Vacancies how filled.

Proviso.

Intermediate

elections provided for.

Term of office of mayor or

other.

40. In case of a vacancy in the office of mayor of the town, or of councillors for any ward thereof, the electors of the town shall proceed to a new election of a person to replace such mayor, or the electors of any ward of the town for which, one or the twooffices of councillors shall have become vacant, shall proceed to a new election of one or two persons to replacesuch councillor or conncillors; and any such election shall be proceeded with within one month after such vacancy or vacancies shall have been made known under the authority of section ten; and such election shall be proceeded with in the same manner as for the general elections; provided always that the council itself shall fix the nomination day and the day of the poll, in case one be granted for any such election.

41. In case an election for mayor of the town occur in the interval between two annual general elections for mayor, the council shall appoint an officer to preside at such election and a deputy for each ward of the town, whose services shall be required by the president of the election, only in case of a contestation of such election by means of a notice given by the president to each of the deputies, informing them of the fact of such contestation, and indicating to them the names, surnames and qualities of the different candidates for the office of mayor; and the duties of such deputies shall be the same as those imposed, under the provisions of this act, on the different presidents of elections for councillors, in case of the contestation of the election for mayor, at any annual general election of mayor and councillors for such town provided that no deputy president shall in any manner be deprived of his vote at such election.

42. Every mayor or councillor elected to replace ancouncillor re- other, shall remain in office for the remainder of the time placing an- for which his predecessor had been elected, and no longer; provided always that such mayor or councillor shall not have the right to continue to remain in office as aforesaid, if before the expiration of the term of office, of the person which he has replaced, he finds himself in the position or one of the positions provided for in the eighth section of this act.

Councillors in office shall

43. In case it shall at any time happen that an annual cause the an- municipal election shall not be held, for any reason whatnual elections ever, on the day when, it ought to have been held, and it certain cases. shall be the duty of such members of the council, to

to be made in

meet again for the purpose of fixing a day as near as possible, for the holding of such annual municipal

election and for the appointment of the presidents of the election, and in that case, the public notices, shall be posted up at least four clear days before the election; and if, within fifteen days after the day on which such election ought to have been held, the council shall have neglected to appoint a day for the election, the members shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars each, and in the latter case the mayor of the town of Longueuil, or in his absence, the pro-mayor shall have power, and shall, under a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars, cause the said elections to be proceeded with, and for that purpose, shall appoint the presidents of election, give the required public notices, fix the nomination day for the election of the mayor and councillors of the town, and the places where such nominations shall take place for the elections of the mayor and councillors, for the several wards of the town, and in a like manner he shall fix the polling day for the elections, in case polls shall be granted for such elections, and generally he shall exercise all the powers vested in the town council, according to the provisions of this act, in relation to the general elections of the said town; provided always, that the public notices required for such elections, so convened and fixed by the mayor or the pro-mayor of the town, be posted up at least four clear days before such elections.

CHAPTER IV.

CONTESTATIONS OF ELECTIONS.

44. Every election for mayor or councillor may be con- Contestations tested by a candidate or by ten municipal electors for of elections. cause of violence, corruption, fraud or incapacity or for want of observance of the requisite formalities.

If the election of the Mayor and of the councillors Before what or of one or more of them be contested, such contestation court brought. shall be decided by the Superior Court for Lower Canada, sitting in and for the district of Montreal.

whom

2. Every such election may be so contested by one or By more of the candidates for the offices of mayor or council- brought. lor or at least by five of the electors of the said town, if the election of the mayor be contested, and by the same number of electors of any ward, when the election of a councillor be contested.

3. The said contestation shall be brought before the How brought. court, by a petition setting forth in a clear manner the facts and grounds of such contestation.

Copy to be 4. A copy of the petition, with a notice stating the day served upon mayor or coun- on which the said petition will be presented shall be first cillor whose duly served upon the mayor or councillor, whose election is election is con- contested, at least eight clear days before the day on

tested.

Evidence.

Judgment.

Costs.

which the petition shall be presented; but no such petition shall be received after fifteen days from the return of the proceedings of the election and of the deposit of the documents; nor shall any such petition be received, unless security for costs be previously to its presentation given by the petitioners, in the presence of a judge of the superior court, or of the prothonotary, who shall decide as to the sufficiency of the said security.

5. If the court be of opinion that the facts and grounds set forth in the petition are sufficient in law to void the election, it shall order proof to be adduced, if proof be necessary, and the parties interested to be heard, on the nearest day which it shall deem expedient, and shall proceed in a summary manner to hear and decide the contestation; and the evidence may be taken down in writing, or given orally in whole or in part, as the court shall order; and the trial of such contestation shall be had in a summary manner, until final judgment upon the merits of the same shall have been pronounced.

