for the prime costs, as for all profits and earnings that shall be made by the labor of those belonging to such town under his care; and shall keep a register of the names of the persons committed to such workhouse, and of the towns to which they respectively belong, with the time of their being received into, and discharged therefrom, and of their earnings, that the same may appear to any of the Overseers whenever they shall incline to inspect them; and all controversies between the master or keeper of such house, and the Overseers of any town, touching his accounts, or other his affairs whatever respecting the workhouse may be determined by the overseers of the house at a general or quarterly meeting. ch. 124, s. 10. 12. No town shall be chargeable for the relief or support of any person committed to the said house, who was not sent thither by the Overseers belonging to such town; nor shall any person orderly committed to the said house be discharged therefrom, but by the Overseers that made the commitment, or by the Overseers at a general or quarterly meeting, or otherwise by the Court of Common Pleas, in the same county, upon application to them made for that purpose; and every person thus committed, if fit and able to work, shall be kept diligently employed in labor, during his or her continuance there; and in case the person so committed, shall be idle and not perform such reasonable task or stint as shall be assigned; or shall be stubborn and disor derly, they shall be punished according to the orders that shall be made for ruling, governing and punishing the persons there committed, not repugnant to the laws of this State. s. 11. 13. One third part of the profits or earnings of the work done by the persons detained in such house shall be to the master for, and towards his support, over and above such further annual stipend as the Overseers may allow him; and the prime stock, together with the other two thirds of the profits shall be disposed of by the Overseers of the respective towns, to whom it belongs, either to the master towards his services, or for the support of the families of the persons there detained, if any such they have, or otherwise for the use of such town as occasion shall require. s. 12. 14. Any workhouse erected or provided as aforesaid, may be discontinued or applied to any other use whenever the town or towns concerned, shall find their circumstances require it, and shall agree thus to do. s. 13. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. §1. Appointment of sealers of weights and measures. ib. Power of the Selectmen to remove from office and to fill vacancies. 2. Sealers to be sworn. ib. Penalties on Sealers and Selectmen for neglect. 3. Sealers when sworn to keep the town standards and seal. ib. Their duty in relation to town Treasurer. 4. Their duty to notify, in May, the time and place where they will attend to seal, &c. ib. They shall destroy false weights and measures. 5. Their duty to visit houses, stores, &c. to prove weights and measures. 6. Dearborn's and Hills' vibrating steelyards may be used, provided, &c. 7. Penalty on sealers for neglect of duty. 8. Limitation of the duration of the act. I. It shall be the duty of the Selectmen of each town in this State, in the month of March or April annually, to appoint a suitable person to be a sealer of weights and measures within the same. And it shall also be the duty of the Selectmen in such towns in this State, as shall, at any of their annual meetings, vote to have more than one sealer of weights and measures within their town, to appoint suitable persons therefor. And the Selectmen of the several towns are hereby authorized to remove from office any person or persons by them appointed as sealers of weights and measures by virtue of this Act. And it shall be the duty of the Selectmen, upon any vacancy which shall happen in the office of sealers of weights and measures, either by death, removal, resignation, refusal to accept, or otherwise, immediately to appoint some other suitable person to fill the place. ch. 131, s. 4. 2. Each person who shall be appointed to such office shall be notified of his appointment, and sworn as other town of ficers are. And if any person so appointed and notified shall refuse or neglect to take such oath, for the term of seven days after he shall have received such notice, he shall forfeit and pay five dollars, to be recovered in the manner and to the uses other fines are, for refusing to serve in other town offices. And if any Selectman shall not duly execute this pay, for law, so far as to him appertains, he shall forfeit and each month's neglect, the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered in like manner, and to like uses. ch. 131, s. 4. 3. It shall be the duty of each sealer of weights and measures, as soon as appointed and sworn, to receive of the town Treasurer, the said town standards and seal, and to give him a receipt therefor, expressing the contents thereof and the condition in which the same may be, and in such receipt engaging, at the expiration of his (the said sealer's) office to deliver the same in like order and condition, to the said Treasurer; and such sealer shall be accountable to the town for the due preservation of the same, so long as he shall hold them on such receipt. s. 5. 