periods and at other times as often as may be necessary, lay the county and district levies, pass upon all claims against the county, subject to such appeal as may be provided by law, and perform such duties as may be required by law.

Elections for county and district officers, when held; terms of officers.

Sec. 112. All regular elections for county and district officers shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and all of said officers shall enter upon the duties of their offices on the first day of January next succeeding their election, and shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years except that the county clerk shall hold office for eight years; provided, that the term of the clerks first elected under this Constitution shall begin on the first of February, nineteen hundred and four, and end on the first of January, nineteen hundred and twelve.

No person shall hold more than one office at the same time. Additional security may be required of officer.

Sec. 113. No person shall at the same time hold more than one of the offices mentioned in this article. Any officer required by law to give bond may be required to give additional security thereon, or to execute a new bond, and in default of so doing his office shall be declared vacant. County not responsible for acts of sheriff.

Sec. 114. Counties shall not be made responsible for the acts of the sheriffs.

Examination of books, accounts, etc., of officers handling public funds.

Sec. 115. The General Assembly shall provide for the examination of the books, accounts and settlements of county and city officers who are charged with the collection and disbursement of public funds,

ARTICLE VIII.

Organization and Government of Cities and Towns.

Definitions of "cities" and "towns."

Sec. 116. As used in this article, the words "incorporated communities" shall be construed to relate only to cities and towns. All incorporated communities, having within defined boundaries a population of five thousand or more, shall be known as cities; and all incorporated communities having within defined boundaries a population of less than five thousand, shall be known as towns. In determining the population of such cities and towns the General Assembly shall be governed by the last United States census, or such other enumeration as may be made by authority of the General Assembly; but nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal the charter of any incorporated community of less than five thousand inhabitants having a city charter at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, or to prevent the abolition by such incorporated communities of the corporation or hustings court thereof.

General Assembly shall enact general laws for government of cities and towns; how special act therefor passed; as to city charters existing at adoption of Constitution.

*Sec. 117. General laws for the organization and government of cities and towns shall be enacted by the General Assembly, and no special act shall be passed in relation thereto, except in the manner provided in Article Four of this Constitution, and then only by a recorded vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, and except also in the case of cities having more than fifty thousand inhabitants as hereinafter provided. But each of the cities and towns of the State having at the time of

*As amended, ratified at election held November, 1912.

the adoption of this amendment a municipal charter may retain the same, except so far as it shall be repealed or amended by the General Assembly; provided that every such charter is hereby amended so as to conform to all the provisions, restrictions and powers set forth in this article, or otherwise provided in this Constitution.

Notwithstanding, however, anything in this article contained, the General Assembly may, by general or by special act (passed as prescribed in Article Four of this Constitution), depart in any respect (except as otherwise in this section expressly provided) from the form of organization and government prescribed by this article for cities and towns, and may provide from time to time for the various cities and towns of the Commonwealth, such form or forms of municipal government as the General Assembly may deem best; but no form or forms of government authorized by the second paragraph of this section shall become operative except as to such cities or towns as may thereafter adopt the same by a majority vote of its qualified electors at an election to be held as may be prescribed therefor by law. All the limitations on the powers of the councils of cities and towns imposed by this article shall apply in like manner to the principal legislative authority under any form of government which may be authorized hereunder. The term "council," as used in sections one hundred and twenty-five and one hundred and twentyseven of this Constitution, shall be construed to include the body which, under any form of municipal government, shall be vested with the principal legislative authority of such municipality.

The General Assembly, for the purpose of this article, may classify cities according to their population, but the maximum population prescribed for any class shall exceed the minimum for the same class by at least ten thous

and. The General Assembly, at the request, made in manner which may be prescribed by law, of any city having a population of over fifty thousand inhabitants, may grant a special form of government for such city.

Any laws or charters enacted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be subject to the provisions of this Constitution relating expressly to judges and clerks of courts, attorneys for the Commonwealth, commissioners of revenue, city treasurers and city sergeants.

Clerks of city courts, elections, duties and number; only one in city of less than thirty thousand inhabitants.

Sec. 118. In each city which has a court in whose office deeds are admitted to record, there shall be elected for a term of eight years by the qualified voters of such city a clerk of said court, who shall perform such other duties as may be required by law.

There shall be elected in like manner and for a like term all such additional clerks of courts for cities as the General Assembly may prescribe, or as are now authorized by law, so long as such courts shall continue in existence. But in no city of less than thirty thousand inhabitants shall there be more than one clerk of the court, who shall be clerk of all the courts of record in such city. Commonwealth's Attorney in cities; Commissioner of Revenue in cities.

*Sec. 119. In every city, so long as it has a corporation court, or a separate circuit court, there shall be elected for a term of four years by the qualified voters of such city, one attorney for the Commonwealth, who shall also, in those cities having a separate circuit court, be the attorney for the Commonwealth for such circuit court.

In every city there shall be elected for a term of four years, in a manner to be provided by law, one commissioner of revenue, whose duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law.

City officers, their titles, election, powers and duties.

*Sec. 120. In every city there shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof one city treasurer, for a term of four years; one city sergeant, for a term of four years, whose duties shall be perscribed by law; and a mayor, for a term of four years, who shall be the chief executive officer of such city. All city and town officers, whose election or appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors of such cities or towns, or of some division thereof, or appointed by such authorities thereof as the General Assembly shall designate.

The mayor shall see that the duties of the various city officers, members of the police and fire departments, whether elected or appointed, in and for such city, are faithfully performed. He shall have power to investigate their acts, have access to all books and documents in their offices, and may examine them and their subordinates on oath. The evidence given by persons so examined shall not be used against them in any criminal proceedings. He shall also have power to suspend such officers, and the members of the police and fire departments, and to remove such officers, and also such members of said departments when authorized by the General Assembly, for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, to be specified in the order of the suspension or removal; but no such removal shall be made without reasonable notice to the officer complained of, and an opportunity afforded him to be heard in person, or by counsel, and to present testimony in his defense. From such order of suspension or removal, the city officer so suspended or removed shall have an appeal of right to the corporation court, or, if there be no such court, to the circuit court As amended, ratified at election held November, 1912.