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ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF BOSTON.
SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of
2 Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the
3 authority of the same, as follows: The Inhabitants of the
4 City of Boston, for all purposes for which towns and cities
5 are by law incorporated in this commonwealth, shall con-
6 tinue to be one body politic, in fact and in name, under the
7 style and denomination of the city of Boston, and as such,
8 shall have, exercise, and enjoy, all the rights, immunities,
9 powers, and privileges, and shall be subject to all the du-
10 ties and obligations, now incumbent upon, and appertaining
Corporate
Powers.
* I to said city, as a municipal corporation. And the adminis-
13 of said city, with the conduct and government thereof,
14 shall be vested in one principal officer, to be styled the
15 Mayor, one select council, consisting of eight persons, to
16 be denominated the Board of Aldermen, and one more nu-
17 merous council to consist of forty-eight persons, to be de-
12 tration of all the fiscal, prudential, and municipal concerns.
18 nominated the Common Council (which boards, in their -
19 joint capacity, shall be denominated the City Council)
20 and also in such other boards of officers, as are hereinafter
21 specified. -
1 SECT. 2. The annual meeting of citizens for the elec-
2 tion of municipal officers hereinafter mentioned, shall be
3 held on the second Monday of December, and the citi-
4 zens of said city, qualified to vote in city affairs, shall
5 for the purpose of such election then meet together
6 within their respective wards, at such hour and place
7 as the Mayor and Aldermen may by their warrant direct
8 and appoint. And in order to determine the result of
9 any election, the whole number of persons who voted
10 at such election shall first be ascertained by gºing the
11 whole number of separate ballots: ©
tº e
• * s "
©
given in ; and ač;person:
Election of
municipal
officers.
o
* e
º

2
Election of
Ward offi-
CerS.
\
12 shall be deemed or declared to be elected, who shall not
13 have received a majority of the whole number of ballots;
14 and in all returns of elections, the whole number of ballots
15 given in shall be distinctly stated; but blank pieces of paper
16 shall not be counted as ballots; and if at any election, a
17 greater number of candidates, than the number to be
IS elected, shall severally receive a majority of the whole
19 number of ballots, a number equal to the number to be
20 elected, of such as have the greatest excess over such
21 majority, shall be deemed and declared to be elected; but
22 if the whole number to be elected cannot be, thus comple-
23 ted, by reason of any two or more of such candidates
24 having received an equal number of ballots, the candidates
25 having such equal number shall be deemed not to be
26 elected.
SECT. 3. The citizens of said city shall at their annual
2 meeting choose by ballot one Warden and one Clerk, and
3 five Inspectors of elections for each ward, who shall be
4 resident in said ward, who shall hold their offices for
5 one year, and until others shall be appointed in their
6 stead. And it shall be the duty of such Warden to pre-
7 side at all meetings of the citizens of such ward, to pre-
8 serve order therein; and it shall be the duty of such Clerk
9 to make a fair and true record, and keep an exact journal
10 of all the acts and votes of the citizens at such ward meet-
11 ings; and to deliver over such records and journals, to-
12 gether with all other documents and papers held by him in
13 his said capacity, to his successor in such office. And if
14 at any meeting, the Warden shall be absent, the Clerk,
15 shall call the citizens to order and preside, until a War-
16 den pro tempore shall be chosen ; which may be done
17 by nomination and hand vote, if the Clerk so direct.
18 And it shall be the duty of the Warden and Inspectors,
19 in each ward, to receive, sort, and count, and of the
20 Warden to declare all votes at all elections within such
2 I ward. And the Warden, Clerk, and Inspectors, so chosen,
22 shall, respectively be under oath, faithfully and impartially
26. tºūstāarie iſ erºseveral duties relative to all elections;
• e o a e e
e
Çe * * * ©
3
24 which oath may be administered by the Clerk of such
25 ward, to the Warden, and by the latter to the Clerk and
26 Inspectors, or to all said officers, by any Justice of the
27 peace for the county of Suffolk; and a certificate that such
28 oaths have been administered, shall be entered in the
29 record or journal to be kept by the Clerk of such ward,
30 and in case of the absence of the Clerk or any of the In-
31 spectors from any ward meeting, such officers may be
32 chosen pro tempore by hand vote. In case no election of
33 Warden, Clerk or Inspectors should be made at the an-
34 nual meeting, adjournments may be had for the purpose of
35 effecting such election, in the same manner as is herein-
36 after provided with regard to the election of members of
37 the Common Council.
SECT. 4. The Warden, or other presiding officer of Powers of
2 such ward meeting, shall have full power and authority
~3 to preserve order and decorum and to repress all ri-
4 otous, tumultuous, and disorderly conduct therein, and
5 for that purpose to call to his aid, any constable or other
6 peace officer, and also to command the aid and assistance
7 of any citizen or citizens, who may be present ; and any
8 peace officer, or other citizen, neglecting or refusing to
9 afford such aid, shall be taken and deemed to be guilty of a
10 misdemeanor. And such Warden shall also have power and
11 authority, by warrant, under his hand, to cause any per-
12 son or persons who shall be guilty of any riotous, tumultu-
13 ous, or disorderly conduct at such meeting, to be taken
14 into custody and restrained : Provided, however, That
15 such restraint shall not continue after the adjournment or
Warden.
