# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 2/12th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 75

Chap. LXXV.—An Act further to amend the Charter of the City of Washington.
Act of May 3, 1802, ch. 53. Act of Feb. 24, 1804, ch. 14. Act of Feb. 27, ch. 44. Act of Feb. 28, 1820, ch. 15. Act of May 15, 1820, ch. 81. Act of May 26, 1824, ch. 85. Corporation of the city—how composed.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the first Monday of June next, the corporation of the city of Washington shall ​be composed of a mayor, a board of aldermen and a board of common council, to be elected by ballot, as herein after directed. The board of aldermen shall consist of eight members, to be elected for two years, two to be residents of and chosen from each ward by the qualified voters resident therein; and the board of common council shall consist of ​twelve members, to be elected for one year, three to be residents of and chosen from each ward in manner aforesaid: and each board shall meet at the council chamber on the second Monday in June next (for the despatch of business) at ten o’clock in the morning, and on the same day and at the same hour annually thereafter. A majority of each board shall be necessary to form a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from day to day. The board of aldermen, immediately after they shall have assembled in consequence of the first election shall divide themselves by lot into two classes; the seats of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of one year, and the seats of the second class shall be vacated at the expiration of two years, so that one half may be chosen every year. Each board shall appoint its own president from among its own members, who shall preside during the sessions of the board, and shall have a casting vote on all questions where there is an equal division:Proviso. Provided, such equality shall not have been occasioned by his previous vote.
Qualifications of the elected.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no person shall be eligible to a seat in the board of aldermen or board of common council, unless he shall be more than twenty-five years of age, a free white male citizen of the United States, and shall have been a resident of the city of Washington one whole year next preceding the day of election, and shall, at the time of his election, be a resident of the ward for which he shall be elected, and possessed of a freehold estate in the said city of Washington, and shall have been assessed two months preceding the day of election. And every free white male citizen of lawful age, who shall have resided in the city of Washington for the space of one year preceding the day of election, and shall be a resident of the ward in which he shall offer to vote, and who shall have been assessed on the books of the corporation not less than two months prior to the day of election, shall be qualified to vote for members to serve in the said board of aldermen and board of common council, and no other person whatever shall exercise the right of suffrage at such election.
Present mayor to be continued in office till June. Mayor thereafter to be annually appointed. His duties, &c. &c.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the present mayor of the city of Washington shall be, and continue such until the second Monday in June next, on which day, and on the second Monday in June annually thereafter, the mayor of the said city shall be elected by ballot of the board of aldermen and board of common council in joint meeting, and a majority of the votes of all the members of both boards shall be necessary to a choice; and if there should be an equality of votes between two persons, after the third ballot, the two boards shall determine the choice by lot. He shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take an oath or affirmation, in the presence of both boards, “lawfully to execute the duties of his office to the best of his skill and judgment, without favour or partiality.” He shall, ex-officio, have and exercise all the powers, authority and jurisdiction of a justice of the peace for the county of Washington, within the said county. He shall nominate, and, with the consent of a majority of the members of the board of aldermen, appoint to all offices under the corporation, (except the commissioners of election,) and any such officer shall be removed from office on the concurrent remonstrance of a majority of the two boards. He shall see that the laws of the corporation be duly executed, and shall report the negligence or misconduct of any officer to the two boards. He shall appoint proper persons to fill up all vacancies during the recess of the board of aldermen, to hold such appointment until the end of the then ensuing session. He shall have power to convene the two boards, when in his opinion the good of the community may require it; and he shall lay before them from time to time, in writing, such alterations in the laws of the corporation, as he shall deem necessary or proper, and shall receive for his services annually, a just and reasonable compensation, ​to be allowed and fixed by the two boards, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.Qualifications of mayor. Any person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, who is a free white male citizen of the United States, who shall have attained to the age of thirty years, and who shall be the bona fide owner of a freehold estate in the said city, and shall have been resident in the said city two years immediately preceding his election: and no other person shall be eligible to the said office. 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 from the city, the said two boards shall elect another in his place to serve the remainder of the year.
