Newspapers / Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, … / July 15, 1820, edition 1 / Page 1
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PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY PASTEUR Sf WATSON, At 3 per annum.- half in advance. . " ' - - . (BY AUTfl O R I T Y.) AN ACT to incorporate the inhabit of his deatl,5 resignation inability or re - tants of the City of Washington, and mval from the city, the said boards shall to repeal all Acts heretofore passed for ! assemble and lect anpther in Jiis place, that purpose. r' - i j fie it enacted by the Senate and House f n.uAAMMlvfiVfiA tha T Tyi T fart fs?4ri4nt ' oj America m congress asxemutzu, 1 nai the act entitled u An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the City of Washing ton, in the District of Columbia' and the act supplementary to" the same, pas sed the twenty-fourth of February, in the year one thousand eight huudred and four, and the act, entitled " An act fur ther to amend the charter of the City of Washington," and all other acts or, parts of acts, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, bej and the same are hereby, repealed : Provided, however, That the Mayor; the Members "of the Board of Aldermen, and Members of the Board of Common Council, of the corperation of the said' City, sliall and may remain and continue as such, for and during the terms for which they have been respect ively appointed, subject to the terms and conditions in such cases legally made and and provided ; and all acts or things done, or which may be done, by them, in pur suance of the provisions, or by virtue of the authority, of the said acts, or either of them, and not inconsistent with the provisions, of-tnis act, shall be valid, and of as full force and effect as if the said tats liCL'J iuji nave utm h.jj-ivu Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the inhabitants of the. city of Washing ton shall continue to be a body politic' and corporate by the name of the " May or, Board of Aldermen, and Board of Common Council, of the city of Wash ington," to be elected by ballot, as here inafter directed; and, by their corporate name, may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, grant, receive, and do all other acts as natural persons ; and may purchase' and hold real, personal and mixed property, or dispose of the same, for the benefit of .the city ; and may have and use a city Seal, and break and altei the same at pleasure. ' Sec. 3. And be it furtlier enactedyThdX the Mayor of the said city shall be elect ed, on the first Monday in June next, aid on the same day-in every second year thprpaffpr at tWo cimp timp nnrl n1;irf: !"ri the same manner, and by the persons qualified to vote for members of the board of aldermen, and the board of com mon ; council. That the commissioners 'hereinafter mentioned shall make out du plicate certificates of the result of the election of mayor; and shall return one to the beard of aldermen and the other to the board of common council, on the Monday next ensuing the election; and the persons having the greatest number of votes shall be the mayor ; but in case t;vo or more persons, highest in vote, shall have an equal number of votes, then it shall be lawful for the board of alder men, and the board of common council to proceed forthwith, by ballot, in joint meeting to determine the choice between such persons. The Mayor shall on the Monday next ensuing his election before he enter& on the duties of luY office; in 1 me (jcciivc m me uuuius oi Aiaermen and Common Council, io joint meeting, .take an oath, to be administeied by a justice the of peace," lawfully to execute the duties of his office, to the best of his skill and judgerant, without favor or par tiality." He shall, ex officio, have and exercise all the powers, authority, and jurisdiction, of a justice of the peace, for the county of Washington, within the said county. He shall nominate, and, with the consent of the Board of Aldermen, appoint to all offices under the corpora tion, (except commissioners of election,) aid may remove any such officer from o$ice at his will anc pleasnre. Hi shall appoint persons to fill up all vacancies hich may occur during the recess of the Board of j Aldermen, to hold such ap pointments until the ensuing session. ' He may convene the two boards when, in his opinion, the public good may re quire it; and he shall lay before them, from time to time ; in writing such alter ations in the laws of the corporation as as may deem necessary and ptoper, and bc'shall receive for bjs services annually,- J ajust and reasonable compensation to be . allowed "ahcf fixed by' the two boards, which shall "neither be increased nor di minished during. his continuance in office. Any person shall 'be eligible to the office oT Mayor) who is a free white male