16 dissolution of such meeting: And provided, further, That
17 the person, so guilty of such disorderly conduct, shall be
18 liable, notwithstanding such restraint, to be prosecuted
19 and punished, in the same manner, as if such arrest had
20 not been made. -
SECT. 5. The citizens of said city, shall, at their an-
2 nual meeting, be called on to give in their votes for one
3 able and discreet person, being an inhabitant of the city,
4 to be Mayor of the said city for the term of one year. And
Election of
Mayor.
a tº 17
4.
N
5 all votes so given in, in each ward, being sorted and
6 counted by the Warden and Inspectors, and declared by
7 the Warden, shall be recorded at large, by the Clerk, in
S open ward meeting : and in making such declaration and
9 record, the whole number of votes or ballots, given in,
10 shall be distinctly stated, together with the name of every
11 person voted for, and the number of votes given for
12 each person respectively ; such numbers to be express-
13 ed in words at length ; and a transcript of such re-
14 cord, certified and authenticated by the Warden, Clerk,
15 and a majority of the Inspectors of elections for each
16 ward, shall forthwith be transmitted or delivered by such
17 ward Clerk, to the City Clerk. And it shall be the duty of
18 the City Clerk, forthwith to enter such returns, or a plain
19 and intelligible abstract of them, as they are successively
20 received, upon the journal of the proceedings of the May-
21 or and Aldermen, or some other book to be kept for that
22 purpose. And it shall be the duty of the Mayor and Al-
23 dermen to meet together within two days after such elec-
24 tion, and to examine and compare all the said returns, and
25 to ascertain whether any person has a majority of all the
26 votes given for Mayor ; and in case a majority is so given,
27 it shall be their duty to give notice thereof, in writing, to
28 the person thus elected, and also to make the same known
29 to the inhabitants of said city. But if, on such an examin-
30 ation, no person appears to have a majority of all the votes
31 given for Mayor, the Mayor and Aldermen for the time be-
32 ing, shall issue their warrants for meetings of the respec-
33 tive wards, for the choice of a Mayor, at such time and
34 place, as they shall judge most convenient. And the
35 same proceedings shall be had in all respects, as are here-
36 in before directed, until a Mayor shall be chosen by a ma-
37 jority of all the voters voting at such elections. And
38 whenever, on examination by the Mayor and Alder-
39 men, of the returns of votes given for Mayor at the
40 meeting of the wards holden for the purpose of electing
41 that officer, last preceding the first Monday of January,
42 no person shall appear to have a majority of all the votes
5
43 given for Mayor, the Mayor and Aldermen, by whom
44 such examination is made, shall make a record of that
45 fact, an attested copy of which, it shall be the duty of the
46 City Clerk to produce and read, on the first Monday of
47 January, in the presence of the members returned to serve
48 as Aldermen and Common Council-men, assembled to-
49 gether, at which meeting the senior member chosen to
50 serve in the Board of Aldermen shall preside; and thereup-
51 on the oaths may be administered to the members elect, as
52 is hereinafter provided ; and the Board of Aldermen shall
53 then proceed to elect a Chairman, and the Common Council
54 a President, in their respective chambers, and being re-
55 spectively organized, shall proceed to business. And the
56 Board of Aldermen shall forthwith issue their warrants for
57 meetings of the citizens of the respective wards, for the
58 choice of a Mayor, at such time and place as they shall
59 judge most convenient ; and the same proceedings shall
60 be had, in all respects, as are before directed, and repeat-
61 ed from time to time, until a Mayor be chosen by a majo-
62 rity of all the voters voting at such elections.
SECT. 6. In case any person elected Mayor of said Absence ºr
non-election
2 city, shall refuse to accept the office, the same proceed- of Mayor.
3 ings shall be had, in all respects, as are herein before
4 directed in cases wherein there has been no choice of
5 Mayor, until a Mayor be chosen by a majority of votes.—
6 And in case of the unavoidable absence, by sickness or
7 otherwise, of the Mayor elect, on the first Monday in
8 January, the City government shall organize itself in the
9 mode herein before provided in cases wherein no person
10 shall have been elected Mayor at the meeting last preceed-
11 ing the first Monday in January, and may proceed to busi-
12 ness in the same manner as if the Mayor was present.
13 And in case of the decease, inability, or absence of the
14 Mayor, and the same being declared, and a vote passed by
15 the Aldermen and Common Council, respectively, declar-
16 ing such cause, and the expediency of electing a Mayor, for
17 the time being, to supply the vacancy thus occasioned, it
18 shall be lawful for the Aldermen and Common Council to
6
Election of
Aldermen.
