USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Town annual report of Braintree, Massachusetts for the year 1869-1879 > Part 7
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railing or fence, or in some other way exposed every night from twilight in the evening through the whole night, so long as such street or way shall be or remain unsafe or inconvenient for travellers.
SECTION 2. No building shall be removed over a public street or way, without written permission from the Selectmen; and the Selectmen, before granting permission to move a building, shall ascertain if the proposed removal can be made without injury or destruction to trees, shrubs, or other fixture of orna- ment or utility, belonging to the public, or to individ- uals ; and they may require the applicant to furnish satisfactory security to indemnify the town, or any individual whose right may be affected, for any damage caused by said removal.
SECTION 3. No person shall ride, drive, or suffer a horse under his control to go at an immoderate or unreasonable rate, in any street or public place within the town, so as thereby to endanger the life, safety, or convenience of any person properly using any street or public place aforesaid.
SECTION 4. No person other than the owner thereof, or his agent, shall trim, cut, prune, or in any manner injure, any shade, fruit, or ornamental tree, planted in any street or public place in the town, without the written consent or order of one or more of the Select- men ; nor shall any person hitch or fasten any horse or other animal to such trees or to the boxing which may surround them.
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SECTION 5. No person shall injure, deface, or destroy, any guide-post, guide-board, milestone, or boundary stone ; nor any lamp-post, lamp, or lantern, which has been or may be erected or placed in the town.
SECTION 6. No person shall post up, paint, or affix in any manner, any sign board, placard, notice, bill, or advertisement, to, or upon, any stone, tree, fence, wall, or building in the town, without the consent of the owner thereof, or of the person occupying or having possession of the same ; nor upon any such tree, stone, fence, wall, or building, in any of the public streets or places in the town, without permission from the Selectmen.
SECTION 7. No person shall maliciously deface, remove, or destroy any bill, notice, or advertisement concerning public affairs, unless the same shall be affixed to premises owned by him or under his con- trol; nor shall any person remove or deface, any notice, advertisement, or handbill, which has been posted up by permission of the Selectmen, or of the owners of the property to which the same shall be affixed.
SECTION 8. No person shall be allowed to pasture, or suffer to run at large, any horse, cattle, or other grazing animal, upon any of the streets or public places in the town, either with or without a keeper, except within the limits of such street adjoining his
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own premises, and in such manner as not to interfere with the rights of the public therein.
SECTION 9. No person shall coast with a sled or runners, kick foot-ball, or play at any game in which a ball of any kind is used, or throw any stones, or shoot with or use a bow and arrow, in any of the public streets of the town.
SECTION 10. No person shall set fire to or cause to burn or explode any fire-works, india crackers, torpe- does, or other explosive articles, or discharge any firearms or cannon in any public street or way, or near to any vehicle passing thereon, or to any dwell- ing house not owned or occupied by himself, except in the performance of some legal duty.
SECTION 11. No person except those having the care of the highways, shall at any time set fire to any bushes, leaves, grass or other combustible substance in any of the streets of the town; nor near to any fence or building not owned or occupied by himself.
SECTION 12. No person shall swim or bathe in any of the waters within or surrounding the town, so as to be exposed to view in a nude state from any dwelling house, or to passengers or other persons on any public way or railroad.
SECTION 13. No person shall behave in a rude or disorderly manner, or use any profane, indecent, or insulting language, in any public street or place in the town, nor near any dwelling house or other build-
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ing therein ; nor shall three or more persons continue to stand in a group, or near each other on any side- walk, or in any public place so as to obstruct a free passage for foot passengers, after having been re- quested by a constable or police officer to move on ; nor shall any person by any noise, gesture, or other means, wantonly and designedly frighten or start any horse in any street or public place in the town.
SECTION 14. No person shall obstruct the free and convenient use for travel of any public street, side- walk, or footpath, by leaving or fastening a horse or carriage, so that the way will be obstructed or ren- dered inconvenient, or by occupying the same with vehicles, wares or merchandise.
SECTION 15. No person shall deposit in or upon, any public street, place or sidewalk in the town, any stones, dirt, ashes, shavings or rubbish of any kind without permission from the Selectmen.
SECTION 16. No person shall engage in hunting, fishing or skating, or play at ball or other games, or discharge any firearms within the limits of the town, on the sabbath day.
SECTION 17. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the foregoing sections of this article, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence a sum not less than one dollar, nor more than twenty dollars; and all money so recovered shall be paid into the treasury of the town.
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ARTICLE VII.
TRUANCY.
SECTION 1. There shall be appointed annually, three Truant officers, whose duty it shall be, to see that the laws in relation to truancy are duly enforced, and to make and prosecute to final judgment all com- plaints under the same.
SECTION 2. Any child between the ages of seven and fifteen years who does not attend school and has no regular and lawful employment and who appears to be growing up in idleness and ignorance may be deemed and treated as an habitual truant.
