peal may be made to the Orphans' Court. A copy of the will is then made and given to the executors named in the will. If there is no will, the register appoints an administrator or administrators to settle up the estate. He keeps a record of all the transactions of executors and administrators. The register also collects the collateral inheritance tax and pays it into the State treasury.

The register of wills is paid by fees, and is under bond for the faithful performance of his duties.

The Recorder of Deeds. Whenever real estate is sold, the deed given by the seller to the buyer should be copied in full in the books of the recorder of deeds. Mortgages, releases, charters, commissions of county officers, and certain other documents are also thus recorded. When a paper is received for record, a note of the time when it was presented is made on the back of it; on mortgages even the hour is noted. A deed should be recorded within ninety days, to make it valid against a subsequent purchaser. The recorder may also take acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, etc.

The recorder is paid in fees, and must give bonds. The recorder's office in most counties is combined with the register's, and in the smaller counties we find all the clerical duties—those of prothonotary, register, recorder, clerk of the courts, and clerk of the orphan's court, performed by one man.

The County Commissioners.-The county commissioners are the business managers of the county. To them is entrusted the care of its public property-the court house, the poor house, the jail and the county bridges. If any new public building is needed, or an addition to an old one, the commissioners must have the approval of two successive grand juries and of the court of quarter ses

sions, before making such improvements. They make and settle all the bills of the county, and have therefore the power to lay the county tax-to determine the amount required and to fix the rate.

The commissioners may be appealed to when a person thinks the assessors have valued his property too high, and they verify the standard of weights and measures to prevent cheating by false balances. The polling places and the tickets for fall elections must be provided by the commissioners. When the county sues or is sued, it is done through the commissioners. They are also empowered to borrow money.

The commissioners are entitled to a clerk, whom they appoint and whose salary they fix. They also appoint an attorney in counties not having a solicitor, who acts as their lawyer. Besides these, they appoint the janitor for the court house, the mercantile appraiser, and two prison inspectors in counties where the sheriff does not have direct charge of the jail. All these appointments are for one year, except that of the prison inspectors, which varies, and of the clerk, which is for three years. The salaries are fixed by the commissioners.

The commissioners are all elected every third year, but no person is allowed to vote for more than two in order that one of the commissioners may belong to the minority party in the county. To transact the business of the county, they must meet as a board, two being necessary to take any action. A single commissioner can act only by authority of the board. As a rule they are paid for the time actually spent in service-$3.50 per day. In some few counties they receive fixed salaries. They can succeed themselves.

The County Treasurer. This officer receives (and in

some counties collects) the State and county taxes, and the fines and licenses. He must pay the State tax and other State moneys to the State treasurer quarterly, or oftener if required. The money of the county he pays out on orders drawn by the county commissioners. He must make quarterly and yearly reports of the condition of the treasury to the county commissioners.

The treasurer cannot have two successive terms. He is paid a certain per cent., generally determined by the commissioners, and subject to the approval of the auditors, on all money paid out. In some counties the per cent. is fixed by a special law, and in a few a fixed salary is paid. For embezzlement or mismanagement, the treasurer may be removed by the court of quarter sessions. A vacancy is filled by the county commissioners.

The District Attorney.-The district attorney prosecutes persons charged with violating, within the county, the criminal law of the State. He draws up the indictments and presents them to the grand jury. If a "true bill" is found, he represents the Commonwealth in court at the trial of the accused; that is, he tries to convict him. He can employ other attorneys to help him in the trial.

The district attorney is eligible to re-election for successive terms. He must be a lawyer, and must have practiced two years. He is paid by fees. The office generally is not very profitable, but as it is rich in experience, young attorneys especially seek it. In counties having more than 150,000 inhabitants, he may appoint from one to four assistants.

The County Solicitor. This is the attorney of the county in its civil cases; that is, in cases where the county sues or is sued. He is also the legal adviser of the county officers, more especially of the commissioners. His term

and salary are like those of the district attorney, but he receives his appointment from the county commissioners.

The Coroner.—When a person's death is sudden and mysterious, or when it is a case of suicide or murder, it is the coroner's duty to investigate it. He also holds inquests over the bodies of persons who die in prison. He calls a jury of six citizens to assist him. If the jury finds anyone guilty of killing a person, the accused is committed to jail by the coroner, there to await trial. No inquest of persons known to be dead can be held unless the body has been found.

The coroner is paid by fees and he can succeed himself. In his absence, a justice of the peace may hold an inquest. If a vacancy occurs in the sheriff's office, the coroner acts until the Governor makes an appointment.

The County Surveyor.-This office was very useful when the State still owned large tracts of land within its bounds. Whenever it sold a tract, it was the duty of the county surveyor to make a survey of it. As all the public land is now sold, he has little to do except to make surveys for roads, bridges, and disputed claims. His pay, which consists of fees, is trifling; but there is something in the name of the office that adds to a surveyor's reputation. He can succeed himself.

The Directors of the Poor.-The directors of the poor have the care of the paupers in counties which have an almshouse and no township overseers of the poor. They hold monthly meetings at the almshouse and see that it is properly conducted. They admit inmates on an order from two justices cf the peace. Children between two and sixteen years of age must be supported outside of the almshouse. For special reasons, adults are sometimes

supported outside; but no person who refuses to go to the almshouse can be so supported.

The directors of the poor are elected, one each year, to serve for three years. Their salary is $100 per annum except in counties having special legislation.

The Jury Commissioners. It is the duty of the jury commissioners, in connection with the judge of the court, to meet once a year at the county seat and select a number of persons to serve as jurors in the several courts during the year. The names of those chosen are written on slips of paper, also their occupation and residence. These slips are folded and placed in the jury wheel, which is then locked by the sheriff and secured by sealing wax. Whenever the sheriff receives an order from the court to draw a certain number of jurors for the next court, he and the two commissioners draw from the wheel, after having turned it sufficiently to intermix the slips, the number called for.

At the election of jury commissioners, no person is allowed to vote for more than one candidate, in order that each political party may be represented in the election of jurors. Their compensation is $2.50 a day while engaged in the county's service, except in large counties, where it is $500 a year.

The County Auditors.-These officers examine, compare, and settle the reports of the commissioners, the treasurer, the sheriff, the coroner, and the directors of the poor, and make a report to the court of common pleas. They see that the taxes, fines, and licenses are collected and properly accounted for, and they examine very carefully all bills paid, in order that no illegal payments are made.

In the election of auditors the same rule must be observed as in the case of the commissioners. There are