strued so as to relieve any convict from payment of all costs for which he would be liable under the General Laws of this State.

Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to deprive the commissioners' court of the right to have convicts to work a part or all of their time on the county convict farm; but authority is herein expressly given said court to require convicts to labor, in payment of fines and costs, either upon the county convict farm or upon the public roads, or partly upon both, as to said court it may seem best, and the provisions of this section shall apply, as far as practicable, in all cases where convicts labor upon the county convict farm.

SEC. 4. Each county commissioner shall have charge of all road overseers in his district, and shall deliver to each of them, all teams, tools and machinery necessary in working the roads in the district of said overseer, so far as he has been supplied therewith by the commissioners' court, taking receipt of said overseer therefor, specifying each item and giving its value, which receipt shall be a full answer of the liability of the commissioner, and shall fix the liability of the overseer.

And any commissioner or overseer who shall have been entrusted with any teams, tools or machinery belonging to said county shall be liable for any damages that may occur to the same while in his possession, caused by negligence or want of due care of same, and shall not use or permit the same to be used for private purposes without the consent of the commissioners' court.

It shall be the duty of the road overseer, when he has finished work on his roads, to return to said commissioners all teams, tools and machinery received from them by him and take up the receipt given therefor.

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the 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 his district.

SEC. 6. The commissioner may require each overseer in his district to call out the hands in such numbers as may be sufficient to perform the work, but no road hand shall be required to work exceeding five days in any one year, or two days with himself and team, unless the terms of service as prescribed by the General Laws shall be extended beyond that time; and provided, that all road hands in any particular district shall, as far as practicable, be worked a uniform time.

Each road overseer, or in case of his absence any person deputized by him, shall have full control of all road hands within his road district, and shall see that each hand when called out shall perform a good day's work; and if any hand when so called out shall fail or refuse to do a good 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.

The commissioners' court may allow any overseer who shall be engaged in the discharge of the duties of his office for more than five days during any one year a compensation not to exceed one dollar per day for each day served over five days during any one year.

SEC. 7. Any citizen of Parker county who is subject to road duty who shall, on or before the first day of January of any year, pay to the county

treasurer of said county the sum of two dollars and fifty cents, or who shall pay to the overseer of his respective district the sum of two dollars and seventy-five cents at any time before the day appointed to work on his road shall be exempt from road duty for such year, beginning on the first day of January.

Overseers shall receive and receipt for all moneys so paid them, and shall immediately or within ten days after the receipt of same, pay all amounts so received over to the county treasurer, taking a receipt therefor, and shall furnish the county treasurer a statement, under oath, showing the amount so collected and by whom paid.

And any overseer who shall fail or neglect to comply with the provisions of this section as herein set forth shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than thirty nor more than sixty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

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 of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, furnish the commissioners' court with a list of all persons who have paid said sums as provided in this section, and said court shall immediately have overseers in districts wherein said sums have been paid, notified of the payment of the same, and by whom paid.

SEC. 8. Every person liable to work on the public roads in Parker 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. Every person liable to work on the road shall take with him an axe, hoe, pick, spade, shovel, plow, scraper, or other tools as may be desired and directed by the overseer; or if he has no such tools as are desired or directed by the overseer, to take with him, he shall take such other suitable tools as he may have; provided, the county shall be liable for, and the commissioners' court, under such regulations as they may prescribe, shall pay for all such breakage or damage to tools as may have resulted from public road work, and not caused by the negligence of the person furnishing the same.

Such overseer shall also summon and require such road hand to bring with him for road work such team or teams as he may have on hand suitable for road work; provided, such hand shall be allowed two and one half days' time for each day put in by a hand and his team, and one and one-half days' time for his team without such hand; provided, it shall be unlawful for any road overseer, superintendent of public roads and highways, or county commissioner, when acting in the capacity of ex-officio road commissioner, to work or use any team or teams of which he is the owner upon the public county roads at an expense to the county, and the commissioners' court shall not allow any compensation for such service so rendered.

SEC. 10. If any person liable to work on the public roads, 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 summoning him, or to pay to the overseer such sum as one dollar per

day 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 of the commissioners' court of each year, all road overseers shall make their report, under oath, upon the form to be furnished them by the said court, which said report shall be examined by said court, and all accounts for services or labor performed for overwork by such overseer during the past year and of moneys had and expended by him, shall be audited and settled, and as soon thereafter as practicable, said commissioners' 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 serve and perform the duties of overseer when appointed by said court, or to perform any other duty required of him by law or by the commissioners' court, or by the commissioner of his district or county superintendent of public roads and highways, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

SEC. 12. Whenever it shall be necessary to occupy any land for the opening, widening, straightening, changing or draining any road, or any part thereof, if the owner of said land cannot agree with the court as to damages to be paid the court may proceed to condemn the same in accordance with the provisions of the general statutes or laws of Texas, and the county shall in no case be required to give a bond.

