County, and that I am a resident property taxpayer of the proposed drainage district voted on at this election, and I have not voted before at this election."

SEC. 16. Immediately after the election the presiding judge at each polling place shall make return of the result in the same manner as provided for in elections for State and county officers, and return the ballot boxes to the county clerk, who shall keep same in a safe place and deliver them, together with the returns from the several polling places to the commissioners court at its next regular session or special session called for the purpose of canvassing the vote, and the county commissioners court shall at such session canvass the vote, and if it be found that a two-thirds majority shall have been cast in favor of drainage and the issuance of bonds and levy of tax, then the court shall declare the result of said election to be in favor of said drainage district, and shall enter same in the minutes of the court as follows: "Commissioners court of .. County, Texas, term, A. D.

and

in the matter of petition of others, praying for the establishment of a drainage district in said petition fully described and designated by the name of drainage district ... Be it known that at an election called for that purpose in said district, held on the ....... day of ..... A. D. ...., a two-thirds majority of the voters thereat voted in favor of the creation of said drainage district and the issuance of bonds and the levy of a drainage tax. Now, therefore, it is considered and ordered by the court that said drainage district be, and the same is hereby established by the name of drainage district, within the

following metes and bounds, to-wit:"

SEC. 17. After the establishment of any drainage district as herein provided, the commissioners court shall appoint three drainage commissioners, all of whom shall be residents of the proposed drainage district, who shall be freehold taxpayers and legal voters of the county, whose duties shall be as hereinafter provided, and who shall each receive for their services a sum of not more than two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) per day for the time actually engaged in the work of said. district; provided, the compensation (if any), shall have been definitely fixed in the order of the court as provided in Section 4 of this act, and before any amount shall be paid said commissioners or either of them, they shall make a detailed report to the commissioners court of the time actually consumed in the work for said district and of the work done, and such report shall be audited and approved by the commissioners court. Said drainage commissioners shall hold office for the term of two years and until their successors have qualified unless sooner removed by a majority vote of the county commissioners for malfeasance or nonfeasance in office. Upon the expiration of the term of office of said drainage commissioners the commissioners court shall appoint their successors by a majority vote.

SEC. 18. Before entering upon their duties all drainage commissioners shall take and subscribe before the county judge an oath to faithfully discharge the duties of their office without favor or partiality, and to render a true account of their doings to the court by which they are appointed whenever requested to do so, which oath shall be filed by

the clerk of the commissioners court and preserved as a part of the records of said drainage district.

SEC. 18a. Before entering upon their duties each of the drainage commissioners shall make and enter into a good and sufficient bond in the sum of one thousand dollars, payable to the county judge, for the use and benefit of said drainage district, conditioned upon the faithful performance of their duties.

SEC. 19. The drainage commissioners shall organize by electing one of their number chairman and one secretary, and two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and a concurrence of two shall be sufficient in all matters pertaining to the business of said district, except the letting of contracts and the drawing of warrants on the treasury, which shall require the concurrence of all of said commissioners.

SEC. 20: After the establishment of any such district the drainage commissioners shall employ a competent civil engineer upon a salary not to exceed ten dollars per day for the time actually engaged in work, and whose term of office shall be at the will of said drainage commissioners, which civil engineer shall proceed to make a map of such district showing the boundary lines thereof, with the original surveys therein, and also to make maps and profiles of the several canals, drains, ditches and levees located in such district, but a copy of the Land Office map of the county, as it applies to such district, showing the name and number of each survey and showing the area or number of acres contained in such district, shall be a sufficient compliance with such order in so far as making a map of the district is required, and any recognized map of any city or town which may be embraced within the boundaries of said district shall be sufficient as to such city or town. Provided, however, that where boundary lines of such drainage district or any of them crosses an original survey the map shall show how many acres of such original survey are included within such drainage district.