SECTION 3. A child guilty of truancy shall be re- ported by the teacher to one of the School Committee, who shall, if he deems the offence sufficiently aggrava- ted to deserve punishment, forthwith notify the parent or guardian of such child, who shall be allowed to prevent summary punishment by such pledges for the good conduct of the child as shall be satisfactory to the School Committee; and if such pledges are not given or kept, the School Committee or one of them may forthwith notify one of the Truant officers, who shall at once make the complaint required by law against such child before any tribunal having jurisdic- tion in the case.
SECTION 4. No child shall be admitted to any public school, who has not been duly vaccinated.
SECTION 5. The Almshouse in this town is hereby assigned and provided as a suitable place for the
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detention of children, who may be convicted of viola- ting the laws in relation to truancy and while so detained shall be under the supervision of the School Committee as to their instruction and discipline.
ARTICLE VIII.
TOWN HALL.
SECTION 1. The Selectmen shall have the care, custody and supervision of the Town Hall, including all the rooms in the edifice except those occupied by the High School, and of the land and appurtenances thereto belonging, and of all property of the town contained therein: they shall engage a suitable person as superintendant, who shall have the care of said building, and keep it clean and in order and be in attendance whenever the house is open for use; they shall fix the price to be paid for the use of the hall and other rooms in the building, and make regulations for the use of the same unless the town otherwise order in special cases.
SECTION 2. Applications for the use of the hall or other rooms shall be made to the Selectmen, and all permits to use the same shall be given in writing, directed to the superintendant and signed by one or more of the Selectmen.
SECTION 3. The hall shall not be used for any of the purposes mentioned in chapter 88, section 74 of the General Statutes, unless the same shall have been
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first duly licensed by the Selectmen as provided for in said section.
SECTION 4. The Selectmen may direct one or more constables or policemen to be present in or about the building, whenever in their judgment the preservation of peace and good order may require it; and whenever any constable or policeman is so employed, the cost and expense shall be paid by the persons using the hall or other rooms.
ARTICLE IX.
The town shall once in every two years, at its annual meeting, elect by ballot two Trustees of the. Thayer Free Public Library, who shall be residents of the town, and shall hold said office for the term of two years. Vacancies occurring from any cause may be filled at any town meeting called for that purpose.
ARTICLE X.
SECTION 1. No part of these By-Laws shall be altered, amended or repealed, except at the annual Town meeting in March or at an adjournment thereof, nor unless the warrant calling the meeting shall have an article or articles setting forth the sub- stance of the proposed amendment or repeal.
SECTION 2. These By-Laws shall go into effect from and after their adoption; and their approval by the Superior Court, within and for the County of Norfolk, or by some justice of said Court.
Approved April 16, 1873.
LINCOLN F. BRIGHAM,
Chief Justice Superior Court.
NORFOLK, SS .: SUPERIOR COURT.
A true copy of By-Laws as Approved,
Attest:
ERASTUS WORTHINGTON,
Clerk.
BRAINTREE, March 7, 1873.
Voted, to adopt the provisions of the Statutes of 1869, Chapter 366, in relation to impounding cattle.
A true copy. Attest :
E. HAYWARD,
Town Clerk.
APPENDIX.
EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION & STATUTES
-OF - THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
OF OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY.
General Statutes, Chap. 161.
SECTION 5. Whoever wilfully and maliciously burns or otherwise destroys, or injures, a pile or parcel of wood, boards, timber, or other lumber, or any fence, bars, or gate, or a stack of grain, hay, or other vege- table product, or any vegetable product severed from the soil and not stacked, or any standing trees, grain, grass, or other standing product from the soil, or the soil itself, of another, shall be punished by imprison- ment in the state prison not exceeding five years, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and im- prisonment in the jail not exceeding one year.
SECTION 48, Whoever wilfully, mischievously, and without right, takes or uses any boat or vehicle, or takes, drives, rides, or uses, any horse, ass, mule, ox, or any draught animal, the property of another, without the consent of the owner or other person having the legal custody, care, or control, of the same, shall be
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punished by fine not exceeding three hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for a term not exceeding six months : provided, that nothing in this section shall be so construed as to apply to any case where the taking of the property of another is with the intent to steal the same, or, when it is taken under a claim of right, or with the presumed consent of the owner or other person having the legal control, care, or custody, of the same.
SECTION 66. Whoever wilfully and maliciously breaks down, injures, removes, or destroys, any monu- ment erected for the purpose of designating the boundaries of a city or town, or of a tract or lot of land, or any tree marked for that purpose, or so breaks down, injures, removes, or destroys, any mile stone, mile board, or guide board, erected upon a highway or other public way, turnpike, or railroad, or wilfully or maliciously defaces or alters the inscription on any such stone or board, or wilfully or maliciously mars or defaces any building, or sign board, or extinguishes any lamp, or breaks, destroys, or removes, any lamp, or lamp post, or railing, or posts, erected on any bridge, sidewalk, street, highway, court, or passage, shall be punished by imprisonment in the jail not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding fifty dollars.