4. It shall be the further duty of the said sealer of weights and measures in the month of May in every year, to post up written notifications in the several parts of the town expressing therein the time and place, when and where he will attend such of the inhabitants as live within the limits described in his notification, and seal all such of their great and small beams, weights and measures as they shall bring in for that purpose. And the said sealer shall deface and destroy all weights and measures which cannot be brought to their just standards.* s. 6. 5. The said sealer is hereby authorized and required, to go to the houses of such innholders, and to the warehouses, stores and shops of such merchants, traders and retailers of spirituous liquors, and to the houses of such of the other inhabitants as shall neglect as aforesaid, to bring or send in, the said beams, weights and measures, and there, (at their said houses, stores, shops and warehouses) to try, prove and seal the same beams, weights and measures.† s. 7. 6. The vibrating steelyard invented by Benjamin Dearborn, and the vibrating steelyard invented or improved by Samuel Hills, are permitted to be used in all cases of weighing throughout this State: Provided, That before being offered for sale, or the same shall be used, each beam and the poises thereof, shall be sealed by some public sealer of weights and measures, appointed according to law. s. 10. * For the Standards, see Treasurers, D. ↑ If any such person or persons, shall refuse or neglect to have his, her or their beams, weights or measures so tried, proved and sealed, he, she or they shall forfeit and pay ten dollars for each offence; one moiety to the use of the poor of the town and the other moiety to the sealer, to be recovered in an action of debt, with costs as aforesaid. S. 7. 7. If any sealer of weights and measures shall neglect his duty in any of the cases in this Act specified, he shall for each neglect, forfeit and pay not less than five nor more than ten dollars: one moiety thereof to the town, and the other moiety to the informer, to be recovered by an action of debt, or on the case, with costs as aforesaid.* ch. 131, s. 7. 8. This act shall take effect and be in force until such time as the Congress of the United States shall have fixed by law the standards of weights and measures. s. 12. *All measures by which fruit or any other things usually sold by heaped measure, shall be sold, shall be conformable as to capacity and breadth, to the public allowed standards as aforesaid. And if any person shall sell or expose to sale, any fruit or other thing, usually sold by heaped measure, by any other measure as to capacity and breadth, than is before mentioned, or shall sell, or expose to sale, any goods, wares or merchandize, grain or other commodity whatsoever, by any other beams, weights or measures, than those sealed as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay, for each offence not less than one dollar, nor more than ten dollars according to the circumstance of the case; one moiety thereof to the use of the town, and the other moiety to the said sealer or to him or them who shall sue for the same, to be recovered in an action of debt, or on the case, with costs of suit, in any Court proper to try the same. s. 11. The sealers of weights and measures, who may hereafter be appointed in the several towns and cities in this State, in pursuance of the act to which this is additional, shall be entitled to demand and receive, for trying and proving by said town and city standards, and sealing as in said act is provided, the following fees to wit: Four cents for each beam, weight and measure found to be not conformable to said standards-and two cents for each beam, weight and measure found to be conformable thereto-said fees to be paid by the person or persons whose weights, measures and beams shall be compared as aforesaid. ch. 306, stat. of 1838. INDEX. ABATEMENT of taxes As the articles contained in this work are arranged alphabetically, ACTIONS by collectors of taxes A. 12, 17, 68 58-60 for cattle damage feasant, &c. 227 against officers 182 by school districts 237 APPRENTICES AQUEDUCTS may be laid in highways ARREST, power of collectors to make ASSAY MASTERS, their choice and duty by overseers of the poor by and against towns by treasurers by trustees of ministerial and school lands AGENTS of non-residents of towns of school districts AID, may be required by collectors by constables 192 by ministers, deacons, and church wardens water may be drawn from in cases of fire ASSESSORS of towns choice appointment, and qualifications of 9--11 their duty in assessing town taxes for ministry, schools and highways responsible only for faithfulness their duty relative to removal, incapacity or de- 260 56-58 5,6 their duty relative to elections 42, 43, 110-113, 127-129 |