Vacancies.

Oath of office of.

Sessions of.

Clerk of.

Extra sessions.

Call of.

Compensat❜n

not be two commissioners serving on the board from one precinct at the same time.

SEC. 3. Whenever it shall become necessary to elect a commissioner to fill any vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, or removal, the person elected shall hold his office for the unexpired term for which his predecessor was elected, and until his successor is elected and qualified.

SEC. 4. Before any commissioner shall enter upon the duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation, before some person authorized to administer the same, faithfully to discharge the duties of a commissioner of the county in which he resides, and deposit a certificate thereof with the clerk of the board of commissioners of his county, to be by him filed in his office, and shall take and subscribe the oath required by law.

SEC. 5. The board of commissioners shall hold four sessions annually, at the seat of justice of their respective counties, commencing on the first Mondays of April, July, September, and December, at all of which they shall transact any business which may be required by law; provided, that if the district court be in session on any of the above mentioned days, the commissioners shall meet on the Monday preceding, but no session shall be continued for a longer period than six days.

SEC. 6. The clerk of the county shall be the clerk of the board of county commissioners, and shall keep his office at the county seat, and attend their meetings, and keep a record of their proceedings, and the sheriff of the county shall also, by himself or deputy, attend and execute their orders.

SEC. 7. The said board of county commissioners are hereby authorized to hold extra sessions, in case they may think the business of their county requires the same, and ten days' notice from any two of the commissioners to the third, and posting notices in three public places in the county, and by publishing the same in some newspaper, shall be considered a sufficient call for an extra session; provided, that no such extra session shall exceed three days.

SEC. 8. The commissioners shall each receive five dollars per of, mileage. day for each and every day that they may be necessarily employed in transacting the county's business, and twenty-five cents a mile for every mile traveled in going to and returning from the meeting of said board, to be computed by the most usually traveled route.

Division of.

Seal of.

SEC. 9. When two only of the members shall be present at the meeting of the board, and a division shall take place on any question, it shall be postponed to a subsequent meeting.

SEC. 10. The commissioners of each county shall have and use a seal for the purpose of sealing their proceedings; and copies of the same, when signed and sealed by said commissioners, and attested by their clerk, shall be presumptive evi

dence of such proceedings in the trial of any cause in any court of this territory; and until such seal shall be provided, the private seal of the chairman of such board of county commissioners, shall be considered a seal.

Powers and

SEC. 11. The several boards of county commissioners are authorized and required: First. To provide for the erection duties of. and repairing of court-houses, jails, and other necessary public buildings for the use of the county. Second. To lay out, discontinue, or alter county roads and highways within their respective counties, and to do all other necessary acts relating thereunto. Third. To license and fix the rates of ferriage and toll on toll roads and bridges; to grant grocery and other licenses authorized by law to be by them granted. Fourth. To fix the amount of taxes to be assessed according to the provisions of law, and cause the same to be collected. Fifth. To allow all accounts chargeable against such county, not otherwise provided for, and to audit the accounts of all officers having the care, management, collection, or disbursement of any money belonging to the county, or appropriated to its benefit. Sixth. To have the care of the county property, and the management of the county funds and business, except in cases otherwise provided for, and shall have no other powers except such as are, or may be given by law.

SEC. 12. Real estate, belonging to any county, may be sold by an agent, duly appointed by the order directing such sale, Sale of who shall have the same powers as a commissioner appointed property. to sell real estate by the district or probate court.

county

SEC. 13. The board of county commissioners shall cause to be recorded in a book, to be kept for that purpose, all their Records of, proceedings, and their determinations touching all matters properly cognizable before them; and all books, vouchers, papers, and accounts, touching the business or property of the county, shall be carefully kept by the clerk, and open to the inspection of every one.

Chairman of

SEC. 14. The commissioners aforesaid, at their first session after the annual election in each and every year, shall elect one board. of their number to preside at the meetings of the board, and he shall sign all documents requiring the signature of the board, and the signature of such person, as chairman of the board of commissioners, shall be as legal and binding as if the whole board had affixed their names; provided, that in case such chairman shall be absent at any meeting of the board, all documents requiring the signature of the board, shall be signed by both members present.

Absence of.

To furnish

for county.

SEC. 15. It shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners, to provide all books necessary for the use of the books, etc. board of county commissioners, the office of the county auditor, the clerk of the district court, the probate court, and county treasurer; and also, to provide convenient desks for the pre

To examine

County

officers.

servation and security of the books and other documents in the several offices.

SEC. 16. At the July session, the board of county commisaccounts of sioners shall examine and compare the accounts and vouchers of the county auditor and county treasurer, count the funds in the county treasury, and shall make a full and accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the preceding year, and shall cause the same to be posted up at the court-house door, and at two other public places in their county, and if there shall be no court-house, then at three public places in their county, and shall publish the same in some newspaper of such county, if there be any.

Relative to

elections.

To superintend poor.

County credits.

Interest of,

prohibited.

SEC. 17. It shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners, at their first session, to divide their respective counties into election precincts, in such a manner as shall be most convenient for the population, and appoint a place for holding the elections therein; and they shall create new precincts from time to time, as the population may require, and, on the petition of ten voters, resident more than ten miles from any place of election, it shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners, to establish a precinct, and appoint judges of election therefor.

SEC. 18. The boards of commissioners of the several counties of this territory, are vested with the entire superintendence of the poor in their respective counties.

