to the use of the town where such offence shall have been committed. Ib. § 4.

5. Every measurer shall be paid for measuring and sealing each side of upper leather, the sum of one cent, which shall be paid by the person who shall have requested him to measure and seal the same. Ib. § 5.

VII. BEEF.

1. Weighers of, when and how appointed.

2. To give certificate.

3. Fees for weighing.

4. Penalty on purchaser, &c., for purchasing contrary to law.

1. The selectmen of every town, where beef cattle are sold for the purpose of market, or barrelling, shall appoint one or more persons, who shall be conveniently situated in such town, and not dealers in cattle, to be weighers of beef; who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their office, and shall receive such fees as are hereinafter prescribed. R. S. c. 28, § 36.

2. All beef, sold as aforesaid, shall be weighed by the said sworn weighers; and certificates of the weight of all the beef, hide and tallow of each of the cattle, in the form following, shall be signed by the said weighers and be delivered to the sellers thereof, to wit:

by

FORM OF CERTIFICATE.

This certifies that I have duly weighed the cattle, bought

3. The fees for weighing shall be as follows; for weighing any number of cattle, not exceeding five, twenty cents each; for all above five and not exceeding ten, fifteen cents each; for all above ten, and not exceeding twenty, ten cents each; for all above twenty, five cents each, after the first twenty; and twelve and a half cents for each certificate, which shall contain the several weights of all the cattle offered for weight by any one person, unless otherwise regulated by the seller thereof; and said fees shall be paid by the seller. Ib. § 38.

4. Any butcher or purchaser of beef cattle, intended for market or barrelling, who shall purchase any such beef cattle, contrary to the several provisions of this chapter, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding thirty dollars for each ofIb. § 39.

ence.

VIII. WHEAT, CORN, GRAIN AND MEAL.

I. Grain and meal to be sold by bushel, weight of bushel.

2. Appointment and duty of measurers of grain.

3. Penalty for selling unweighed grain.

4. Fees of measurers.

5. Penalties on measurers using false weights, &c.

1. In all contracts for the sale and delivery of wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, and ground corn or corn meal, and ground rye or rye meal, the same shall be bargained for and sold by the bushel; and a bushel of wheat shall be sixty pounds; a bushel of corn or rye shall be fifty six pounds; a bushel of oats shall be thirty-two pounds; a bushel of barley or buckwheat shall be forty-eight pounds; and a bushel of ground corn or ground rye shall be fifty pounds. Stat. 1855, c. 232.

2. For the purpose of securing the due observance of the foregoing provision, it shall be the duty of the mayor and aldermen of the several cities, and of the selectmen of the several towns in this Commonwealth, within sixty days

after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter, to appoint one or more suitable persons in such city or town, to be measurers of grain; and it shall be the duty of each of the said measurers, when called upon by either of the parties to a contract for the sale of any quantity exceeding one bushel of either of the articles mentioned in the first section of this act, to ascertain the weight thereof, and to give a certificate of the number of bushels as ascertained by the weight according to the rule above prescribed. Ib.

3. If any person shall sell and deliver any quantity, exceeding one bushel of either of the articles aforesaid without the same having been weighed by one of the public measurers appointed under this act, such person shall forfeit the sum of two dollars for every measured bushel so delivered not containing the number of pounds hereinbefore required, to be recovered by the purchaser in an action of tort. Ib.

4. The fees of the measurer shall be prescribed by the mayor and aldermen or the selectmen of the several cities and towns in which they shall be appointed, and they shall be paid one-half by the seller and one half by the purchaser. 1b.

5. If any measurer appointed under this act shall use, or shall have in his possession with intent to use, for the purposes herein provided, any false weights, scales, balance, or other instrument for weighing, or shall collude with the purchaser or the seller with the intent to defraud the other party, or shall make and utter any false and fraudulent certificate under this act, he may be removed from his office by the mayor and aldermen or selectmen, and shall also, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding six months in the house of correction, according to the nature and aggravation of the offence. Ib.

PARISHES.

1. General powers of parishes. 2. Parishes &c. declared corporations by Revised Statutes.

3. Rights heretofore existing continued.

4. Parishes capable of taking gifts, for the purpose of supporting schools. 5. Any corporation established for religious purposes may assess the pews in their meeting-house.

