quent assessors.

ered forthwith to appoint other meet persons to be Assessors place of delinof such rates or taxes, according to the directions contained in the Treasurer's warrant issued unto the former Assessors; and the Assessors, who shall be so appointed, shall take the oath, and perform the same duties, and be liable to the same penalties as the former Assessors.

Plantations

same powers as

lecting taxes.

SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That all plantations which vested with shall from time to time be ordered by the Legislature to pay town Pissesany part or proportion of the public taxes, shall be, and they sing and colhereby are fully vested with all the powers that towns in this State by law are, so far as relates to the choice of Assessors of taxes; and any person who shall be chosen to the office of an Assessor of taxes in any of the aforesaid plantations, and shall refuse to accept of the office to which he shall have been elected, or neglect to take the oath by law required to be taken by Assessors of taxes in towns, shall be liable to the same penalties, to be recovered in the same way and manner ject to same as by this Act is provided in the case of Assessors refusing to bilities. accept such office, when chosen by towns.

Assessors sub

duties and lia

Plantations

penalties.

SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That if any of the planta- neglecting, &e. tions aforesaid shall neglect to choose Assessors as aforesaid, subiret to same or if the Assessors chosen by any such plantation, and accepting such trust, shall be remiss or neglect their duty; in every such case, such plantation shall be subject to the same penalties, and be proceeded with in the same manner as by this Act is provided, in the case of deficient towns; and such deficient Assessors shall be, and hereby are made liable to the same penalties, to be recovered by the same process as by this Act is provided in the case of deficient Assessors, chosen by

towns.

Deficient asses?'

sors.

Mode of asses

sing and col

County tax in

SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That when any part or proportion of any State or County tax shall be laid on any lecting State or plantation not organized, the Treasurer of the State, or of such plantations not county respectively, shall issue his precept to some Justice of organized. the Peace dwelling near to such plantation, requiring him forthwith to grant his warrant directed to some principal inhabitant of such plantation, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants of such plantation qualified to vote for Governor, to meet at such time and place within the same, as in such warrant shall be specified, in order to choose needful of ficers for the purposes hereafter mentioned; and such principal inhabitant is hereby obliged to observe and obey the warrant that he shall receive from such Justice, on the penalty of forfeiting and paying the whole sum that shall be ordered to be levied on such plantation, to be recovered by action of debt by said respective Treasurers, in any Court of record within this State proper to try the same. And such principal inhabitant shall make return of the Justice's warrant to the Justice who issued it, with his doings therein, and the doings of the plantation in consequence of it, within the time limited in

to be chosen.

such warrant; and the Justice shall thereupon certify such doings to the State or county Treasurer respectively: and Assessors, &e. such of said inhabitants as shall then assemble, shall have power, and they are hereby required to choose a Moderator and Clerk, as also Assessors and Collectors for assessing and collecting such plantation's proportion of such State and county tax, as shall be ordered to be assessed, to be duly paid, when collected by such collectors, to the State or county Treasurers respectively: and such Clerk, Assessors and Collectors shall be under oath, to be administered by the moderator of such meeting, or a Justice of the Peace, for the faithful discharge of their respective trusts, and shall have the same allowance from such plantations as such officers are entitled to by law in towns.

Duties of assessurs so chosen.

Such assessors

of inhabitants in March or April.

SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That the Assessors so chosen and sworn shall thereupon take a list of the rateable polls, and a valuation of the estates of the inhabitants of such plantation.

SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That the Assessors, who to call meeting shall from time to time be chosen or appointed for such plantation, shall have power and they are required to issue their warrants for calling meetings of the inhabitants thereof in the month of March or April annually, for choosing such officers as aforesaid, who shall be sworn by the Moderator or some Justice of the Peace as aforesaid.

Moderator to

tion officers to take oath.

SEC. 11. Be it further enacted, That every moderator of a notify plauta plantation meeting, shall be held and obliged to notify the plantation officers to appear, either before himself or some Justice of the Peace, within seven days from the time of their being chosen, and take the necessary oaths; and in case of Penalty for neglect shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars to the use of the plantation, to be recovered by any inhabitant thereof before any Justice of the Peace within the same county.

neglect.

