advertised.

ment to be made.

Posting of notice on premises.

Taxes paid before sale.

30 March 1903 hands, to certify to the said city treasurer schedules of all unpaid taxes, with descriptions of the propery assessed; and Property to be it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to advertise for sale all the lands upon which it appears the taxes have not been paid, as shown by the duplicates in his hands, or by the returns or schedules certified to him, as aforesaid. Said adHow advertise- vertisement shall be made, once a week for three successive weeks prior to the day of sale, in at least two newspapers of general circulation, printed and published in the respective city, and, in case two newspapers are not published in said city, then publication shall be made in two newspapers printed and published in the county in which said city is situate; and said treasurer shall also cause to be posted or tacked, in a conspicuous place on each parcel or lot of land advertised for sale, at least ten days prior to the day of sale, a notice stating that said lands will be sold by said treasurer, for delinquent taxes, on a certain day and time, and at a certain place within the city, for which posting of notice he shall receive and tax as costs twenty-five cents for each notice; Provided, That no sale shall be valid where the taxes have been paid prior to said advertisement, or where the taxes and costs have been paid after advertisement and Lands may be before sale; And provided further, That the lands sold under this act may be redeemed by the owner, or by any one interested in said lands, at any time within two years after such sale, by the payment to the city treasurer of the full amount which the purchaser paid to said treasurer for taxes and costs, and twenty-five per centum in addition thereto; and when the sale has been made for less than the taxes and costs, the party redeeming shall pay to said treasurer the balance. of taxes and costs which were not made by the sale of the said property. In case there are any city taxes, levied either before or after the said sale, which remain unpaid, the person redeeming shall pay the same; and in case the purchaser has paid any taxes of any kind whatsoever, assessed and levied against said property, the same shall be reimbursed to said purchaser before any redemption shall take effect. The said treasurer shall keep in his office a book, in which he shall enter all the sales made by him; giving a description of each property sold, the name of the person as the owner thereof as the same appears upon the duplicate, or has been returned to him, the time of sale and the price at which sold, together City may bid with the cost. Each respective city shall have the right to bid, at any such sale, the amount of taxes and costs, and if necessary purchase such lands.

redeemed within two years after sale.

Conditions.

Treasurer to keep registry of sales.

and purchase.

Jd. § 4.

Payment of purchase money and costs.

25. It shall be the duty of the purchaser or purchasers at said treasurer's sale, as soon as the property is struck down, to pay the amount of the purchase money, or such part thereof as may be necessary to pay all the taxes and costs, as also one dollar and fifty cents, for the use of the prothonotary,

ment, prop

for entering the report of the treasurer and acknowledgment 30 March 1903 of the treasurer's deed, as hereinafter mentioned; and in case Upon non-paysaid amount is not forthwith paid, after the property is erty may be struck down, the sale may be avoided and the property imme-resold. diately put up again by the said treasurer; Provided, however, That this section shall not apply when the lands are purchased by said city.

of sale to

return.

26. It shall be the duty of the city treasurer, at the first Id. § 5. term of a court of common pleas of the proper county suc-City treasurer ceeding such sale, to make a report and return; wherein he to make return shall set forth a brief description of the land or property court. sold, the name of the person (where known) in which the Contents of same is assessed, the amount of tax, and the year for which the same is assessed, the time when and the newspapers in which the advertisement for sale was made, with a copy of said advertisement, the time of sale, the name of the purchaser, and the price for which each respective property was sold; and upon the presentation of said report or return, if it shall appear to said court that such sale has been regularly conducted, under the provisions of this act, the said report and the sale so made shall be confirmed nisi; in case Confirmation no objections or exceptions are filed to said sales within ten days, a decree of absolute confirmation may be entered, as of course, by the prothonotary. In case any objections or exceptions are filed, they shall be disposed of according to the Disposition of practice of said courts; and when the same are overruled or sale. set aside, a decree of absolute confirmation shall be entered, as aforesaid; but all objections or exceptions shall be confined to the regularity of the proceedings of said treasurer.

of report.

exceptions to

Id. § 6.

give bond

surplus of purchase money.

Bond to be filed in prothonotary's

27. After any sale of property or lands for delinquent taxes has been confirmed by the court, as aforesaid, it shall Purchaser to be the duty of the purchaser or purchasers, where the bid treasured to exceeds the taxes and costs as aforesaid, to make and execute to the said treasurer, for the use of the persons entitled, a bond for the surplus money that may remain after satisfying and paying all the taxes and costs, as aforesaid, with warrant of attorney to confess judgment annexed thereto; and it shall be the duty of said treasurer to forthwith file said bond in the office of the prothonotary of the proper county, ce at the number and term where said report and return is filed; and the surplus bond, filed as aforesaid, from the time of the date of the deed for property thus sold, shall bind as effectu- Bond to be ally, and in like manner as judgments, the land by said treasurer sold, into whose hands or possession soever they may come; and the owners of said lands at the time of sale, their owner may heirs or assigns, or other legal representatives, may, at any entered time within five years after such sale, cause judgment to be entered in said court upon said bond, in the name of said treasurer, for the use of said owners, their heirs, assigns or

lien.

have judgment

thereon.

