Mode of recovery.

Vid. Append. No. III.

Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, 1786, act 1, sect. I.

forfeit and pay the sum of five pounds, for the use of the poor of the town or district respectively; to be recovered by their respective treasurers, before the court of general sessions of the peace, for the county in which such town or district lies, by complaint.

The form of this complaint is prescribed by statute.

Power, however, is given by statute to the court of general sessions of the peace, upon reasonable excuse made to Power of the sessions them by any assessor that shall refuse to accept as aforesaid, to remit, if they see cause, the penalty aforesaid.

to remit the penalty.

Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, 1786, act 1, sect. 1.

In case a town or dis

trict assessor, chosen,

of selectmen to call

And the selectmen of every such town or district, when any one or more of the assessors, so chosen, shall refuse as aforesaid, shall forthwith, after notice thereof, summon a refuse to serve, duty meeting of the qualified voters of such town or district, to choose an assessor or assessors, in the room of such assessor or assessors so refusing; which voters, so assembled, shall accordingly choose so many assessors as shall be Voters to choose so many as may be wanting to complete the number, which the town or diswanting to complete the number. trict, at the time of the first choice, voted should be elected.

a meeting for the

choice of other assessors.

Mass, Stat. Feb. 20, 1786, act 1, sect. 12:

Forfeiture in case as

sessors of plantations,

chosen, refufe to take

the necessary oaths.

Modes of recovery.

1786, act 1, sect. 2.

In regard to assessors, chosen by plantations, it is enacted, that any person who shall be chosen to the office of assessor of taxes, in any plantation, and shall refuse to accept the office to which he shall have been elected, or neglect to take the oath by law required to be taken by assessors of taxes in towns, shall be liable to the same penalties, to be recovered in the same way and manner, as is provided in the case of assessors refusing to accept such office when chosen by towns.

III. In what cases selectmen are, ex officio, assessors.

If any town or district shall not choose assessors, or if so Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, many of them, so chosen, shall refuse to accept, so that there shall not be such a number of them as any town or district shall vote to be the assessors thereof; then the selectmen of such town or district shall be the assessors thereof; and every one of them shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their trust.

IV. Proceedings, in case any town or district neglect to choose either selectmen or assessors; and the penalty which the town or district thereby incurs.

1786, act 1, sect. 3.

If any town or district shall neglect to make choice of selectmen, or assessors, the said default being made known Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, to the court of sessions within the same county; such town or district shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds, nor less than thirty pounds, as the court of lectmen or assessors. sessions shall order, for the use of the commonwealth;

;

Penalty incurred by a

town or district, which neglects to choose se

sessors.

Power of assessors thus appointed by the

and in such case, (as also where neither the selectmen nor In such case, &c. the assessors, chosen by any town or district, shall accept the sessions to appoint astrust, or, having accepted the trust, shall not perform their duty) the court of sessions, in the same county, are empowered to nominate and appoint three or more sufficient freeholders, within such county, to be assessors of the rates or taxes in such town or district, as aforesaid which assessors, so appointed, after being duly sworn, shall assess the sessions. polls and estates, within such town or district, their due proportion of any tax; according to the rules set down in the act for raising the same; together with the aforesaid penalty, where the town or district makes default as aforesaid, and such additional sum as shall answer their own reasonable charges, for time and expense in the said service, not exceeding ten shillings per day for each man so em- Their compensation. ployed; and, having made such assessment, shall issue a warrant, under their hands and seals, for collecting the same, and transmit a certificate thereof to the treasurer, with the name of the constable, collector, sheriff, or his deputy, to whom they shall commit the same to be collected; and such assessors shall be paid their charges as abovesaid, (the same being adjusted and certified by two or more justices of the court by whom they were appointed assessors, under their hands,) out of the public treasury, by warrant from the governor, with the advice and consent of council.

Mass. Stat. Feb. 25,

Where any town, dis

By a subsequent statute, it is further provided, that if the inhabitants, qualified to vote in town affairs, of any 1800, at 2, sect 1. town, district, or plantation, in this commonwealth, from which any state or county tax shall be required, shall ne- trict, or plantation, glect, for the space of five months after having received the sors for the space of warrant of the treasurer, for assessing any state tax, to having received the choose assessors to assess the same, and cause the assess- for the assessment of ment thereof to be certified, as the law requires, to the case, the treasurer

negle&s to elect asses

five months, after

treasurer's warrant

any state tax-in such

may issue his warrant treasurer of the commonwealth, for the time being, and

to have the amount

by distress and sale of

inhabitant of such deficient town, &c.

of such tax collected agreeably to his warrant, directing the same; he is authorthe property of any ized and directed to issue his warrant, under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of the county, or his deputy, requiring him to levy and collect, by distress and sale, the sum mentioned therein, of the estates, real and personal, of any inhabitant or inhabitants of such deficient town, district, or plantation; which warrant the said sheriff, or his deputy, is empowered and required to execute; observing whom such warrant the same rules and regulations as are, by law, provided for satisfying warrants against deficient collectors of public taxes: And it shall be the duty of the said sheriff, or his deputy, on receiving the said warrant, forthwith to transmit an attested copy thereof to the selectmen, or clerk of the town, district, or plantation, named therein; and if the assessors shall, within sixty days from the receipt of such attested copy, deliver to the said sheriff, or his deputy, a

The officer's duty to

is directed.

cer may return such warrant unsatisfied.