Times and modes of elections for the boards of aldermen and common council.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the first election for members of the board of aldermen and board of common council, shall be held on the first Monday in June next, and on the first Monday in June annually thereafter: the first election to be held by three commissioners, to be appointed in each ward by the mayor of the city, and at such place in each ward as he may direct; and all subsequent elections shall be held by a like number of commissioners, to be appointed in each ward by the two boards in joint meeting, which several appointments, except the first, shall be at least ten days previous to the day of each election. And it shall be the duty of the mayor, for the first election, and of the commissioners for all subsequent elections, to give at least five days’ previous public notice of the place in each ward where such elections are to be held.Elections. The said commissioners shall, before they receive any ballot, severally take the following oath or affirmation, to be administered by the mayor of the city or any justice of the peace for the county of Washington: “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 the board of aldermen and board of common council in ward, No. according to the best of my judgment and understanding; and that I will not, knowingly, receive or return the vote of any person who is not legally entitled to the same, to help me God.” The polls shall be opened at ten o’clock in the morning, and be closed at seven o’clock in the evening of the same day. Immediately on closing the polls, the commissioners of each ward, or a majority of them, shall count the ballots and make out under their hands and seals a correct return of the two persons for the first election, and of the one person for all subsequent elections, having the greatest number of legal votes, together with the number of votes given to each, as members of the board of aldermen; and of three persons having the greatest number of legal votes, together with the number of votes given to each, as members of the board of common council; and the two persons at the first election and the one person at all subsequent elections, having the greatest number of legal votes for the board of aldermen; and the three persons having the greatest number of legal votes for the board of common council, shall be duly elected; and in all cases of an equality of votes the commissioners shall decide by lot. The said returns shall be delivered to the mayor of the city on the succeeding day, who shall cause the same to be published in some newspaper printed in the city of Washington. A duplicate return, together with a list of the persons who voted at such election, shall also be made by the said commissioners to the register of the city, on the day succeeding the election, who shall preserve and record the same; and shall, within two days thereafter, notify the several persons so returned, of their election. And each board shall judge the legality of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members; and shall supply vacancies in its own body, by causing elections to be made to fill the same in the ward and for the board in which such vacancies shall happen, giving at least five days’ notice previous thereto; and each board shall have full power to pass all ​rules necessary and requisite to enable itself to come to a just decision in cases of a contested election of its members; and the several members of each board shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, take the following oath or affirmation: “I do swear, (or solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare, as the case may be) that I will faithfully execute the office of to the best of my knowledge and ability,” which oath or affirmation shall be administered by the mayor or some justice of the peace for the county of Washington.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That in addition to the powers heretofore granted to the corporation of the city of Washington, by an act, entituled “An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia,” and an act, entituled “An act supplementary to an act, entituled An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia,” the said corporation shall have power to lay taxes on particular wards, parts or sections of the city, for their particular local improvements;Apportionment of taxes and expenditures. that after providing for all objects of a general nature, the taxes raised on the assessable property in each ward shall be expended therein, and in no other, in regulating, filling up and repairing of streets and avenues, building of bridges, sinking of wells, erecting pumps and keeping them in repair; in conveying water in pipes, and in the preservation of springs; in erecting and repairing wharves; in providing fire engines and other apparatus for the extinction of fires; and for other local improvements and purposes, in such manner as the said board of aldermen and board of common council shall provide;Support of the poor to be a general charge. but the sums raised for the support of the poor, aged and infirm, shall be a charge on each ward in proportion to its population or taxation, as the two boards shall decide. That whenever the proprietors of two thirds of the inhabited houses, fronting on both sides of a street or part of a street, shall, by petition to the two branches, express their desire of improving the same by laying the curbstone of the foot pavement, and paving the gutters or carriage-way thereof, or otherwise improving said street agreeably to its graduation, the said corporation shall have power to cause to be done at any expense not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents per front foot, of the lots fronting on each improved street or part of a street, and charge the same to the owners of the lots fronting on said street or part of a street in due proportion; and also on a like petition, to provide for erecting lamps for lighting any street or part of a street, and to defray the expense thereof, by a tax on the proprietors or inhabitants of such houses, in proportion to their rental or valuation, as the two boards shall decide.
