to be made up and published, in one or more of the newspapers of the city, or of Hancock county, a statement of the financial condition of said city, including the revenue received from the different sources, and of the expenditures upon the different accounts, for the preceding year or portion of the year as the case may be.

Sec. 31. The clerk of said city, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance by him of the duties of his office, and for the accounting for and paying over, as required by law, all money which may come into his hands by virtue of his office with sureties satisfactory to the council, payable to the city of Chester, in a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars, as the council may prescribe; he shall be custodian of all bonds, notes, together with all valuable papers which may be placed in his possession by the council.

Sec. 32. Immediately after the annual levy of city taxes is made, it shall be the duty of the city clerk to extend the same in the property books returned by the assessor, including as well the proper capitation tax, and make out there from proper tax tickets, and the same after being examined and compared and approved by the finance committee of the council, and if found to be correct, shall be turned over to the sergeant on the first day of September following the levy, whose receipts shall be returned to the council and entered upon its records, and the sergeant shall be charged therewith; the sergeant shall give notice that said tickets are in his hands for collection, stating the penalty for non-payment thereof, and the time and place where the same may be paid, which notice shall be published for twenty days in one or more newspapers published

in said city or county. To all persons who shall pay their taxes in full before the first day of October, next succeeding said levy, there shall be allowed a discount of two and one-half per centum on the whole amount of the taxes so paid and not otherwise; to all taxes remaining unpaid on the first day of January, next succeeding said levy, a penalty of ten per centum shall be added, and the sergeant shall forthwith proceed to collect from the parties, by distraint or otherwise, the entire amount of the taxes with which they are severally charged therein with interest at the rate of one per centum per month, from the said first day of January, until they are fully paid, together with the penalty herein provided to be added thereto.

Sec. 33. It shall be the duty of the sergeant, at least once in six months during his continuance in office, and more often if required by council, to render an account of taxes, levies, assessments and other claims in his hands for collection and return a list of such as he shall not have been able to collect, by reason of insolvency, removal or other cause to which list he shall append an affidavit that he has used due diligence to collect the claims therein. mentioned, but has been unable to do so, and if the council shall be satisfied with the correctness of said list, and shall allow him a credit for said claims, but may thereafter take such lawful measures to collect the same as shall by it be prescribed; he shall keep regular books of account, to be examined and approved by the council, of all moneys received and disbursed by him, and of other matters pertaining to his office, which books shall at all times be open to the inspection of the council, or any committee appointed by it for such purposes; all moneys belonging to the city shall be paid over to the sergeant, no moneys shall be paid out by him except upon the order of the council, countersigned by the mayor; he shall receive for his services a compensation fixed by the council not to exceed a commission of five per cent of the total taxes collected including revenue collected other than state moneys, but no commission shall be charged by said sergeant for receiving state funds for town purposes, and no additional commissions shall be charged by sergeant for disbursement of moneys; if the sergeant shall fail to collect, account for and pay over, all or any moneys, with which he may be chargeable belonging to the city according to the conditions of his bond and the orders of the council, it shall be lawful

for the council to recover the same by action or by motion upon ten days' notice in the corporate name of the city in the circuit court of Hancock county against him and his sureties or any or either of them or his or their executors or administrators; if the sum claimed does not exceed three hundred dollars, such recovery may be had before the mayor, or any justice of said county.

Sec. 34. It shall be the duty of the solicitor to prepare, when directed by the council, all ordinances for said city, to represent the said city in all matters and proceedings in any court, in which the said city is interested, and counsel the said council when requested; he shall receive as compensation for his services, to be fixed by the council, not exceeding three hundred dollars per annum.

Sec. 35. There shall be a lien on real estate, within said city for the city taxes assessed thereon, and for all fines and penalties assessed to, or imposed upon the owners thereof, by the authorities of such city, from the time the same are so assessed or imposed. which shall have priority over all other liens, except, the lien for taxes due the state, county and district; and which may be enforced by the council in the same manner provided by law for the enforcement of the lien for county taxes or in such other manner as council shall by ordinance provide. If any real estate within said city be returned delinquent for the non-payment of the delinquent taxes thereon, a copy of such delinquent list may be certified by the council to the auditor, and the same may be sold for the city taxes. interest and commissions thereon, in the same manner. at the same time and by the same officers, as real estate is sold for the non-payment of state taxes.

Sec. 36. It shall be the duty of the chief of police to preserve order and quiet in said city, and to see that all subordinate police officers faithfully perform their official duty; he shall be present in the police court, whenever the same shall be in session and see that all its orders and requirements are properly executed: he shall with the consent of the council enter of record, but not otherwise. appoint one or more policemen as the council may determine; he shall, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance by him of the duties. of his office, and for the accounting for and paying over, as required by law, all money which may come into his hands by virtue of his office, with sureties satisfactory to the council, in a penalty. of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than three thous