Penalty for omitting such returns, or making false ones. Penalty for shareholders' fraudulent pose of avoiding taxation. day of May of that year, and the par value of such shares. SECT. 2. If any cashier or clerk mentioned in the first section of this act shall refuse or neglect to make such return, or shall wilfully falsify such return, he shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars for every such offence, to the use of the city or town in which such shareholder may reside, to be recovered by the treasurer of such city or town in any court of competent jurisdiction. SECT. 3. If any shareholder shall fraudulently transfer any share in either of the corporations mentioned in the transfer for pur- first section of this act, for the purpose of avoiding taxation, he shall forfeit one half of the par value of the shares thus transferred, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction, by the treasurer of the city or town in which such shareholder may reside; one half of the amount so recovered for the use of the town, and the other half for the use of the person or persons furnishing the necessary evidence in the case. [March 24, 1843.] Office of attorney general abolished. Duties to be district attorneys, &c. CHAPTER 99. AN ACT ABOLISHING THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL. SECTION SECTION 1. Office of attorney general abolished. 3. Duty of Commonwealth's attorney 2. Duties to be performed by district for county of Suffolk. attorneys, &c. SECT. 1. The office of attorney general of this Commonwealth, as the same is now constituted and established by law, is hereby abolished. SECT. 2. The Commonwealth's attorney for the county performed by of Suffolk, and the several district attorneys within their respective districts, shall appear for the Commonwealth, in all prosecutions for crimes punishable with death: and the several reports, which they are now required by law to make, in the month of November in each year, to the attorney general, shall hereafter be made in the same manner to the secretary of the Commonwealth; abstracts of which the secretary shall make and submit to the legislature, at the commencement of the annual session thereof. Duty of Commonwealth's attorney for folk. SECT. 3. The Commonwealth's attorney for the county of Suffolk shall also, when required by the governor, or county of Suf- either branch of the legislature, appear in all causes in which the Commonwealth may be a party or be interested, and shall, when required, give his opinion upon questions of law submitted to him by the legislature, or the governor and council. [March 24, 1843.] THE GENERAL LAWS OF THE Commonwealth of Massachusetts, PASSED AT THE JANUARY SESSION, 1844. NOTE. [The omitted chapters are those which contain the Special Statutes.] CHAPTER 6. AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATION OF THE MONEYS PAID TO PUBLIC LANDS. SECTION 1. Treasurer to apply one half of the money received under the treaty to the Sinking Fund of the Western Rail-road; and the other half to the Massachusetts School Fund. SECTION 2. Balance of the proceeds of the sales 3. When to take effect. of the money road; SECT. 1. The treasurer and receiver general of this Com- Treasurer to monwealth is hereby authorized and directed, to apply apply one half seventy-five thousand dollars of the moneys now in the received under treasury, received under the provisions of the Treaty of the treaty to the Sinking Washington, according to the provisions of the fourth sec- Fund of the tion of the one hundred and seventy-second chapter of the Western Railstatutes of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirtyseven, creating a sinking fund for the payment of the Coinmonwealth's subscription to the stock of the Western Railroad, and the eightieth chapter of the statutes of the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, authorizing the treasurer to purchase the scrip of the state, issued for the payment of such subscription; and he is hereby further directed to apply seventy-five thousand dollars, according to the provisions of the thirteenth section of the eleventh half to the And the other chapter of the Revised Statutes, appropriating one half of the proceeds of the sales of public lands to the Massachusetts School Fund. Massachusetts sales of the SECT. 2. The treasurer is hereby authorized and directproceeds of the ed to apply the sum of thirty-one hundred and seventyseven dollars and forty-three cents, being moneys received as the balance of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and now on deposite, in discharge of the ordinary demands upon the treasury. public lands to be applied to ordinary expenses. When to take effect. SECT. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [February 5, 1844.] Rev. Stat., repealed. SECT. 1. The thirty-second section of chapter eightychap. 