citi zan of the United States, who shall have attained the age of thirty years, who shall have resided in. the said city for two years immediately preceeding : his flection," and who shall be the bone fide owner of a freehold estate in the said city ; and no pther person shall be el ligible to the said office. In case of the refusal of any person to accept the office of 'Mayor-jipon his election thereto, or 1 ' e i i .. ...... to serve tor uie remainder ol the term, or during such inability. , f " Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Board of Aldermen, shall consist of two members, to be residents in and cho sen from each ward, by the qualified vo ters therein, and to be elected for two years, from the Monday next ensuing their election ; and the Board of Com mon Council shall, consist of three mem bers, to be residents in and chosen from each ward, by the qualified voters there in, and to be elected for one year, from theMonday next ensuing their election ; and each board shall meet at the Coun cil Chamber, on the second Monday in une next, for the despatch of business, at ten o'clock in the morning etnd at the same hour on the second Monday in June Jo every year thereafter ; arid; at such "other times as the two boaTds mayj by law, direct. A majority of each , board shall be necessary to form a quorum to do business, but a less number may ad journ fiom day to day ; they may com pel tjre attendance of absent membcis,K m such manner, and under such penal ties, and allow such compensation for the attendance of the members, as they may, by law, provide : each board shall; appoint a President, who shall preside during its sessions, and who shall be en titled to vote on all questions ; they shall settle their rules of proceedings, appoint and remove officers at pleasure ;and may with tbe concurrence of three-fourths of the whole, expel any member for disor derly behaviour or malconduct in office, but not a second time for the same of fence; each board shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and the yeas and nays shall be entered thereon, at the request of any member ; and their deliberations shall be public. All ordinances or acts, passed by the two boards, shall be. sent to the .Mayor for his approbation, and, ,when approved by him, shaf f be obliga tory as such. But, if the Mayor shall not approve of any ordinance or act, so sent to him, he shall return the same, within five days, with his reason in wri ting therefor; and if two-thirds of both boards on re-consideration therefor, agree to pass the same, it shall be in , force in like manner as if he had approved it; but, if the two boards sliall, by their adjourn ment, prevent its return, the same shall riot be oblagatory. ' Sec. 5. And be it further enacted , That no person shall be elligible, to a seat in the Board of Aldermen, or Board of Common Council, unless he shall be more than twenty-five years of age, a free white male citizen of the United States, and shall h ave been a resident of the city of Washington, for one year next preceeding the day of election, and shall, at the) time of his tlection, be a, resident of thel ward for which he shall be elecct ed, and then be the bona fide Owner of a freehold estate, in the said city and shall have been assessed on the books of the corporation, for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December, next pre ceedinfr thp dav of election. And every free white male citizen of the h nited States, of lawful age, who shall have re sided in the city of Washington for one year next preceeding the day of election, and shall be a resident of the ward in which he shall .offer to vote, and who shall have been assessed on the books of the corporation, for the year ending on the .thirty-first day of December next pre ceding the day of election, and who shall have paid all taxes legally assessed and due on personal property, when legally required to pay the same, and no other person, shall be entitled to vote at any election for members of the two boards. And it shall be the duty of the register of the city, or such officer as the corpo ration may hereafter direct, to furnish the commissioners of election in each ward, previous to opening the polls, at' every election, a list of the t persons hav ing a right to vote, agreeably to the' pro visions of this section. " T - V Sec. 6. And be it further vnariecL That an election for members of the bdard of Aldermen and Bgard of Common feoun- cil shall be field on the first Monday in June nextj and on the fijst Monday in .iiiiif rtiiuiifi if v uici caiiir i uiili an r ri.." .