30 March 1903 legal representatives (as the case may be), and in case the moneys mentioned in said bonds, with legal interest thereon from the time it is demanded, be not paid within three months after such entry, execution may forthwith issue for the recovery thereof.

Execution.

Id. § 7.

to execute

deed to purchaser.

28. When the purchaser has paid the amount of his bid, City treasurer or such portion thereof as he is required to pay under this act, and has given the surplus bond as above required, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to make the said purchaser or purchasers his or their heirs or assigns, a deed in fee simple for the lands sold, as aforesaid, and the said deed or deeds to duly acknowledge in the court of common pleas; and such acknowledgment shall be duly entered and recorded by the prothonotary of said court in the treasurer's deed book, and for such service and the entry of the report of said treasurer said prothonotary shall receive the sum of one dollar and fifty cents.

Acknowledg

ment and recording of deed.

Fee of prothonotary.

Id. § 8.

case of redemption.

redemption

moneys, treas

urer's deed to be cancelled.

29. Where the owner or other person interested in the Proceedings in land thus sold shall redeem the same, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to acknowledge the receipt of the redemption moneys, upon the margin of the acknowledgment of the treasurer's deed, as the same is entered and recorded in the On payment of prothonotary's office, as aforesaid, and thereafter said deed shall be void and of no effect; and thereupon such owner or person interested, as aforesaid, shall be entitled to have the treasurer's deed delivered up to him, her or them, by the purchaser, for cancellation. And it shall be the duty of the said treasurer to pay to said purchaser all the moneys he had paid at the time of sale, together with the twenty-five per centum penalty thereon; and it shall also be the duty of said treasurer to enter upon the book of sales kept by him, as hereinbefore provided, an acknowledgment or receipt showing that the owner or party interested redeemed the same therein, giving date of redemption and amount of money received.

Purchase

money to be refunded.

Record of redemption.

Id. § 9.

Repeal.

30. All general laws so far as the same are in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, but this act shall not apply to the sale of lands for taxes where the same is regulated by local laws.1

22 May 1895. $1. P. L. 111. Lien of taxes

III. Lien of Taxes.

31. The lien of all taxes now or hereafter to be levied or assessed against any real estate within this commonwealth to be divest shall be divested by any judicial sale of such land; Provided,

ed by judi

cial sale.

1 This act appears wholly to supersede and supply the provisions of Art. XV. of the Third Class Cities Code of May 23, 1889, secs. 13-19, P. L. 320-323, pub

lished in the former edition of the Digest, and they have therefore been here omitted.

The amount of the purchase money shall equal the amount of 22 May 1895. the said taxes.1

Proviso.

collection of taxes to give

32. It is hereby made the duty of any officer having taxes Id. § 2. for collection against any land advertised to be sold, or of the officers county commissioners before the taxes have been certified for charged with collection, to give notice to the officers or person selling any notice of such land of the amount of taxes against the same, and the amount of officer selling such land shall pay said taxes out of the pro- Taxes to be ceeds arising from the sale first after payment of the costs of first paid out sale.

tax due.

of proceeds, after costs.

lien of mort

33. When the lien of a mortgage upon real estate is or 8 May 1901. shall be prior to all other liens upon the same property, ex- §1. P. L. 141. cept other mortgages, ground rents and purchase money due Priority of the commonwealth, and except taxes, municipal claims and gages. assessments not at the date of said mortgage duly entered as a lien in the office of the prothonotary of the proper county, and except taxes, municipal claims and assessments, whose lien though afterwards accruing has by law priority given it, the lien of such mortgage shall not be destroyed or in any wise affected by any judicial or other sale whatsoever, except as hereinafter stated, whether such sale be made by virtue or authority of any order or decree of any orphans' or other court, or of any writ of execution or otherwise, howsoever; Provided, That this section shall not apply to cases of mort- Proviso. gages upon unseated lands or sales of the same for taxes.

Id. § 2.

34. All acts and parts of acts, general and special, inconsistent with the provisions of this act be and the same are Repeal. hereby repealed.

