Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1870-03-08
County ORGANIZATION.

than under the old system. In the first place
the qualified voters of the county elect sheriff
an attorney for the Commonwealth, who repre-
sents the State both in the County and Circuit
Courts county clerk, who discharges also the
duties of the Circuit Court clerk, except where
the population of the county is fifteen thousand,
then there will be an additional clerk for the
Circuit Court, county treasurerand onesuperin-
tendent of the poor. In addition to the above
county officers, the Board of Education, COM
posed of the Governor, Superintendent Of Pub
lie destruction and the Attorney General shall
appoint one superintendent Of schools, subject
to the confirmation of the Senate, unless the
county contains less than eight thousand inhab-
itants, and then it will be necessary to attach it
to another county to form districts for superin-
tendents for public schools, and ifa county con-
tains thirty thousand inhabitants, an additional
superintendent of schools will be appointed.
All officers must be elected on the first Tues
day after the first Monday in November, and
enter upon their Offices the first day of next jan
maryland shall hold their Offices for three
years. except the county and circuit clerks, who
shall hold their Offices for four years.
In addition to the officers enumerated as
county officers, the supervisors of townships
shall constitute Board of Supervisors for the
county, which shall meet at the Court House
on the first Monday of December of each year,
and audit the accounts of the county, examine
the books of the assessors, regulate and equalize
the valuation Of property, fix the county levy
for the ensuing year and apportion the same
among the different townships. We believe we
have enumerated all the county officers except
one, which is by far the most important, and
that is the county Judge, which officer is elected
by joint vote of both Houses Of the General
Assembly and whose necessary qualification is
to be learned in the law" and whose jurisdic-
ton shall be the same as County Courts under
our old system, except as modified by thecoun-
ty organization clause, and which we have not
&c above, and as may be changed by law. A
county judge is to hold his Office for six years,
except under the first election they should hold
their Office for only three years. IF county
contains less than eight thousand inhabitants il
must be attached to another county in order to
have county judge. Within the county or
ganization is an inferior division with com
plete set of officers, known as
TOWNSHIPS. Each county shall be divided
into compact townships Of not less than three
each of which shall be named, and sue and bt
sued in that name. These townships answer t.
our former divisions or districts but with more
distinctive features. In each township there
shall be elected annually one Supervisor; ons
Township Clerk one Assessor; one Collector
one Commissioner Of Roads; one Overseer o
the Poor; one Justice Of the Peace, who shall
hold his Office three years one Constable, wht
shall hold his Office three years; Provided Tha
at the first election held under this provision
there shall be three Justices of the Peace ant
three Constables elected, whose terms shall b.
one, two and three years. respectively. All re
gular elections for township officers shall tak'
place on the fourth Thursday in May, and al
officers SO elected shall enter upon the duties o
their respective Offices en- the first day of Jul.
next succeeding their election. Then, again
each township shall be divided into
SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Every school distric
must contain one hundred inhabitants, but ma,
be divided as it seems necessary. In each O
these districts there will be elected annually on
School Trustee, who shall hold his Office fo
three years, except at the first election, whel
there shall be three elected and hold Office 70
one, two and three years respectively. Again
the townships are divided into
ROAD DISTRICTS. shall be one O
more in each township, and one Overseer o
Roads shall be elected annually, who shall keel
the roads in repair in the manner to be provid
ed for by law.
The General Assembly is clothed with The
power by the Constitution of providing by Law
for any additional officers = Virginia AdUance
boundary between Virginia and Tennessee
Last summer Prof Benz. Pierce, Superin
tendent of the United States Coast Survey, in
structed Richard d. CUTS to observe the sola
eclipse of August 7th, at or near Bristol, Tenn.
and also directed him to comply, if practicable
with the request made by the president of Wash
ington College, Virginia, to connect the station
at Bristol, the position of which would b,
astronomically determined, with one or more
of the monuments which mark the boundar,
line Of the State Of Virginia iE that vicinity,
so that the longitude and latitude thereof may
be accurately known.
From the observations made in accordance
.pikh fhoco fho
if the surveys had been conducted, when tht
boundary lines between Virginia, North Caro-
lima and Tennessee were fixed, as they would
be at this time. the State Of Virginia would
now include within its limits at least 500 square
miles of additional territory.
The official proclamation of the ratification O.
the Fifteenth Article of the National Constitu
ton is prepared and will be issued as soon al
the regular notice Of the action of the Teza:
Legislature is received at the Department o.
State. Thirty votes have been given for the
article, including New York and Indiana a.
bout which there is some contention, leaving
twenty eight about which there is no question
being three-iourths of the thirty-seyen States
OF the Union. The seven States voting in the
negative are New Jersey, Delaware, MARYLAND
Kentucky, California, Oregon and Tennessee.
Reuben D. Herndon, the seducer and alleg
ed murderer Of Miss Lumsden, in Orange
county, and fellow convict in the penitentiary
had difficulty on Friday week, in which the
former was stabbed in the shoulder, but not
seriously wounded. He was placed in The
hospital for treatment
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