bounds of their village and commons, and praying that they may be incorporated and a police established for their local government, and for the preservation and regulation of any commons appertaining to such town or village, and the court shall be satisfied that two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants of such town. or village have signed such petition, and that the prayer of the petitioners is reasonable, the probate court may declare such town or village incorporated, designating, in such order, the metes and bounds thereof; and, thenceforth, the inhabitants within such bounds shall be a body politic and corporate by the name and. style of "The inhabitants of the town of "(naming it);

and, by that name, they and their successors shall be known in law, have perpetual succession, unless disincorporated, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity, and in all actions, pleas and matters whatsoever; may grant, purchase, hold and receive property, real and personal, within such town, and no other, (burial grounds and cemeteries excepted,) and may lease, sell and dispose of the same for the benefit of the town, and may have a common seal, and break and alter the same at pleasure.

vested in trustees

and elected.

SEC. 2. The corporate powers and duties of every town so in- Corporate powere corporated shall be vested in a board of trustees, to consist of five how appointed members. The first board of trustees shall be appointed by the probate court at the time of declaring such town incorporate, who shall continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified, and such successors shall be chosen by the qualified electors, residing in such town, on the first Monday of April in every year, in the manner hereinafter provided.

term of othee.

SEC. 3. Any person shall be a trustee who shall have attained Qualifications; the age of twenty-one years, and shall be a free white male citizen of the United States, or declared his intention according to law to become such; who shall be an inhabitant of the town at the time of his election, and resided therein for six months next preceding; and every trustee shall hold his office for the term of one year, and until a successor is elected and qualified. SEC. 4. Every trustee, before entering upon the duties of his Oath of office, ap. office, shall take an oath to support the constitution of the United cers. States and an act to organize the Territory of Kansas, and faithfully to demean himself in office; and every board of trustees shali assemble within twenty days after their appointment or election, and choose a chairman of their number, and some other person as clerk; the board of trustees shall, by ordinance, fix the

pointment of of

Board of trustees, be constituted.

Trustees to judge of elections, make their own rules,

their proceedings,

time and place for holding their stated meetings, and may be convened by the chairman at any time.

SEC. 5. At all meetings of the board, a majority of the trustees shall constitute a quorum to do business; a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as the board of trustees previously, by ordinance, may have prescribed.

SEC. 6. The board of trustees shall judge of the qualificakeep a journal of tions, elections and returns of their own members, and determine contested elections; they may determine rules for their own proceedings, punish any member or other person for disorderly behavior in their presence, and, with the concurrence of four of the trustees, expel any member, but not a second time for the same cause. They shall keep a journal of their proceedings, and, at the desire of any member, shall cause the yeas and nays to be taken and entered on the journal on any question, resolution or ordinance, and their proceedings shall be public.

By laws and or- SEC. 7. Such board of trustees shall have power to pass bylaws and ordinances to prevent and remove nuisances; to prevent, restrain and suppress bawdy houses, gambling houses, and other disorderly houses, within the limits of such town or any common thereto attached; to restrain and prohibit gambling; to provide for licensing and regulating dram-shops and tipplinghouses, theatrical and other amusements, within such town; to prohibit the firing of fire-arms; to prevent furious and unnecessary riding or driving of any horse or other animal within such town or such part thereof as they may think proper; to establish night watches; to erect and maintain poor houses and hospitals; to prevent the introduction and spreading of contagious diseases; to prevent and extinguish fires; to establish and regulate markets; to erect and repair bridges; to erect, repair and regulate wharves and the rates of wharfage; to regulate the landing of steamboats, rafts and other water craft; to provide for the inspection of lumber, building materials and provisions, to be used or offered for sale in such town, or to be exported therefrom; to borrow money for the improvement of such town or to supply the same with water; to open and form public squares, avenues, drains and sewers, and to keep the same clean and in order; to open, clear, regulate, graduate, pave or improve the streets and alleys of such town; to impose and appropriate fines, forfeitures and penalties for breaches of their ordinances; to levy and collect taxes; to regulate the inclosure of any common field belonging

to or within the limits of such town; and to pass such other bylaws and ordinances for the regulation and police of such town and commons thereto appertaining, as they shall deem necessary, not repugnant and contradictory to the laws of the land.

certain officers.

SEC. 8. Such board of trustees shall have power to appoint an Power to appoint assessor, collector, constable and such other officers, servants and agents as may be necessary, remove them from office, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation.

sidewalks, &c.

against owners.

SEC. 9. Such board of trustees shall have power to have the To pave streets, streets and alleys opened and repaired, and the footways and sidewalks of the streets paved, at the expense of the owners or occupiers of the adjacent lots; and, if any such owner or occu- Proceedings pier fail to open, repair or pave the same as required by ordinance, such board of trustees shall cause the same to be done, and may recover the full expense thereof from such owner or occupier, by action of debt, in the name of the corporation, before any court of competent jurisdiction; and, if any tenant be required to open, repair or pave in front of the property occupied by him, the expense thereof shall be a good set-off against so much of the rent due the owner; but no tenant shall be required to expend more than the rent for the term for which he occupied the property.

against property

SEC. 10. If any person, who is a non-resident of such town, Proceedings fail to open, repair or pave, when required as aforesaid, such of non-residente. board of trustees may cause such lot or lots to be sold to defray

the expenses of such improvement, in such manner as the board. may, by ordinance, provide.

collected.

