Penalty.

clause.

hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding three months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court, together with the costs of prosecution.

SEC. 3. Section I of an act entitled “An act concernRepealing ing fences," approved February 23, 1881, together with all acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.

SEC. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of June, 1885.

Approved March 10, 1885.

FERGUS, COUNTY OF.

AN ACT to create the county of Fergus and for the election of officers thereof.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Montana:

SEC. I. That all that portion of Meagher county lying and situate within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the north-east corner of said Meagher Boundaries. County, thence west, on the north line of said county to Arrow creek; thence up said Arrow creek to the intersection of what is known as Surprise creek; thence up said Surprise creek to the center of the divide between the waters of Belt and Judith creeks; thence in a south and south-easterly direction, on the center of the divide between the waters of the Belt, Smith, Musselshell, and Judith rivers, to the most easterly point of the Belt mountains, at the Judith gap; thence due east, to the nearest branch of Careless creek; thence down the middle of Careless creek to the Musselshell river; thence down the middle of the Musselshell to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, erected into a new county, to be known as and called Fergus county. That the town of Lewistown, within the boundaries mentioned, County seat. shall be the county seat of said county. All laws of a general nature, applicable to the several counties of this territory, and the officers thereof, are hereby made applicable to the county of Fergus and the officers who may

hereafter be elected or appointed therein, except as otherwise provided in this act.

liabilities.

SEC. 2. That the indebtedness of Meagher county, as the same shall exist on the first day of December, A. D. Adjustment 1886, shall be apportioned between said county and Fer- of assets and gus county, by first deducting from said indebtedness all moneys on hand in the treasury of said county of Meagher, and all moneys belonging to said county in the possession of or under the control of the county treasurer; also deducting the cost of erecting and furnishing the court house and county jail, and the valuation of all real estate owned by said county, as shown by the books of the county commissioners; the remainder of the indebtedness shall be divided between the said counties of Meagher and Fergus in proportion as the taxable property of that portion of the former embraced within the above described boundaries bears to the entire taxable property of the present county of Meagher, taking as a standard therefor the assessment of the year 1886: Provided, that the treasurer of Meagher county shall, at the time of the adjustment as above provided, make out and transfer to the county commissioners of taxes. Fergus county lists of all delinquent tax-payers and amount of uncollected taxes: Provided further, that no delinquent taxes due the county be considered in the adjustment of the debt as hereinbefore provided, but it shall be the duty of the treasurer of Meagher county to collect such delinquent taxes, and turn over to the treasurer of Fergus county their pro rata share of such taxes as he may be able to collect within thirty days after making such collection: And it is further provided, should there be a surplus of funds in the hands of the treasurer Surplus of of Meagher county after the adjustment as hereinbefore funds to be diprovided, said surplus shall be divided between the coun-tain event. ties of Meagher and Fergus in the same manner as herein provided for dividing indebtedness.

Delinquent

vided in a cer

missioners to

SEC. 3. The county commissioners of Meagher and Fergus counties shall meet at the court house at White Sulphur Springs on the first day of December, 1886, to County comadjust the indebtedness between said counties upon the meet and adbasis named in section 2 of this act. When adjusted, ifjust liabilities the county of Fergus shall be liable for any part thereof, it is hereby made the duty of the county commissioners of said last named county to cause to be issued to the

of the counties.

rants to be is

paid.

county commissioners of Meagher county a warrant or County war-warrants therefor, which in the aggregate shall equal the sued, and how amount of said indebtedness for which the county of Fergus shall, under the adjustment mentioned, be liable; and the warrant or warrants, if not paid on presentation to the treasurer of Fergus county, shall be by said treasurer indorsed "Not paid for want of funds in the treasury," and shall thereafter bear like interest as other county warrants.

Election

officers, when and how.

tie, how

cided.

de

SEC. 4. At the general election on the first Tuesday of after the first Monday in November, A. D. 1886, the following officers shall be elected for the county of Fergus by the qualified voters of said Fergus county, to-wit: One sheriff, one probate judge, one county clerk and recorder, one county assessor, one county treasurer, one county surveyor, one county coroner, one county superintendent of schools, one public administrator, and three county commissioners. The persons severally elected to In case of a such offices, except county commissioners, shall hold office until the next general election in 1888, and until their successors are elected and qualified. The two persons receiving the highest number of votes for county commissioners shall hold the office until the third Monday in December, 1890; the person receiving the next highest vote for county commissioner shall hold the office until the general election in 1888. Said several commissioners shall continue in office until their several successors are elected and qualified. If two or more persons voted for as commissioners at said election receive an equal number of votes, the terms of office of the commissioners between whom such tie exists shall be determined by lot.

