house shall be erected so as to stand on the division lines of any two or more towns.

No. 67-[§ 41.] It shall be the duty of the town superintendent to visit all such common schools, within his town, as shall be organized according to law, at least twice a year, and oftener if he shall deem it necessary.

No. 68-[§ 42.] At such visitation, the town superintendent shall examine into the state and condition of such schools, both as respects the progress of the scholars in learning, and the good order of the schools; and may give his advice and direction to the trustees and teachers of such schools as to the government thereof, and the course of studies to be pursued therein.

ARTICLE FIFTH.

Of the Formation and Alteration of School Districts.

No. 69-[§ 43.] In the erection or alteration of a school district, the trustees of any district to be affected thereby, may apply to the supervisor and town clerk to be associated with the town superintendent; and their action shall be final unless duly appealed from; the compensation of the supervisor and town clerk when thus associated, shall be the same as that of the town superintendent.

No. 70-[§ 44.] Whenever it may become necessary or convenient to form a district out of two or more adjoining towns, the town superintendent of each of such adjoining towns, or the major part of them, may form, regulate and alter such district.

No. 71-[§ 45.] No alteration of any school district, made without the consent of the trustees thereof, shall take effect until three months after notice, in writing, shall be given by the town superintendent, to some one or more of such trustees; nor shall any alteration or regulation of an organized school district be made to take effect between the first day of December in any one year, and the first day of May following.

No. 72-[$ 46.] If the town supeintendent in any town, shall require by notice in writing, the attendance of the town superintendents of any other town or towns, at a joint meeting for the purpose of altering a school district formed from their respective towns, and a major part of the town superintendents notified shall refuse or neglect to attend, the town superintendents attending, by a majority of votes, may call a special district meeting of such district, for the purpose of deciding on such proposed alteration; and the decision of such meeting shall be as valid as if made by the town superintendents of all the towns interested, but shall extend no further than to dissolve the district formed from such towns.

No. 73-[§ 50.] When two or more districts shall be consolidated into one, the new district shall succeed to all the rights of property possessed by the districts of which it shall be composed,

and when a district is annulled and portions thereof are annexed to other districts, the property of the district so annulled shall be sold by the town superintendent of the town in which the school house is located, at public auction to the highest bidder therefor, after at least five days public notice by notices posted in three or more public places in said town, one of which shall be within the district so annulled, and the proceeds of such sale shall be first applied so far as requisite, to the payment of any just debts due from the district so annulled, and the residue thereof shall be apportioned among the taxable inhabitants of the district so annulled in the ratio of their several assessments upon the last corrected assessment roll of the town or towns within which such district is located.1

No. 74-[§ 52.] When there shall be any moneys in the hands of the officers, of a district that is or may be annulled, or belonging to such district, the town superintendent of the town may demand, sue for and recover the same, in his name of office, and shall apportion the same equitably between the districts to which the several portions of such annulled district may have been annexed, to be held and enjoyed as district property.

No. 75-$ 53.] Whenever a school district shall be dissolved by consolidation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the trustees of such district to make out all the necessary ratebills and tax-lists, and issue their warrants according to law, for the collection of all such sums of money as shall be necessary to discharge all legal liabilities of such district so dissolved or consolidated, and to call special meetings of the legal voters of such district, if it be necessary, to raise money by tax, to discharge such demands, and the collector to whom any such rate-bill or tax-list and warrant shall be delivered for collection, shall have power to execute the same in the same manner and with like authority as though such district had not been dissolved or consolidated.

Of the powers of school district inhabitants, and of the choice, duties and powers of school district officers.

No. 76-[§54.] Whenever any school district shall be formed in any town, it shall be the duty of the town superintendent, within twenty days thereafter, to prepare a notice in writing, describing such district, and appointing a time and place for the first district meeting, and to deliver such notice to a taxable inhabitant of the district.

No. 77-[$ 55.] It shall be the duty of such inhabitant to notify every other inhabitant of the district, qualified to vote at district meetings, by reading the notice in the hearing of such inhabitant, or in case of his absence from home, by leaving a copy thereof, or of so much thereof as relates to the time and place of such meeting, at the place of his abode, at least six days before the time of the meeting.

(1) Laws of 1849, Chap. 382, §2.

No. 78-[§ 56.] In case such notice shall not be given, or the inhabitants of a district shall refuse or neglect to assemble, or form a district meeting, when so notified; or in case any such district, having been formed and organized in pursuance of such notice, shall afterwards be dissolved, so that no competent authority shall exist therein, to call a special district meeting in the manner hereinafter provided; such notice shall be renewed by the town superintendent, and served in the manner above prescribed.

No 79-[$ 57.] Every taxable inhabitant to whom a notice of a district meeting shall have been properly delivered for service, who shall refuse or neglect to serve the notice in the manner above in this article enjoined, shall for every such offence forfeit the sum of five dollars.

No. 80-[§ 58.] Whenever any district meeting shall be called, in the manner prescribed in the preceding sections of this article, it shall be the duty of the inhabitants of the district, qualified to vote at district meetings, to assemble together at the time and place mentioned in the notice.

No. 81-[§ 59.] Every male person of full age, residing in any school district, and entitled to hold lands in this state, who owns or hires real property in such district subject to taxation for school purposes, and every resident of such district authorized to vote at town meetings of the town in which such district or part of district is situated, and who has paid any rate-bill for teachers' wages in such district, within one year preceding, or who owns any personal property liable to be taxed for school purposes in such districts, exceeding fifty dollars in value, exclusive of such as is exempt from execution, and no others, shall be entitled to vote at any school district meeting held in such district.

