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shall the commissioners' court make any allowance as compensation for fees to any officer where said officer has received from the convict, or any other person for him, cash or its equivalent to the amount of one-half of such fees that have been adjudged against said convict.

SEC. 4. The commissioners' court may grant a reasonable commutation of time for which a convict is committed as a reward for good behavior and faithful service; provided, that such commutation shall in no case exceed one-tenth of the whole time. The commissioners' court may provide the necessary houses, prisons, clothing, bedding, food, medicine, medical attention and guards for the safe and humane treatment of convicts.

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the county commissioners, when acting as road commissioners, to inform themselves of the condition of the public roads in their districts, and they shall determine what character of work shall be done upon said roads, and shall direct the manner of grading, draining or otherwise improving the same, which directions shall be observed and obeyed by all overseers of their districts.

SEC. 6. The commissioners may require each overseer in his district to call out the hands in such numbers as may be sufficient to perform the work necessary; provided, no road hand shall be required to work more than five days in any one year; and provided, that all road hands in a particular district shall, as far as practicable, be worked a uniform time. Each road overseer shall have full control of all road hands within his road district, and he shall see that each hand when called out shall perform a good day's work; and if any hand so called out shall fail or refuse to perform a reasonable day's work, or to work in the manner the overseer may direct, he shall be liable to the same penalty as if he had failed to appear in obedience to the summons.

SEC. 7. Any citizen of Lamar county who is subject to road duty who shall, on or before the first day of November of any year, pay to the county treasurer of said county the sum of three dollars shall be exempt from road duty for the year beginning on the first day of January thereafter. The treasurer shall receive and receipt for all money so paid him, and place the same to the credit of the road and bridge fund. The treasurer shall, on the third day of January, or as soon thereafter as practicable, furnish the commissioners' court with a list of all parties who have paid said sum as provided in this section.

SEC. 8. Every person liable to work on public roads in Lamar county who shall pay to his road overseer, at any time before the day appointed to work on his road, the sum of one dollar for each day that he is summoned to work shall be exempt from work for each day paid for.

SEC. 9. Each person summoned to work on a road shall take with him an axe, scraper, plow or team, as the overseer may direct; and any person furnishing a team to work on the county roads in Lamar county shall receive a credit of two day's work for each day that said team shall be furnished. The county shall be liable for, and the commissioners' court, under such regulations as they may prescribe, shall pay for all damage. done to tools while being used on said road for public road work.

SEC. 10. If any person liable to work upon the public road, after being legally summoned, shall intentionally fail or refuse to attend, either in person or by an able and competent substitute, or fail or refuse to furnish his team or tools at the time and place designated by the person summon

ing him, or to pay to the overseer such sum as one dollar per day, for each day summoned to work, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof he shall be fined in any sum not to exceed ten dollars.

SEC. 11. At the regular term in November of the commissioners' court each year, all road overseers of Lamar county shall make their report, upon oath, upon forms to be furnished them by the commissioners' court. Said report shall state the condition of their roads, number of hands and the name of each hand subject to road work, and the number of days each hand has worked, amount of all money collected and expended, and if there is a balance on hand it shall be turned over to his successor in office, to be paid out for work on said road; said report shall be sworn to before some officer authorized to administer oaths; said reports shall be examined by the commissioners' court, and if they be found correct shall be approved by said court; and as soon thereafter as practicable the said court shall appoint and commission road overseers for the succeeding year. Any overseer intentionally failing to perform his duties as such overseer, or failing or refusing to make his reports, as required by law, or failing or refusing to serve and perform the duties of overseer when appointed by said court, or failing to comply with the law in any way concerning his duties as overseer, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars.

SEC. 12. Whenever it shall be necessary to occupy any land for the opening, widening, straightening or draining any road or part thereof, if the owner of said land cannot agree with the court as to the damages to be paid, the court may proceed to condemn the same in the same manner that a railroad can condemn land for right of way and the same proceedings may be had and the same rights shall exist to each party that would exist if the proceedings were by a railroad company, except that the county shall in no case be required to give bond.