-..i.tl.T lliaMKiftar nn4 . appointment shall be at least ten days ' previous to the day of each election. I And it shall be the dnty ol tne f commis- sioners So Appointed to give at least , fi least . five days' previous public notice 01 me . place in each ward here such elections are to be held. The Commissioners shall, be- fore they receive any ballot, severally to take an oath or affirmation, to be ad ministered by some jmtice of the peace for the county : of Washington, " truly and faithfully to receive and return the votes of such persons as are by law enti tled to vote for members of the Board of Aldermen r.nd Board of. Common Coun cil, in their respective wards, .according to the best of tfir judgment and under standing ; and tiot knowingly to receive or ieturn tne vote of any person who is notj legally j entitled to the same." The polls shall ;be opened at ten o'clock in the norni ng and be clossed at seven o'clock the evening of the same day. .Immedi ately on elbsing the polls, the said com missioners for each ward, or a majority of them, -shall count the ballots, and make out, tinder their hands and seals, a correct return of the persons having the greatest number of legal votes, for mem bers of theiBoard of AIdermen and the Board of Common Council, respectively, together wth the nnmber of votes , given to each person voted for; and the persons having the - greatest number of votes for the two Boards respectively, shall be du ly elected, and, in all cases of an equality of votes, thje commissioners shalll decide the choice by lot. The said returns shall be delivered to the Mayor, on the day succeedinglthe election, who shall cause the result of the elections to be published in some newspaper printed in , the Citv of Washington ; a duplicate return shall, 'together with a list of the persons who voted at such election also be made on the day succeeding the election, to the register of the city,: who shall preserve and record the same; ajid shall within two days thereaf ter, notify the several persons, so return ed, of their election. And each board shall judge of the legality ol the elections, re turnsj and quaUffications, of itsown mem bers, ana shall supply vacancies in its own body, by causing elections to be held to fill the same, and appoint commission ers to hold) the same ; and such commis sioners shaljive.at least five days' pub lic notice o;f the time and place of hold ing such elections ; each of the members of either board shall, before entering on the duties eff his office, take an oath or affirmation i ;" faithfully to execute the duties of his office, to the best of his knowledge and ability," which oath or affirmation -shall be administered by the Mayor or some justice of the " peace for the county of Washington. Sec. 7. And be it f urther enacted, That the corporation aforesaid shall have full power and authority to lay and collect taxes upon the real and personal proper ty within the said city, provided that no tax shall be laid upon real property, at a higher rate than threev quarters of one per centum on the assesment valaution thereof, except for the special purpose hereinafter provided ; - and that no tax shall be laid upon the wearing apparel, or ) necessary tools and implements used in carrying on tne trade or ocenpation of any person ; nor shall the same be sub ject to distress and sale for any taxj and, alter providing for all objects of a gene ral nature, the taxes raised on the asses sable property in each ward shall be, ex pended thejrein, and in no other; to es tablish a board of health, with' compe tent authority to enforce its regulation, and to establish such other regulations as may be necessary, to prevent the intro duction of contagious diseases, and for the preservation of the health of the city ; to prevent and remove nuisances; to establish night-watches or patrols, and erect lamps in the streets ; to preserve the naviga tion of the jPotomac and Anacostia rivers adjoining the city; to erect, repair, and regulate, public wharves and to deepen creeks, docks, and basons ; to tegulate the manner of erecting, and the rates of wharfage at private wharves ; to regu- late the stationing, anchorage, and moor ing,'of vessels ; to provide for licencing, taxing , and legula ting auctions, retaillers, ordinaries and taverns, hackney car-r riages, waggons carts and drays, pawn brokers, venders of lottery tickets, money changers, and hawkers and pedlars ; to provide for licensing, taxing, regulating, or restraining theatrical or public "shows and, amusements ; to restrain,or prohib it tippling houses, lotteries, and all kinds ! markets . to erect and repair bridges : to open and keep in repair streets, avenues. ---T ... , ' ' . , J . 7 - r wno cannot: give a good ac tions shall be held by three commis- .keeping of the standard weights and mea- count of themselves 4 all eves-dropners sioners tote appointed in each ward, by sures as fixed by Congress, and for the : and night walkers all who shall be tbe two boards in joint -meeting, which regulation of. ail weights and measures guilty of bpea: tirnfenW. ; ui lanes, alleys, drains, and sewers, agreea- bly to the plan of the city ; to supply the '. '-.t. - . . rj C f ? 