CHAP. 19. required for sales of real estate by executors and administrators for payment of debts. The judge shall also appoint three disinterested persons, as commissioners, to ascertain what persons are interested in the said house, and the value of their respective shares, and the amount of debts, due from the owners of said house, as such, to other persons; the report of which commissioners shall be returned to the court for its acceptance; and the net avails of such sale shall be, by the judge, ordered to be applied to the payment of the said debts in the first instance, and the residue to be divided amongst the owners, ascertained as aforesaid. If any owner shall neglect for two years to apply for his proportion, the same shall be ratably distributed among the others. Owners of and of pews SECT. 4. The owners of any meeting house, or building erected meeting houses for public worship, together with the owners of the pews therein, may be created bodies corporate, in the manner, and for the purposes hereinafter provided. therein, may incorporate themselves. 1835, 187, § 1. Mode of calling a meeting for that purpose. 1835, 187, § 2. Manner of organizing and becoming incorporated. 1835, 187, § 3. Corporate rights and pow ers. 1835, 187, § 4. Proviso. Minority, of a different de nomination, vision of time, and how ob tained. SECT. 5. Whenever a majority of the owners of any such building shall make application, to a justice of the peace of the same county, stating their desire to become a body corporate, he shall issue his warrant to one of the applicants, directing him to notify the owners to meet at the time and place, and for the purposes, named in said warrant, by posting up a certified copy of the same, in two public places in the town, where the building is situate; one of which notices shall be posted on the principal outer door of such building. SECT. 6. The owners of the building, when assembled, may choose a moderator and clerk, who shall perform the duties usually incumbent on such officers; and thereupon said owners shall be, and are declared to be, a body corporate, and shall be known by such name, as they shall adopt, and may agree on the mode of calling future meetings. SECT. 7. Such corporation, so created, may by a vote of a majority of its members, use and control any meeting house or building, erected for public worship, of which they may be part or sole owners, in such manner as they please; provided, that nothing, in the three preceding sections, shall be construed to affect the rights of owners of such houses of worship, as have been, or shall be built by different religious denominations. SECT. 8. When any house of public worship shall be owned by persons of different religious denominations, any one or more of may have a di- such owners, being of the minority, and owning not less than ten pews, may apply to any justice of the peace and quorum, to obtain a division of the time of occupying the house; and the justice shall call a meeting of the owners of the house, by posting up, in a public place, in or about the house, a notice, thirty days at least before the meeting; which shall state the time, place and object of the meeting. 1838, 327, § 1. Mode of ceeding. pro SECT. 9. At such meeting, the owners, who may not be appli1838, 327, § 2. cants, may designate another justice of the peace of the county, and the two justices may appoint a third person, who shall be disinterested, and not an inhabitant of the town, in which the house is located, or belonging to the denomination of either of the parties interested; and such justices and third person shall constitute a board, before which the several owners may exhibit the amount, they respectively own in the house; and the minority owning at least ten pews, and wishing to occupy the house, some part of the time, shall have that part allotted to them, as nearly as may be, in proportion to the amount owned in the house by the minority, and the board shall designate, precisely, which weeks, in each year, the minority shall occupy the house, if they see fit so to do; if not, the majority may occupy the house. CHAP. 19. appraised. SECT. 10. The said board shall appraise the value of the pro- Proportion of portion of the house, belonging to the minority, allowing no greater minority, to be sum, for any pew, than was actually paid for it by the owner; and 1838, 327, § 3. they shall make a record of their proceedings, and within ten days cause it to be transcribed into the records of the town or plantation, where the house is situated. 1838, 327, § 3. proportion of SECT. 11. All reasonable expenses of the board shall be paid Expenses, how by the person or persons, at whose request the division was made; paid. but the above provisions shall not affect any agreement, now in force, as to the mode of occupying a house of public worship. SECT. 12. The minority may occupy the house for such part of the time, as has been allotted to them, unless the majority should choose to purchase the interest of the minority; and in that case the majority shall have a right so to buy, by paying the minority the sum, at which their portion of the house was appraised, by the board; but if the minority shall prefer not to sell, and decline so to do, in that case they shall not avail themselves of any of the provisions in this chapter. Minority may occupy, their time, unless will purchase. the majority 1838, 327, § 4. CHAPTER 20. OF MINISTERIAL AND SCHOOL LANDS, AND FUNDS ARISING THERE FROM. SECT. I. Fee in ministerial lands, how vest-[SECT. 10. Income of funded property, how ed. 2. Fee in school lands, how vested. 