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Two wards.

Officers.

Annual meet. ing

city; and shall also be in law capable of purchasing, holding and conveying any other estate, real or personal, for the public use of the said corporation.

$2. The said city shall continue to be divided into two wards, by a line to be drawn as follows, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of a lot of ground formerly belonging to Nicholas Van Patten, deceased, now owned by Isaac M. Schermerhorn, on the easterly bank of a branch of the Mohawk river; thence along the northerly bounds of said lot to the west side of Washington-street; thence along the same to the centre of Union-street; thence easterly along through the centre of the said street and the Troy turnpike road, to the easterly bounds of the patent of Schenectady: that part of the said city lying on the north side of the said line, shall continue to be the first ward, and that part thereof lying on the south side of the said line, shall continue to be the second ward of the said city.

S3.. There shall be the following officers in and for said city: One mayor, one recorder, eight aldermen, one clerk, one marshal, one treasurer, two supervisors, four assessors, two collectors, and such other officers as are hereafter mentioned. The mayor, recorder, and the aldermen of the said city, shall constitute and be called the Common Council of the said city. The said common council shali, agreeably to the provisions of the constitution of this state, annually appoint one fit and discreet person to be mayor of the said city, who shall continue in the said office until the first day of January next after such appointment, and until some other person shall be appointed and sworn in his stead. In case of a vacancy in the said office of mayor, by death, resignation or removal from the said city, the said common council shall, at a meeting to be summoned by the marshal upon the request of the recorder, or any two of the aldermen of the said city, appoint some other person to fill such vacancy for the residue of the term for which the person so dying, resigning or removing, was appointed.

S4. The inhabitants of the said city qualified by the constitution to vote for elective officers, shall annually, on the first Tuesday of April, assemble in the respective wards in which they actually reside, at such places as the said common council shall for that purpose have previously appointed, and then and there, by plurality of votes, choose out of the inhabitants of said city residing in their respective wards, for the ensuing year, four aldermen, one supervisor, two assessors, one collector, and as many con

stables as the said common council shall from time to time deem necessary and direct to be chosen.

how to be

S 5. Such elections shall be by ballot, and shall be held Elections and conducted as follows: The common council of said conductod. city shall, at least eight days previous to the first Tuesday of April annually, appoint in each ward three persons who shall preside as inspectors of such elections in their respective wards; who shall, at least five days previous to such election, give notice in writing in at least three public places in their respective wards, of the place where such election shall be; and such inspectors shall have power to decide upon the qualifications of the persons offering to vote at such election: and every person qualified to vote at such election, who shall offer himself to vote, shall, at such election, openly deliver his ballot, so folded as to conceal the contents, to one of the inspectors holding the said election, in the presence of the board; which ballot shall be a paper ticket containing the names of the persons for whom the elector intends to vote, and designating the office to which each person named is intended by him to be chosen; but no ballot shall contain a greater number of names of persons as designated to any office, than there are persons to be chosen at the election to fill such office; and on the receipt of every such ballot, the inspectors holding such election shall, without suffering the same to be opened or inspected, cause the same to be put into a box to be provided by the common council for that purpose.

S6. The inspectors, or the major part of them, having Inspectors. assembled at the time and place appointed for holding such election, shall administser to each other the oath of office prescribed by the constitution; and shall thereupon proceed to appoint a person to be a clerk of the poll, to whom one of the said inspectors shall also administer the said oath of office. The poll shall be opened at ten o'clock in the forenoon, and may be adjourned at noon, for a period not to exceed one hour; at the expiration of which time, the same shall be again opened, and shall continue open until five o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, and no longer. Proclamation shall be made. of the opening, adjourning and closing of the poll. A poll-list shall be kept by the clerk, wherein the name of each elector voting at such election shall be written; and after finally closing the poll thereof, the said inspectors shall proceed without delay, publicly to open the said ballots, and shall first count the said ballots unopened, and if the number of ballots so counted shall exceed the number of electors contained in the poll-list, one of the

Challenges.

Oath.

Colored men.

Penalty.

said inspectors shall draw out and destroy, unopened, so many of the said ballots as shall amount to the excess; and if two or more ballots are found rolled or folded up together, they shall not be estimated; the ballots and numbers on the poll-lists agreeing, or being made to agree, the said inspectors shall then proceed to canvass and estimate the votes, and shall complete the said canvass and estimate on the same day, or the following day, and shall certify and declare the several officers who shall have been duly chosen at such election, and shall file such certificate in the office of the clerk of the said city, on the same day, or the next day thereafter.

$ 7. If any person offering to vote shall be challenged as unqualified by an inspector, or by any other person entitled to vote at the same poll, the board of inspectors shall state to the person so challenged, the qualifications of an elector.

S8. If he shall claim to be duly qualified, and the inspectors shall not be satisfied that he has a legal right to vote, he shall, if required by either of the said inspectors, take the following oath: "You do swear (or affirm) that you are a citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, that you have been an inhabitant of this state for one year next preceding this election, and for the last six months a resident of this county, that you are now a resident of this ward, and that you have not voted at this election."