SEC. 13. Each county commissioner when acting as road commissioner shall be entitled to two dollars per day for services actually performed, not to exceed fifty days in any one quarter, said per diem to be paid out of the road and bridge fund when the account shall have been approved by the commissioners' court; and the court shall not approve said account unless the commissioner presenting it shall sign an oath that the account is just, due and unpaid, and said account shall specify the number of days' work actually performed by him, and no commissioner shall be entitled to pay as road commissioner while he is performing the duties of county commissioner.

SEC. 14. In all cases where the cost of material and labor exceeds two hundred dollars, it shall be the duty of said court to construct, grade or otherwise improve any road or bridge by contract, the same to be advertised for as provided for by said commissioners' court.

SEC. 15. This act shall be taken notice of by all courts in the same manner as the General Laws of the State on the subject of roads and bridges, when not in conflict therewith; but in case of conflict this act shall control as to Lamar county, and all laws or parts of laws heretofore enacted providing a road law for Lamar and other counties are hereby repealed as to their application to Lamar county.

SEC. 16. That whereas, there now exists some doubt as to the true

status of the road law of Lamar county, it having been originally created by joint act with the counties of Dallas and Medina, which was subsequently amended, constitutes an emergency and an imperative necessity exists authorizing the suspension of the constitutional rule requiring that bills be read on three several days, and that this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

[NOTE. The enrolled bill shows that the foregoing act passed the House of Representatives by a two-thirds vote, yeas 89, nays 1; and passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, yeas 25, nays 1.]

[NOTE. The foregoing act was presented to the Governor of Texas for his approval on the second day of May, A. D. 1899, but was not signed by him nor returned to the house in which it originated with his objections thereto within the time prescribed by the Constitution, and thereupon. became a law without his signature.-D. H. HARDY, Secretary of State.] Became effective May 14, 1899.

HILL, HUNT, JACKSON, BEE AND VICTORIA COUNTIES— AMENDMENT TO ROAD LAW.

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An Act to amend Chapter No. 134, Sections Nos. one (1), seven (7) and fifteen (15), of the General Laws of the Twenty-fourth Legislature, of an act to create a more efficient road system for Hill, Coke, Hunt, Jackson, Bee and Victoria counties, Texas, and making county commissioners of said counties ex-officio road commissioners, and prescribing their duties as such, and providing for their compensation as road commissioners, and providing for the appointment of deputy road commissioners, and defining the powers and duties of such county commissioners, and providing for the appointment of road overseers and defining their duties, and for the working of county convicts upon the public roads of said counties, and providing for officers' fees and rewards for the capture of escaped convicts, and to provide for the manner of training hedges along any public road, and to provide for the summoning of teams for road work, and for an allowance of time of road service for same, and fixing a penalty for a violation of this act, and repeal laws in conflict with this act.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That each member of the commissioners' courts of Hill, Coke, Hunt, Jackson and Bee counties shall be ex-officio road commissioners of their respective districts, and under the direction of the commissioners' courts shall have charge of all the teams, tools and machinery belonging to the county and placed in their hands by said county, and it shall be their duty under such rules and regulations as the commissioners' court may prescribe, to superintend the laying out of new roads, the making or changing of roads and the building of bridges. Each of said commissioners shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, in addition to their regular bond as such county commissioners, execute a bond of one thousand dollars, with two or more good and sufficient sureties, payable to the county judge of their county for the use and benefit of the road and bridge fund, conditioned that they will perform all the duties required of them by law, or by the commissioners' court, and that they will account for all money or property belonging to the county that

may come into their possession; provided, that with the consent of the commissioners' court any one of said commissioners shall be allowed to appoint any competent person as deputy road commissioner, who shall be required to execute the same bond that is required of commissioners in this section, and such deputy road commissioners shall be entitled to the same compensation that is allowed county commissioners for same service; provided, that county commissioners shall not be allowed any compensation as road commissioner when a deputy road commissioner has been appointed.