Election of
Common
Council.
19 meet in convention, and elect a Mayor to hold the said
20 office until such occasion shall be removed, or until a new
21 election.
SECT. 7. The citizens of said city, shall, at their annual
2 meeting, be called upon to give im their votes for eight
3 persons, being inhabitants of said city, to constitute the
4 Board of Aldermen for the ensuing year; and all the votes
5 so given in, in each ward, being sorted and counted by
6 the Warden and Inspectors and declared by the Warden,
7 shall be recorded at large by the Clerk, in open ward
8 meeting ; and in making such declaration and record,
9 the whole number of ballots given in, shall be par-
10 ticularly stated, together with the name of every per-
11 son voted for, the number of votes given for each
12 person, and also the number of blanks on ballots con-
13 taining some name or names ; and a transcript of such
14 record, certified by the Warden and Clerk, and a ma-
15 jority of the Inspectors of each ward, shall, by the said
16 Clerk, within two days, be transmitted to the City Clerk,
17 whereupon the same proceedings shall be had to ascertain
18 and determine the persons chosen as Aldermen, as are
19 herein before directed in regard to the choice of Mayor,
20 and for a new election, in case of the whole number re-
21 quired not being chosen at the first election. And in case
22 of the death or resignation of any member of the Board of
23 Aldermen, the same proceedings shall be had, for the pur-
24 pose of filling the vacancy thereby occasioned, as is here-
25 in before provided for the annual meeting. And each Al-
26 derman so chosen, shall be duly notified in writing, of his
27 election, by the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being.
SECT. 8. At the annual meeting, the citizens of each
2 ward shall be called upon to give in their votes for
3 four able and discreet men, being inhabitants of said
4 ward, to be members of the Common Council : and all
5 the ballots so given in, in each ward, being sorted and
6 counted by the Warden and Inspectors, and declared by
7 the Warden, if it appear that four persons have a majority
7
|
8 of all the ballots given at such election, a public declara-
9 tion thereof, with the names of the persons so chosen,
10 shall be made by the Warden, in open ward meeting ; and
11 in all cases, a record of such proceedings shall be kept by
12 the Clerk, in his journal, stating particularly the whole
13 number of ballots given in, the number necessary to make
14 a choice, the number actually given for each person, and
15 also the number of blanks on ballots containing some name
16 or names, the whole to be written in words at length.
17 In case four persons are not chosen at the first bal-
18 loting in any ward, the meeting of said ward shall be
19 adjourned, by the presiding officer, for the purpose of
20 filling the vacancies, to a period not less than twenty-four,
21 nor more than seventy-two hours distant, from the hour
22 when the polls were opened at the first balloting, the time
23 of adjournment, within such limits, to be determined by the
24 hand vote of the citizens of the ward, who may be present,
25 when such adjournment is had ; and at such adjourned
26 meeting, a balloting shall be opened for a number of Com-
27 mon Councilmen, sufficient to complete the number of four,
28 which shall be conducted, and its result be declared and re-
29 corded in the same manner, as before prescribed for the first
30 balloting. And in case there shall still be vacancies in the
31 number of Common Councilmen, in any ward, adjourn-
32 ments of the meetings of the citizens thereof, for the pur-
33 pose of filling the same, shall continue to be had in the
34 same manner to periods not less than twenty-four, nor
35 more than seventy-two hours distant from each other,
36 at all of which, the balloting shall be conducted, and
37 the result be declared and recorded in the same manner
38 as before prescribed, until the number of four shall
39 be duly chosen. Provided, however, That if at the close
40 of the last legally adjourned meeting of any ward, as
41 aforesaid, preceding the first Monday of January, there
42 shall still be vacancies in the number of Common Council-
43 men for any ward, no further adjournment shall be had —
44 but a record of the fact, and of the number of such vacan-
8
45 cies, shall be made by the Clerk of the ward in his jour-
46 nal, signed therein by the Warden, Clerk, and a majority
47 of the Inspectors, an attested copy of which record, shall
48 forthwith be delivered by the Clerk of the ward, to the
49 City Clerk, whose duty it shall be to lay the same before
50 the Mayor and Aldermen, at their first meeting in January:
51 and the Mayor and Aldermen shall forthwith issue their
52 warrant for a meeting of the citizens of such ward to fill
53 the vacancies in the number of Common Councilmen, at
54 such time and place as they shall judge most convenient.
