# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 2/8th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 15

Chap. XV.—An Act to amend the Charter of Alexandria.
Act of May 13, 1826, ch. 45. Charter of Alexandria altered. Town divided into wards.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the town of Alexandria shall be, and is hereby divided into two districts, by a line running east and west, at an equal distance between King and Prince streets, beginning at the river Potomac and extending to the western boundary of said town; and all that part of the town which is situate north of the said dividing line, shall be called the northern district, and all that part of the town which is situate south of the said dividing line, shall be called the southern district of the town of Alexandria; and where any house or lot shall be sitaute partly in each district, it shall be considered as lying in that district where the greater part of the said house or lot is situate, and shall be assessed accordingly; each of the districts aforesaid shall be divided into two electoral wards, by a line passing from north to south through the middle of Pitt street, to be called the first, second, third and fourth ward;How taxes are to be applied. none of the taxes on the valuation of real property, which shall hereafter be collected in the northern district, shall be expended in the regulating, or filling up, or paving, or repairing of the streets, or sinking of wells, or building of bridges in the southern district; nor shall the taxes on the valuation of real property, which shall hereafter be collected in the southern district, be expended in the regulating, or filling up, or paving, or repairing the streets, or sinking of wells, or building of bridges in the northern district: but all the monies to be expended upon the aforesaid improvements in either district, shall be raised by an assessment on the valuation of real property in each district respectively, at the times and in the manner the said common council shall order and direct.How taxes to be raised. It shall be the duty of the assessors and other public officers to keep the accounts of each district, separate and distinct in regard to the assessments for the aforesaid local purposes, and all other taxes, which are now or shall hereafter be assessed or levied, upon the valuation of real property or other subjects, together with the fines and also the rents issuing from the property belonging to the corporation and all their other ​resources, shall constitute a general fund, to be appropriated as the common council shall direct.
Who shall vote. Who shall not vote.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That every free white male citizen of full age, who shall be fona fide seised of a freehold estate in the town of Alexandria, or who shall have resided in the town aforesaid for the space of one year, and have been a housekeeper therein for the space of three months next preceding the day of the election, and who shall have been within that time charged with any tax upon the public books, and shall have paid such tax, shall be qualified to vote for members to serve in the common council of the said town, and no other person shall exercise the right of suffrage; and the persons qualified, as aforesaid, to vote, shall meet at some convenient place in the ward in which they respectively reside, and elect by ballot four persons for the representatives of such ward in the common council, out of the free white male citizens who shall have arrived to the age of twenty-one years, and shall have resided in the town of Alexandria three years, and in the ward for which he shall be elected, for the space of three months immediately preceding the election, and shall moreover be seised of an estate of freehold in the said ward, and be a housekeeper therein.Election to be held first Tuesday in March annually. And that the said election shall be held on the first Tuesday of March, in every year, by three commissioners to be appointed in each ward for that purpose by the mayor and commonalty for the ensuing election, and afterwards by the common council, which appointment shall be at least ten days before the day of each election, except in regard to the first election to be held under this act. The election for the ensuing year shall be held at such place, in each ward, as shall be fixed on by the mayor and commonalty, and thereafter shall be held at such place as shall be appointed by the common council, of which public notice shall be given.
Meeting of councils fixed. Common council to choose a president from its own body. His powers and duty. The length of time limited for the authority of the council. The common council created a body politic. Its powers and authorities. All right estate, rights and credits of the mayor and commonalty vested in the common council.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the members of the common council, elected as aforesaid, or any twelve of them, shall, within seven days after their election in each year, assemble themselves at the courthouse, or any other place which shall be hereafter fixed for their meeting, and shall choose one of their body to be president of the said common council, to whom shall be administered, by any justice of the peace in the county of Alexandria, an oath of affirmation for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office; whereupon the president of the said common council shall administer the oath of office to the other members of the said council, and shall have, while the council is in session, the same power which is at present exercised by the mayor, upon the like occasion; and he shall convene the council whenever in the opinion of four of the members expressed to him in writing, or whenever in his opinion the good of the town may require it: and the authority of the said common council shall continue one year from the day of their election, and until others are chosen and qualified in their stead, and no longer. That the common council so elected, and those thereafter to be elected, and their successors, shall be and hereby are made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Common Council of Alexandria; and by the said name shall have perpetual succession, with capacity to purchase, possess and enjoy lands and tenements, and goods and chattels, either in fee or lesser estate therein, and the same to give, grant, let, sell, assign or transfer; and to plead and be impleaded, prosecute and defend all causes, complaints, actions real, personal or mixed, and to have one common seal, and perpetual succession. And all the estate, rights, and credits, now vested in the mayor and commonalty of the town of Alexandria, shall be vested in the said common council, when elected, and may be recovered in their name for the use of the said town, and in like manner all claims and demands against the mayor and commonalty of Alexandria, prior to the operation of the present act, may be prosecuted and recovered against the aforesaid common council; and process ​served upon the president of the common council, shall be deemed sufficient.