SEC. 13. When to the overseer it may appear expedient to make causeways and build bridges, or to gravel any public road, the timber, gravel, earth, stone or other necessary material most convenient there for may be used; but in such case the owner of such timber or gravel, earth, stone, or other necessary material shall be paid out of the county treasury a fair compensation for the same, to be determined by the commissioners' court. upon the application of such owner.

SEC. 14. Each county commissioner when acting as road commissioner shall be entitled to two dollars per day for services actually performed; provided, that he shall not receive more than sixty dollars per 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 make oath that the account is just, due and unpaid, and said account shall specify the number of days' work actually performed by him, and that it was necessary to be done under the circumstances, and no commissioner shall be entitled to pay as road commissioner, either for himself or his deputy, while he is performing the duties of county commissioner, nor shall he receive any additional pay than that provided by this section for inspecting or riding over his road, or for other road service.

SEC 15. 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 gravel or otherwise improve any road or bridge by contract. the same to be advertised for as provided for by said commissioners'

court.

SEC. 16. The office of county superintendent of public roads and highways is hereby created, and the commissioners' court of Parker county

may, when in their judgment it may be advisable, provide for the election of a county superintendent of public roads and highways at each general election, who shall be a person of good moral character and executive ability, a qualified voter of said county, who shall hold his office for the term of two years and until his successor is elected and qualified; and said commissioners' court, when they so provide for the election of a county superintendent, shall appoint a county superintendent of public roads and highways, with the qualifications above provided, who shall perform the duties of such office until a county superintendent shall have been elected as hereinbefore provided, and shall have qualified.

Such superintendent, when elected or appointed, shall perform the duties of his office from time to time under such direction or regulations as in the judgment of the commissioners' court may seem best; and said superintendent shall at all times be subject to the directions or immediate control of the commissioners' court.

Such county superintendent of public roads and highways, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall take the oath of office. prescribed by law, and shall enter into bond in the sum of five thousand dollars, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the county commissioners' court, and to be filed with the county clerk of Parker county, and said bond shall be made payable to the county commissioners' court of Parker county and their successors in office, in trust for the road and bridge fund of Parker county, and be conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office.

In case said bond is forfeited and collected, the sum so collected shall become a part of the road and bridge fund of Parker county.

Such superintendent, while actually engaged in the discharge of the duties of his office, shall receive from the road and bridge fund of Parker county, as compensation for his services, a salary not exceeding six hundred dollars per year, and the county commissioners' court of Parker county shall have the power and authority when in their judgment they may deem it advisable to abolish the office of county superintendent of public roads and highways, by an order entered on the minutes of their court at a regular term thereof.

Whenever such office is abolished, the county superintendent shall serve out the term for which he was elected, and at the expiration of his term he shall turn over all books, papers, records, tools, machinery and other property in his possession belonging to the county or pertaining to his office to the county judge, who shall issue a receipt therefor.

SEC. 17. This act shall be taken notice of by all courts in the same manner as a general law of this 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 county of Parker; and all local or special laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SEC. 18. The fact that there is now no sufficient general road law in force in this State, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, 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 90, nays 0; an 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 twenty-first day of March, 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 April 1, 1899.

RAINES AND GRIMES COUNTIES-SCHOOL SYSTEM.

H. B. No. 441.]

CHAPTER XLII.

An Act to transfer Raines and Grimes counties from the community school system to the district system, and to authorize and empower the said counties to organize and conduct all of their public free schools under the district system as provided by the laws now in force.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That Raines and Grimes counties be and are hereby transferred from the community school system to the district school system, and are hereby authorized and empowered to organize and conduct all of their public free schools under the district system as provided by the laws now in force.

That all laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 2. The near approach of the end of the session, the crowded condition of the calendar, and the near approach of the time when the scholastic census must be taken, create an emergency and imperative necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, and 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 87, nays 0; and passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, yeas 21, nays 0.]

[NOTE. The foregoing act was presented to the Governor of Texas for his approval on the twenty-first day of March, A. D. 1899, but was not -igned 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 April 1, 1899.