SEC. 21. The map and profiles of each drain, ditch and levee required by the provisions of this act to be made shall show the relation that each canal, drain, ditch or levee bears to each tract of land through which it passes and the shape into which it divides each tract, and where the canal, drain, ditch or levee cuts off any tract less than twenty acres of land the map shall show the number of acres so divided therefrom and the number of acres in the whole tract, showing the shape of such small tract and its relation to the canal, ditch, drain or levee. And such profile map shall also show the number of cubic yards necessary to be excavated in order to make each canal, drain or ditch, and to build any levee located in such district, and give the estimated cost of each, and when said map, profiles and estimates shall have been completed by the engineer as herein provided, he shall sign the same in his official capacity and file them with the clerk of said county commissioners court.

SEC. 22. After the establishment of any such drainage district and after the making and filing of such maps, profiles and estimates as provided for in Section 23 of this act the commissioners court shall make an order directing the issuance of drainage bonds for such district sufficient to pay for such proposed improvements, provided, however, that said bonds shall not exceed in amount one-fourth of the assessed value of the real property in such district as shown by the last annual assessment thereof, made for State and county taxation.

SEC. 23. All bonds issued under the provisions of this act shall be issued in the name of the drainage district, signed by the county judge and attested by the clerk of the county court, with the seal of the county court affixed thereto, and such bonds shall be issued in denominations of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars each, and such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed five per cent per annum, payable annually. Such bonds and interest shall by their terms be made payable at the county treasurer's office of the county in which such drainage district is located, and no bonds shall be made payable more than forty years after date.

SEC. 24. Any drainage district in the State of Texas desiring to issue bonds in accordance with this act shall, before such bonds are offered for sale, forward to the Attorney General a copy of the bonds to be issued, a certified copy of the order of the commissioners court levying the tax to pay interest and provide a sinking fund, and a statement of the total bonded indebtedness of such drainage district as such, including the series of bonds proposed and the assessed value of property for the purpose of taxation, as shown by the last official assessment by the county, together with such other information as the Attorney General may require, whereupon it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to carefully examine said bonds in connection with the facts and the Constitution and laws on the subject of the execution of such bonds, and if as the result of such examination the Attorney General shall find that such bonds were issued in conformity with the Constitution and laws, and that they are valid and binding obligations upon such drainage district by which they are issued, he shall so officially certify.

SEC. 25. When said bonds have been examined by the Attorney General and his certificate attached thereto they shall be registered by the State Comptroller in a book to be kept for that purpose, and the certificate of the Attorney General to the validity of such bonds shall be preserved of record for use in the event of litigation. Such bonds, after receiving the certificate of the Attorney General and having been registered in the Comptroller's office as herein provided, shall thereafter be held in every action, suit or proceeding in which their validity is or may be brought in question, prima facie, valid and binding obligations. And in every action brought to enforce collection of said bonds the certificate of the Attorney General or a duly certified copy thereof shall be admitted and received in evidence of the validity of such bonds, together with the coupons thereto attached; provided, that the only defense that can be offered against the validity of said bonds shall be forgery or fraud. But this article shall not be construed to give validity to any such bonds as may be issued in excess of the limit fixed by the Constitution, or contrary to its provisions, but all such bonds shall, to the extent of such excess, be held void.

SEC. 26. Before issuing any bonds under the provisions of this act the county commissioners court shall provide a well bound book, in which a record shall be kept by the county clerk of all bonds issued, with their numbers, amount, rate of interest and date of issue, when due, where payable and amount received for the same, and the annual rate per cent assessment made each year to pay the interest on said bonds and provide a sinking fund for their payment. And said book shall at all times be open to the inspection of all parties interested in said dis

trict either as tax payers or bond holders, and upon the payment of any bond an entry thereof shall be made in said book. The county clerk shall receive for his services in recording all bonds and other instruments of the drainage district the same fees as provided by law for other like records.

SEC. 27. When such bonds have been registered, as provided for in the preceding section of this act, the county judge shall, with the additional assistance that the county commissioners court may direct and authorize, offer for sale and sell said bonds on the best terms and for the best price possible, but none of said bonds shall be sold for less than the face par value thereof and accrued interest thereon, and as fast as said bonds are sold, all moneys received therefor shall be paid by the county judge to the county treasurer and shall by him be placed to the credit of such drainage district.

SEC. 28. Before the county judge shall be authorized to sell any of the drainage bonds he shall execute a good and sufficient bond, payable to the commissioners of such drainage district to be approved by the county commissioners court of said county for an amount not less than the amount of bonds issued, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of his duties, which bond shall be subject to the approval of the said drainage commissioners, and the county judge shall be allowed one per cent of the amount received on the sale of any bonds sold by him in full payment for his services in that behalf.

