ing to perform any official duty, upon the penalty of immediate dismissal.

Section 14. No district policemen, appointed under this act, shall hold any other office or employment under the Commonwealth, or any city, county or borough or township or incorporated district therein, or under the United States, and their commission shall be for a period of one year only, and subject to good behavior. They may be dismissed by the board upon sufficient cause shown; but shall always be entitled to a public hearing and an opportunity to defend themselves against any charges before being dismissed.

Section 15. The maximum number of policemen which may be appointed in the district may be stated in the petition, but the number so stated may be increased or decreased, at any time, upon the unanimous consent of the proper municipal authorities of the boroughs or townships included within the district, given at a joint meeting.

Section 16. It shall be the duty of the board to prepare annually, a sum as may be for their organization, an estimate in detail of the expenses of maitenance of the police force for the ensuing year, including the erection of necessary buildings and the purchase of necessary paraphernalia, exclusive of uniforms, and to forward said statement to the borough councils, commissioners and supervisors of the boroughs and townships composing their district, on or before the first day of June in each year; and the board shall, in such statement, apportion the aforesaid amounts among the said boroughs and townships, in proportion to the assessed valuation of the real estate situated therein. The proportion of these expenses, so allotted, shall be a charge upon the respective borough or township; and it shall be, and it is hereby made, the duty of the council, commissioners or supervisors of the aforesaid borough and townships to levy a cash tax, which shall be sufficient to meet the amount apportioned to them by the board. And upon requisition, duly made and signed by the president of the board and attested by the secretary thereof, the proper borough and township authorities shall issue their warrant to the borough or township treasurer, directing him to pay over to the board the proceeds of the tax so levied, at such times and in such amounts as may be required by the board. But in case a cash tax for the erection of buildings would impose too heavy a burden for that year, the borough or township authorities may borrow money, and issue bonds therefor, subject to the limitations prescribed by the Constitution and laws of this Commonwealth. The accounts of the board shall be audited by the auditors of all the boroughs and townships included within the district, or a majority of them, in general convention met.

Section 17. In case of the incorporation of any police district, under this act, between the first day of February and the first day of December of any year, the court of quarter sessions shall appoint three commissioners, qualified as aforesaid, to serve as the board of Commissioners for the said district until the next succeeding election, and until their successors are elected and qualified. Section 18. In case a police district shall be incorporated with less than the maximum number of boroughs and townships, mentioned in section one of this act, any adjoining boroughs or town

ships may be annexed to the said district, until the maximum number is reached, in the manner provided by the laws of this State for the annexation of townships or parts of townships to boroughs.

Section 19. In case any twenty-five of the taxable inhabitants of a borough or township included in a police district shall present a duly verified petition to the court of quarter sessions, praying that the connection of the said boroughs or townships with the said police district be dissolved, the said court shall order an election on that question, to be held, at any time within six weeks thereafter, by the officers of the regular election and at the usual polling places; at which election all taxpayers, male and female, shall be entitled to vote; and upon a certificate of the return of the said election being duly filed in the said court, the said court shall decree that the said borough or townships shall no longer form part of the said police district, or shall dismiss the petition, as the case may be. Section 20. All laws or parts of laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

Executive Department, Harrisburg, March 31, 1905.

To the Honorable, the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Gentlemen: I return herewith, without my approval, House bill No. 212, entitled "An act for the purpose of securing better police protection for the rural districts of this Commonwealth, the creation and incorporation of police districts, and the establishment of rural police."