31. Provisions not to affect existing rights.

32. Mode of taxation, where none is prescribed by act of incorporation. 33. Taxes how assessed.

34. Liability of person withdrawing from the parish before the first of May of the same year.

35. Members not taxable for property held by them as guardians or trustees. 36. Parishes may appoint the treas

6. Religious societies with consent of pew owners may assess pews in meet-urer or collector. ing house established before March 25, 1845.

7. Religious Societies, by vote of two thirds, may adopt act of 1845, ch. 213.

8. To purchase pews of dissenting owners at an appraisal.

9. Privileges and liabilities of Societies complying with this act.

10. Churches to have accustomed privileges.

11. Membership of religious society voluntary.

12. What is necessary to constitute a person a member of a parish.

13. Parishes may regulate admission of members by by-laws.

14. Members alone may vote. 15. Objection to an election where illegal votes are received not valid if such votes do not change the majority. 16. Annual meetings for the choice of officers.

17. Time of holding annual meeting for choice of officers.

18. Meetings, how warned.

19. Meetings at which money is raised, how warned.

20. Officers of parish, how chosen. 21. Clerk to preside at choice of moderator.

22. Officers, how sworn. 23. Moderator's powers and duties. 24. No lists of voters required. 25. Meetings to be called on application of five or more voters:-contents of warrant.

26. Justices of the peace may call meetings, if assessors refuse &c.

27. Persons chosen collectors, shall, if present, forthwith accept or refuse. Vacancies in offices how filled.

28. What to be deemed a refusal. 29. Prudential affairs of parishes, how managed.

30. Objects for which a parish may raise money.

37. Parishes may abate taxes for prompt payment.

38. Parish taxes must be assessed according to the valuation of parish

assessors..

39. Unincorporated societies may hold and manage donations.

40. Parishes and religious societies may appoint trustees to hold their trust funds. Rules for the government of such trustees how established and amended.

41. Unincorporated organize themselves &c.

societies

may

42. First meeting to be called by justice's warrant.

43. Contents of warrant and proceedings thereon.

44. Application of the three preceding sections.

45. Powers of societies so organized.

46. Proprietors of churches, &c., may raise money for alterations, repairs, &c. 47. Assessment and collection of such money.

48. Notice of sale of pews by the treasurer.

49. Affidavits of notice of sale made evidence.

50. How proprietor's meetings may be called.

51. The last five sections not obligatory on parishes, except, &c.

52. Proprietors may take down pews to alter churches.

53. Parishes and societies to have the like power in such cases.

54. No compensation to pew owners, when church is unfit for use.

55. When a pew is removed, proprietors of the meeting-house may tender the owner of the pew its value.

56. Liabilities of assessors.

57. Records of churches, &c., not otherwise disposed of, to be deposited with clerk of city or town.

1. The several religious societies of this Commonwealth, whether corporate or unincorporate, at any meeting legally

warned and holden for that purpose, shall ever have the right to elect their pastors or religious teachers, to contract with them for their support, to raise money for erecting and repairing houses for public worship, for the maintenance of religious instruction, and for the payment of necessary expenses. Amendments of Constitution,

Art. 11.

2. By the revised statutes, all parishes or religious societies then established, were declared corporations with the powers given to corporations by the forty-fourth chapter of said statutes. R. S. c. 20, § 1.

3. All parishes or religious societies, whether corporate or unincorporate, shall continue to have and enjoy their existing rights, privileges and immunities, except so far as the same may be limited or modified by the eleventh article of the amendments of the constitution, and the provisions hereinafter expressed. 16. § 2.

4. A parish is legally capable of taking and holding gifts, devises and bequests of real and personal property for the purpose of maintaining and supporting schools. 13 Met. 506.

5. Any corporation for religious purposes may assess, upon the pews in any meeting-house which they may hereafter erect, or procure for public worship, according to a valuation of said pews, which shall be first agreed upon and recorded by the clerk, any sum or sums of money, for the support of public worship, and other parochial charges, and for the repairs of their meeting-house; and all such assessments may be collected in the manner provided in the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth sections. of this title. Stat. 1845, c. 213. Rev. Stat. c. 20, § 32, 33, 34.

6. Any corporation for religious purposes, which shall have erected, or procured for public worship, any meeting house prior to the twenty-fifth day of March, in the year