SECTION 67. Whoever wilfully and maliciously, or wantonly and without cause, destroys, defaces, mars, or injures, any school-house, church, or other building
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APPENDIX.
erected or used for the purposes of education or re- ligious instruction, or for the general diffusion of knowledge ; or any of the out-buildings, fences, wells, or appurtenances, of such school-house, church, or other building; or any furniture, apparatus, or other property, belonging to, or connected with, such school- house, church, or other building; shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by im- prisoment in the jail not exceeding one year.
SECTION 81. Whoever wilfully commits a trespass, by cutting down or destroying any timber or wood, standing or growing on the land of another, or by carrying away any kind of timber or wood, cut down or lying on such land, or by digging up or carrying away any stone, ore, gravel, clay, sand, turf, or mould, from such land, or any roots, fruit, or plant, there being, or by cutting down or carrying away any sedge, grass, hay, or any kind of corn, standing, growing, or being, on such land, or by carrying away from any wharf or landing place any goods whatever in which he has no interest or property, without the licence of the owner thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the jail not exceeding sixty days, or by fine not exceeding fifty dollars.
SECTION 82. Whoever wilfully and maliciously, or wantonly and without cause, cuts down or destroys, or by girdling, lopping, or otherwise, injures any fruit or other tree, not his own, standing or growing for shade ornament, or other useful purpose, or maliciously or
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APPENDIX.
wantonly breaks any glass, in a building not his own, or maliciously breaks down, injures, mars, or defaces, any fence belonging to or enclosing lands not his own, or maliciously throws down or opens any gate, bars, or fence, and leaves the same down or open, or malic- iously and injuriously severs from the freehold of another any produce thereof, or any thing attached thereto, shall be punished by imprisonment in the jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.
SECTION 83. Whoever wilfully and maliciously en- ters any orchard, nursery, garden, or cranberry meadow, and takes away, mutilates, or destroys, any tree, shrub, or vine, or steals, takes, and carries away, any fruit or flower, without the consent of the owner thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the house of correction not exceeding three months.
SECTION 84. Whoever wilfully commits a trespass, by entering upon the garden, orchard, or other im- proved land, of another, without permission of the owner, and with intent to cut, take, carry away, de- stroy, or injure, the trees, grain, grass, hay, fruit, or vegetables, there growing or being, shall be punished by imprisonment in the jail not exceeding thirty days, or by fine not exceeding twenty dollars; and if any of the offences mentioned in this or section eighty-one are committed on the Lord's day, or in disguise, or secretly in the night time, the imprisonment shall not
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be less than five days, nor the fine, less than five dollars.
SECTION 85. Whoever wilfully and maliciously de- stroys or injures the personal property of another in any manner or by any means not particularly described or mentioned in this chapter, shall be punished by im- prisonment in the state prison not exceeding five years, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars and imprisonment in the jail not exceeding one year : provided, that when the value of the property so de- stroyed or injured is not alleged to exceed the sum of fifteen dollars, the punishment shall be by fine not exceeding fifteen dollars, or imprisonment in the jail not exceeding thirty days.
SECTION 86. Whoever is discovered in the act of wilfully injuring any fruit or forest trees, or committing any kind of malicious mischief on the Lord's day, may be arrested by any sheriff, deputy-sheriff, constable, watchman, police officer, or other person, and lawfully detained by imprisonment in the jail or otherwise, until a complaint can be made against him for the offence for which he was arrested, and he be taken upon a warrant issued upon such complaint; but such detention without warrant shall not continue more than twenty-four hours.
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APPENDIX.
PROVISIONS RELATING TO SCHOOLS.
Constitution of Massachusetts, Chap. 5, Sect. 2.
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being neces- sary for the preservation of their rights and liberties ; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and mag- istrates, in all future periods of this Commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at Cambridge, public schools and grammar schools in the towns; to encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manu- factures, and a natural history of the country; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people.
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APPENDIX.
OF THE ATTENDANCE OF CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOLS.
General Statutes, Chap. 41.
SECTION 1. Every person having under his control a child between the ages of eight and twelve years, shall annually cause such child to attend some public day school in the city or town in which he resides at least twenty weeks; and for every neglect of such duty the party offending shall forfeit to the use of the public schools of such city or town a sum not exceeding twenty dollars; but if the party so neglecting was not able, by reason of poverty, to send such child to school; or such child has attended a private day school, approved by the school committee of such city or town for a like period of time; or is regularly attending a public or private day school known as a half-time school, also approved by them ; or that such child has been otherwise furnished with the means of education for a like period of time, or has already acquired the branches of learning taught in the public schools; or if his physical or mental condition is such as to render such attendance inexpedient or impracticable, the penalty before men- tioned shall not be incurred; provided, that no objec- tion shall be made by the school committee to any such school on account of the religious teaching in said school.