Powers of the corporation.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have full power and authority to erect and establish hospitals or pest houses, workhouses, houses of correction, penitentiary and other public buildings, for the use of the city, and to lay and collect taxes for defraying the expenses thereof; to regulate party and other fences, and to determine by whom the same shall be made and kept in repair; to lay open streets, avenues, lanes and alleys, and to regulate or prohibit all enclosures thereof; and to occupy and improve for public purposes, by and with the consent of the President of the United States, any part of the public and open spaces or squares in said city not interfering with any private rights; to regulate the measurement of, and weight by which all articles brought into the city for sale shall be disposed of; to provide for the appointment of appraisers and measurers of builder’s work and materials, and also of wood, coals, grain and lumber; to restrain and prohibit the nightly and other disorderly meetings of slaves, free negroes and mulattoes, and to punish such slaves by whipping, not exceeding forty stripes, or by imprisonment, not exceeding six calendar months, for any one offence; and to punish such free negroes and mulattoes for such offences, by fixed penalties, not exceeding twenty dollars for any ​Powers of the corporation.one offence; and in case of the inability of such free negro or mulatto to pay and satisfy any such penalty and cost thereon, to cause such free negro or mulatto to be confined to labour for such reasonable time, not exceeding six calendar months for any one offence, as may be deemed equivalent to such penalty and costs; to cause all vagrants, idle or disorderly persons, all persons of evil life or ill fame, and all such as have no visible means of support, or are likely to become chargeable to the city as paupers, or are found begging or drunk in or about the streets, or loitering in or about tippling houses, or who can show no reasonable cause of business or employment in the city; and all suspicious persons; and all who have no fixed place of residence, or cannot give a good account of themselves; all evesdroppers and night walkers; all who are guilty of open profanity or grossly indecent language or behaviour publicly in the streets; all public prostitutes and such as lead a notoriously lewd or lascivious course of life; and all such as keep public gaming tables or gaming houses, to give security for their good behaviour for a reasonable time, and to indemnify the city against any charge for their support; and in case of their refusal or inability to give such security, to cause them to be confined to labour for a limited time, not exceeding one year at a time, unless such security should be given sooner given; but if they shall afterwards be found again offending, such security may be again required, and for want thereof, the like proceedings may be again had, from time to time, as often as may be necessary; to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which free negroes, mulattoes and others, who can show no visible means of support, may reside in the city; to cause the avenues, streets, lanes and alleys to be kept clean, and to appoint officers for that purpose;Power to authorize the drawing of lotteries. Proviso. to authorize the drawing of lotteries for effecting any important improvement in the city, which the ordinary funds or revenue thereof will not accomplish: Provided, that the amount to be raised in each year, shall not exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars: And provided also, that the object for which the money is intended to be raised, shall be first submitted to the President of the Untied States, and shall be approved of by him; to take care of, preserve and regulate the several burying grounds within the city; to provide for registering of births, deaths and marriages; to cause abstracts or minutes of all transfers of real property, both freehold and leasehold, to be lodged in the registry of the city at stated periods; to authorize night watches and patroles, and the taking up and confining by them in the night time, of all suspected persons; to punish by law, corporeally, any servant or slave guilty of a breach of any of their by-laws or ordinances, unless the owner or holder of such servant or slave, shall pay the fine annexed to the offence; and to pass all laws which shall be deemed necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested in the corporation or any of its officers, either by this act or any former act.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the marshal of the district of Columbia shall receive and safely keep within the jail for Washington county, at the expense of the city, all persons committed thereto under the sixth section of this act, until other arrangements be made by the corporation, for the confinement of offenders within the provisions of the said section. And in all cases where suit shall be brought before ​Remedy in case of a return of nulla bona on a writ of fieri facias.a justice of the peace, for the recovery of any fine or penalty arising or incurred for a breach of any by-law or ordinance of the corporation, upon a return of nulla bona to any fieri facias issued against the property of the defendant or defendants, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the circuit court for the county of Washington, when required, to issue a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum against every such defendant, returnable to the next circuit court for the county of Washington, thereafter, and which shall be proceeded on as in other writs of the like kind.
Unimproved lots may be sold for the payment of taxes, two years due.Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That unimproved lots in the city of Washington, on which two years’ taxes remain due and unpaid, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay such taxes, may be sold at public sale for such taxes due thereon: Provided, that public notice be given of the time and place of sale, by advertising in some newspaper printed in the city of Washington, at least six months, where the property belongs to persons residing out of the United States; three months, where the property belongs to persons residing in the United States, but without the limits of the district of Columbia; and six weeks, there the property belongs to persons residing within the district of Columbia or city of Washington; in which notice shall be stated, the number of the lot or lots, the number of the square or squares, the name of the person or persons to whom the same may have been assessed; and also the amount of taxes due thereon:Proviso. And provided also, that the purchaser shall not be obliged to pay at the time of such sale, more than the taxes due, and the expenses of sale; and that if within two years from the day of such sale the proprietor or proprietors of such lot or lots, or his or their heirs, representatives or agents, shall repay to such purchaser the monies paid for the taxes and expenses as aforesaid, together with ten per centum per annum as interest thereon, or make a tender of the same, he shall be reinstated in his original right and title; but if no such payment or tender be made within two years next after the said sale, then the purchaser shall pay the balance of the purchase money of such lot or lots, into the city treasury, where it shall remain subject to the order of the original proprietor or proprietors, his or their heirs or legal representatives; and the purchaser shall receive a title in fee simple to the said lot or lots, under the hand of the mayor and seal of the corporation, which shall be deemed good and valid in law and equity.
