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tion, due notice of which date shall be mailed to the applicant by the Secretary of Internal Affairs; and

if such applicant shall not make payment within the Non-payment of. time specified, he shall be deemed to have abandoned the purpose of securing a grant from the Commonwealth for the land so applied for and appraised, and such vacant or unappropriated land may then be disposed of to any applicant therefor, on the payment of the price as fixed by the report of the appraisers, as hereinbefore provided.

Warrants for

beds of naviga

ble rivers, etc.,

forbidden.

Section 3. That on and after the passage of this act, there shall be no warrants or other office rights granted in any of the counties of the Commonwealth for lands in the beds of navigable rivers, or in beds of streams which are by law declared public highways. Section 4. That whenever the State Forestry Reser- Application by vation Commission shall apply for vacant or unappro- mission. priated land for forest culture or forest reservation, the Secretary of Internal Affairs is hereby authorized to grant title to such applied for lands, in the manner provided by law, without the payment of purchase money, interest or fees.

Forestry Com

rights.

Section 5. This act shall not be construed to affect Pre-emption any pre-emption rights which may have been acquired under existing laws, or the right of any person who may have an application for vacant land pending with the Secretary of Internal Affairs of the date of the approval of this act; provided those having pre-emption rights shall complete their titles within five years from the date of the approval of this act.

Section 6. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with Repeal. the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

APPROVED-The 28th day of March, A. D. 1905.

SAML. W. PENNYPACKER.

No. 51.

AN ACT

To amend section one of an act, entitled "An act requiring written notice to be served upon supervisors, of the proposed opening and construction of new roads for public use, and of views, reviews and re-reviews in connection with such proposed new roads," approved the second day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, so as to require notice to be served on the supervisors of the territory through which the proposed public road is to pass, of the time and place of the appointment of viewers, reviewers and re-reviewers to lay out the same, and of the time and place of their meetings.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section one of Roads. an act, entitled "An act requiring written notice to be served on supervisors, of the proposed opening and construction of new roads for public use, and

Act of May 2 1899, cited for amendment.

Petition.

Written notice to be given to supervisors.

Filing of notice.

Failure to comply with provision of this act.

of views, reviews and re-reviews in connection with such proposed new roads," approved the second day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, which reads as follows, to wit:

"Section 1. That in all cases wherein any proceedings are had before any county commissioners of courts of this Commonwealth, looking to the opening and construction of new roads for public use, it shall be the duty of the parties making application for such new public road to give written notice to the supervisors of the territory through which such new public road is designed to be laid out and constructed, of the time and place of any views, reviews and re-reviews therein, and a copy of such written notice, properly attested, shall be filed among the records of the court having cognizance of the matter, and a failure to comply with the provisions of this act shall be sufficient grounds for an application to set aside whatever proceedings may have been taken, of which said supervisors had no written notice as aforesaid," shall be and is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Section 1. That in all cases wherein any proceedings are about to be had before any county commissioners or courts of this Commonwealth, by petition to the said courts or commissioners, looking to the laying out, opening and construction of new roads for public use, it shall be the duty of the parties making application to the commissioners or to the courts for the appointment of viewers, reviewers or re-re viewers to lay out, open or construct such public road. to give written notice of such application to the supervisors or commissioners of roads and highways of the territory through which the proposed public road is designed to be laid out and constructed, of the time and place of such application, and of the time and place of the meeting of viewers, reviewers or re-reviewers, and a copy of said written notice, properly attested, shall be filed among the records of the court having cognizance of the matter; and a failure to comply with the provisions of this act, as to such notice, shall be sufficient grounds for an application to set aside whatever proceedings may have been taken, of which said supervisors or commissioners of roads and highways had no written notice.

APPROVED-The 29th day of March, A. D. 1905.

SAML. W. PENNYPACKER.

No. 52.

AN ACT

Supplementary to an act, entitled "An act providing for the incorporation and government of cities of the third class," approved the twenty-third day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred eighty-nine, and the amendments thereof; enlarging, modifying, defining and prescribing the powers and duties of the city assessors, elected in pursuance of article fifteen of the said act, and its amendments, relating to their qualifications, compensation and obligations; and providing that the councils of each of the said cities shall have and exercise certain powers with reference to said assessors, the Board of Revision and Appeal, and the assessment and collection of taxes.

third class.

Election of
assessors.

and duties of.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That all assessors in Cities of the cities of the third class, elected in pursuance of article fifteen of an act, entitled "An act providing for the incorporation and government of cities of the third class," approved the twenty-third day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred eighty-nine, and the amendments thereof, shall have been residents of Qualifications the respective city for at least five years previous to their election, qualified electors thereof, and owners of real estate therein, at the time of their election and during their entire term of service, of the assessed value of at least five hundred dollars. Councils shall Councils, powers not permit any person elected assessor to enter upon the duties of said office, nor continue in office, when he does not have and possess all the qualifications aforesaid, and for this purpose they shall have the power, by a majority vote of all the members elected to each branch of councils, to declare the said office vacant at any time any person has not or ceases to have the qualifications aforesaid, for said office; and they may thereupon, in joint convention, fill the vacancy thus occasioned, in the manner hereinafter provided for the filling of vacancies. The said assessors Assessors, powers shall have all the powers, and perform the same duties, as are prescribed in the aforesaid article, and acts of Assembly to which this act is a supplement, except where herein is otherwise provided. They shall constitute a Board of City Assessors, and any vacancy Board of city occurring in said Board shall be filled by councils, in assessors. joint convention, for the unexpired term.

and duties of.