IV. Collection of Municipal Assessments.

23 May 1889.

for cost of

provements

provided by

35. All special taxes levied, or assessments made for water Art. XV.. frontage tax, light frontage tax, sewerage tax, piping, paving, §20. P. L. 323. re-paving, curbing or re-curbing sidewalks, grading, chang- Assessments ing grades of, macadamizing or paving any public street, lane municipal imor alley, or part thereof, for assessments of damages or to be paid as benefits, and contributions lawfully imposed for the opening, ordinance. widening, or vacation thereof, or the changing of watercourses, and for all other purposes except general taxes (the remedies for the collection of which shall be as herein provided), that may be the subject of claim entered in pursuance of this or any other act and the laws and ordinances of any of

1 This act did not give a lien for taxes on real estate; it applies only to such taxes as are made liens by other acts, which it directs to be first paid out of the proceeds of judicial sales. Snyder v. Mogart, 5 Dist. R. 146; United Security Life Ins. Co. v. Dougherty, Id. 521; Theurer's App., 5 Super. Ct. R. 225; Provident Building, eto., Assn. v. Flanagan, 6 Dist. R. 439; Strassburger v. Guinter, 23 Pa. C. C. R. 481. The Act of June 2, 1881, P. L. 45, "to make taxes assessed upon real estate a first lien, and

to provide for the collection of such taxes and a remedy for false returns," is unconstitutional because excepting from its provisions cities of the first, second and fourth classes, and being therefore a local law within the prohibition of special legislation. Van Loon v. Engle, 171 Pa. 157. The Act of April 30, 1885, P. L. 11, relative to assessment and collection of taxes in cities of the third, fourth and fifth classes was an option act, and therefore presumably unconstitutional.

Art. XV.

Penalty and interest.

23 May 1889. said cities, shall be paid within such time as councils may provide by ordinance, and if not so paid five per centum penalty shall be added thereto, and such claim shall also bear interest at such rate per centum as may be fixed by ordinance, not exceeding six per centum.1

Id. § 21. Assessments

six months

of specification.

Fee of profor entering

thonotary

llen.

36. Such taxes and assessments shall be and remain first liens on the respective pieces of land fronting on the streets to be llen for in which the improvement is made, or on the land assessed for without fling such improvement or benefits, as the case may be, from the commencement of the improvement for which the assessments were made until six months after the completion of the work, and no longer, unless a specification of lien be filed in the prothonotary's office of the county in which the city is located, in the city lien docket, within said period. The prothonotary shall be allowed a fee of twenty-five cents for filing and entering a lien under the provisions of this act, to be taxed as Sufficiency of part of the costs in the case. Such specification of lien shall specification. be deemed sufficient if it designates the date and amount of To be lien assessment, the land assessed and the name of the owner or for ten years reputed owner, and shall have the effect of extending such from date of entry. lien for a period of ten years from the date of entry, and shall Amendment. be amendable at or before trial in such manner as will meet the facts and merits of the case; and said lien shall have priority to, and shall be fully paid and satisfied before any other lien or incumbrance of whatsoever kind or nature with which the land assessed may become charged, and shall not be divested by any judicial sale except as to such portion of the proceeds of the sale as may actually be applied for the payment of such lien.2

Priority of llen.

1 The section amended as above by Act of May 16, 1901, § 32, P. L. 248.

See Morris v. Hainer, 16 Pa. C. C. R. 468; 4 Dist. R. 635; Altoona v. Enzbrenner, 21 Pa. C. C. R. 339; 7 Dist. R. 740;

Scranton v. Robertson, 28 Super. Ct. R. 55. This section is supplied in part by the Act of June 4, 1901, P. L. 364; title "Municipal Claims," ante.

Telegraph and Telephone Companies.

1. Incorporation of telegraph, telephone, etc.. companies under general corporation act of 1874.

2. Location of business. 3. Powers of such companies to occupy streets and highways. Fixtures not to interfere with public use thereof.

4. Permission to erect poles or wires to be obtained from municipal authorities, subject to necessary regulations.

5. Determination of disputes regarding license fees of telegraph, telephone, etc., companies. Petition to court of common pleas. Citation. Answer. Hearing and decision.

6. Rules and orders.

1 May 1876.

1. P. L. 90.

7. How license fee to be determined. 8. Appeal.

9. Limitation of applications.

10. Duties and liabilities of corporation to remain unaffected.

11. Corporations using electrical current may contract with each other for mutual use of systems. Proviso.

12. No prescriptive right to be acquired. 13. Liability of company for damage to trees along public highway. Land owner may petition to court. Viewers to be appointed. Report of viewers. When judgment to be entered on award.

14. Compensation of viewers. Act not to apply to police or fire-alarm telegraph.

1. Corporations of the second class may be formed and created in the manner provided for by the act to which this is a supplement,1 and with all the rights and powers therein

1 The General Corporation Act of April 29, 1874, P. L. 73.