Assessors of towns and plan

fy inhabitants

tates taxable,

SEC. 12. Be it further enacted, That the Assessors of each tations to noti- town or plantation, in convenient time before they proceed to to bring in lists make any assessment, shall give seasonable warning to the of pulls and es inhabitants by posting up notifications in some public place in said town or plantation, or,notify the respective inhabitants in some other way, to make and bring in to them, the said Assessors, true and perfect lists of their polls, and of all their estates both real and personal, (saving such estate as is or may by law, from time to time, be exempted from taxation,) which they were possessed of at such periods as the Legislature may from time to time order and direct. And if any person or persons shall not bring in a list of their estates as aforesaid, to the Assessors, he, she or they so neglecting or refusing, shall not be admitted to make application to the Court of Sessions for any abatement of the assessment so laid on him, her or them, unless such person or persons shall make it appear to the said Court that it was not within the power

quire list to be

grieved at

sors. may ap

ment, and if

the Sessions.

of him, her or them, to deliver to the Assessors respectively, a list of his, her or their rateable estate, at the time appointed for that purpose. And if the Assessors suspect any false- and may rehood in the lists of polls or estates to them presented as afore- sworn to. said, then the said Assessors, or either of them, shall require the person presenting such list, to make solemn oath that the same is true; which oath the Assessors or either of them are hereby empowered to administer; and such list being exhibited on oath, shall be a rule for that person's proportion of the tax. SEC. 13. Be it further enacted, That if any person or per- Persons ag sons shall at any time, be aggrieved at the sum or sums set rates of asses and apportioned upon him or them by the Assessors of any ply for a tetown or plantation, and shall make it appear unto the Asses- they refuse sors for the time being of such town or plantation, that he or may appeal to they are rated more than his or their proportion, according to the rules given in the Act or Acts of the Legislature for making the said assessment, the said Assessors for the time being shall make a reasonable abatement to the person or persons so aggrieved; and if they shall refuse so to do, such person or persons complaining in writing unto the next Court of Sessions within that county, and making it appear that he or they are over-rated as abovesaid, he or they shall be relieved by the said Court and shall be reimbursed out of the Treasury of the town or plantation where such assessment was made, so much as the said Court or Assessors respectively shall see cause to abate him or them with the charges; and the said Court of Sessions are empowered on such complaint being made, to require the Assessors or Clerk to produce the valuation by which the assessment is made, or a copy thereof.

certain cases

not exceeding 5

to them.

SEC. 14. Be it further enacted, That the Assessors for Assessors in any town or plantation may and are hereby authorized and may overrate empowered to apportion on the polls and estates according to per cent. of law, such additional sum over and above the precise sum to sum committed them committed to assess, as any fractional division of such precise sum may render convenient in the apportionment thereof, not exceeding five per centum on the sum so committed; and it shall be the duty of such Assessors to certify such town or plantation Treasurer thereof.

portionment of

taxes.

SEC. 15. Be it further enacted, That all county, town and Rules for applantation rates and taxes shall be assessed and apportioned by the Assessors of the several towns or plantations within this State, upon the polls of, and estates within the same, according to the rules that shall be prescribed in and by this Act, and the then last tax act of the Legislature; and such Assessors shall cause attested copies of such assessments and valuations to be lodged in the Clerk's office of the place where the same are made, or file the same in their own offices, if such they have.

SEC. 16. Be it further enacted, That it shall and may be

add State ard

may lawful for the Assessors of any town or plantation to add their County, to their proportion of the State and County tax to any of their other taxes, and make out warrants and certificates accordingly.

other taxes.

Form of war. rant of selectmen or asses

sors for collecting State taxes.

SEC. 17. Be it further enacted, That the warrant to be issued by the Selectmen or Assessors for the collecting and gathering in of the State rates or assessments shall be in substance as follows:

SS. To A. B. Constable or Collector of the town of A. within the county of S.