55 And the same proceedings and adjournments, if necessa-
56 ry, within the same limits, shall be had in all respects, un-
57 der such new warrant, as have been prescribed, under the
58 former one, until the number of ſour Common Councilmen
59 for such ward, shall be duly phosen. And in case of the
60 death or resignation of any member of the Common Coun-
61 cil, the Mayor and Aldermen, upon receiving official no-
62 tice thereof, from the Common Council, shall forthwith
63 issue their warrant for a meeting of the citizens of the
64 ward, in which such vacancy has occurred, for the pur-
65 pose of filling the same : and the same proceedings shall
66 be had in all respects, and adjournments, if necessary,
67 within the same limits, under such warrant, as have beeu
68 prescribed, for the annual meeting for the election of
69 Common Councilmen. Provided, however, That if any
70 such vacancy shall not have been filled at the close of the
71 last legally adjourned meeting of any ward, prior to the
72 first Monday of January, no further proceedings shall be
73 had, but the meeting shall be adjourned without day. And
74 notice shall be given of all the adjournments before men-
75 tioned in two or more of the public newspapers by the
76 Clerk of each ward. All persons chosen as members of
77 the Common Council, in each ward, shall, within two
7S days of their election, be furnished with a certificate
79 thereof, signed by the Warden, Clerk, and a majority of
80 the Inspectors of such ward ; which certificate shall be
81 presumptive evidence of the title of such person to a seat
9
82 in the Common Council; but such Council shall have au-
83 thority to decide ultimately upon all questions relative to
84 the qualifications, elections, and returns of its members.
SECT. 9 The citizens of each ward, shall be called up-Election of
School Com-
2 on, at their annual meeting, to give in their votes for two mittee.
3 able and discreet men, being inhabitants of said ward, to
4 be members of the School Committee, and thereupon the
5 same proceedings shall be had as are before directed in
6 the election of members of the Common Council. And
7 each of the persons so chosen as a member of the School
8 Committee, in each ward, shall, within two days of his
9 election, be furnished with a certificate thereof, signed by
10 the Warden, Clerk, and a majority of the Inspectors of such
11 ward ; which certificate shall be presumptive evidence of
12 the title of such person to a seat in the said board, but
13 said committee, shall have authority to decide ultimately
14 upon all questions relative to the qualifications, elections,
15 and returns of its members.
SECT. 10. Every male citizen of twenty-one years of age qualifica.
2 and upwards, excepting paupers, and persons under guar- tº orvor
3 dianship, who shall have resided within the commonwealth
4 one year, and within the city six months next preceding any
5 meeting of citizens, either in wards, or in general meeting,
6 for municipal purposes, and who shall have paid by him-
7 self or his parent, master, or guardian, any state or county
8 tax, which, within two years next preceding such meeting,
9 shall have been assessed upon him, in any town or district
10 in this commonwealth, and also every citizen who shall
11 be, by law, exempted from taxation, and who shall be in
12 all other respects qualified as above mentioned, shall have
13 a right to vote at such meeting, and no other person shall
14 be entitled to vote at such meeting.
SECT, 1 1. The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Coun- organiza-
& g tº tion of City
2 cil men, chosen as aforesaid, shall enter on the duties of Council.
3 their respective offices on the first Monday in January, in
4 each year ; and before entering on the duties of their
5 offices, shall respectively be sworn, by taking the oath of
6 allegiance and oath of office, prescribed in the constitu-
I0
7 tion of this commonwealth, and an oath to support the
8 constitution of the United States. And such oaths may
9 be administered to the Mayor elect, by any one of the
10 Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, or any Judge of
1 I any court of record, commissioned to hold any such court,
12 within the said city, or by any Justice of the Peace for
13 the county of Suffolk. And such oaths shall and may be
14 administered to the Aldermen and members of the Common
15, Council, by the Mayor, if present, being himself first sworn
16 as aforesaid ; and in case he is absent, or no Mayor shall
17 have been chosen, then by either of the Justices afore-
18 said ; and a certificate that such oaths have been taken
19 shall be entered in the journal of the Mayor and Alder-
20 men, and of the Common Council respectively, by their
21 respective clerks. * *
SECT. 12. The Mayor and Aldermen, thus chosen and
2 qualified, shall compose one board, and shall sit and act
3 together as one body, at all meetings of which, the Mayor,
4 if present, shall preside ; but in his absence, the board
5 may elect a chairman, for the time being. All meetings
6 of the Mayor and Aldermen, when they are not engaged
7 in executive business, shall be public.
SECT. 13. The Mayor and Aldermen, together with the
2 Common Council, in convention, shall choose a Clerk,
3 for the term of one year, and until another person is duly
4 chosen to succeed him, who shall be sworn to the faithful
5 discharge of the duties of his office, and shall be removable
6 at the pleasure of the Mayor and Alderman. He shall be
7, denominated the City Clerk, and it shall be his duty to
8 keep a journal of the acts and proceedings of the said
9 board, composed of the Mayor and Aldermen; to sign
10 all warrants issued by them, and to do such other acts in
11 his said capacity, as may lawfully and reasonably be re-
12 quired of him ; and to deliver over all journals, books,
13 papers; and documents, entrusted to him as such Clerk, to
14 his successor in office, immediately upon such successor
15 being chosen and qualified, as aforesaid, or whenever he
16 may be thereunto required by the Mayor and Aldermen.
