resignation. Third. His removal. Fourth. Ceasing to be an inhabitant of the territory, county, or township for which he shall have been elected or appointed, or within which the duties of his office are to be discharged. Fifth. His conviction of any infamous crime, or of any offence involving the violation of his official oath. Sixth. His refusal or neglect to take the oath of office, or to render his official bond, or deposit such oath or bond within the time prescribed by law. Seventh. The decision of a competent tribunal, declaring void his election or appointment.

Sec. 43. The governor shall also declare vacant the office of every official required by law to execute an official bond, when a judgment shall be obtained against such officer for a breach of the condition of such bond.

Sec. 44. When a vacancy shall occur during a recess of the legislature, in any office which the legislature is authorized to fill by election, or which the governor, subject to confirmation of legislative council, is authorized to fill, the governor, unless it be otherwise specially provided, may appoint some suitable person to perform the duties of such office.

Sec. 45. When at any time there shall be in any of the county or township offices no officer duly authorized to execute the duties. thereof, some suitable person may be appointed by the county commissioners to perform the duties of said officer: Provided, That if there is no board of county commissioners, the governor may, on notice of such vacancy, create or fill such board.

Sec. 46. Every person so appointed, in pursuance of the last two preceding sections, shall, before proceeding to execute the duties assigned them, qualify in the same manner as required by law of the officers in whose place they shall be appointed, and they shall continue to exercise and perform the duties of the office to which they shall be appointed, until such vacancy shall be regularly supplied as provided by law.

Sec. 47. That, in addition to the duties already assigned them, it shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to cause to be provided for the several election precincts in each county poll books, after the forms hereinafter prescribed.

Sec. 48. That it shall be the duty of the clerk of said board to deliver to the sheriff of the county two copies of said blanks, to be furnished to the judges of each precinct at the same time the notices are served on said judges, as provided in section five (5) of the act which this act is amendatory.

Sec. 49. The judge having the key shall keep it in his own. possession, and deliver it again to the board at the next opening of the polls, and the person having the care of the box shall carefully keep it without opening it, or suffer it to be opened, or the seal thereof to be broken or removed, and shall publicly, in that

condition, deliver it to the board of judges at the next opening of the polls, when the seal shall be broken, the box opened, the poll-books taken out, and the box again locked. That the judges having the custody of the key, box, and poll-books, who shall refuse or neglect to comply with the requirements of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than ten thousand dollars, together with imprisonment not less than three months, or more than one year, or by such fine and imprisonment as a court of competent jurisdiction may see fit to impose.

Sec. 50. Such poll-books and oaths shall be in the following form:

We, and do solemnly swear that we will perform the duty of judges of the election, according to law, and to the best of our ability, and that we will studiously endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit, and abuse in conducting the same, so help us God.

Subscribed and sworn to before me
A. D., 187-.

TERRITORY OF MONTANA,}

88.

We, and do solemnly swear that we will faithfully perform the duties of clerks of the election, according to law, and to the best of our ability, and that we will studiously endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit, and abuse in conducting the same, so help us God.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 187-.

} Clerks.

- day of

county of, in the territory of Montana, the following named persons received the number of votes annexed to their respective names, for the following offices; to wit: Certified to by us,

Judges.

Clerks.

Sec. 51. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff, at the time he delivers the poll-books, as provided in section two (2) of this act, to administer the oath, as prescribed by section three (3) of this act, to, at least, one of the judges of the election, and such judge may administer the oath to the other judges and clerks of such elections. In case such judges fail to serve at such election, either of the other judges may administer such oath.

Sec. 52. No officer of this territory, nor of any county within this territory, shall establish a precinct within the limits of any county not fully organized, or at any Indian agency, or at any trading post in the Indian country, or on any Indian reservation whatever; and any county or territorial officer violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined in a court of competent jurisdiction in a sum not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than two thousand dollars.