This bill seeks to provide for a very proper subject of legislation, but has not been carefully considered. It arranges a system for the organization of boroughs and townships into police districts, and provides for the appointment of policemen within such districts. Section two begins, "Proceedings for the purpose of aforesaid shall be begun by resolution, adopted by the borough council." There is here an evident redundancy of words. Section three provides for a petition to the court of quarter session of the county "in which they are situate, to incorporate the said borough or boroughs in township or townships into a police district." There is here an evident misuse of words. The same section further provides, "said petition must be duly filed with the clerk of the court at least four weeks prior to the return day of the rule to show cause why the prayer of the petition shall not be allowed." The date of the filing of the petition is, therefore, to be determined by reference to a future uncertain event, unknown at the time the petition is filed. Section four then proceeds to direct that the court shall grant a rule to show cause why the prayer of the petition shall not be allowed, "returnable on the first day of the term next ensuing the date of the filing of the petition." Assuming that the first day of the next term is the first Monday of June, and that the petition should be filed upon some day late in the month of May, the four weeks required by section three will not have intervened. The correct plan would have been to allow the petition to be filed, and then to fix a time thereafter ́when an application for a rule may be made.

Section seven provides that it shall be the duty of the court, if they shall deem it advisable, after a hearing, to “declare the borough or boroughs in township or townships, which have joined in the said petition, to be incorporated as a police district." Here is again an evident misuse of words. Section ten provides, "the candidates having the highest number of votes, respectively, shall be deemed as elected, notwithstanding that they may have received a majority of all the votes cast." From this sentence the word "not" has probably been omitted. In the same section it is directed that, in the event of a tie at the election, this tie is to be overcome by the following method: "lots to be cast within two days after the result of the election is announced." A system is provided, but how it is to be carried into effect is left uncertain. Who is to superintend the casting of the lots, and to ascertain what is the effect of such casting, the bill does not provide. Section twelve provides that vagrants arrested under the authority of the police district "may be compelled to work on the roads of the township or borough.' This is an innovation, and perhaps a very proper one in our present system of jurisprudence, but this important matter is not referred to in the title of the bill. Section nineteen provides that, at an election ordered by the court, "all taxpayers, male and female, shall be entitled to vote." This is likewise an innovation of an important character to which there is no reference in the title. Section fifteen provides that the number of policemen may be increased or decreased at any time "upon the unanimous consent of the proper municipal authorities of the boroughs or townships." Who are the proper municipal authorities to determine this fundamental question, the bill does not provide. Section sixteen directs, "it shall be the duty of the board to prepare annually, a sum as may be for their organization, an estimate in detail of the expenses of maintenance." There is no intelligent thought expressed in this combination of words. Section nineteen provides that "upon a certificate of the return of the said election being duly filed in the said court, the said court shall decree that the said borough or townships shall no longer form part of the said police district, or shall dismiss the petition, as the case may be." No doubt it was intended to provide that if the result of the election should show that the voters had voted in favor of the dissolution, then the court should decree that the borough or townships should no longer form a part of the district, and that if the voters had voted otherwise the petition should be dismissed; but this thought is not expressed. and upon what the decree of the court is to be based does not appear. Throughout the bill there are numerous instances in which, apparently, words have been omitted or misused.

For these reasons the bill is not approved.

SAML. W. PENNYPACKER.

No. 20.
AN ACT

To provide for the draining of swampy and wet lands, and the assessment and collection of the costs thereof from the owners of the property thus improved. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That upon the petition of twenty, or

of a majority, if a majority is less than twenty, of the owners of wet or swampy lands, belonging to several owners, disjointly forming a continuous swamp or marsh, the court of quarter sessions of the proper county shall appoint a jury of view, consisting of three reputable and disinterested citizens of the petitioners' county, who shall have the power to view the wet or swampy lands described, and, if in their judgment, a drain or drains shall be practicable and would enhance the valuation of the property in said district, they shall proceed to lay out such drain or drains, which may include the lowering and strengthening of the bed of any creek or stream, and remove all obstructions from it by which the waters thereof are thrown back upon the wet or swampy land, measuring the length and ascertaining the depth, as near as may be, with ordinary facilities: Provided, That nothing herein contained be construed to allow interference with dams or other devices for securing water-power, at the time in actual use. They shall also have power, and it shall be their duty, to make a survey of such swampy or wet land, and get its contents, and the quantity owned by each land owner, and make an estimate of the cost of constructing such drain or drains: Provided, however, That notice of the intended application for the appointment of such jury of view shall be published in two newspapers of general circulation in the petitioners' county, at least thirty days previous to the time of making the application, and that like notice, in writing, shall be served upon the county commissioners or proper municipal authorities, at least ten days before making such ap plication; and such petitioners shall serve, or cause to be served, upon the county commissioners or proper municipal authorities a written notice of the time and place of the meeting of such jury of view, at least five days before such meeting shall be held.