SECTION 2. The truant officers and the school com- mittee of the several cities and towns shall vigilantly inquire into all cases of neglect of the duty prescribed
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APPENDIX.
in the preceding section, and ascertain the reasons, if any, therefor; and such truant officers, or any of them, shall, when so directed by the school committee, prosecute, in the name of the city or town, any per- son liable to the penalty provided for in the preceding section. Justices of police or districts courts, trial justices, trial justices of juvenile offenders, and judges of probate shall have jurisdiction within their re- spective counties of the offences described in this act. Approved May 12, 1873.
SECTION 8. The school committee shall not allow any child to be admitted to or connected with the public schools, who has not been duly vaccinated.
OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN AND REGULATIONS RESPECTING THEM.
General Statutes, Chap. 42.
SECTION 1. Children of the age of twelve years and under the age of fifteen years, who have resided in this state for the term of six months, shall not be em- ployed in a manufacturing establishment unless with- in twelve months next preceding the term of such employment they have attended some public or priv- ate day school, under teachers approved by the school committee of the place in which said school was kept, at least one term of eleven weeks, and unless they shall attend such a school for a like period during each twelve months of such employment. Children under twelve years of age, having resided in this state for a
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APPENDIX.
like period, shall not be so employed unless they have attended a like school for the term of eighteen weeks within twelve months next preceding their employ- ment, and a like term during each twelve months of such employment.
SECTION 2. The owner, agent, or superintendent, of a manufacturing establishment, who employs a child in violation of the provisions of the preceding section, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding fifty dollars for each offence, to be recovered by indictment, to the use of the public schools in the city or town where such es- tablishment is situated ; and the school committees in the several cities and towns shall prosecute for all such forfeitures.
SECTION 3. No child under the age of twelve years shall be employed in any manufacturing establish- ment more than ten hours in one day; and the owner, agent, or superintendent, who knowingly employs such child for a greater number of hours, shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars for each offence, to the use of the person prosecuting therefor.
Amendments .- Statutes 1867, Chap. 285, supplementary to Section 1, 2, 3, of G. S.
SECTION 1. No child under the age of ten years shall be employed in any manufacturing or mechani- cal establishment within this Commonwealth, and no child between the age of ten and fifteen years shall be so employed, unless he has attended some public or private day school under teachers approved by the school committee of the place in which such school is
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APPENDIX.
kept, at least three months during the year next pre- ceding such employment: provided, said child shall have within the Commonwealth during the preceding six months; nor shall such employment continue unless such child shall attend school at least three months in each and every year ; and provided, that tuition of three hours per day in a public or private day school approved by the school committee of the place in which such school is kept, during a term of six months, shall be deemed the equivalent of three months' attendance at a school kept in accordance with the customary hours of tuition ; and no time less than sixty days of actual schooling shall be ac- counted as three months, and no time less than one hundred and twenty half days of actual schooling shall be deemed an equivalent of three months.
SECTION 2. No child under the age of fifteen years shall be employed in any manufacturing or mechani- cal establishment more than sixty hours in one week.
SECTION 3. Any owner, agent, superintendent or overseer of any manufacturing or mechanical estab- lishment, who shall knowingly employ or permit to be employed any child in violation of the preceding sec- tions, and any parent or guardian who allows or consents to such employment, shall, for such offence forfeit the sum of fifty dollars.
SECTION 4. It shall be the duty of the constable of the Commonwealth to specially detail one of his deputies, to see that the provisions of this act, and all
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APPENDIX.
other laws regulating the employment of children or minors in manufacturing or mechanical establishments, are complied with, and to prosecute offences against the same; and he shall report annually to the gov- ernor all proceedings under this act; and nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prohibit any person from prosecuting such offences.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
General Statutes, Chap. 33.
TOWN AND CITY LIBRARIES.
SECTION 8. Each town and city may establish and maintain a public library therein, with or without branches, for the use of the inhabitants thereof, and provide suitable rooms therefor, under such regula- tions for its government as may from time to time be prescribed by the inhabitants of the town, or the city council.
SECTION 9. Any town or city may appropriate money for suitable buildings or rooms, and for the foundation of such library a sum not exceeding one dollar for each of its ratable polls in the year next preceding that in which such appropriation is made ; may also appropriate annually, for the maintenance and increase thereof, a sum not exceeding fifty cents
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APPENDIX.
for each of its ratable polls in the year next preceding that in which such appropriation is made, and may receive, hold, and manage, any devise, bequest, or donation, for the establishment, increase, or mainte- nance, of a public library within the same.
AN ACT FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO
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