Sec. 53. Any county or territorial officer whose duty it is, under existing laws, to open returns and make abstracts of votes, who shall receive and count the returns from any pretended election

precinct which may be established of the preceding section of this act, shall be guilty of a felony, and be punished by fine not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars, and be imprisoned in the territorial penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years.

CHAPTER XXIV.

ESTRAYS AND LOST GOODS.

(See post chapter 73.)

Sec. 1. Persons taking up lost goods to proceed as required in this chapter.

Sec. 2. If property under certain value, to vest in finder-when. Sec. 3. If property over ten dollars and under thirty dollars in value, proceeding.

Sec. 4. Justice to make return to county clerk.

Sec. 5. If property valued more than thirty dollars, when to vest in finder.

Sec. 6. If finder does not take, property to be sold by sheriff.
Sec. 7. If property exceeds two hundred dollars in value to be
kept two years.

Sec. 8. If property domestic animals, to be sold—when.
Sec. 9. Person not to take up property outside of his township.
Sec. 10. Owner may claim money within six months.

Sec. 11. What evidence prima facie on return.

Sec. 12. No property to vest in finder except under this act.
Sec. 13. How charges of finder settled.

Sec. 14.

How costs of settlement paid.

Sec. 15. How dispute of ownership tried and settled.
Sec. 16. Rule governing aggregate value.
Sec. 17. Reward to finder-what.

Sec. 18. Charges of officers under this act.
Sec. 19. Who authorized to take up beasts.
Sec. 20. Finder may use estray beast.
Sec. 21. Finder not liable if beasts die.

Sec. 22. Penalty for taking estrays out of territory.
Sec. 23. Penalty for unlawfully taking up estray.
Sec. 24. Owner may recover double value for injury.

Section 1. Any person stopping or taking up any kind of water craft or timber, logs or lumber, adrift upon any water-course within or upon the borders of this territory, or lodged upon the

shore or bank thereof, or any stray beast, or finding any money or personal property, shall proceed forthwith as follows:

Sec. 2. If the property does not exceed ten dollars in value he shall put up two written advertisements, containing a notice of the finding, and description of the property, in two public places of the township where it is found, and file one such notice in the county clerk's office; and if no owner appears within six months from advertisement and proves his property and pays the reasonable charges the property shall vest in the finder.

Sec. 3. If the property exceeds ten dollars, and does not exceed thirty dollars in value, the finder shall, within five days after the finding, appear before a justice of the peace of the county, or the county clerk, and make a written statement, setting forth the time and place of the finding, and a general description of the property, and the officer shall issue his warrant appointing three disinterested persons to examine the property, and to report under their hands an appraisement and an accurate description of the property, setting forth all marks that may assist to identify the same. The report shall be sworn to by the appraisers and also by the finder, so far as the state or condition that the property named was in at the time when found, and that neither the property nor any mark on the same has been altered or defaced by him or by any other person with his knowledge or consent.

Sec. 4. If the property is appraised at more than ten dollars in value, the justice shall return the statement of the finder, his warrant, and the report of the appraisers, with the affidavit, to the county clerk, and the county clerk shall enter them at large in a book to be kept for that purpose, and post a notice containing the finder's statement and the appraiser's report on the door of the court house, and the finder shall also give such notice as before directed. If the property is appraised at more than ten and not more than thirty dollars, and if no owner appear and prove his property and pay the charges thereon within nine months from the filing of the papers with the clerk, the property shall vest in the finder on his paying the costs of the above proceedings, and not

before.

Sec. 5. If the appraisement of the property exceed thirty dollars, in addition to the notices above directed, the county clerk shall publish for four weeks in some newspaper in his county, or if there be none, then in some other county in the territory, a notice of the time and place of finding, with the finder's name, and a general description of the property, and if no owner appear and prove his property within twelve months from the time the notices above directed were first published, the finder may take the property, and the right thereof shall be vested in him if he will pay the expenses and pay one-half of the appraised value out of the original appraisement, deducting the charges, into the county treasury.