6. The court or the judge may, on such contestation, confirm the election or declare the same to be null and void, or declare another person to have been duly elected, and may, in either case, award costs of the said contestation to or against either party; which costs shall be taxed and recovered in the ordinary manner; and the court may order its judgment to be served upon the secretary-treasurer of the council, at the expense of the party condemned. Objections on 7. If any defects or irregularities in the formalities the ground of irregularities, prescribed for the election be set forth in any such petition, as a ground of contestation, the court may admit or reject them, according as such defect or irregularity may or may not have materially affected the election.

&c.

First session.

CHAPTER V.

SESSIONS OF THE COUNCIL.

45. The first session of the council, after every general election of the said town, shall take place on the second Monday next following the day of the nomination of the mayor and councillors of the said town, at seven o'clock in the evening, and in case that day be a holiday, then.

such session shall take place on the first juridical day ensuing, at the hour above mentioned; and such session shall be a general session.

taken by mem,

2. At such first session, the mayor and councillors Oath to be newly elected, shall respectively take the following oath, bers of council before a justice of the peace or before a councillor who shall have not gone out of office in this year :

"I

do solemnly swear faithfully to Form. "fulfil the duties of mayor (or councillor) of the town of Longueuil, to the best of my judgment and ability: So help me God."

3. The swearing of each member of the council, and the Fact of being certificate thereof, shall be entered and signed in the worn to be minute book of the council.

entered in mine

utes.

4. The members, absent for reasonable causes, shall take Oath by absent the oath above-mentioned, in the manner herein before members at first meeting prescribed, at the first session of the council, at which they they attend. shall be present.

5. Four members of the council shall constitute a Quorum. quorum.

sions.

46. The town council shall meet in general session General seson the first Wednesday in each month. In case that day' be a holiday, such session shall take place on the first juridical day next following. The town council, at such sessions, may proceed to the transactions of the affairs of the town;

of council

held.

2. The council shall hold their sittings in the town where sessions hall, or in any other place which shall have been set apart of cou for that purpose, by resolution, either temporarily or permanently.

call special

47. It shall be lawful for the mayor, whenever he shall Mayor may deem it advisable, to call a special meeting. He shall be sessions. bound to call such meeting, whenever required so to do by at least two councillors, and in that case, the requisition of such councillors shall be made in writing, signed by them, and shall, moreover, contain the subjects to be taken into consideration.

mayor, two

2. If the Mayor, after being so required, does not call On refusal of such meeting, or if he is absent, in that case, two council- councillors lors at least shall have the power to call such special may call such meeting.

meeting.

48. The mayor or the councillors, as the case may Mayor or counbe, who shall call such special meeting, shall transmit to cillors calling

such meeting, the secretary-treasurer a written order to that effect, stating to give order to that effect the day and hour and the subjects to be taken into conto secretary-sideration, and, on the reception of that order, the secretarytreasurer shall give a special notice of the calling of such special meeting to all the members of the council. Such notice shall be signified, at least twenty-four hours before the opening of such meeting.

treasurer.

Notice to mention subjects 2. The notice, calling a special meeting, shall mention for considera- the matters to be taken into consideration, and no other matter or measure shall be discussed or adopted thereat.

tion.

General or

special ses

adjourned.

49. Any general or special session may be adjourned by sions may be the council to any other hour of the same day, or to a subsequent day, without it being necessary to give notice of such adjournment to the members who were not present, excepting in the case of the following section.

Two members may adjourn

no quorum.

50. Two members at least of the council, when there any meeting is not a quorum present, may adjourn the session at the when there is expiration of one hour from the time it was established that there was no quorum. The hour of the adjournement, and the names of the members of the council present, must be inscribed in the minutes of the sitting, in the book of the proceedings of the council; and these minutes shall be signed by one of the members present and by the secretary-treasurer:

Notice of adjournment.

Punishment

during sitting.

2. In this case, a special notice of the ajournment shall be given in the manner and within the delay prescribed for the notice calling a special meeting, by the secretarytreasurer to the members of the council. The service of this notice must be established, at the resumption of the adjourned session, in the same manner as that of the notice convening a special session, and the absence of service of such notice shall render every proceeding adopted at such part of the adjourned session void.

51. Whoever shall be guilty of serious disturbance or for disturbance violence during the sittings, either by action or by words, or in any other manner whatsoever, shall incur a fine not exceeding sixty dollars, or an imprisonment not exceeding fifteen days, in default of payment of the fine, and may in addition be expelled from the council room on the order of the chairman of the council.

Meetings to be

52. All meetings of the town council shall be pubpublic, excep-lic, excepting when the said council shall have to enquire into the conduct of any members of their own body, or when they shall have to open or take into consideration tenders asked for any public work whatever; in which