Extent of the common council’s jurisdiction. The concurrence of a majority of all the members necessary to the passing of a law, &c. &c. Powers of the council defined.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of the said common council shall extend to the limits heretofore prescribed by law, and exercised by the mayor and commonalty. The concurrence of a majority of the whole number of members elected into the common council, shall be necessary for the passing of any law, order, or resolution, or for repealing, altering, or revoking the same.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said common council shall have power to erect and repair workhouses, houses of correction, and other public buildings, for the benefit of the said town; to pave, make and repair the streets and highways; to make all laws which they shall conceive requisite for the preservation of the health of the inhabitants, and for the regulation of the morals and police of the said town, and to enforce the observance of their said laws, by reasonable penalties and forfeitures, to be levied upon the goods and chattels of the offender; and they shall have power to raise money by taxes, for the use and benefit of the said town:Proviso. Provided, that such laws shall not be repugnant to, or inconsistent with the laws and constitution of the United States. The said common council shall, whenever they deem it proper, have power to open, extend, regulate, pave, and improve the streets, within the limits of the said town:Proviso. Provided, they make to the person or persons who may be injured by such extension, just and adequate compensation out of the funds of the corporation, to be ascertained by the verdict of an impartial jury, in like manner as has been usual in other cases, where private property has been condemned for public use.Powers of the common council. They shall have power to hold and keep within the said town, market days in every week, and from time to time, to appoint a clerk of the market, who shall do and perform all things belonging to the office of clerk of the market within the said town, according to the rules and regulations which they shall prescribe. They shall have power to pass all laws not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, which they may conceive requisite for the prevention and removal of nuisances, and to appoint a superintendent of police, commissioners, and surveyors of the streets, constables, collectors of the taxes, and all other officers who may be deemed necessary for the execution of their laws, who shall be paid for their services a reasonable compensation, and whose duties and powers shall be prescribed in such manner as the common council shall deem fit for carrying into execution the powers hereby granted.
Further definition of the powers of the common council.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of the said common council shall extend over the harbor of Alexandria, and over vessels of every description which may arrive and be in the harbor, or be at anchor in any part of the river Potomac below Pearson’s island, and within the district of Columbia, for the purpose of preventing and removing all nuisances, and such other subjects or things being on board any such vessel, as may be prejudicial to the health of the town, and for no other purpose. And also, their jurisdiction shall extend over the house lately built in the vicinity of the town for the accommodation of the poor and others, and over the ten acres of ground thereto belonging, and over all persons who may be sent or placed there by the consent or authority of the common council, and on their way to and from the same, until they be regularly discharged: Provided, that the paupers and other persons shall not be considered as having thereby gained a residence in the county, so as to become chargeable thereto.
A mayor to be annually chosen by a vote of the common council. The president of the council to decide the election in case the council is equally divided. The time for which the mayor shall hold his office. To take an oath of office. His powers and duties.Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the common council shall, annually, at their first meeting after their own election and qualification, choose by ballot a fit and able man, having the qualifications herein after directed, to be mayor of the town, which choice shall be made by a majority of the whole number of members of the said common council, ​unless the whole number of members be equally divided between two persons, in which case one of those two persons shall immediately, by the vote of the president of the council, elected. The mayor shall hold his office for one year, from the time of his election, and until a successor is chosen and qualified in his stead. At the expiration of which period he may be re-elected for two years thereafter in succession, and no longer until he shall have been out of office for one year. He shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take an oath or affirmation, in the presence of the council, faithfully to execute his said office, which shall be recorded in their book of proceedings. He shall see that the laws of the corporation be duly executed, and shall report the negligence or misconduct of any officer to the common council, who, on satisfactory proof thereof, may remove from office the said delinquent, or take such other measures thereupon, as shall be just and lawful. He shall have power to convene the common council when, in his opinion, the good of the community may require it, and he shall lay before the council, from time to time, in writing, such alterations in the laws of the corporation, as he shall deem necessary or proper. He shall have and exercise all the powers of a justice of the peace within the said town, and shall receive for his services, annually, a just and reasonable compensation, to be allowed and fixed by the common council, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.To receive a compensation for his services. His qualifications. Any person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, who is a white male citizen of the United States, who shall have attained to the age of thirty years, and shall be the bona fide owner of a freehold estate in the said town, and shall have been a resident in the town of Alexandria five years immediately preceding his election, and no other person shall be elegible to the said office.