No. 82-[§ 60.] If any person offering to vote at any school district meeting, shall be challenged as unqualified by any legal voter in such district, the chairman presiding at such meeting shall require the person so offering, to make the following declaration : "I do declare and affirm that I am an actual resident of this school district, and that I am qualified to vote at this meeting." And every person making such declaration shall be permitted to vote on all questions proposed at such meeting, but if any person shall refuse to make such declaration, his vote shall be rejected.

No. 83-[§ 61.] Every person who shall wilfully make a false declaration of his right to vote at a district meeting, upon being challenged as herein before provided, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding one year, nor less than six months, at the discretion of the court; and any persou voting at any school district meeting without being qualified, shall, on conviction, be subject to a fine of ten dollars, to be sued for and recovered by the trustees of the district for its use, and with costs of suit, before any justice of the peace.

No. 84-[§ 62.] The inhabitants so entitled to vote, when so assembled in such district meeting, or when lawfully assembled at any other district meeting, shall have power, by a majority of the votes of those present:

1. To appoint a chairman for the time being:

2, To adjourn from time to time, as occasion may require :

3. To chose a district clerk, three trustees, a district collector, and a librarian at their first meeting, and as often as such offices or either of them become vacated:

4. To designate a site for a district school house:

5. To lay such tax on the taxable inhabitants of the district, as the meeting shall deem sufficient to purchase or lease a suitable site for a school house, and to build, hire or purchase such school house, and to keep in repair and furnish the same with the necessary fuel and appendages:

6. To alter, repeal and modify their proceedings from time to time as occasion may require:

7. To vote a tax for the purchase of a book for the purpose of recording the proceedings in their respective districts:

8. With the consent of the town superintendent of the town, to designate sites for two or more school houses, for such district, and lay a tax on the taxable property in such district, to purchase or lease such sites, and to hire, build or purchase such school houses, and to keep in repair, and furnish the same with necessary fuel and appendages, and may also in their discretion lay a tax, not exceeding twenty dollars in any one year, to purchase maps, globes, black-boards, and other school apparatus.

No. 85-[§ 63.] The trustees chosen at the first legal meeting of any school district, shall be divided by lot into three classes, to be numbered, one, two and three; the term of office of the first class shall be one year, of the second, two, of the third, three ; and one trustee only shall thereafter annually be elected, who shall hold his office for three years, and until a successor shall be duly elected or appointed. In case of a vacancy in the office of either of the trustees, during the period for which he or they shall have been respectively elected, the person or persons chosen or appointed to such vacancy shall hold the office only for the unexpired

term.

No. 86-[§ 64.] Every notice of a district meeting called in pursuance of this act shall state the purpose for which such meeting is called..

No. 87-[§. 65.] In each school district an annual meeting shall be held at the time and place previously appointed; and at the first district meeting, and at each annual meeting, the time and place of holding the next annual meeting shall be fixed.

No. 88-[§ 66.] Whenever the time for holding annual meetings in a district for the election of district officers shall pass without such election being held, a special meeting shall be notified

by the clerk of such district to choose such officers; and if no such notice be given by him or the trustees last elected or appointed, with twenty days after such time shall have passed, the town superintendent or town clerk may order any inhabitant of such district qualified to vote at district meetings, to notify such meeting in the manner provided by law in case of the formation of a new district; and the officers chosen at any such special meeting, shall hold their office until the time for holding the next annual meeting.

No. 89-[§ 67.] When the clerk and all the trustees of a school district shall have removed or otherwise vacated their office, and where the records of a district shall have been destroyed or lost, or where trustees neglect or refuse to call meetings to choose trustees, the superintendent shall have authority to order such meetings, and the same shall be notified in the manner provided by law in the case of the formation of new districts.

Ne. 90-[§ 68.] When in consequence of the loss of the records of a school district, or the omission to designate the day for its annual meeting, there shall be none fixed, or it cannot be ascertained, the trustees, of such district may appoint a day for holding the annual meeting of such district.

No. 91-[§ 69.] A special meeting shall be held in each district whenever called by the trustees; and the proceedings of no district meeting, annual or special, shall be held illegal for want of a due notice to all the persons qualified to vote thereat, unless it shall appear that the omission to give such notice was wilful and fraudulent.

No. 92-[$ 70.] No tax to be voted by a district meeting for building, hiring or purchasing a school house, shall exceed the sum of four hundred dollars, unless the town superintendent of the town in which the school house is to be situated, shall certify in writing his opinion that a larger sum ought to be raised, and shall specify the sum; in which case, a sum not exceeding the sum so specified, shall be raised; and in districts composed of parts of several towns, the certificate of a major part of the superintendents of said towns shall be necessary for such purpose.

No. 93-[§ 71.] Whenever a majority of all the taxable inhabitants of any school district, to be ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes of such inhabitants attending at any annual, special or adjourned school district meeting legally called or held, shail determine that the sum proposed and provided for in the next preceding section, shall be raised by instalments; it shall be the duty of the trustees of such district, and they are hereby authorized to cause the same to be levied, raised and collected, in equal annual instalments, in the same manner, and with the like authority that other school district taxes are raised, levied and collected, and to make out their tax list and warrant, for the collection of such instalments as they become payable according to the