ther action shall be had upon such proceedings: Pro- Proviso. APPROVED-The 22nd day of April, A. D. 1905. No. 202. AN ACT To fix the salary of the messenger in charge of the flag-room. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after Flag-room, the first day of June, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred and five, the salary of the messenger in charge of the flag-room shall be eight hundred dollars Salary of mesper annum. senger. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent Repeal. herewith are hereby repealed. APPROVED-The 22nd day of April, A. D. 1905. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. 19 Laws. County roads. Section 1, act of June 26, 1895. cited for amend ment. No. 203. AN ACT To amend an act, entitled "An act providing for the permanent improvement of certain public roads or highways in the several counties of this Commonwealth, making such improved roads and highways county roads; authorizing the relocation, opening, straightening, widening, extension, and alteration of the same, and the vacation of so much of any such road as may thereby become unnecessary; authorizing the taking of property for such improvement, and providing for the compensation therefor and the damage resulting from such taking; providing for the payment of the costs and expenses incurred in making such improvements, and in thereafter repairing and maintaining said road, and authorizing the levy of a tax to provide a fund for such purposes," approved June twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five; providing that public roads and highways may be constructed, improved and maintained by the several counties of the Commonwealth as county roads, whether existing by other authority or laid out in whole or in part by virtue of this act; and providing that public roads and highways may be originally located, laid out and established for the purpose of such construction, improvement and maintenance by the several counties, in the manner and by the procedure set out in the amended act, and subject to the other provisions thereof; providing for the laying out of a system of main thoroughfares, to which the establishing, construction, improvement and maintenance of public roads by the counties shall be restricted after January one, one thousand nine hundred and seven; but providing for such establishing, construction, improvement and maintenance of roads not parts of said system, upon parties interested paying not less than one-fourth of the original cost of construction; and providing that the county commissioners of any county may provide rules regulating the use of roads constructed and maintained by the counties, and prescribing the penalties for the violation thereof. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section one of an act, entitled "An act providing for the permanent improvement of certain public roads, et cetera," approved the twenty-sixth day of June, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, which reads as follows: "Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the several counties of this Commonwealth shall have the power, and they are hereby authorized, whenever the commissioners or a majority of them shall, by resolution duly adopted, deem it expedient so to do, and upon approval thereof by a grand jury and by the court of quarter sessions as hereinafter provided, to cause any particular main or public road or highway, or section thereof, in such county to be improved under the provisions of this act, and for that purpose they are hereby authorized and empowered to relocate, open, straighten, widen, extend, alter and construct the same, and to vacate so much of any road as may be thereby rendered unnecessary and useless, in the manner hereinafter provided; and any road or highway constructed and improved under the provisions of this act shall forever thereafter be a county road, and the duty of maintaining and keeping the same in repair shall de volve upon the county, and the expense thereof shall be paid by the county as hereinafter provided," be and is hereby amended so that the same shall read as follows: highways. court and grand Jury. commissioners. That the several counties of the Commonwealth Public roads or shall have the power, and they are hereby authorized, whenever the commissioners or a majority of them shall, by resolution duly adopted, deem it expedient so to do, and upon approval thereof by a grand jury Approved by the and by the court of quarter sessions, as hereinafter provided, for the purpose of providing public roads, specially constructed, improved and maintained, shall have the power to take exclusive control of and im- Powers of the prove any public road or highway, or section thereof, within their respective limits, whether existing by their authority, or laid out in whole or in part by virtue of this act; and for that purpose they are hereby authorized and empowered to originally locate, lay out and establish, in whole or in part, relocate, straighten, widen, extend, alter, and open public roads and highways, and to construct and improve the same, and to vacate so much of any roads as may be thereby rendered unnecessary and useless, in the manner and by the procedure hereinafter provided; and any road or highway as established or altered, constructed and improved, under the provisions of this act, shall forever thereafter be a county road; and the duty of Shall be a county maintaining and keeping the same in repair shall devolve upon the county, and the expense thereof shall be paid by the county as hereinafter provided: Pro- Proviso. vided, That after April first, nineteen hundred and seven, no applications under this act shall be permitted by the court of quarter sessions of any county, until the commissioners of such county shall have fulfilled the following conditions: road. thoroughfares, Any board of county commissioners which desires the benefits of this statute shall cause to be laid out, surveyed and adopted, as hereinafter provided, a sys. System of malz tem of main thoroughfares, which said board shall adjudge the proper roads to be established, and specially constructed, improved and maintained, as county roads, in accordance with this act as now amended. In adopting a system, the commissioners shall consider the population and needs of all parts of the county, and make an equitable distribution of county roads. They shall cause a plan or plans to be Plans. made, showing said system of proposed roads, the relation of the proposed road to existing public roads which connect therewith or are to be supplied thereby, the names of abutting property owners, and also all roads which have been improved under the said act hereby amended. Upon approval of said plan or plans, by a resolution duly adopted by the commissioners, Filing of plans. Applications. they shall cause said resolution to be engrossed upon said plans, and certified over the signatures of a majority. Said plans shall be filed for public inspection in the office of the commissioners, and recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds, in a book to be provided for the purpose. After the adoption and recording of said plans, all applications under this act, to the court of quarter sessions, shall be restricted and relate to the establishing, opening, construction, improvement, and maintenance of the proposed roads of said system, or parts thereof, and the vacation of roads supplied by the portions opened and improved: Provided, That the commissioners, upon approval by a grand jury and the court of quarter sessions, as hereinafter provided, are empowered to relocate, straighten, Construction, Im widen, extend, alter, and open, construct, improve, and maintain the proposed public roads, as laid out, surveyed, marked, and shown upon said plans of said system; or to originally locate, lay out and establish, construct, improve, and maintain public roads which Other than main substantially supply said system or parts thereof, or Proviso. provement and maintenance. roads. Proviso. Proviso. Payment of por parties interested. tion of cost by Proviso. which, although not parts of said system, are deemed by the said grand jury and court to be main thoroughfares, of sufficient importance to be improved and maintained by the county, and to be added to said plan; and, in such case, to vacate so much of the roads of said system, and of public roads already established, as may be rendered unnecessary by the changes or by entirely new location: Provided also, That no part of the proposed roads of said system shall, as such, be an easement upon private property, or in any manner interfere with the use thereof, until established as a public road by the action of the grand jury and the court of quarter sessions: Provided also, That the commissioners, subject to the approval of a grand jury and the court of quarter sessions, as hereinafter provided, may originally locate, lay out and establish, in whole or in part, relocate, straighten, widen, extend, alter and open, construct, improve, and the county shall maintain, public roads not parts of said system, nor deemed main thoroughfares, upon parties interested therein paying or securing to be paid, in a manner to be approved by the court of quarter sessions, such proportion of the cost of the orig inal construction and improvement as the commissioners may deem just, which shall not be less than one-fourth of such cost in any case: Provided also, That in any county where no work has been done in the improvement of its roads hereunder, prior to April first, one thousand nine hundred and five, the commissioners of said county shall not be required to adopt and file the plan, aforesaid, until the expiration of a period of two years from and after the commence lations. sit. ment of the improvement of the roads of said county, APPROVED-The 22nd day of April, A. D. 1905. rules. Rules to be pubcorded. lished and re No. 204. AN ACT Providing for the presentation of libels in divorce to the several courts of common pleas, and awarding of subpoenas there on. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after Libels in divorce. the passage of this act, any libel in divorce may be presented to any court of common pleas, or to a judge Presentation of thereof, at any time, in term time or in vacation, and to court or judge. a subpoena may be awarded thereon at the time of the |