, 11
17 And the City Clerk thus chosen and qualified, shall con-
18 tinue to have all the powers, and perform all the duties
19 now by law belonging to him.
SECT. 14. The persons so chosen and qualified, as mem- Meetings of
2. bers of the Common Council of the said city, shall sit and §.
3 act together as a separate body, distinct from that of the
4 Mayor and Aldermen, except in those cases in which the
5 two bodies are to meet in convention ; and the said Coun-
6 cil shall have power, from time to time, to choose one of
7 their own members to preside over their deliberations, and
8 to preserve order, who shall be denominated the President
9 of the Common Council, and also to choose a Clerk, who Election and
10 shall be under oath faithfully to discharge the duties of his º
11, office, who shall hold such office during the pleasure of Council.
12 said Council, and 'whose duty it shall be to attend said
13 !Council, when the same is in session, to keep a journal of
14 its acts, votes and proceedings, and to perform such other
15, services in said capacity, as said Council may require.
16 All sittings of the Common Council shall be public ; and
17 twenty-five members shall constitute a quorum for the
18 transaction of business. t
SECT. 15. The Mayor of the said city, thus chosen and salary and
2 qualified, shall be taken and deemed to be the chief exe- º
3 cutive officer of said corporation ; and he shall be com-
4 pensated for his services by a salary, to be fixed by the
5 board of Aldermen and Common Council, in City Council-
6 assembled, payable at stated periods ; which salary shall
7 not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars annually, and
8 he shall receive no other compensation or emoluments
9 whatever ; and no regulations enlarging or diminishing
10 such compensation shall be made, to take effect until the
11 expiration of the year, for which the Mayor then in office,
12 shall have been elected. And it shall be the duty of the \
13 Mayor to be vigilant and active at all times, in causing the k
14 laws for the government of said city to be duly executed
15 and put in force ; to inspect the conduct of all subordinate
16 officers of the government thereof, and as far as may be in
12 f
17 his power, to cause all negligence, carelessness, and posi-
Executive
powers of
Mayor and
Aldermen.
Police.
Licenses to
inn holders,
Victuallels &
retallers
18 tive violation of duty, to be duly prosecuted and punished.
19 He shall have power, whenever in his judgment, the good
20 of said city may require it, to summon meetings of the
21 Board of Aldermen and Common Council, or either of them,
22 although the meetings of said boards may stand adjourned
23 to a more distant day. And it shall be the duty of the
24 Mayor, from time to time, to communicate to both
25 branches of the City Council all such information, and re-
26 commend all such measures as may tend to the improve-
27 ment of the finances, the police, health, security, cleanli-
28 ness, comfort, and ornament of the said city.
SECT. 16. The administration of police, together with
2 the executive powers of the said corporation generally,
3 and all the powers formerly vested in the selectmen of
4 the town of Boston, either by the general laws of this
5 Commonwealth, by particular laws relative to the powers
6 and duties of said selectmen, or by the usages, votes, or
7 by-laws of said town, and all the powers subsequently
8 vested in the Mayor and Aldermen of said City, shall be
9 and hereby are vested in the Mayor and Aldermen, as
10 hereby constituted, as fully and amply as if the same were
11 herein specially enumerated.
SECT. 17. The said Mayor and Aldermen shall continue
2 to have full and exclusive power to grant licenses to inn-
3 holders, victuallers, and retailers, within the said city, in all
4 cases wherein they are now authorized to grant such licen-
5 ses; and in granting such licenses, it shall be lawful for the
6 said Mayor and Aldermen to annex thereto such reasona-
7 ble conditions in regard to time, place, and other cir-
8 cumstances, under which such license shall be acted
9 upon, as in their judgment, the peace, quiet, and good
10 order of the city may require. Also to take bonds of all
11 persons so licensed, in reasonable sums, and with suffi-
12 cient sureties, conditioned for a faithful compliance with
13 the terms of their said licenses, and of all laws and regu-
14 lations respecting such licensed houses. And said Mayor
13
15 and Aldermen, after the granting of any such license, shall
16 have power to revoke or suspend the same, if in their
17 judgment the order and welfare of said city require it.
18 And any person or persons who shall presume to exercise
19 either of the said employments, within said city, without
20 having first obtained a license therefor, or in any manner
21 contrary to the terms of said license, or after the same
22 shall have been revoked or suspended, shall be liable
23 to the same penalties and forfeitures, to be prosecuted
24 for in the same manner as now by law provided, in
25 case of exercising either of said employments without
26 a license ; and shall also be taken and deemed to
27 have forfeited their bonds, respectively given as aforesaid,
28 upon which suits may be instituted against such licensed
29 persons or their sureties, at the discretion of the said
30 Mayor and Aldermen, and in such manner as they may di-
31 rect, for the purpose of enforcing such forfeitures : Pro-
32 vided, however, That all innholders, retailers, and victual-
33 lers, shall, on being licensed as aforesaid, pay the same
34 sum now required by law ; which sum shall be accounted
35 for in the same way and manner as is now required by
36 law.