Division

of

townships and

SEC. 5. That at their first meeting the commissioners the county into of said Fergus county are empowered to subdivide said road districts. County into municipal townships, and establish road districts; and they are hereby authorized to appoint two Appointment justices of the peace and two constables for each municof justices of ipal township, and one road supervisor for each road disstables andtrict, who shall hold their respective offices until the road supervis- general election in 1888, and until their successors are elected and qualified.

the peace, con

ors.

SEC. 6. That, in addition to the duties required under the general law regulating the manner of conducting

county com

elections, the commissioners of Meagher county shall, for at least one month prior to the time of holding said election, give notice of the same in some newspaper pub- Duties of lished within the limits of Fergus county. Said notice missioners of shall state the time of holding said election, the different Meagher counvoting places, and the officers for which shall or may be cast, and if more precincts are necessary to accommodate the citizens of said county, the said commissioners are empowered to establish the same.

ty.

SEC. 7. Upon receiving a certificate of election from County offi the commissioners mentioned, the persons so elected, on cers. receiving said certificates, shall, without delay, qualify in the manner prescribed by law and enter on the discharge of the duties of the several offices to which they may be respectively elected; but nothing herein shall be construed as depriving any candidate voted for at said election from contesting the rights of office in the method prescribed by law.

trans cribed and certified.

SEC. 8. The county of Fergus shall have full power and authority to contract for transcribing such part of County records of Meagher the public records of Meagher county as they may deem county, how useful and necessary to the county of Fergus and its inhabitants, and for this purpose shall have suitable access to the records of Meagher county. Said records, when completed, shall be carefully compared with the originals by the county clerk of Meagher county, and, if correct, he shall certify to their correctness under his official seal, and thereafter the copies of said records, so transcribed and certified to, shall be admitted and received in evidence in all courts of law in this territory, and shall be in all other respects entitled to like faith and credit as County clerk of Meagher said original records. The county clerk of Meagher county, compensation for county shall receive for his services in comparing and certain certifying the correctness of the copy of said records five dollars per diem while actually engaged in said labor, which amount shall be paid by the county of Fergus, on the completion thereof, by warrants on the general fund.

vices.

ser

Tenure of of

SEC. 9. All township and precinct officers, road super-fice of certain visors, officers of school districts, and other officers of officers. every kind within the county of Fergus, whose election or appointment is not herein provided for, shall or may

and

clerk.

continue to hold [the] offices, and exercise the duties pertaining thereto, until the expiration of the term for District courts which said officers were respectively elected or appointed. deputy Whenever district courts are appointed for said county the clerk or deputy, as the case may be, shall, from the time he enters upon his duties, be paid for his public services to be rendered said county and the officers thereof, an annual salary of three hundred dollars, payable in of deputy clerk quarterly payments, by warrants drawn of the contingent of the district fund of said county, and, in addition to said salary, be entitled to the fees prescribed in "An act to provide compensation for clerks of the district court," approved July compensation 22, 1879. The county clerk and recorder of said county

Compensation

court.

of.

County clerk,

indebtedness

of Fergus.

shall receive for his services as defined in section of "An act in relation to fees of county clerks," approved July 22, 1879, a salary at the rate of six hundred dollars per annum, payable quarterly by warrants drawn on the general fund of said county, and payable as other warrants are paid. Said officer shall also be entitled to the fees prescribed by law for recording deeds and other instruments, and for all other services rendered by him. The fees and emoluments of all officers of said county shall be as prescribed by law, when not otherwise provided for in this act.

SEC. 10. The county of Fergus, and all persons in its name, are hereby prohibited from contracting any indebtLimitation of edness whereby said county shall be bound in any sum of the county which shall, at the time of contracting the same, exceed two per cent. of the assessed value of the taxable property of said county, taking the last previous assessment thereof as the standard of valuation, and no cause of action shall [lie] against said county for any indebtedness contracted in its name above the limitation named, however the same may be evidenced; but nothing herein contained shall deprive the holder of any indebtedness contracted in the name of or on the behalf of said county from the right of action against the person or persons who actually contracted the same, or who received a consideration therefor.

effect.

SEC. II.

This act shall take effect from and after the

When to take first day of December, A. D. 1886; but that portion of Fergus county lying in Meagher county shall remain. united to said county [of Meagher] for judicial purposes until the first day of December, 1886, and the officers of