SEC. 29. All expeness, of any kind, after the filing of the original petition necessarily incurred in connection with the creation, establishment and maintenance of any drainage district organized under the provisions of this act shall be paid out of the "Construction and Maintenance Fund" of such drainage district, which fund shall consist of all moneys received from the sale of bonds and all other accounts received by said district from whatever source except the tax collections applied to the sinking fund and payment of interest on the drainage bonds. Provided, that should the proposition of the creation of such drainage district and issuance of bonds be defeated at the election called to vote upon same, then all expenses up to and including said election shall be paid in the following manner: When the original petition praying for the establishment of a drainage district is filed with the county commissioners court it shall be accompanied by two hundred dollars in cash, which shall be deposited with the clerk of said county commissioners court, and by him held until after the result of the election for the creation of said drainage district has been declared and entered of record by the commissioners court, as hereinbefore provided, and should the result of said election be in favor of the establishment of said district then the said two hundred dollars shall be by said clerk returned to the signers of said original petition or their agent or attorney; but should the result of said election be against the establishment of said drainage district, then the said clerk shall pay out of the said two hundred dollars, upon vouchers signed by the county judge, all costs and expenses pertaining to the said proposed drainage district up to and including the said election, and shall return the balance, if any, of said two hundred dollars, to the signers of said original petition or their agent or attorney. SEC. 30. Whenever any such district drainage bonds shall have been voted, the commissioners court shall levy and cause to be assessed and

collected improvement taxes upon all property within said drainage district, whether real, personal, mixed or otherwise, and sufficient in amount to pay the interest on such bonds as shall fall due, together with an additional amount to be annually placed in a sinking fund sufficient to discharge and redeem said bonds at their maturity.

If advisable, the sinking fund shall, from time to time, be invested in such county, municipal, district or other bonds as shall be approved by the Attorney General of the State.

SEC. 31. The county commissioners court shall provide all necessary additional books for the uses of the assessor and collector of taxes and the county clerk for such drainage district, and charge the cost of same to the said drainage district. It shall be the duty of the county tax assessor, when ordered to do so by the county commissioners court, to assess all property within such drainage districts and list the same for taxation in the books or rolls furnished him by said commissioners court for that purpose, and return said books or rolls at the same time when he returns the other books or rolls of the State and county taxes, for correction and approval; and if the said commissioners court shall find said books or rolls correct, they shall approve the same and order the county clerk to issue a warrant against the county treasurer in favor of said tax assessor to be paid from the funds of said drainage district. The tax assessor shall receive for said services such compensation as the said county commissioners court shall deem proper to compensate him for the amount of work done, provided that said county assessor shall in no event be allowed less than what he is now allowed by law for the like services. Should the tax assessor fail or refuse to comply with the orders of the commissioners court requiring him to assess and list for taxation all the property in such drainage districts as herein provided, he shall be suspended from the further discharge of his duties by the commissioners court of his county, and he shall be removed from office in the mode prescribed by law for the removal of county officers.

SEC. 32. The tax collector of the county shall be charged by the county commissioners court with the assessment rolls of the drainage district, and he shall be allowed such compensation for the collection of said taxes as he is now allowed for the collection of other taxes. The county commissioners court shall require the tax collector of the county to give an additional bond or security in such a sum as they may deem proper and safe to secure the collection of said taxes; and should any collector of taxes fail or refuse to give such additional bond or security as herein provided, when requested by the commissioners court, within the time prescribed by law for such purposes, he shall be suspended from office by the commissioners court of his county, and immediately thereafter be removed from office in the mode prescribed by law.

SEC. 33. It shall be the duty of the tax collector to make a certified list of all delinquent property upon which the drainage tax has not been paid and return the same to the county commissioners court, which shall proceed to have the same collected by the sale of such delinquent property in the same manner as is now provided for the sale of property for the collection of State and county taxes, and at the sale of any property for any delinquent drainage tax the drainage commissioners may become the purchasers of the same for the benefit of the drainage district.