SECT. 18. The Mayor and Aldermen shall have power Licenses to
2 to license all theatrical exhibitions, and all public shows, º
3 and all exhibitions of whatever name or nature, to which 10D15.
4 admission is obtained on payment of money, on such
5 terms and conditions as to them may seem just and rea-
6 sonable ; and to regulate the same from time to time, in
7 such manner as to them may appear necessary to preserve
8 order and decorum, and to prevent the interruption of
9 peace and quiet. And any person or persons who shall
10 set forth, establish, or promote any such exhibition or
11 show, or publish, or advertise the same, or otherwise aid
12 or assist therein, without a license so obtained as afore-
13 said, or contrary to the terms or conditions of such li-
14 cense, or whilst the same is suspended, or after the same
15 is revoked by said Mayor and Aldermen, shall be liable to
14
Ty-laws and
ordinances.
Assessment
Of taxes.
16 such forfeiture, as the City Council may, by any by-law
17 made for that purpose prescribe.
SECT. 19. All other powers, heretofore by law vest-
2 ed in the town of Boston, or in the inhabitants thereof,
3 as a municipal corporation, or in the City Council of the
4 City of Boston, shall be, and hereby are continued to be
5 vested in the Mayor and Aldermen, and Common Council
6 of the said City, to be exercised by concurrent vote, each
7 board, as hereby constituted, having a negative upon the
8 proceedings of the other. More especially they shall have
9 power to make all such needful and salutary by-laws or
10 ordinances, as towns by the laws of this commonwealth
11 have power to make and establish, and to annex penal-
12 ties not exceeding fifty dollars for the breach thereof,
13 which by-laws and ordinances shall take effect and be in
14 force, from and after the time therein respectively limit-
15 ed, without the sanction or confirmation of any court, or
16 other authority whatsoever; Provided, That such by-laws
17 and ordinances shall not be repugnant to the constitution
18 and laws of the commonwealth : And provided also, That
19 the same shall be liable to be annulled by the Legislature
20 thereof.
SECT. 20. The said City Council shall also have pow-
2 er, from time to time, to lay and assess taxes for all pur-
3 poses for which towns are by law required or authorized to
4 assess and grant money, and also for all purposes for which
5 county taxes may be levied and assessed; Provided, how-
7 ever, That in the assessment and apportionment of all such
8 taxes upon the polls and estates of all persons liable to con-
9 tribute thereto, the same rules and regulations shall be ob-
10 served as are now established by the laws of this common-
11 wealth, or may be hereafter enacted, relative to the assess-
12 ment and apportionment of town taxes. The said City Coun-
13 cil shall also have power to provide for the assessment and
14 collection of such taxes, and to make appropriations of all
15 public moneys, and provide for the disbursement thereof,
w
15
16 and take suitable measures to ensure a just and prompt ac-
17 count thereof; and for these purposes, may either elect
18 such Assessors and Assistant Assessorsas may be needful,
19 or provide for the appointment or election of the same, or
20 any of them, by the Mayor and Aldermen, or by the citi-
21 Zens, as in their judgment may be most conducive to the
22 public good, and may also require of all persons entrusted
23 with the collection, custody, or disbursement of public
24 moneys, such bonds, with such conditions and such sure-
25 ties, as the case may in their judgment require.
SECT. 21. The said City Council shall have power, and ºf.
2 they are hereby authorised to provide for the appointment cers.
3 or election of all necessary officers, for the good govern-
4 ment of said city, not otherwise provided for ; to prescribe
5 their duties, and fix their compensation, and to choose a
6 Register of Deeds, whenever the city shall be one county.
SECT. 22. The City Council also shall have the care public build-
2 and superintendence of the public buildings, and the care,"
3 custody, and management of the property of the city, with
4 power to lease or sell the same, except the Common and
5 Faneuil Hall, and to authorise and empower either branch
6 of said council or any committee thereof to lease or
7 sell the same. And the said City Council shall have
8 power also to purchase property, real or personal, in
9 the name, and for the use of the city, whenever its in-
10 terest or convenience may, in their judgment, require it.
SECT. 23. All the power and authority now by law anarantine.
2 vested in the City Council relative to the preservation of
3 the public health and the quarantine of vessels, shall con-
4 tinue to be vested in the said City Council, to be carried public health
5 into execution by the appointment of Health Commission-
6 ers, or in such other manner as the health, cleanliness,
7 comfort, and order of the city may, in their judgment, re-
8 quire, subject to such alterations as the Legislature may
9 from time to time adopt.
SECT. 24. The said City Council shall have power and overseers of
2 they are hereby authorised to provide for the election of the Poor.