Style of the corporation.Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall in future be named and styled “The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City of Washington;” and that if there shall have been a non-election or informality in the election of a city council on the first Monday in June last, it shall not be taken, construed or adjudged, in any manner, to have operated as a dissolution of the said corporation, or to affect any of its rights, privileges or laws, passed previous to the second Monday in June last, but the same are hereby declared to exist in full force.
Corporation to cause the wards to be located with a view to the elections.Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the corporation shall, from time to time, cause the several wards of the city to be so located as to give, as nearly as may be, an equal number of voters to each ward: and it shall be the duty of the register of the city, or such officer as the corporation may hereafter appoint, to furnish the commissioners of election, for each ward, on the first Monday in June annually, previous to the opening of the polls, a list of the persons having a right to vote, agreeably to the provisions of the second section of this act.
Part of a former act repealed.Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That so much of any former act, as shall be repugnant to the provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby repealed.
Approved, May 4, 1812.
* ↑ In the sales of lots, in the city of Washington, the lots are not chargeable for their proportion of the internal alley laid out for the common benefit of the lots; although the practice so to charge them has been heretofore universally acquiesces in by purchasers; and if a purchaser has acquiesced in that practice, and has received a conveyance accordingly without objection, yet he does not thereby acquire a fee simple in such proportion of the alley; and he may in equity, recover back the purchase money which he has paid therefor. Pratt and others v. Law, Campbell, &c., 9 Cranch, 456; 3 Cond. Rep. 460.In 1822, Congress passed an act authorizing the corporation of Washington to drain the ground in and near certain public reservations, and to improve and ornament certain parts of the public reservations. The corporation are empowered to make an agreement, by which parts of the location of the canal shall be changed, for the purpose of draining and drying the low grounds near the Pennsylvania avenue, &c. To effect those objects, the corporation is authorized to lay off in building lots in certain parts of the public reservations, No. 10, 11, and 12, and of other squares, and also a part of B. street, as laid out and designated in the original plan of the city, which lots they may sell at auction, and apply the proceeds to those objects, and afterwards to enclosing, planting and improving other reservations, and building bridges, &c.; the surplus, if any, to be paid into the treasury of the United States. The act authorizes the heirs, &c. of the former proprietors of the land on which the city was laid out, who may consider themselves injured by the purposes of the act, to institute in the circuit court a bill in equity, in the nature of a petition of right, against the United States, setting forth the grounds of any claim they may consider themselves entitled to make, to be conducted according to the rules of a court of equity; the court to hear and determine upon the claim of the plaintiffs, and what portion, if any, of the money arising from the sale of the lots they may be entitled to, with a right of appeal to the supreme court. The plaintiffs, Van Ness and wife, filed in the circuit court their bill against the United States and the corporation of Washington, claiming title to the lots which had been thus sold, under David Burns, the original proprietor of that part of the city, and father of one of the plaintiffs, on the ground that by the agreement between the United States and the original proprietors, upon laying out the city, those reservations and streets were, for ever, to remain for public use; and, without the consent of the proprietors, could not be otherwise appropriated or sold for private use; that the act of Congress was a violation of that contract; that by such sale and appropriation for private use the right of the United States thereto was determined, or that the original proprietors re-acquired a right to have the reservations, &c. laid out in building lots for their joint and equal benefit with the United States, or that they were in equity entitled to the whole or a moiety of the proceeds of the sales of the lots. Held, by the supreme court, that no rights or claims exist in the former proprietors or their heirs, and that the proceedings of the corporation of Washington, under and in conformity with the provisions of the act, are valid and effectual for the purposes of the act. Van Ness et al. v. The City of Washington and the United States, 4 Peters, 232.The official tax books of the corporation of Washington, made up by the register from the original returns or lists of the assessors laid before the court of appeals, he being empowered by the ordinances of the corporation to correct the valuations made by the assessors, are evidence; and