SEC. 19. The county commissioners of their respective counties, shall have power to compound for a release, in whole or in part, of any debt due to their county, and for the use thereof, when, in their opinion, the interests of the county will not be prejudiced thereby; except in cases when they, or either of them, are personally interested.

SEC. 20. No county commissioner shall, directly or indi in contracts rectly, as contractor, be concerned in any contract for work to be done, or materials to be furnished, for the county, under the penalty of five hundred dollars, to be recovered by an action at law, for the use of the county; and such commissioner shall, moreover, forfeit any compensation he was to receive on such contract.

To administer oaths.

To provide place for courts.

Appeals from.

SEC. 21. The commissioners are authorized and empowered to administer all oaths or affirmations, necessary in discharging the duties of their office.

SEC. 22. Until proper buildings are erected, at a place fixed upon for the seat of justice in any county, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners to provide some suitable place for holding the courts of such county.

SEC. 23. Any person may appeal from the decision of the board of commissioners, to the next term of the district court of the same county; such appeal shall be taken within twenty days after such decision, and the party appealing shall notify the commissioners that the appeal is taken, at least ten days

before the first day of the next term of the court appealed to; which notice shall be in writing, and shall be delivered personally to the commissioners, or left with the clerk of the board, and the party appealing shall give bond to the county, with one or more sureties, to be approved by such clerk, conditioned to pay all the costs which shall be adjudged against him, on such appeal in the said district court.

contracts.

SEC. 24. In letting contracts, the commissioners shall advertise such contracts to be let, stating the plans and specifications To advertise in full, in the newspaper published nearest the county-seat, for the period of one month, and by five notices, posted in as many public places, in the county, and such contract shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder, subject to the provisions of the twenty-first [twentieth] section.

CHAP. XLI.-An Act concerning Coroners.

[Approved November 28, 1861.]

Be it enacted, by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the

Territory of Nevada, as follows:

SECTION 1. The justices of the peace, in their respective Justices of townships, shall discharge the duties of coroners.

peace to act as.

SEC. 2. When a justice of the peace, acting as coroner, has been informed that a person has been killed, or committed Inquest of. suicide, or has suddenly died under such circumstances as to afford reasonable ground to suspect that the death has been occasioned by unnatural means, he shall go to the place where the body is, and summon no less than six, nor more than twelve To summon persons, qualified by law to serve as jurors, to appear before him forthwith, at the place where the body is, to inquire into the cause of the death.

jurors.

Neglect to

summoned.

SEC. 3. Every person summoned as a juror, who shall fail to appear, without having a reasonable excuse, shall forfeit any appear when sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, to be recovered by the justice of the peace acting as coroner, in his official capacity, Forfeit. any court of competent jurisdiction, and paid by him into the county treasury.

Jurors,

SEC. 4. When six or more of the jurors attend, they shall be sworn by the justice of the peace, acting as coroner, to oath of. inquire who the person was, and when, where, and by what means, he came to his death, and into the circumstances attending his death, and to render a true verdict thereon, according to the evidence.

SEC. 5. The justice of the peace, acting as coroner, may issue subpenas for witnesses, returnable as he may direct, and Witnesses.

Witness may

served by himself, or such person as he may direct. He must summon, and examine as witnesses, every person who, in his opinion, or that of any of the jurors, has any knowledge of the facts, and, he may summon a surgeon or physician to inspect the body.

SEC. 6. Any witness, failing to obey the justice of the be attached. peace, acting as coroner's subpena, may be attached and fined for contempt of such jury, in like manner as in a justice's

to state.

court.

SEC. 7. After inspecting the body, and hearing the testiVerdict, what mony, the jury shall render their verdict, and certify the same by an inquisition in writing, signed by them, and setting forth the name of the deceased, when, where, and by what means he came to his death; if by criminal means, the name of the person causing the death.

SEC. 8. The testimony, at such inquest, shall be reduced to Testimony. writing by the justice of the peace, acting as coroner, or as he may direct; and, by him, without delay, filed in the office of the district court of the county.

To secure arrests.

Warrants of.

deceased.

SEC. 9. If the jury find that the person was killed by another, under circumstances not excusable or justifiable in law, and the party committing the act be not in custody, the justice of the peace, acting as coroner, shall issue a warrant, signed by him, with his name of office, for the arrest of the accused.

SEC. 10. The justice of the peace, acting as coroner's warrant, may be served in any county of the territory, and returned by the officer serving before a magistrate of the county in which it is issued; the officer receiving such warrant, shall have the same power under the warrant, as by virtue of a warrant from any court or magistrate of the territory.

SEC. 11. It is hereby made the duty of the justice of the Money and peace, acting as coroner, to deliver, without delay, to the treasurer of the county, any money or property which may have been found with the deceased, unless taken from his possession by legal authority; and, if the justice of the peace, acting as coroner, fail to pay or deliver such money or property to the treasurer, the treasurer may recover the same by action at law. SEC. 12. Upon payment of money into the treasurer's Disposition office, in such case, he shall place it to the credit of the county. of moneys, If it be property, he shall proceed, upon reasonable notice, to sell the same at public sale, and place the proceeds to the credit of the county.

etc.

Same.

SEC. 13. If the money be demanded within six years, the treasurer shall pay the same to the person legally authorized to receive it, after deducting the expenses of the inquest, and of the county, in the matter, but the same may be paid at any subsequent time, to the representatives of the deceased, upon an order from the tribunal invested with the power to allow claims against the county.