cent. on all of its outstanding warrants, and in as much as if said warrants have a fixed date of maturity said warrants may bear a less rate of interest, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this act shall take effect from and after its passage and approval by the Governor.

Approved March 23, 1916.

CHAPTER 51.

AN ACT to amend and re-enact Section 3483, Chapter 89, Kentucky Statutes, Carroll's edition, relating to adding or striking off territory of cities of the fourth class; being an Act of June 28, 1893, amended March 22, 1902, and previously amended March 24, 1894, and March 17, 1898.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

§ 1. That Section 3483 be amended by striking from the fifty-first line thereof the words "and no appeal shall lie from the judgment of the Circuit Court" and inserting in lieu thereof the words, "and an appeal shall lie from the judgment of the Circuit Court, as in other cases," so that said section when so amended will read as follows:

"Section 3483. Boundary-Adding or Striking Off Territory-Jurisdiction of Circuit Court.-The boundaries of cities of the fourth class shall, until changed as herein provided, remain as now established by law. Whenever it shall be deemed desirable to annex any territory to a city in this class, or to reduce the boundaries thereof, the same may be done in the following manner: The board of council of such city shall, by ordinance, accurately define the boundary of the territory proposed to be annexed or stricken off. Such ordinance shall be

published for not less than three weeks in a newspaper published in such city or county; if there be no newspaper published in the city or county, the ordinance shall be advertised by hand bills, to be posted for at least fifteen days at four or more public places in the city, and at the same number of the most public places within the territory proposed to be annexed or stricken off. Within thirty days after the adoption, publication and advertisement of such ordinance, a petition shall be filed in the circuit court of the county within which said city may be situated in the name and on behalf of the city, setting forth the passage, publication and advertisement of such ordinance, the object and purposes thereof, together with an accurate description by metes and bounds of the territory proposed to be annexed to or stricken from the city, and praying for a judgment of the court to annex said territory to or strike same from the city, as the object may be. The said petition shall be filed not less than twenty days before the first day of the next succeeding term of the circuit court in that county. Notice of the filing of the same shall be given in the same manner as provided herein for notice of passage of said ordinance. If no defense be made at the first term of the court after the filing of said petition and notice of same as herein. provided, and the court shall make no order for granting future time for making defense, the court shall render judgment annexing or striking off the proposed territory, as the object of the proceedings may be. But at the first term of the circuit court, or within the time fixed by the court by its order, any one or more of the resident voters of the territory proposed to be annexed or stricken off may file a defense in said proceeding, setting

forth the reasons why such territory or any part thereof, should not be annexed to the city, or why the limits of the city should not be reduced. The case shall be tried by the court without the intervention of a jury. If the court, upon hearing, be satisfied that less than a majority of the resident voters of the territory sought to be annexed or stricken off have remonstrated against the proposed extension or reduction, and that the proposed extension or reduction of the limits of the city, as the case may be will be for the interest of the city and will cause no material injury to the owners of real estate in the limits of the proposed extension or reduction it shall so find and the proposed extension or reduction shall be decreed, or adjudged. But if the court shall find that a majority or more of the resident voters in the territory to be affected or the owner or owners of said property, if there be no resident voters, remonstrated against such change, and that said change will cause material injury to the owners of real estate in the limits of the proposed extension or reduction, it shall so find, and said extension or reduction shall be denied. If the judgment of the court is adverse to the proposed change, no further effort to annex or strike off the territory so proposed shall be made within two years after the entering of the judgment. Costs shall follow the judgment and an appeal shall lie from the judgment of the circuit court as in other cases. If the judgment in such proceeding be in favor of the city, it shall be certified by the clerk of the court to the board of council and entered on the record of the board, and the board shall thereupon, by ordinance, annex to or strike from the city the territory described in the judgment; provided the cir

cuit court shall not have jurisdiction of such proceeding, unless the required publication or advertisement of the ordinance proposing the extension or reduction of the limits of the city contains notice of the proposed proceedings in such court, proof of which publication or advertisement may be made by affidavit filed in the proceedings; provided however, that the provisions of this act shall not be construed as interfering with the rights of any litigant in or growing out of any action now pending in any court of this Commonwealth, under the act to which this amendment.

(NOTE-The word "applies" was at the end of this Act in the original bill, but is omitted in the enrolled Act.)

Approved March 23, 1916.

CHAPTER 52.

AN ACT to amend charters of cities of the first class and to authorize cities of the first class to support by the levy of a tax or otherwise, a Municipal University.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

§ 1. That the general council of any city of the first class, which has a municipal university as defined in this act, may annually cause to be levied and collected for support of such university a tax of not less than one cent nor more than three cents on each one hundred dollars' worth of property subject to taxation for city purposes.

§ 2. A municipal university, within the meaning of this act, is a university established or supported in whole or in part by funds raised by municipal taxation and controlled by a Board of Trus

tees appointed by the Mayor and General Council of such municipal corporation and consisting of departments united under one organization or management, affording instruction in the arts, sciences and professions, and conferring degrees.

§ 3. Such levy shall be made by the General Council at the same time and in like manner as other levies for municipal purposes, and the amount levied shall be placed to the credit of the university fund upon the completion of the assessment of property for taxation, and paid as collected, subject to such discount as is allowed on other city taxes, in regular weekly installments, by the treasurer of the city to the treasurer of the university.

§ 4. The General Council of such municipal corporation having a municipal university may devote to university purposes from time to time, any other funds not derived from taxes levied for a special purpose.

§ 5. A municipal university shall be entitled to support under this act only when its chief work is the maintenance of courses of instruction in advance of, or supplementary to the instruction maintained in high schools under control of the Boards of Education.

$ 6. The General Council of such municipal corporation may set apart or appropriate as a site for the buildings and grounds of such a municipal university any public grounds of the city not specially appropriated or dedicated by ordinance to any other use.

7. An annual report and audit of receipts and disbursements of funds received by a municipal university under this act shall be made in addition to such other report on the condition of the university as may be required by its charter.

Approved March 23, 1916.