4. Trustees shall choose their officers 5. Powers of such trustees. 9. Also for use of schools. applied. 11. How expended. Town still lia ble to raise school taxes. 14. If lands are vested in a parish, the 15. First meetings of trustees, how vested. SECTION 1. Where lands have been granted, or reserved, for Fee in ministethe use of the ministry, or first settled minister, in any town in this rial lands, how state, and where the fee in such lands has not vested in some par- 1824, 254, § 1. ticular parish, within such town, or in some individual, the fee and estate in such lands shall be, and hereby is declared to be, vested Fee in school CHAP. 20. in the inhabitants of such town, and not in any particular parish therein, for the use and support of the gospel ministry in such town. SECT. 2. Where lands have been granted, or reserved, for the use of schools in any town within this state, the fee in which lands 1824, 254, § 1. has not already vested, the same shall be and hereby is declared to be vested in the inhabitants of such town, for the support and use of schools therein, forever. lands, how vested. Selectmen, town clerk and treasurer, to be trustees. 1824, 254, § 2. Trustees shall choose their of ficers annually. 1824, 251, § 2. Powers of such trustees. SECT. 3. The selectmen, town clerk and treasurer, for the time being, of each town in the state, wherein no other trustees for the same purpose are already lawfully appointed, shall be a body corporate, and trustees of the ministerial and school funds in such town forever, with the usual powers granted to similar corporations. SECT. 4. The trustees shall elect, annually, a president, clerk and treasurer; and the treasurer shall give bond, with sufficient sureties in the opinion of the trustees, for the faithful discharge of his duty; and the clerk shall be duly sworn. SECT. 5. Such trustees shall have power to sell and convey all 1824, 254, § 3. the ministerial and school lands, belonging to their respective towns, and lying within the same, except such parts as may have already vested, as mentioned in the first section; and any deed of such land, so sold, duly executed by the treasurer, by order of the trustees, shall pass the estate. Funds to be placed on inter est. 1824, 254, § 3. Lands or funds reserved for the first settled minister, how vested. SECT. 6. The trustees, as soon as may be, shall place the proceeds of the sale at interest, secured by mortgage of real estate of twice the amount of the principal sum, or by bond, or note, with sufficient sureties, or invest the same in bank stock, or public securities. SECT. 7. When any such town shall settle a minister, all lands granted or reserved for the first settled minister, or the proceeds of the sale thereof, as aforesaid, shall pass to, or be paid over to, such 1824, 254, § 3. first settled minister of such town, under the terms and conditions of the original grant, except as provided in the tenth section. Trustees may hold estate for use of the ministry. 1824, 254, § 3. Also for use of schools. 1824, 254, § 3. Income of funded property, how applied. 1824, 254, § 4. 1832, 39, § 2. SECT. 8. Such trustees may take and hold any real, or personal, estate, by gift, grant, or otherwise, for the use of the ministry in their respective towns; the annual income of which shall not exceed one thousand dollars. SECT. 9. Such trustees may so take and hold any such property, for the use of schools in their several towns, the annual income of which shall not exceed the sums, which their respective towns are by law bound to raise for the use of schools therein. SECT. 10. The annual income of any fund, which has arisen or may arise from the proceeds of the sale of lands, granted or reserved as aforesaid, whether for the use of the ministry, or of the first settled minister, or for the use of schools in any town in this state, and which fund, or the land, from which it may arise, has not become vested in some particular parish or individual, and also the income arising from rents and profits of any real or personal estate, taken and held as aforesaid, from leases of the same, shall be annually applied to the support of the primary schools in such town. SECT. 11. Such income shall be expended in the same manner, Towns still lia- as other moneys raised for the support of schools, are, by law, required to be expended; but nothing in this chapter shall be con How expended. ble to raise school taxes. 1832, 39, § 3. strued to exempt any town from raising, for the use of schools, the CHAP. 20. same amount, that such town, by law, is required to raise, over and above the income of the before mentioned fund. trustees may clerk and treas of the town. SECT. 12. The trustees of any ministerial fund in this state, Incorporated who were incorporated by the legislature of Massachusetts, may, transfer funds by consent of the town, for whose use the fund was established, to selectmen, transfer the same to the selectmen, clerk and treasurer of such town, urer, by consent and those officers are hereby made ex officio trustees of the same; and the income thereof shall be annually applied by them to the support of primary schools in such town; to be expended in the same manner, and subject to the same provisions, as are contained in the preceding section. 