Section 2. The said court of quarter sessions may appoint a competent stenographer, to keep a faithful record of all proceedings before the viewers, and to furnish a full copy of all his notes, to be attached to and form part of the record; and shall appoint a reputable person, learned in the law, who shall preside at all meetings of the viewers, to be known as a master, and have the power to determine the admissibility of evidence, and issue of writs of subpoena to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers, and instruct the viewers upon matters of law, to which exceptions may be taken for the purpose of review, but shall not have any vote on any question of fact or value.

Section 3. Before entering upon the discharge of his duties the master shall be sworn or affirmed by the judge appointing him, or by the clerk of the court of quarter sessions, to discharge his duties faithfully and according to the best of his learning and ability; and after being duly sworn or affirmed, he shall, at the first meeting of the viewers, swear or affirm the stenographer to the faithful discharge of his duties, and, thereupon, shall separately swear and affirm each viewer to perform his duties with fidelity and according to his best judgment.

Section 4. The said jury of view shall also estimate the damages sustained by any of the said landowners or any other person by the construction of said drain or drains, and also the proportion of cost of construction to be borne by each owner of such swampy and wet lands.

Section 5. If in the judgment of the jury of view any township, or the roads or bridges thereof, in which such said wet or swampy land or part thereof is situate, will be benefited by the draining of such land, they shall have power to determine what proportion of the expense of draining the same shall be borne by such township; and if the county commissioners of any county in which such land is situate shall determine that the draining of said land, or the lowering or straightening of the bed of any creek or stream, will benefit such county, or lessen the expense of constructing and maintaining county bridges therein, they may make appropriations out of the county funds, to be used for the purpose of defraying a portion of the expense of said draining, or lowering or straightening the bed of any such creek or stream.

Section 6. Such jury of view shall, within thirty days after the appointment thereof, unless in the discretion of the court the time be extended, report to the court appointing the same their action therein.

Section 7. Exceptions may be filed, by any party aggrieved, to the report of such jury of view, within thirty days from the time such report is filed, which exceptions shall be heard by the court in which such report is filed; and said court, after considering such exceptions, may refer the report back to the jury of view, with instructions to take any further proceedings or testimony as the court may deem necessary and proper, or may set the same aside, or may confirm such report; and if no exceptions are filed to any such report, unless appeal is taken as provided in section eight of this act (and in such case the final confirmation of the proceedings shall await the result of the appeal from the assessment, within thirty days from the filing thereof), then such report may be confirmed or dismissed by the court.

Section 8. An appeal to the court of common pleas of the proper county, from the assessment of damages, may be taken by any landowner, or by the county commissioners, or the proper municipal authorities, within thirty days after the approval of the report; and thereupon the court shall direct an issue, which shall be tried by a jury according to the course of the common law as regulated by existing statutes, and judgment entered on the verdict; and the record thereof shall be remitted to the proper court of quarter sessions for further action on the whole case: Provided, however, That the said judgment shall be reviewable by the Supreme Court or Superior Court, upon writ of error, as in other cases. Such appeal shall be accompanied by affidavit that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay, but because the affiant firmly believes that injustice has been done; and such order shall be made in relation to the costs as to the court shall appear best.

Section 9. Each viewer serving on any such jury of view shall be allowed the sum of two dollars for each day necessarily employed thereon, and the master's compensation shall be fixed by the court; and the warrants shall be drawn by the county commissioners of the proper county, on the treasurer of their county, for the payment of the amounts to which such viewers and master shall be entitled under this act, as well as the stenographer whom the court shall appoint.

Section 10. The county commissioners of any county in which such