Greeting.
In the name of the State of Maine you are required to
levy and collect of the several persons named in the list here-
with committed unto you, each one his respective proportion
therein set down of the sum total of such list, it being
this town's proportion of a tax or assessment of dollars
and cents, granted and agreed upon by the Legislature
of said State, at their session begun and held at P—, on the
day of
, for defraying the necessary charges of
securing, protecting and defending the same; and you are to
transmit and pay in the same unto J. C. B. Treasurer of this
State, or to his successor in that office, and to complete and
make up an account of your collections of the whole sum, on
or before the
day of ; and if any person shall re-

fuse or neglect to pay
the sum he is assessed in the said
list, to distrain the goods or chattels of such person to the val-
ue thereof; and the distress so taken, to keep for the space
of four days, at the cost and charge of the owner; and if he
shall not pay the sum so assessed within the said four days,
then you are to sell at public vendue the distress so taken, for
the payment thereof, with charges, notice of such sale being
posted up in some public place in the same town or plantation
forty eight hours next before the sale and expiration of the
four days aforesaid: And the overplus arising by such sale,
if any there be, besides the sum assessed, and the necessary
charges for taking and keeping the distress, you are immedi-
ately to restore to the owner; and for want of goods or chat-
tels, whereon to make distress for the space of twelve days,
you are to take the body of such person, so refusing or neg-
lecting, and him to commit into the common gaol of the coun-
ty, there to remain until he pay the same, or such part thereof
as shall not be abated by the Assessors for the time being, or
the Court of Sessions for the said county. Given under our
hands by virtue of a warrant from the Treasurer aforesaid,
this
day of

182.

A. B.

}

Assessors.

And the certificate of the assessment of any State tax shall be in substance as follows:

Pursuant to a warrant from the Treasurer of the

State of

and have committed lists thereof to the

of said

have assessed the polls and estates of the

of

viz. to

with warrants in due form of law, for collect-
Treasurer of said State, or

ing and paying in the same to
his successor in office, on or before the

day of

next

ensuing. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands

at

this

day of

Anno Domini.
A. B.

C. D.

}

Assessors.

to be used in

SEC. 18. Be it further enacted, That the warrant to be Similar form issued for collecting county, town or plantation rates or as- collecting sessments, shall also be made out by the Assessors thereof in and plantation the same tenor, mutatis mutandis.

County, town

taxes.

sue new war

or when origin

SEC. 19. Be it further enacted, That the Assessors for the Assessors to istime being, of any town or plantation empowered to raise rant to collectmoney by taxes, whenever it shall be made to appear to them al is lost, &c. by any Constable or Collector of taxes in the town, or other such place of which they are Assessors, that an original or other warrant, issued and delivered to him for the collection of any certain tax committed to him, hath been lost or distroyed by accident, shall be and hereby are empowered to issue a new warrant to such Constable or Collector for collecting the same, which shall have the same force and effect as the original warrant.

neglect to

for 5 months

to assess State

ceedings to be

SEC. 20. Be it further enacted, That if the inhabitants When towns qualified to vote in town affairs, of any town or plantation in choose assessors this State, from which any State tax or taxes now remain due after warrant and unassessed, or from which any State or county tax shall be from treasurer hereafter required, shall neglect, for the space of five months tax, what proafter having received the warrant of the Treasurer for as- had. sessing any State tax, to choose Assessors to assess the same, and cause the assessment thereof to be certified as the law requires, to the Treasurer of the State for the time being, and agreeable to his warrant directing the same, he is hereby authorized and directed to issue his warrant under his hand and seal, directed to the Sheriff of the county or his deputy, requiring him to levy and collect, by distress and sale, the sum mentioned therein, the estates real and personal, of any inhabitant or inhabitants of such deficient town or plantation; which warrant the said Sheriff or his deputy is hereby empowered and required to execute; observing the same rules and regulations as are by law provided for satisfying warrants against deficient collectors of public taxes; and it shall be the duty of the said Sheriff or his deputy, on receiving the said warrant, forthwith to transmit an attested copy thereof to the Selectmen or Clerk of the town or plantation named therein; and if the Assessors shall within sixty days from the receipt of such attested copy, deliver to the said Sheriff or his deputy, a certificate according to law, of the assessment of the tax or taxes required by said warrant, and pay the officer his legal fees, he shall forthwith transmit the same certificate to the said Treasurer, and return the warrant unsatisfied.