3 Overseers of the Poor for the said City.
16
Surveyors of
high ways.
City Treas-
Ulter,
Accountabil-
ity in expen-
dlture of
money.
Nominations
by Mayor.
Members of
City Council
ineligible to
other offices.
School Com-
mittee.
Powers of
School Com-
mittee.
SECT. 25. The said City Council shall have power, if
2 they see fit, to elect the Mayor and Aldermen to be Sur-
3 veyors of highways for said city.
SECT. 26. The Mayor and Aldermen of said city, and
2 the said Common Council shall, as soon as conveniently
3 may be, after their annual organization, meet together in
4 convention, and elect some suitable and trustworthy per-
5 son to be the Treasurer of said city.
SECT. 27. All boards, and officers, acting under the
2 authority of said corporation, and entrusted with the ex-
3 penditure of public money, shall be accountable therefor
4 to the City Council in such manner as they may direct.
5 And it shall be the duty of the City Council to publish and
6 distribute, annually, for the information of the citizens, a
7 particular statement of the receipts and expenditures of all
8 public moneys, and a particular statement of all city prop-
9 erty.
SECT. 28. In all cases in which appointments to office
2 are directed to be made by the Mayor and Aldermen, the
3 Mayor shall have the exclusive power of nomination ; such
4 nomination, however, being subject to be confirmed or re-
5 jected by the Board of Aldermen.
SECT. 29. No person shall be eligible to any office, the
2 salary of which is payable out of the city treasury, who at
3 the time of his appointment, shall be a member of either
4 the Board of Aldermen or Common Council; and neither
5 the Mayor nor any Alderman, or member of the Com-
6 mon Council, shall, at the same time, hold any other
7 office under the city government.
SECT. 30. The School Committee shall consist of the
2 Mayor of the City, the President of the Common Coun-
3 cil, and of the twenty-four persons, chosen as is prescrib-
4 ed in the ninth section of this act. And at all meetings of
5 the Board the Mayor, if present, shall preside.
SECT. 31. The said Committee shall have the care and
2 management of the Public Schools, and may elect all
3 such instructers as they deem proper and remove the
17
4 same whenever they consider it expedient. And they are
5 also empowered to distribute the sum, which shall be am-
6 nually appropriated by the City Council, among the in-
7 structers in the Public Schools, so fixing the amount
8 of the salary of each instructer, however, as that in no
9 case shall the aggregate amount of all said salaries, exceed
10 the whole sum that shall have been so appropriated by
11 the said Council. And generally they shall have all the
12 powers, in relation to the care and management of the
13 Public Schools, which the Selectmen of Towns or School
14 Committees, are authorised by the laws of this Common-
15 wealth to exercise.
SECT, 32. It shall be the duty of the two branches of Nº.
2 the City Council, in the month of October, in each year, tives.
3 to meet in convention, and determine the number of Rep-
4 resentatives, which it may be expedient for the corpora-
5 tion to send to the General Court in such year, within its
6 constitutional limits, and to publish such determination,
7 which shall be conclusive; and the number thus determin-
8 ed shall be specified in the warrant calling a meeting for
9 the election of representatives.
SECT. 33. All elections for Governor, Lieutenant Gov-Elections of
sº tº State and U.
2 ernor, Senators, Representatives, Representatives to Con-s, officers.
3 gress, and all other officers, who are to be chosen and
4 voted for by the people, shall be held at meetings of the
5 citizens qualified to vote in such elections in their respec-
6 tive wards, at the time fixed by law for those elections
7 respectively. And at such meetings, all the votes given
8 in, being collected, sorted and counted by the War-
9 den and Inspectors, and declared by the Warden, in
10 each ward, it shall be the duty of the Clerk of such
11 ward to make a true record of the same, specifying
12 therein the whole number of ballots given in, the name
13 of each person voted for, and the number of votes for
14 each, and also the number of blanks on ballots containing
15 some name or names, expressed in words at length. And
16 a transcript of such record, certified by the Warden,
$ 18
List of citi-
Zens and
Ul
terS.
Ward lists,
17 Clerk, and a majority of the Inspectors of elections in
18 such ward, shall forthwith be transmitted or delivered by,
19 each Ward Clerk to the City Clerk. It shall be the duty
20 of the City Clerk forthwith to enter such returns, or a
21 plain and intelligible abstract of them, as they are succes-
22 sively received, in the journals of the proceedings of the
23 Mayor and Aldermen, or in some other book kept for that
24 purpose. And it shall be the duty of the Mayor and
25 Aldermen to meet together within two days after every
26 such election, and examine and compare all the said re-
27 turns, and thereupon to make out a certificate of the result
28 of such election, to be signed by the Mayor and a majority
29 of the Aldermen, and also by the City Clerk, which shall
30 be transmitted, delivered, or returned, in the same manner
31 as similar returns are now by law directed to be made,
32 and such certificates and returns shall have the same
33 force and effect in all respects, as like returns of similar
34 elections made by the Selectmen of towns. In all elec-
35 tions for Representatives to the General Court, in case
36 the whole number proposed to be elected shall not be
37 chosen by a majority of the votes legally returned, the
38 Mayor and Aldermen shall forthwith issue their warrant
39 for a new election, and the same proceedings shall be
40 had in all respects as are herein before directed, until
41 the whole number shall be elected.
