or to work in the manner the road overseer directs, shall be liable to the same penalty as if he had failed to appear in obedience to the summons. SEC. 7. Any citizen of Leon county liable for road duty who shall on or before the first day of February of each year pay to the county treasurer the sum of three dollars shall be exempt from all road duty for such year, beginning on the first day of February. The treasurer shall receive and receipt for all moneys so paid him, and shall place the same to the credit of the road and bridge fund. The treasurer shall, on the third day of February, or as soon thereafter as practicable, furnish to each county commissioner a list of all persons in their respective districts that have paid said sum as provided in this section.

SEC. 8. Every person liable to work on roads, by paying 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, and one dollar and fifty cents for each day that he is summoned to furnish his team for road work, shall be exempted from working or furnishing his team for each day paid for, and also be exempt from any penalties for failure to work or furnish such team for the time for which he has so paid.

SEC. 9. Each person summoned to work on a road shall take with him an ax, hoe, pick, spade, plow, scraper, or such other tool as may be desired or directed by the overseer, or if he has no such tools as are desired by the overseer to take with him, he shall take such other suitable tool 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 such tools as may have resulted from public road work, and not caused by the negligence of the person furnishing the same. Such overseer may also summon and require such road hand to bring with him for public 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 hand with his team, and one and one-half days' time for his team without such hand.

SEC. 10. If any person liable to work on public roads, after being legally summoned, shall intentionally fail or refuse to attend, either in person or by 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 such overseer the sum of one dollar for each day he may have been notified to work on the road, or to pay such overseer the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for each day he may have been notified to furnish his team for road work, or having attended shall have failed to perform such good service or any other duty required of him by law, or the person under whom he may work, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, fined in any sum not exceeding ten dollars.

SEC. 11. At the regular term of the commissioners court in February of each year, all road overseers shall make their report, under oath, upon forms to be furnished them by said court, which said reports shall be examined by the said court, and all accounts 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, and in the event of the death, refusal or inability to act upon the part of any road overseer so appointed, the county com

missioner of the precinct shall have authority to fill the vacancy, and report his action in writing to the county clerk, who shall record the same in the minutes of the commissioners court, either in term time or vacation. Any overseer intentionally failing to perform his duties as such overseer, or failing or refusing to make his report as required by law, or failing or refusing to serve and perform the duties of overseer when appointed by said court, or to perform any other duties required of him by law or by the commissioners court, or by the commissioner of his district, 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 opening, widening, straightening or draining any road or part thereof, if the owner of such land and the commissioners court cannot agree upon the damage to be paid, the county may proceed to condemn the same in the manner that a railroad company may condemn land for a right of way, and the same proceedings may be had, and the same rights shall exist to each party as would exist if the proceedings were by a railroad company, except that the county shall in no case be required to give bond; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall be held to repeal the provisions of the general law relating to the opening of public roads by juries of view, but this section shall be cumulative thereof, and the commissioners court of Leon county may act under such general law or the provisions of this section, at their option, in such case.

SEC. 13. It shall be the duty of the overseer to keep all hedges on or near the public road trimmed, so that the same shall not obstruct said road, and shall not be of greater height than eight feet. The owner of any such hedge who shall refuse to have same trimmed, the overseer upon an order from the county commissioner of his precinct shall cause the same to be trimmed in accordance with the provisions of this act.

SEC. 14. Each county commissioner, when acting as road commissioner, and performing the duties imposed upon him by law, or by the commissioners court, shall be entitled to three dollars per day for services actually performed; provided, that he shall not draw such pay for more than thirty-five days per quarter, which amount shall 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 such account unless the commissioner presenting it shall sign an oath that the account is just, due and unpaid, and specifying the number of days actually performed by him, and that it was necessary to be done; and no commissioner shall be entitled to pay as road commissioner 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 roads, or for other road service.

SEC. 15. This act shall be taken notice of by all courts in the same manner as the General Laws 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 county of Leon, except where otherwise provided herein.

SEC. 16. 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, no vote given; and passed the Senate by twothirds vote, yeas 23, nays 0.]

[NOTE. The foregoing act was presented to the Governor of Texas for his approval on the 29th day of March, A. D. 1901, 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.-GEO. T. KEEBLE, Chief Clerk, Acting Secretary of State.]

Takes effect 90 days after adjournment.

CORYELL COUNTY-ROAD SYSTEM.

H. B. No. 249.]

CHAPTER XLI.

An Act to create a more efficient road system for Coryell county, Texas, and making the county commissioners of said county ex-officio road commissioners, and prescribing their duties as such, and providing for their compensation as such road commissioners; prescribing the duties of the road overseers; providing for exclusive use of road funds on public roads, and for ordering an election; providing for the payment of a tax by road hands in lieu of working the roads; providing a compensation to be allowed for use of tools and teams on road; providing for the condemnation of land for public road purposes; providing for the working of delinquent poll taxpayers on public roads, and relieving them from such work by the payment of three dollars; providing for the amount of money to be paid to hands on road; and providing further, making this law cumulative of the General Laws of the State, and in case of a conflict, this act to govern as to Coryell county, and declaring an emergency.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That the members of the commmissioners court of Coryell county shall be ex-officio road commissioners of their respective districts, and under the direction of the commissioners court, shall have charge of all teams, tools and machinery belonging to the county, and placed in their hands by said court; 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 his office, execute a bond of one thousand dollars, with two or more good and sufficient sureties, payable to the county judge of said county. for the use and benefit of the road and bridge fund, conditioned that he will perform all the duties required of him by law, or by the commissioners court, and that he will properly account for all money or property belonging to the county that may come into his 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 the commissioners in this section: and such deputy road

commissioner shall be entitled to the same compensation that is allowed county commissioners for the same service; provided, that a county commissioner shall not be allowed any compensation as road commissioner when a deputy road commissioner has been appointed.

