Four per cent. gas and water bonds, issued September 1, 1905, coupons due September 1st, $5,000 to be paid each year till paid, $5,000 already paid 20,000 Four per cent. bonds funding the old 7 per cent. bonds, issued May 1, 1906, coupons due May and November, bonds due May 1, 1936 119,400 Three bonds of $5,000, due National Bank of Fredericksburg and payable $5,000 on November 1, 1908, and yearly thereafter, bearing 4 per cent. interest 15,000 Making the total bonded debt of the town $304,400 Many of these public improvements were constructed by the authority of the freeholders of the town, by a majority vote cast at special elections appointed and held for that purpose; others were constructed by action of the City Council under authority granted them by the new constitution enlarging the powers and duties of city councils, and appeared to have the sanction of a large majority of the tax-payers of the town. [Illustration: Confederate Cemetery at Fredericksburg. The pyramid of stones marks the battle-field at Hamilton's Crossing, between Jackson and Meade. (See page 185)] CHAPTER IX _The Courts of Fredericksburg--The Freedman's Bureau--Court Orders and Incidents--First Night Watch--Ministers Qualify to Perform Marriage Ceremony--First Notary Public--Fixing the Value of Bank Notes--Prison Bounds for Debtors--Public Buildings, &c._ If every one in this Christian land was a Christian, and was governed by the rule laid down and inculcated by the Christ, "whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," there would have been but little, if any, use for courts in this country. But all people are not Christians, and all Christians are not governed by that golden rule, therefore courts were necessary to punish crime, settle disputes, protect the weak against the strong, secure the widow and orphan in their rights, enforce provision for the indigent poor, and perform other functions for the benefit of society and the well-being of the country. What courts Fredericksburg had before the Revolutionary war is unknown, as no record seems to have been left of them. In all probability the successors of Major Lawrence Smith were also authorized to execute martial law and hear and determine all questions, as a county court might do, until the town was chartered in 1727 and placed in the hands of trustees. These trustees had certain powers conferred upon them by act of the House of Burgesses, and they were to keep records of their proceedings, but these records cannot now be found and quite likely have long ago been destroyed.