SECT. 34. It shall be the duty of the Assessors for the
ºalified vo. 2 City of Boston, once in each year, at the time when they
3 take a list of the citizens for the purposes of taxation, to
4 take also a list of all the qualified voters of the city, and
5 to deposit the same, as soon as completed, with the
6 Mayor and Aldermen.
Sect. 35. It shall be the duty of the Mayor and Al-
2 dermen, ten days at least prior to the election of city offi-
3 cers, or of any officer or officers under the government of
4 the United States, or of this Commonwealth, from the last
5 list of qualified voters of the city, deposited with them by
6 the Assessors, and from such other satisfactory evidence,
19
7 as may be furnished them, to make out correct alphabeti-
8 cal lists of all the citizens of each ward, qualified to vote in
9 such elections,—to cause the said list for each ward, to
10 be posted up in one or more public places, in each ward
11 respectively, ten days at least prior to each election—and
12 also to cause one copy of all such ward lists to be expos-
13 ed to public inspection, at their room, for the space of at
14 least ten days prior to every election. And the said May-
15 or and Aldermen, shall by the full board or by a commit-
16 tee, as they shall deem best, be in session, for the space
17 of ten days at least prior to the day of election, for the
18 purpose of receiving evidence of the qualifications of per-
19 sons, claiming a right to vote in such elections, and of
20 correcting the lists of voters. And it shall further be the
21 duty of the said Mayor and Aldermen, at a reasonable time
22 before the opening of the polls for each election, to deliv-
23 er such list of voters in each ward, so prepared and cor-
24 rected, to the Clerk of said ward, to be used by the War-
25 den and Inspectors thereof at such election ;-and after
26 such lists have been so delivered to the Clerks of the sev-
27 eral wards, no alterations therein shall be made, of any
28 kind, by any person or for any cause whatever, but the
29 same shall be conclusive for the purpose of such election.
30 And it shall be the duty of the Inspectors of Elections in
31 each ward, to receive the votes of all persons, whose
32 names are borne on the list of voters of their ward, and to
33 refuse the votes of all persons, whose names are not borne
34 on said list, without any discretionary power on their
35 part ;-Provided however, that if any person claim to vote
36 by a name, which, though borne on the ward list, is be-
37 lieved by the Inspector, to whom the vote is offered, to
38 be intended for another person of the same name, he shall
39 refer the same to the Warden, whose duty it shall be to
40 decide upon the reception or rejection of the vote. And
41 the Inspector shall cause a mark to be placed against the
42 name of each voter in such list, at the time of giving his
43 vote.
20
* #
#. 'SECT. 36. General meetings of the citizens, qualified
2 to votein, city, affairs, may from time to time, be held to
3 gonsult upon', the common, good, to give instructions to
4 their representatives, angºo take all lawful measures to
25 obtain gatedress of any grievances, according to the right
26 securéâto the people by the constitution of this Common-
, 7 wealth. And such meetings shall and may be duly warn-
8 ed by the Mayor and Aldermen, upon the requisition of
9 fifty qualified voters of said city.
Wºº SECT. 37. All warrants for the meetings of citizens,
ings. 2 for municipal purposes, to be had either in general meet-
3 ings or in wards, shall be issued by the Mayor and Alder-
4 men, and in such form, and be served, executed, and re-
5 turned at such time, and in such manner, as the City
6 Council may, by any by-law or ordinance, direct and ap-
7 point. º
ºn into SECT. 38. It shall be the duty of the City Council,
2 and they are empowered, whenever they deem it expedia
3 ent, not oftener however, than once in ten years, to cause.
4 a new division of the city to be made into wards not ex-
5 ceeding twelve in number, in such manner as to include
6 an equal number of inhabitants in each ward, as nearly as
7 conveniently may be, consistently with well defined limits
8 to each ward ; including, in such computation of number
9 of inhabitants, persons of all descriptions, and taking the
10 last census, made under the authority of the United States,
I 1 or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as a basis for such
* 12 computation.
* SECT. 39. Nothing in this act contained shall be so
2 construed as to restrain or prevent the Legislature from
3 amending or altering the same, whenever they shall deem
4 it expedient.
Itepeal. SECT. 40. The act entitled an act establishing the
2 City of Boston, passed Feb. 23, 1822 and all acts in ad-
3 dition thereto, are hereby repealed.
SECT. 41. No act which, has been heretofore repealed,
2 shall be revived by the repeal of the acts mentioned in the
;: : 3 pieceding section.
S.
º
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o V
*
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