1832, 39, § 1. to the town. SECT. 13. At each annual meeting of the several towns, the Trustees to acrespective trustees shall exhibit an account of their proceedings, and count annually a statement of the funds, receipts and expenditures, and of the 1824, 254, § 5. application thereof to the uses required. vested in a par trustees. SECT. 14. In all cases, where such lands have become vested If lands are in any parish, the assessors, clerk and treasurer, for the time being, ish, the asseswhere no other trustees for the same purpose are already appointed, sors, clerk and are hereby constituted a body corporate, and trustees of the minis- treasurer to be terial funds in such parish forever, with like powers and under like 1824, 254, § 6. liabilities as selectmen, town clerk and treasurer; and shall pay the annual income and profits of such lands, and interest on the proceeds of any sale of the same; and shall, at each annual meeting for choice of parish officers, exhibit an account of their proceedings, and a statement of funds, receipts and expenditures. of trustees, how SECT. 15. The first meeting of the trustees, in any year, may First meetings be called by a personal notice, given by any one of said trustees, called. to all the other trustees, of the time and place of meeting, seven 1824, 254, § 7. days at least prior to said meeting. CHAPTER 21. OF THE PREVENTION OF CONTAGIOUS SICKNESS. SECT. 1. Precautions against infected per- SECT. 11. Compensation for men, or proper sons. 2. Precautions against persons, ar- 3. Restrictions on such persons; may 5. Precautions authorized in border 6. Process for removal, or separate accommodation, of infected per sons. 7, 8. Process for securing infected articles. 9. Powers of officers in executing such process. 10. Expenses, how paid. ty, impressed. 14. Order for removal, how returned. 16. May order removal of private nuis- examined on oath, in certain cases. CHAP. 21. SECT. 19. Penalty for violation of this pro- SECT. 31. Physicians and others liable to Precautions a gainst infected 1821, 127, g 1. persons. Precautions a arriving from vision. 20. Selectmen may establish quaran tine regulations. 21. Penalty for breach thereof. 22. Duty of pilots to give notice there- 23. Punishment for violation or eva- 26. Health committee may exercise 27. Quarantine expenses, how paid. hospital regulations. 32. Hospital to be provided, on the breaking out of infectious diseases. Regulations. 33. Precautions to prevent the spread of such diseases. 34. Penalty for violation of hospital regulations, by persons subject thereto. 35. Householders and physicians to give notice of infectious diseases under their care. 36. Forfeitures, how recovered and appropriated. 37. Towns may choose a board of health; their powers and duties. 38. Plantations to have the same powers, as towns. 39. Vaccination may be at the expense of towns and plantations. SECTION 1. When any person coming from abroad, or residing in any town, shall be infected, or shall have been recently infected, with any disease or sickness, dangerous to the public health, the selectmen of the town, where such person may be, shall make provision, in the manner they shall judge best, for the safety of the inhabitants, by removing such person to a separate house, if it can be done without great danger to his health, and by providing nurses and other assistance and necessaries; which shall be at the charge of the person himself, his parent or master, if able, otherwise at the charge of the town, to which he belongs. SECT. 2. When any infectious or malignant distemper is known gainst persons, to exist in any place, out of the state, the selectmen of any town, infected places. in the state, may, if they see cause, and by giving public notice in 1821, 127, § 2. such town, in such mode as they may find convenient, require all persons coming from such place out of the state, to inform one of the selectmen, or the clerk of such town, of their arrival, and from what place; and any such person, having actual notice of such requirement, who shall not, within two hours after his arrival and actual notice, as aforesaid, give such information, shall forfeit one hundred dollars, to the use of the town. Restrictions on such persons; they may be removed, if re1821, 127, § 2. fractory. Penalty, if they return. SECT. 3. Any person, who is required to give notice to one of the selectmen, or the clerk of any town, as provided in the preceding section, may be prohibited by said selectmen, from going to any part of such town, where they may judge it unsafe for the inhabitants, for him to go. If he shall not choose to comply with such prohibition, it shall be his duty, unless disabled by sickness, forthwith to depart from the state, in such manner and by such road, as the said selectmen shall direct; and in case of neglect or refusal, any justice of the peace in the county, on complaint of either of such selectmen, may, by his warrant to a proper officer, or other person named in said warrant, cause such person to be removed out of the state. SECT. 4. Any person removed by warrant, as aforesaid, who, 1821, 127,8 2. during the prevalence of such disternper in the place, where he |