SEC. 2. The commissioners court of said county shall have power and authority, and it shall be their duty to adopt such system for working, laying out, draining and repairing the public roads in said county as they may deem best, and from time to time said court may change its plan or system of working; provided, that all culverts and bridges shall be of sufficient size to carry the waters of the heavy rains, and that all ditches shall be cut on the outer edge of the road when not prevented by some natural obstacle.

Said commissioners court shall have power, and it shall be their duty to purchase such teams, tools and machinery as may be necessary for the working of its roads.

SEC. 3. Each county commissioner shall have control over all road overseers of his district, and together with them, shall oversee the working of all the roads in said districts. Each commissioner shall have control of all teams and tools and machinery belonging to his district, and shall oversee the working of all bad or difficult places in any of the roads in said district.

He shall have the authority to employ such a number of hands as he may find necessary to operate such machinery as he may have; provided, that he shall not have the authority to employ such hands when a sufficient number of road hands can be had at the time. When the commissioner wishes to work any part of any road in his district, he shall notify the road overseer of that part of the road, at such time and in such manner as he may think best, of his intentions, and direct said everseer to furnish, or warn out, for his use, such a number of road hands belonging to said road as the commissioner may think necessary to perform the work contemplated by him. If there be not a sufficient. number of hands on such road who have not put in full time or paid their road tax, the commissioner shall have the authority to employ hands to do the work provided, that he shall, at all times, give preference to hands belonging to such road. Each commissioner shall do good and substantial work on all first and second class roads in his district, but he shall have some regard for any contribution of money or labor given by the hands of any road to assist in the working of their road, and when necessity does not require him to work elsewhere, he shall work the road offering the greatest contribution.

The county commissioner shall, while acting as road commissioner, oversee the construction of any bridge to be erected in his district, and when the nature of the work is such as to require the employment of a proficient workman, he shall employ such workman at not exceeding three dollars per day. The commissioner shall furnish such other hands as may be necessary.

The commissioners court shall not have the right to enter into any contract to have work done upon the public roads, but should any part of any road need working and the commissioner has not the time to do the work, he shall direct the road overseer to proceed to do the necessary work. Nothing contained in this section shall be so construed as to prevent the county commissioners court from entering into contracts for

the construction of bridges the cost of which exceeds two thousand dollars.

SEC. 4. Each commissioner shall keep an account, or memorandum, of all money spent by him upon the public roads, showing each every item spent and the object or thing purchased; said memorandum shall show the number of hands employed, the name of each, and the number of days each was employed and the amount of money paid to each. He shall make a report to the commissioners court at the end of every three months setting forth the contents of the memorandum aforesaid, and showing the amount of money received by him as road taxes and the name of each person so paying the same. He shall be required to testify to the correctness and truthfulness of said report before the county judge of Coryell county.

SEC. 5. Each road overseer shall, during each year, call out all hands subject to road duty, to work five days, and in case the term of service as prescribed by the General Laws of the State shall be extended beyond that time, then they shall be called out to work as many days as may be so allowed. Each road overseer, when not working in connection with the county commissioner, shall have control of road hands within his road district, and he shall see that each hand, when called out, shall perform a full day's work consisting of eight hours, and if any hand when so called out shall fail or refuse to perform a good day's work, or 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.

Any road overseer may, when he deems it expedient, and at the time of notifying any hand to work upon the road, also summons such hand as may be the owner of a team suitable for road work, to bring such team with him to be used in working upon the road during such time as the hand may be notified to work upon the road, and after such notice given, if such hand fail or refuse to bring his team as notified to do, he shall be liable to the same penalty as if he failed to appear in obedience to the summons; provided, that any hand furnishing a team shall be allowed two days' work for himself and team, or one day's work for his team alone.

SEC. 6. Any citizen of Coryell county liable to road duty, who shall pay the county treasurer by the first day of February of each year, or who shall pay the commissioner of his district at the time of receiving his notice to work the road, or at any date previous to receiving such notice, the sum of three dollars, shall be exempt from road duty for such year, beginning on the first day of January; any person liable to road duty who fails to pay said tax of three dollars, shall for all days he fails to appear and work the road after receiving legal notice be required to pay the sum of one dollar; provided, that he shall have the privilege of sending in his stead an able bodied person. No person shall have the right to work out his road tax.

The treasurer or the county commissioner to whom the money may be paid shall receive the same and receipt for it, and when any money shall be so paid to the commissioner, it shall be by him promptly paid to the county treasurer, who shall also receive and receipt for all money paid to him by such commissioner, and when the treasurer may receive any money under the provisions of this section he shall place the same to the credit of the road and bridge fund, and he shall keep a separate account