it is not required that the assessor’s original lists shall be produced in evidence, to prove the assessment of the taxes on real estate in the city of Washington. Ronkendorf v. Taylor’s Lessee, 4 Peters, 349.In an ex parte proceeding, as a sale of land for taxes under a special authority, great strictness is required. To divest an individual of his property against his consent, every substantial requisite of the law must be complied with. No presumption can be raised, in behalf of a collector who sells real estate for taxes, to cure any radical defect in his proceedings; and the proof of regularity devolved upon the person who claims under the collector’s sale. Ibid.Proof of the regular appointment of the assessors is not necessary. They acted under the authority of the corporation, and the highest evidence of this fact is the sanction given to their returns. Ibid.The act of Congress, under which the lot in the city of Washington in controversy was sold, required that public notice of the time and place of the sale of lots, the property of non-residents, should be given, by advertising “once a week” in some newspaper in the city for three months. Notice of the sale of the lot in controversy was published for three months; but in the course of that period, eleven days at one time, at another ten days, and at another eight days transpired in succeeding weeks, between the insertions of the advertisement in the newspapers. “A week” is a definite period of time, commencing on Sunday and ending on Saturday. The notice was published Monday, January 6th, and was omitted until Saturday, January 18th, leaving an interval of eleven days. Still the publication on Saturday was within the week preceding the notice of the 6th; and this was sufficient. It should be a most rigid construction of the act of Congress, justified neither by its spirit nor its language, to say that this notice must be published on any particular day of a week. If published once a week for three months, the law is complied with, and its object effectuated. Ibid.No doubt can exist that a part of a lot may be sold for taxes, where they have accrued on such part. Ibid.The lot on which the taxes were assessed, belonged to two persons as tenants in common. The assessment was made by a valuation of each half of the lot. To make a sale of the interest of one tenant in common for unpaid taxes valid, it need not extend to the interest of both claimants; one having paid his tax, the interest of the other may well be sold for the balance. Ibid.The advertisement purported to sell “half of lot No. 4, in square No. 491;” and the other half was advertised in the same manner, as belonging to the other tenant in common. This was not a sufficient advertisement; and a sale made under the same was void. It is not sufficient that in an advertisement of land for sale for unpaid taxes, such a description is given as would enable the persons desirous of purchasing, to ascertain the situation of the property by inquiry; nor, if the purchaser, at the sale, had been informed of every fact necessary to enable him to fix a value upon the property, would the same be valid, unless the same information had been communicated to the public in the notice. Ibid.The 10th section of the act of Congress provides that real property in Washington, on which two or more years’ taxes shall be due and unpaid, may be sold, &c. In this section a distinction is made between a general and a special tax. Property may be sold to pay the former as soon as two years’ tax shall be due; but to pay the latter, property cannot be sold until the expiration of two years after the second year’s tax becomes due. The taxes for which the property in controversy was sold, became due, by the ordinance of the corporation, on the 1st day of January, 1821 and 1822. The special tax for paving was charged against the lot in 1820, and became due on the first of January, 1821: but the ground on which it was assessed, was not liable to be sold for the tax until the 1st of January, 1823. The first notice of the sale was given on the 6th of December, 1822, nearly a month before the lot was liable to be sold for the special tax of 1820. Held, by the supreme court, that the whole period should have elapsed, which was necessary to render the lot liable to be sold for the special tax, before the advertisement was published. Ibid.
* ↑ Where, by the charter granted by Congress, to the city of Washington, the corporation was empowered “to authorize the drawing of lotteries,” for effecting certain improvements in the city, and upon certain terms and conditions: Held, that the corporation was liable to the holder of a ticket in such lottery, for the price drawn against its number; although the managers appointed by the corporation to superintend such lottery, were empowered to sell, and had sold the entire lottery to a lottery dealer, for a gross sum, who was, by his agreement with them, to execute all the details of the scheme, as to the sale of the tickets, the drawings, and the payment of the prizes. Clarke v. The Corporation of Washington, 12 Wheat. 40; 6 Cond. Rep. 425.It seems that the power granted in the charter, “to authorize the drawing of lotteries,” cannot be exercised so as to discharge the corporation from its liability. Ibid.