Section 2. Each of said assessors, before entering To be sworn, upon his duties, shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed by law to be taken by the municipal officers of the said cities, and file the same with the city clerk.

Section 3. The said Board may, during each trien- Assistant assessnial year and on intervening years, appoint such ors. assistant assessors, to serve for such length of time, as councils may authorize, direct or appoint, either by resolution or ordinance; and such assistant assessors shall be removable at the pleasure

Salaries.

Assessment of all property.

Valuation.

List of male inhabitants.

How real estate may be assessed.

of the Board, and also by a vote of a majority of each branch of councils. The compensation or salary of the city assessors and of the assistant assessors shall be fixed by ordinance of councils, and shall not be decreased after their election or appointment; but nothing herein nor in the act to which this is a supplement shall prevent the increase thereof by ordi

nance.

Section 4. The Board of Assessors shall make or cause to be made, during the year of the triennial assessment for county purposes, a full, just, equal and impartial assessment of all property real, personal and mixed, and all matters and things within the city, subject by law to taxation for city purposes, and a just and perfect list of all property exempt by law from taxation, with a just valuation of the same. With their assessments they shall return such dimension, description or quantity of each lot or parcel of land as will be sufficient to identify the same, together with the number and kind of improvements. In all cases they shall value the property at such sums as the same would, in their judgment, bring at a fair public sale thereof. And it shall be the further duty of said assessors to return, annually, a list of all the male inhabitants over twenty-one years of age.

Section 5. The said City Assessors may assess real estate in the name or names of the registered owner, actual owner (legal or equitable), reputed owner, owner of the life estate, occupier, vendor or vendee; any person who has or had any connection with the legal title thereof, or an interest in the premises, or has charge or control thereof; in the name of the husband when lands are owned by the wife; partnership property, in the name of the partnership, or in the name of the partners or of any of them; trust property, in the name of the trustee or trustees, or of any of them, or in the name of the cestui que trust; property of a minor, in the name of the minor or his guardian; property of a lunatic, in the name of the lunatic or his committee; and property formerly belonging to a person since deceased may be assessed in the name of the decedent, or in the name of the estate of said decedent, or of his administrator or administrators, executor or executors, or his heirs generally, or in the name of any administrator, executor or heir; and in assessing the same in the names of the executors, administrators or heirs, it shall not be necessary to designate them by their christian or surnames; and other property, not herein provided for, may be assessed in the manner the same is assessed for county taxation; but this provision shall not prevent the collection, under existing laws, of any tax assessed against property by a sufficient designation or de

ing triennial assessment.

ors as to real estate.

scription, where the same has been assessed in the name of any person or persons who are not the owners thereof; and where lands of owners are part within and part without the city limits, they shall be assessed in the same manner and within the same jurisdiction as if the same were being assessed for county purposes. Section 6. On the years succeeding the triennial in years succeedassessment, the said assessors shall perform the following duties with reference to the assessment of real estate, viz.: (a) They shall assess any real estate, in Duties of assessthe manner aforesaid, which has been omitted, and correct any errors which may have been made in making the triennial assessment; (b) add to the assessment any property which has ceased to be exempt; (c) add to the value of any real estate the value of any new building or new or other new improvements; (d) deduct from the value of any real estate any depreciation caused by destruction, injury, or otherwise, howsoever; (e) where tracts, as assessed at the triennial assessment, have been subdivided, they shall equalize and apportion the assessment of the lands thus subdivided, upon the basis of the value as fixed at the triennial assessments, upon the whole lot or tract; (f) where any borough, township, part of borough or township, or any tract or tracts of land, have been added to the city since the last triennial assessment, to make a full, just and impartial assessment of the property in the annexed district, and return the same in a like manner as if it were a triennial assessment; (g) when any property has been transferred, to make the proper changes or transfers upon the proper assessment-books and duplicates; (h) to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by ordinance, necessary to the making of proper assessments or valuations. And to perform the following duties as to the Duties of assessassessment of the personal estate and other matters and subjects of taxation, viz.: (a) To assess any personal property or subjects of taxation omitted at the triennial assessment, and to add such additional personal estate and subjects of taxation as the person assessed may have acquired since the triennial assessment; (b) to make deductions, where such property has been disposed of; (c) to reduce valuations, when property has been depreciated, lost or destroyed. But when any real estate is assessed which had been omitted, errors corrected, or any increase is made in omissions, errors. valuations or by additions, for any cause, after the increases, etc. triennial assessment, or where valuations have been made upon subdivisions of any lot or tract, such assessments shall not be considered final or conclusive without first giving to the person or party affected thereby at least five days' notice of a time and

ors as to personal estate, etc.

Notice to be given

of time and place

of hearing.

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