2 -I i.iiv uriru naiar in rirfivifii I ri I iiih x;iir used in -the city to regulate the, sweep- j ing of chimneys, and fix the rates' of fees tharnU.. ' - r .1 j- uiciciur iu provide tor me prevention ; cuiu cAWHuisiiment ot nres ; to regulate ine size ot bncks to be made or used. and provide for the inspection of lumber ana other building materials, to. be sold in the city ; to regulate, with the ap probation of tbe President of the United States, the manner of erecting- and the materials to be used in the erection of bouses ; to regulate the inspection ot tobacco, flour, butter, and lard, in casks or boxes, and salted provisions ; to reg ulate the guaging of casks, and liquors ; the storage of gunpowder, and all naval and military stores, not the property of the United States; and the weight and udiiiy ot oreaa ; to impose ana appro priate fines, penalties and forfeitures, for thV breach of their laws or ordinances; ando provide for the appointment of inspectors, constables and such other of ficers ; as may be necessary to execute, the laws of the corporation. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have full pow er and authority to lay taxes on particu- Iar wards, parts, or sections, of thp citv. tor their particular local improvements, ! of lotteries for; the erection of bridges and, upon application of the owners of and effecting any important improve more than dhe half of the property upon ments in the city which the ordinary rev any portion of a street, to cause the curb j enue thereof, will not accomplish for the stones to oe set, ana tne toot wavs to be paved, on such portion of a street, and to lay a tax on such property, to the a mount of the expense thereof : Provided, That such tax shall not exceed three dollars per front foot ; and upon a like application, to cause the carriage way of any portion of a street to be paved, or lamps erected therein, and light the same, and lay a tax, not exceeding the whole expense thereof, in due portion, on the lots fr nring on such portion of a streeet; and also, to impose ah addition or inter est on the amounts Of any snch taxes, not exceeding ten per centum per annum, ' when the same shall not have been tpaid within thirty days rafter; the same shall J shall also have power and authority to provide for the establishment and super- iotendance of public schools, and to en- dow the same , pto , establish and erect uusuiiais, ucai-uuuius, waicn,. ana vvnrlc-nfuipe Iiiiiimpc it r-ifi- wn nam- tentiary, and other public buildings, and I before a justice; of the peace, for the-re-'-to collect taxes for the expenses thereof : covery of anv fine or nenaltv arkm iu reguiaie pany or omer wans and fen ces, 'and to determine by when the same shall be kept in v repair ; to cause new alleys to be opened through the squares, and to extend those already laid out up on the application of the owners of more than one half the property in such squares: Provided, That the damages which may acrue thereby, to any individual or indir viduals, shalll be first ascertained by a jury, to be summoned and impannelled by the Marshal of the District of Colum bia, (and it is hereby made his duty to summon and impannel the same, in all uch cases, upon application to him in writing by the ; Mayor of the city,) and such damages to be paid by the corpara tion, the amount thereof, and the expen ses accruing? shall be levied in due por tion upon the. in viduals, xvhose property on such squares shall be benefited there- by, and collected as ofher taxes are ; to occupy and improve for public purposes, by and with the consent of the President of the United States, any part of the'pub-' lie open spaces and squares in said city, not interfering withany private rights; to regulate the admeasurment and weight by which all articles brought into the city for sale shall be disposed of; to pro vide for the appointment of appraizers and" measures of builders' work and ma terials, and also of wood, -coal grain, and lumber ; to restrain and prohibt the nightly and other disorderly meeting of slaves, free negroes, and mulattoes, and to punish such slaves by whipping, !not exceeding forty stripes, or by imprison ment not exceeding six months, for any one offence, and to punish such free ne groes and mulattoes, by penalties not ex ceeding twenty dollars for any one of fence, and in case of the inability of any such free negro or mulatto to pay any such penalty and cost thereon, to cause him or her "to be confined to labor for any time' not exceeding six callendar months; to cause all vagrants, idle, or disorderly persons, all persons of evil life or ill fame, and all such as have no visi ble meansW support or are likely to become chargeable to jthe corporation as paupers, or are found begging or drunk in or about the streets, or loitering in or! about tippling-hou se , ot who! can sliew no reasonable cause of business or em- ploymeiit in the "city and all iuspicious persons who have not fixed places of resi i ninra n. ..l - dent language, or behaviour publicly in the streets ; all t public nrostitmp -ind sucu ns4eau, a notoriously lewd or 'las i 1 1 . . 