Section 7. Any citizen of Hill, Coke, Hunt, Jackson and Bee counties liable for road duty who shall on or before the first day of January of each year pay to the county treasurer the sum of three dollars shall be exempt from road duty for such year beginning on the first day of January. The treasurer shall receive and receipt for all money so paid him and place the same to the credit of the road and bridge fund, and shall keep a separate account for each road district from which it is received. The treasurer shall, on the third day of January, or as soon thereafter as practicable, furnish to each county commissioner a list of all persons in their respective districts that have paid said sums as provided in this section.

Section 15. This act shall be taken notice of by all courts in the same manner as the general law of the State, and it shall be construed to be cumulative of all general laws of the State on the subject of roads and bridges, when not in conflict therewith; but in case of conflict this act shall control as to the counties of Hill, Coke, Hunt, Jackson and Bee.

[NOTE.-The foregoing act was presented to the Governor of Texas for his approval on the fifth day of May, A. D. 1899, but was not signed by him nor returned to the House in which it originated with his objections. thereto within the time prescribed by the Constitution, and thereupon. became a law without his signature.-D. H. HARDY, Secretary of State.] Takes effect 90 days after adjournment.

PER DIEM OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE.

H. B. No. 833.]

CHAPTER XCIII.

An Act appropriating thirty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to pay per diem of members, officers and employes of the Twentysixth Legislature.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That the sum of thirty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of the money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, for the payment of per diem of members, officers and employes of the Twenty-sixth Legislature.

SEC. 2. The certificate of the Secretary of the Senate, approved by the President thereof, or of the Chief Clerk of the House, approved by the Speaker thereof, shall be sufficient evidence to the Comptroller upon which he shall audit the claims and issue his warrants upon the Treasurer for the respective amounts.

11-G. L.

SEC. 3. Whereas, the Twenty-sixth Legislature is now in session, and public policy requires their payment; therefore, an imperative public necessity exists that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, and it is so suspended, and this act shall take effect from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

[NOTE. The enrolled bill shows that the foregoing act passed the House of Representatives by a two-thirds vote, yeas 91, nays 5; and passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, yeas 26, nays 0.]

Approved May 5, 1899.

Became effective May 5, 1899.

COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON-GRANTED CERTAIN RIGHTS FOR WHARVES AND DOCKS, ETC., AT GALVESTON.

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An Act ratifying and confirming an ordinance passed by the city council of the city of Galveston on the 4th day of February, 1899, entitled "An Ordinance abandoning, discontinuing and closing certain streets, avenues and alleys of the city of Galveston, and authorizing and empowering Collis P. Huntington, his heirs or assigns, perpetually to construct and maintain piers on the shore of Galveston Bay within the corporate limits of the city of Galveston upon certain specified conditions," and conditionally relinquishing any claim the State of Texas may have to part of the property therein described.

Whereas, the city council of the city of Galveston, on the fourth day of February, 1899, passed an ordinance reading as follows:

An ordinance abandoning, discontinuing and closing certain streets, avenues and alleys of the city of Galveston, and authorizing and empowering Collis P. Huntington, his heirs or assigns, perpetually, to construct and maintain piers on the shores of Galveston Bay within the corporate limits of the city of Galveston upon certain specified conditions.

Whereas, Collis P. Huntington has contracted for the purchase of the property hereinafter more particularly referred to, subject to the approval of the title by counsel; and,

Whereas, one of the conditions of such purchase is that when the city of Galveston shall have closed the streets, avenues and alleys, if any, northerly from Avenue B, in the city of Galveston, and lying between the westerly line of block 700 and its prolongation in a northerly direc tion, and the westerly line of block 710 and its prolongation in a northerly direction, and when through and by means of such acts of Congress, acts of the Legislature of the State of Texas, and ordinances and conveyances from the city of Galveston, if any, as may be requisite for the purpose, the right has been secured to the said C. P. Huntington, or his heirs or assigns, to construct piers as he or they may from time to time determine, northerly from said Avenue B, and from points between said westerly line of block 700 and said westerly line of block 710, to the harbor line of 1897, and to dredge between and on the sides of such piers and northerly and northeasterly therefrom and from said harbor line of 1897, so as to permit the securing of at least twentyfive feet of water at mean low water between and beside such piers, and

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