88,532, eight in the Revised Statutes, requiring masters in chancery to be sworn by the supreme judicial court or the court of common pleas, or by any justice of either of said courts in vacation, is hereby repealed. SECT. 2. Masters in chancery, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of their office, shall take and subscribe the oaths or affirmations required by the constitution and laws to be taken and subscribed by persons appointed or commissioned by the governor with the advice and consent of the council, and such oaths or affirmations shall be taken and subscribed by masters in chancery before such officers or persons as already provided in and by the constitution and laws of this Commonwealth. [February 5, 1844.] So much of the statute of 1843, CHAPTER 24. AN ACT RESTORING THE SALARIES OF THE JUSTICES OF THE was repealed by the third section of that act, revived. Justices compensated for diminution of salaries by act of 1843, chap. 9. 3. When to take effect. 1. So much of the statute of 1843, chap. SECT. 1. So much of the first section of an act, approved lates to the sal court, repealed. by the governor on the seventh day of March, in the year chap. 9, as reone thousand eight hundred and forty-three, entitled "an aries of the jusact establishing the salaries of certain public officers," as tices of the suprovides that the chief justice of the supreme judicial court preme judicial shall receive three thousand dollars, and the associate justices of the supreme judicial court, each the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, be and hereby is repealed; and so much of the eighty-first chapter of the Revised Statutes as is contained in the sixty-first section thereof, and was repealed by the third section of the aforesaid act of the seventh of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, is hereby revived. And so much Stat., chap. 31, $61, as was repealed by the that act, reviv of the Rev. third section of ed. diminution of SECT. 2. The chief justice of the supreme judicial court, Justices comand the associate justices of said court, shall receive such pensated for sum for their salaries respectively, from the first day of salaries by act April last, as, with the sums received by them since that of 1843, chap 9. time, will give them respectively the same amount which they would severally have received, if the act entitled "an act establishing the salaries of certain public officers," approved by the governor, March seventh, eighteen hundred and forty-three, had not been passed. effect. SECT. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its When to take passage. [February 16, 1844.] CHAPTER 32. AN ACT CONCERNING THE POWERS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES. School committees empowered to dismiss teachers. The school committee of any town is hereby authorized to dismiss from employment any teacher in such town, whenever the said committee may think proper, and from the time of such dismissal such teacher shall receive no further compensation for services rendered in that capacity. [February 23, 1844.] School commit tees empower ed to dismiss teachers. CHAPTER 33. AN ACT IN ADDITION TO AN ACT MAKING PROVISION FOR THE SECTION 1. Treasurer directed to sell all the scrip remaining unsold of what SECTION was authorized to be issued by the 2. When to take effect. SECT. 1. The treasurer of this Commonwealth, acting Treasurer di rected to sell of what was authorised to be issued by the act of 1837, chap. 172. all the scrip re- with the advice and consent of his excellency the governor maining unsold and council, is hereby authorized and directed to make sale of so much of the scrip created by the one hundred and seventy-second chapter of the statutes of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, as now remains unsold; any thing in said chapter to the contrary notwithstanding provided, however, that said scrip shall not be sold at less than its par value. When to take effect. SECT. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [February 23, 1844.] Tax on sales by auction of the stock of manufacturing companies in corporated by other states to be one tenth of one per cent. CHAPTER 36. AN ACT CONCERNING THE SALE OF THE STOCK OF MANUFAC- Tax on sales by auction of the stock of manufacturing companies incorporated by other states to be one tenth of one per cent. The fifth section of the ninth chapter of the Revised Statutes is hereby so amended, that the tax upon the sale of any shares of any manufacturing company, incorporated under the authority of any of the United States, shall be one-tenth of one per cent. on the amount of the sales, and so much of the said section as is inconsistent herewith, is hereby repealed. [February 24, 1844.] Thickness of staves used in ture of barrels for packing pickled fish prescribed. the manufac CHAPTER 42. AN ACT CONCERNING THE MANUFACTURE OF BARRELS FOR ufacture of barrels for pickled fish 2. When to take effect. SECT. 1. In addition to the regulations and restrictions, imposed by the seventy-eighth section of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Revised Statutes, on the manufacture of barrels for packing or repacking pickled fish, all white oak barrels which shall be hereafter manufactured for such purpose, shall be made of staves not less than half an inch in thickness; all ash, red oak, and chesnut barrels, shall be made of staves not less than five eighths of an inch in thickness; all pine and spruce barrels shall be made of staves not less than three fourths of an inch in thickness; and the heads of all barrels manufactured for the packing |