S 9. If the person so offering to vote be a colored man, and shall be challenged as aforesaid, he shall take the following oath, if required by either of the inspectors: "You do swear (or affirm) that you are of the age of twentyone years, that for three years you have been a citizen of this state, that you have been an inhabitant of this state for one year next preceding this election, and during that time have been, and that you now are, seised and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars over and above all debts and incumbrances charged thereon, and have been actually rated and paid a tax thereon, that you have been for the last six months a resident of this county, that you are now a resident of this ward, and that you have not voted at this election."

S 10. If any person shall refuse to take the oath so tendered, his vote shall be rejected; and upon taking such oath, he shall forthwith be permitted to vote: and if any person shall knowingly swear falsely in the premises, he shall be deemed guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury, and

punished accordingly, before any court having cognizance = thereof.

victs not to

S 11. No person who shall have been convicted within Certain conthis state of an infamous crime, at any time previous to vote. such election, shall be permitted to vote thereat, unless he shall, by a pardon from the executive, have been restored to all the rights of a citizen; but no proof of such conviction, other than a duly authenticated record thereof, shall be received by the said inspectors.

$12. If there shall happen any vacancies in the offices Vacancies. so to he chosen as aforesaid, by death, resignation, removal from the said city, or otherwise, before an annual election shall be held, the common council of the said city may direct an election to be held to supply such vacancy; which election shall be held at such time and place as the said common council shall direct, and in all respects be conducted in the same manner as the said annual election; and the officers thus chosen, shall hold their offices until the next annual election.

spectors.

S13. The inspectors presiding at any annual or special Power of inelection, shall have the like authority to preserve order, to enforce obedience, and to commit for disorderly conduct, as is possessed by the board of inspectors at a general election.

S 14. The said common council may impose such rea- Fines. sonable fine as they may deem proper, not exceeding twenty-five_dollars, upon any inhabitant of the said city, elected as aforesad to the office of alderman, supervisor, assessor, collector, overseer of the poor or constable, who shall, for the space of five days after notice of his election, refuse or neglect to take upon himself such office, unless such person shall render to the said common council a reasonable and satisfactory excuse for such neglect or refusal; which fine may be sued for, recovered and applied in like manner as penalties imposed by any by-law of the said common council are hereinafter directed to be sued for, recovered and applied.

take oath

S15. The mayor of the said city shall, before he en- Mayor to ters upon the discharge of the duties of his office, take and subscribe, before the clerk of the said city, who is hereby authorised to administer the same, or before any officer in said city authorised to administer oaths, the oath of office prescribed by the constitution.

common

S 16. The meetings of the common council of the said Meetings of city, shall be held at the city-hall, or in such other place council. in said city as they shall appoint. The said common council shall meet annually on the first Tuesday of May,

Clerk and other officers.

Justices exofficio.

Recorder's duty.

and oftener in their discretion. Special meetings may also be called by the mayor, in cases of emergency, or, in his absence, by the recorder. At the meetings of the common council, the mayor shall preside, and in his absence the recorder shall preside as chairman.

S17. The said common council shall annually, on or before the first Tuesday of May, and by plurality of votes, appoint one clerk, one treasurer, one marshal, one city superintendent of streets and highways, with such assistants as may be deemed necessary; and shall also annually, or oftener, in their discretion, appoint one or more overseers of the poor, or poor-masters, and one or more pound-masters and fence-viewers, and so many porters, carriers, cartmen, packers, beadles, bell-men, common criers, scavengers, weighers, measurers, gaugers and surveyors, as they shall think proper, and to prescribe their respective duties; and the overseers of the poor, poundmasters and fence-viewers so appointed, shall severally possess the powers of overseers of the poor, pound-masters and fence-viewers of any town in this state, subject to any regulations concerning them to be made by the said common council, in their discretion. The aldermen and the clerk of said city, and such of the said officers to be appointed by the said common council, or elected as aforesaid, and as shall be required so to do by any by-law of the said common council, and who are not by law exempted therefrom, shall, before they enter upon the execution of their respective offices, take and subscribe before the mayor, or any other officer authorised to administer oaths, the oath of office prescribed by the constitution.

$ 18. The mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said city shall severally be, ex-officio, justices of the peace of the county of Schenectady; but shall not, by virtue of said office, be authorised to hear and try any civil causes, except such as are brought to recover a penalty under the by-laws of said city, in which case they may severally act as justices of the peace in their civil capacity.

$ 19. The recorder shall, during the sickness, absence, or other inability of the mayor, possess and exercise all the powers hereby conferred on said mayor, and be authorised and required to perform all the duties of a judge of the supreme court and of the county courts, which the recorders of any of the several cities in this state are authorised to do and perform; and may take and receive the same fees as such recorders are allowed for like services.

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