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FOR THE USE OF THE

BOARDS OF HEALTH

AND

OVERSEERS OF THE POOR

OF

MASSACHUSETTS.

CONTAINING THE STATUTES RELATING TO HEALTH, LUNACY,
AND PUBLIC CHARITY, AND CERTAIN DECISIONS OF THE
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS

RELATING TO THE SAME.

PREPARED BY DIRECTION OF THE

STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, LUNACY, AND CHARITY.

JUNE, 1882.

BOSTON:

Rand, Avery, & Co., Printers to the Commonwealth,

117 FRANKLIN STREET.

1882.

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INTRODUCTION.

THE State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity, established in May, 1879, takes the place of two long existing Boards, the State Board of Health, created in 1869, and the Board of State Charities, created in 1863 to succeed the Alien Commission, which had been established in 1852. The duties of a Lunacy Commission, now performed by the new Board, had been in part assigned to the Board of Charities since 1864, and in part performed by a special commission appointed in

The Massachusetts Board of 4 for one year

Charities consisted of seven members, and was the oldest organization of the kind in the United States. It was created by chapter 240, Acts of 1863, and ›rganized on the 7th of October in that year, with Otis Norcross of Boston as Chairman, Dr. H. B. Wheelwright of Taunton as General Agent, and F. B. Sanborn of Concord as Secretary. Mr. Norcross resigned his place on the Board in September of the following year, and Dr. Nathan Allen of Lowell was chosen as his successor in the chairmanship, retaining the position till October, 1865, when Dr. Samuel G. Howe of Boston was elected. Dr. Howe was Chairman by successive annual elections till October, 1874, when he declined further service. Moses Kimball of Boston was elected to the position, but declined to accept it, and thereupon F. B. Sanborn was chosen Chairman. He retired in September, 1876, and was succeeded by Edward Earle of Worceser, who died in May, 1877. Dr. Allen was then re-elected Chairman, and served in that capacity till the Board ceased to exist June 30, 1879.

The first General Agent of the Board of Charities was Dr. Wheelwright, then of Taunton, who had been Chairman of the Alien Commission from 1858 to 1863. He acted as General Agent of the Board till October, 1868, when he retired, and Stephen C. Wrightington of Fall River was appointed to the position, which he retained until the office ceased to exist, when he became Superintendent of In-door Poor under the present Board. Dr. Wheelwright, from 1869 to July, 1879, was Agent for the Sick State

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Poor, and is now Superintendent of Out-door Poor under the present Board. Mr. Sanborn remained Secretary of the Board of Charities until October, 1868, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Julius L. Clarke of Newton who resigned in 1869. Edward L. Pierce of Milton was then appointed, and remained in office till March, 1874. During the absence of Mr. Pierce in Europe, from May to November, 1873, and after his resignation, Mr. Sanborn was chosen Acting Secretary, and held the place until Sidney Andrews of Brookline, having been appointed as Mr. Pierce's successor in May, 1874, took charge of the office in July of the same year. Mr. Andrews continued Secretary untill the Board was abolished in June, 1879. The Visiting Agent of the Board from 1866 to 1869 was Gordon M. Fisk of Palmer, and from 1869 to July, 1879, Gardiner Tufts of Lynn. The office was then abolished, and its duties imposed upon the new Board.

The State Board of Health was established June 21, 1869, and the seven members of the Board were appointed July 31, 1869. The first meeting was held Sept. 15, 1869. At a subsequent meeting, Sept. 22, the organization was completed by the choice of Dr. H. I. Bowditch as Chairman, and Dr. George Derby as Secretary. Dr. Derby died June 20, 1874. Dr. F. W. Draper was elected Secretary pro tempore June 22, 1874, and served until Sept. 2, 1874, when he was succeeded by Dr. C. F. Folsom, who was the first Secretary of the present Board. He was succeeded in 1881 by Mr. C. F. Donnelly, who is now Secretary.

The State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity first met for organization in June, 1879, and entered fully upon its duties July 1, 1879. Its present members, committees, and officers will be found printed by name on page 6. Its By-Laws are given at the end of the Statutes and Decisions in this Manual, where also will be found a fuller statement of the duties of such committees and officers, and certain instructions and blank forms used in the transaction of business by the Board and its Departments.

The first Chairman of the present Board was Hon. Moses Kimball of Boston, who resigned Oct. 27,1880, and was succeeded by the present Chairman. The first Secretary of the present Board, Dr. Folsom, performed for a year the duties of Health Officer; after which for six months he was Secretary without other duties; in January, 1881, he resigned and was succeeded as Secretary by Mr. C. F. Donnelly of Boston; in whose occasional absence the duties of Secretary have been performed by Dr. Ezra Parmenter of Cambridge. Dr. H. P. Walcott of Cambridge entered upon his duties as Health Officer, July 1, 1880. The other Department officers have served since July 1, 1879.

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In regard to the statutes here printed, it may be said that the Health Laws have been compiled by Mr. George F. Piper according to a method approved by the Health Committee, but somewhat different from that adopted by the Committees on Lunacy and on Charities. In the Health Department the decisions are referred to in immediate connection with the clauses to which they relate; while in the Lunacy and Charity Departments it has been found more convenient to cite the decisions and opinions relating to one subject in a body by themselves. For a like reason, the formal titles of the Health sections of the statutes are omitted, while they are inserted before the other statutes. The laws passed in 1882 appear by themselves after the citations from the Public Statutes of 1881, relating to each subject.

In respect to the decisions of the Supreme Court cited in this Manual, it is to be noticed that they are binding as interpretations of the law, while the opinions of law-officers cited may be equally good interpretations, but have no binding force until they have been affirmed by the courts.

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