7 civious course of life, and aU such as keep public, gaming tables, or gaming houses, to give security for, their good behaviour for a reasonable time, and to indemnify the city against any charge for their sup port, and, in case of their refusal or .ina bility togive such security, to cause them, to be confined to labor until such securi ty shah,bezgiven, not exceeding Imwever, one year at a' lime ; but, if they shall be found again offending, the like pro ceedings may be again had, and, from time to time, as often as may be' neces sary ; ,to enforce the departure of such vagrants and paupers as may come in the city to reside, unlesss they sliall give ample security that they will not become chargeable on the corporation for their support, to provide for the binding but a apprentices of poor orphan children, and Children of drunkards, Vagrants, and paupers ; to prescribe . the terms anil conditions upon which free negroes; arid mulattoes may reside in the citv : to au thorize with the approbation of the Presi-' dent Of the Unit prl Sf:toc a.'. term oi ten yeais; f rovided, That the amount so authorized to be raised in each year sliall not exceed the sum of ten thou sand dollars, clear of expenses; to take care of and regulate burial grounds ; to provide (; for the . registering of births,1 deaths and marriages ; to punish corpo really any colored servant or slave for a breach of any of their laws or ordinan ces, unless tjie owner or holder of such; servant or slave shall pay the fine in such cases provided; and to pass all bias which shall be deemed necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by this act in the said corporation or its officers. Sec. Q- Anl hn if furtho, J mi . "-j inn cauuivu inac- shall receive and safely , keep within the , jail for the county of Washington at the 1 expense of thesaid corporation all per sons committed thereto under or bv an- ; luumy urine provisons ot thiMrt in nil nncuc iKr i ii . incdrred for a breach of anvlawor onlin. ance of the ceporation, execution shall and may be issued, as in all other ' cases of small debs. - Section 10. And be it further cnactedy That real property, whether improved r unimproved, in the city of Washington, on which two or himV r..n nae remained due and unpaid, or or which any special tax, imposed by virtue or authority of the provisions of this act, shall have remained unpaid for two or more years after the same shall have be come due, or so much thereof, not less than a lot, (when ihe property upon hich the tax has accrued is not fess than that quantity) as may be necessary to pay any such taxes, with all legal costs and charges! arising thereon, may be sold at public sale to satisfy the corporation there for : Provided, That public notice be given of thg time and place o('sa.'e, by advertis ing onc a week in' some newspaper print ed in the City of Washington, for at least six months, where the property is asses sed to persons residing out of the United Mates ; iuj iincir iiiumus, wuere me pro assessed to persons; residin in perry is the United States, but without theDistrict of Columbia ; and lor six weeks, fthere the proper ty is assessed lo persons resid ing within the District of Columbia; in which advertisement shall be stated the .urnbe ol the lot or lots, (if the square : been div ided into lots,; the numhu of the square or squares, or. other sufficient or definite description of the property se lected for sale, the name of the person or persons to whom the same mny have been assessed, for the respective" years taxes due thereon, as also the name of the person to whom thesamu is assessed, and the aggregate amount of taxes due. The purchaser or purchasers of any such property shall pay, -at the time of such sale, the amount of the taxes due on tke property sc purchased by him, her, or them, respectively, with the amount of the expanses of sale ; and he. she, or they, shall pay the residue of the purchase mo-i ney within ten days' after the expiration of two years from the day of safe to the collector of faxes, or other officer of the corporation authorized to rece.ve t'.ie ; same ; and the amount of such reM'ia shali be placed iu Uie city tivasury, whero
Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, N.C.)
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July 15, 1820, edition 1
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