In what case the offi- certificate according to law, of the assessment of the tax or taxes required by said warrant, and pay the officer his legal fees, he shall forthwith transmit the same certificate to the said treasurer, and return the warrant unsatisfied.

Mass. Stat. Feb. 25, 1800, act 2, sect. 2.

The same statute further provides, that if the inhabitants, qualified to vote in town affairs, of any town, district, or plantation, in this commonwealth, from which any state or county tax shall be required, shall neglect to choose, and keep in office, assessors to assess the same, as the law reified voters of any quires; the treasurer of the commonwealth, or of the

Treasurer directed to issue a similar warrant, where the qual

town, district,or plan

tation neglect to

choose and keep in County, for the time being, is authorized and directed to

office assessors, &c.

issue his warrant, under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of the county, or his deputy, requiring him to levy and collect the sum mentioned therein, in manner aforesaid. And the sheriff aforesaid, or his deputy, shall exewhom such warrant cute said warrant, observing all the rules and regulations, and all the provisions mentioned aforesaid.

Duty of the officer to

is directed..

Act 1, scat. 13.

V. Liability of plantations, in case of neglect to choose assessors; and the proceedings in such case.

By statute, Feb. 20, 1786, it is provided, that if any plantation shall neglect to choose assessors, or if the assessors chosen by any such plantation, and accepting such

trust, shall be remiss or neglect their duty; in every such case, such plantation shall be subject to the same penalties, and be proceeded with in the same manner as, by the same act, is provided in the case of deficient towns.

As to the statute of Feb. 25, 1800, quoted under the preceding head, no distinction is made therein, between towns and plantations; but the provisions of the statute apply equally to both. So that now a plantation which pays public taxes, and neglects to choose assessors, is liable to the same penalties, and must be proceeded with in the same manner, as in the case of a town which thus neglects.

VI. Of the power and duty of assessors of parishes and precincts, relative to calling parish and precinct meetings.

Committee and as

selfors of parishes have the same power for calling parish meetings, as sele&men have for calling town meetings.

Assessors of parishes or precincts are empowered to Mass. Stat. June 28, manage their prudentials, unless a committee shall be spe- 1786, act 2, sect. 2. cially appointed for that purpose, which any precinct or parish is empowered to choose, if they think proper; and the said committee, where any such shall be chosen, and the assessors, where no such committee shall be appointed, shall have like power and authority in all respects for calling parish or precinct meetings, as selectmen by law have, for calling town meetings. And when ten or more of the qualified voters of any precinct or parish shall signify in writing, their desire to have any matter or thing inserted in a warrant for calling a meeting, it shall be the duty of the assessors to insert the same in the next warrant they shall issue for that purpose.

Duty of such assessors

in regard to warrants for calling a meeting.

1786, act 2, sect. 2.

In what cases a jusauthorized to

tice of the peace is

And in case the assessors shall unreasonably refuse to call a meeting, or a parish or precinct shall have no asses- Mass. Stat. June 28, sors within it to call one, or not a major part of the assessors or committee which any parish may agree upon to be chosen, any justice of the peace for the same county, upon the application of ten or more of the voters in the parish or precinct, may call a meeting, in the same manner as a justice of the peace is by law authorized to call a town meeting.

VII. Proceedings, in case neither the selectmen nor assessors, chosen by any town or district, will accept the Q

VOL. I. PART 1.

such meetings.

call

Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, 1786, act 1, sect. 3.

1786, act 1, scc. 9.

trust; or where, having accepted the trust, they will not perform their official duty.

Where neither the selectmen nor assessors, chosen by any town or district, shall accept the trust, or, having accepted the trust, shall not perform their duty; in such case the court of sessions, in the same county, are empowered to nominate and appoint three or more sufficient freeholders, within such county, to be assessors of the rates or taxes in such town or district; which assessors, thus appointed, after being duly sworn, are vested with the same powers, for the same purposes, and receive the same compensation, as assessors appointed by the sessions, in cases where a town or district neglect to choose either selectmen or assessors.

VIII. Of the power and duty of assessors, previous to their making assessments.

The assessors of each town, district, plantation, precinct, Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, and parish, respectively, in convenient time, before they proceed to make any assessment, shall give seasonable Duty of assessors to warning to the inhabitants, at any of their respective meet

notify persons to ex

hibit to them true

estates.

bring in such lists, are not admitted to ap

ply to the sessions

lists of their polls and ings, or by posting up notifications in some public place in said town, district, plantation, precinct, or parish, as the case may be, or notify the respective inhabitants in some other way, to make and bring in to them, the said assessors, true and perfect lists of their polls, and of all their estates, both real and personal, (saving such estate as is, or may by law be, exempted from taxation) which they were possessThose who neglect to ed of, at such periods as the general court may, from time to time, order and direct; and if any person or persons for an abatement of shall not bring in a list of their estate, as aforesaid, to the assessors, he, she, or they, so neglecting, or refusing, shall not be admitted to make application to the sessions, for any abatement of the assessment so laid on him, her, or them; unless such person or persons shall make it appear to said court, that it was not within the power of him, her, or them, to deliver to the assessors, respectively, a list of his, her, or their rateable estate at the time appointed for that purpose. And if the assessors suspect any falsehood in the list to Mass. Stat. Feb. 20, them presented, of polls or estates as aforesaid, then the said assessors, or either of them, shall require the person

their taxes, unless

such neglect resulted

from necessity.

1786, act 1, scct. 9.