Provision in case of the refusal, &c. &c. of the mayor to serve. Common council to have vacancies in their own body supplied, and how. In the temporary absence, &c. &c. of the mayor, the president of the council to supply his place. Mayor to sign the bills of which he approves, or to return those to the council of which he does not approve, with his objections in writing. How passed. Copies of the acts of the council to be printed.Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in case of the refusal of any person to accept the office of mayor upon his election thereto, or of his death, resignation, inability or removal, the common council shall elect another in his place to serve the remainder of the year. The common council shall have power to supply vacancies in their own body, by causing elections to be made in manner herein before directed, out of the citizens qualified to fill the said office in the ward in which such vacancies shall have happened; and may, in the absence of the president, elect a president pro tempore. In case of a temporary inability or absence of the mayor, the president of the common council shall perform all the duties of the mayor, that may be required to be performed during his absence or inability, and in case of vacancy in the said office, he shall perform the duties thereof, until a new election shall be made.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the acts of the common council shall be signed by the president of the common council, and shall be presented to the mayor for his approbation, who, if he objects thereto, shall, within three days after it shall be presented to him for his assent, return it to the common council with his objections in writing, and if a majority of the whole council shall be of opinion that the law ought to be passed, it shall, notwithstanding the objections of the mayor, become a law, and he shall sign the same; but if the mayor shall not return his objections to the same, within three days, to the said council, it shall become a law, and shall be signed by him. The clerk of the council shall record, in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, all the laws, orders and resolutions which shall be passed, as aforesaid, and deliver a copy of them to the public printer, to be printed for the information of the people.
Oath of the commissioners for holding the elections prescribed.Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners to superintend the election in each ward, shall, before they receive any vote, take, severally, the following oath or affirmation, to be administered by the mayor, or any justice of the peace: “I, A. B. do solemnly swear, or ​affirm (as the case may be), that I will truly and faithfully receive and return the votes of such persons as are by law entitled to vote for members of council in ward No. and that I will not knowingly receive or return the vote of any who is not legally entitled to the same, so help me God;” the said election shall be closed on the day it is begun, and the poll shall be kept open till sunset and no longer. The said commissioners in each ward, or a majority of them shall, on the next day after the election, make a list of all the votes received at said election; and the four persons having the greatest number of votes, shall be duly elected; and in all cases of an equality of votes, the commissioners shall decide, and shall make a return of the persons so elected, under their hands and seals, to the mayor, who shall cause the same to be published in the newspapers of the town;Duties and powers of the commissioners. Common council to judge of the legality of elections. May make laws and rules for its own order and government. the said commissioners shall also send the clerk of the common council, who shall preserve and record the same; the said common council shall judge of the legality of the election of any person who shall be returned as a member thereof, and shall have full power to pass all laws to enable them to come to a just decision upon a contested election: they shall have power to compel the attendance of the members of the council by reasonable penalties, and to pass all laws for the orderly and regular conduct of business: they may punish any member for disorderly behaviour, and with consent of three fourths of the whole council, expel a member.
How the taxes of absentees shall be collected.Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That whenever taxes upon real property, or other claims charged upon real property within the town, shall be due, and owing to the common council, and the proprietor shall fail to discharge the same, the said common council, after giving the party reasonable notice when he resides in the town, sixty days notice when he resides out of the town, and in the United States, and after six months publication in the newspapers when he resides out of the United States, shall be empowered to recover the said taxes or debts, by motion in the court of Alexandria county:Proviso. And provided, it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that such taxes or claims are justly due, judgment shall be granted, and an execution shall issue thereupon, with the costs of suit, against the goods and chattels of the defaulter, if any can be found within the town; if not, that the whole property upon which the tax or claim is due, shall by order of the court, be leased out at public auction for the shortest term of years that may be offered, on condition that the lessee pay the arrearages, and also the future taxes accruing during the term, and be at liberty to remove all his improvements at the expiration of the lease:Proviso. Provided also, that the common council may prosecute any other remedy, by action, for the recovery of the said taxes and claims which is now possessed or allowed.
Interfering acts of the Virginia assembly repealed.Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That so much of any act or acts of the general assembly of Virginia, as comes within the purview of this act, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to impair of destroy any right or remedy which the mayor and commonalty of Alexandria now possess or enjoy to or concerning any debts, claims or demands against any person or persons whatsoever; or to repeal any of the laws and ordinances of the mayor and commonalty of the said town now in force, which are not inconsistent with this act.
Approved, February 25, 1804.