SEC. 11. If any person fail to pay any tax levied on his real Taxes, how to bo or personal property, the town collector may recover the same by action of debt, in the name of the corporation, before any court of competent jurisdiction; and such collector may, in like manner, collect the amount of taxes due from any non-resident from any tenant or debtor of such non-resident; but no tenant shall be compelled to pay more than the rent of such property, and the amount thus paid by him shall be a good set-off against the owner of the property; and, if such non-resident's taxes be not otherwise paid, the property may be sold to pay the same, at public sale, in such manner as the board of trustees shall, by ordinance, provide.

ures, how recov

ered.

SEC. 12. All fines, forfeitures and penalties, accruing to such Fines and forfeittown, may be recovered by action in the name of the corporation, before any justice of the peace, subject to an appeal to the higher

Real estate sold for taxes, how and when redeemed.

Chairman to re

port amount of

moneys, how and

lished.

courts of the Territory, and persons living in said town shall be competent jurors and witnesses, if in other respects competent and qualified.

SEC. 13. If any real estate be sold, by virtue of an ordinance of such town, the owner thereof may redeem the same at any time within two years from the day of sale, by paying the purchase money and all costs and penalties incurred, together with the interest thereon, at the rate of twenty per centum per annum until paid.

SEC. 14. The chairman of each board of trustees shall, on the when; how pub first day of March and September in each year, make out a correct statement of all moneys received and expended on account of their respective towns, during the six months next preceding, and shall cause such statement, within ten days thereafter, to be published in some newspaper printed in the same town, if there be any, and if not, then he shall cause copies of such statement to be put up in six of the most public places in such town, within ten days.

Penalty for neg-
Jeet.

Chairman to publish and enforce ordinances.

Vacancies, how
Elled.

Judges of election, how appointed.

SEO. 15. If the chairman of the board of trustees of any town shall, at any time, neglect to make and cause such statement to be published as required by this act, he shall forfeit, for every such neglect, the sum of fifty dollars, to be recovered by action in any court of record, one-half whereof shall be to the use of such town, and the other half to the use of any person who will sue for the same.

SEC. 16. The chairman of the board shall cause to be printed and published the by-laws and ordinances of the board for the information of the inhabitants, and cause the same to be carried into effect; he shall remain in office for the term for which he is appointed or elected a trustee, but, in case of his absence at any meeting of the board, the board may appoint a chairman pro tempore.

SEC. 17. All vacancies in the board of trustees shall be filled by a special election, ordered by the chairman of the board, after ten days' public notice thereof being given.

SEC. 18. Each board of trustees shall, as often as may be necessary, appoint three qualified voters, as judges of the election, to superintend and conduct all elections for trustees or other officers required to be elected, and such trustees shall supply all vacancies which may happen in the office of judges of elections. Notice of elec- SEC. 19. The judges of elections shall give public notice of the time and place of holding each clection, by advertisement, pub

tion.

lished in some newspaper in their town, or by handbills put up in six public places in such town, not less than ten nor more than twenty days previous to the election.

not attending,

SEC. 20. If, on any day appointed for holding any election, Judge of election any of the judges shall fail to attend, the electors present may proceedings. appoint a judge or judges of election, to hold such election, who

shall be qualified as required by this act, and all elections shall be by ballot.

electors.

SEC. 21. All free white male persons, citizens of the United Qualifications of States or who have declared their intention to become such according to law, of the age of twenty-one years, residing within the limits of any incorporated town or city, and who shall have resided within the same for three months next preceding an election, shall be entitled to vote at all elections of town officers, and no property qualification shall be required of any person to render him eligible to any office in any incorporated town.

his duties.

SEC. 22. The judges of elections shall appoint a clerk who Clerk of election, shall write down the names of all persons whose votes shall be received, and the names of those whose votes are rejected, in separate columns.

conducted.

SEC. 23. The elections shall be kept open from ten o'clock in Election, how the forenoon until six o'clock in the afternoon; after the election is closed, the judges shall examine the ballots, and the five duly qualified persons, who shall have received the highest number of votes, shall be declared duly elected trustees.

judges to decide by lot.

SEC. 24. In cases of a tie, the judges shall determine the elec- In case of a tie, tion between the persons so having an equal number of votes, by lot, and the judges shall make out and deliver to each person elected a trustee, a certificate of his election.

elections, pro

SEC. 25. In case of the failure of any election of trustees or on failure to hold other officers, a majority of the trustees then in office may cause cuedings. the election to be held on any other day.

may disincorpo

SEC. 26. The probate court of each county shall have power Probate court to disincorporate any town which may have been incorporated rate, when. un ler the provisions of this act, upon petition of three-fourths of the legal voters of such town.

not disincorpor

SEC. 27. No corporation shall be dissolved by virtue of this when court shall act, unless it shall appear, to the satisfaction of the court, that ate. notice has been given of the intended application for a dissolution of the corporation, by advertisement, published in a newspaper ne. rest the town prayed to be disincorporated, for at least eight weeks, successively, prior to such application, nor until all their