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Abutters to grade streets or ways given to public use.

case of neglect or refusal.

1853. — CHAPTER 141.

AN ACT CONCERNING STREETS AND WAYS IN THE CITY OF ROXBURY.

Be it enacted, etc.:

SECTION 1. When any street or way, which now is, or hereafter shall be, opened in the city of Roxbury, over any private land by the owners thereof, and dedicated to, or permitted to be used by, the public, before such street shall have been accepted and laid out according to law, it shall be the duty of the owners of the lots abutting thereon, to grade such street or way at their own expense, in such manner as the safety and convenience of the public shall, in the opinion of the mayor and aldermen of said city, require, and if the owners of such abutting lots shall, after reasonable notice given by Proceedings in the said mayor and aldermen, neglect or refuse to grade such street or way in manner aforesaid, or to close the same from the public, if the same shall not have been dedicated to the public use, it shall be lawful for the said mayor and aldermen to cause the same to be graded as aforesaid, and the expense thereof shall, after due notice to the parties interested, be equitably assessed upon the owners of such abutting lots, by the said mayor and aldermen, in such proportions as they shall judge reasonable; and all assessments so made shall be a lien upon such abutting lands, in like manner as taxes are now a lien upon real estate: provided, always, that nothing contained in this act shall be construed to affect any agreements heretofore made respecting any such streets or ways as aforesaid, between such owners and said city: provided, also, that any such grading of any street or way, by the mayor and aldermen aforesaid, shall not be construed to be an acceptance of such street or way by the city of Roxbury.

Proviso.

Width of streets.

SECT. 2. No street or way shall hereafter be opened as aforesaid in said city, of a less width than thirty feet, except with the consent of said mayor and aldermen in writing first had and obtained for that purpose.

SECT. 3. This act shall take effect in thirty days from the passing thereof, unless the city council of said city shall within that time vote not to accept the same.'

April 12, 1853.

Chief engineer

may license to

etc.
R.O., c. 45.

1853. CHAPTER 154.

AN ACT REGULATING THE STORAGE, SAFE-KEEPING, AND SALE OF FIRE-
WORKS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Be it enacted, etc.:

SECTION 1 It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to sell fireworks, keep or sell any fireworks within the city of Boston, in any quantity, without first having obtained from the chief engineer of the fire department of said city a license therefor, signed by the chief engineer or by the secretary of the board of engineers, on which shall be written or printed a copy of the rules and regulations by them established, relative to the keeping, selling, or storage, of fireworks within said city; and every such license shall be in force until the first day of May next ensuing the date thereof, unless sooner annulled by the board of engineers, and no longer; but such license may, prior to the expiration of that term, be renewed by the chief engineer or the said secretary, from year to year, by indorsement thereon: provided,

Proviso.

1 This act took effect as provided in section three, the city council of Roxbury having taken no action thereon.

always, that the board of engineers may rescind any such license, if in their opinion the person or persons have disobeyed the law, or infringed on any rules or regulations established by the board of engineers; and every person who receives a license to sell fireworks, as aforesaid, shall pay for the same the sum of one dollar, and the same sum for the renewal thereof, and all such licenses shall expire Licenses to exon the first day of May, annually, and all.moneys received for licenses day of May shall be paid to the board of engineers, for the purpose of defraying annually. the expenses of carrying this act into execution.

pire on the first

ing without

SECT. 2. Any person or persons who have for sale or keep in pos- Penalty for sellsession any fireworks within the city of Boston, contrary to the rules license. and regulations established by the board of engineers herein mentioned, or who shall sell any fireworks in said city without first having obtained from the chief engineer, or his secretary, a license as aforesaid, shall forfeit a sum not less than fifteen not more than fifty dollars for each offence.

SECT. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.

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SECTION 1. Benjamin T. Reed, Deming Jarves, and Eben Jones, Corporators. their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation, by the name of the Mount Washington Avenue Corporation, with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, liabilities, and restrictions, set forth in the forty-fourth chapter of the revised

statutes.

pile bridge.

SECT. 2. The said corporation may construct and maintain a pile May construct a bridge, not exceeding seventy feet in width, commencing at some point to be selected between the wharves known as Wales's wharf and Foundry wharf, on Sea street, in Boston, and extending from the point selected across Fore Point channel to the harbor line established by "an act concerning the harbor of Boston," passed on the seventeenth day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty, and not more than fifteen hundred feet northerly from the southerly angle of said line, with a suitable draw and draw piers for With draw and the accommodation of vessels passing through the said bridge, sub- draw-piers. ject to be altered and widened at the expense of the said corporation and their assigns, as the legislature may, from time to time, require.

take land.

SECT. 3. The said corporation may purchase, or otherwise enter May purchase or upon and take, any land necessary for the purpose, and may make a street or avenue, not exceeding seventy feet in width, from the westerly termination of said bridge to Sea street; and, if the corporation are not able to agree with the owners of such land, then the actual damage shall be assessed and paid to the owners in the manner provided by the laws of this commonwealth, in the case of laying out or widening streets in the city of Boston.

avenue

SECT. 4. The said corporation may construct and maintain a May construct a solid avenue, not exceeding eighty feet in width from the easterly with draws. termination of the said bridge, over the flats of the shore owners, within the line of private rights and in a line parallel with West Broadway, to some point in I street, continued in South Boston, and

Land damages, how settled.

Corporation to

give bonds before taking land.

City of Boston may hold the rights, etc.

Proviso.

Corporation to give bond to raise draw.

Corporation
may lay railroad
track.

Avenue to be toll free.

May hold and convey estate.

thence easterly to the uplands owned by the city of Boston; and the said avenue shall be provided with such convenient draws and sluiceways as may be deemed necessary by the commissioners hereinafter named; but nothing in this act contained shall authorize the filling up of the dock near Dorchester street, laid out by agreement recorded in Suffolk registry of deeds, liber two hundred and thirty, folio one hundred and seven.

SECT. 5. The said corporation may purchase, or otherwise enter upon and take, any land or flats necessary for the purpose of constructing the avenue authorized by the fourth section of this act; and, if they shall not be able to obtain such land by any agreement with the owner or owners thereof, then the actual damage shall be assessed and paid to the owners, in the manner provided by the laws of this commonwealth, in the case of laying out or widening streets in the city of Boston.

SECT. 6. The said corporation shall, before proceeding, under this act, to take the land or flats of other persons, give bonds, with satisfactory sureties, to the city of Boston, for the use of the owners of lands so taken, that they will pay all such damages as may be assessed against them, as provided for in the preceding sections.

SECT. 7. The city of Boston may, by vote of the mayor and aldermen, and upon such terms as may be agreed upon between them and the said corporation, take and hold all the rights and powers granted by this act, and construct and maintain, or maintain after they are constructed, the street, bridge, and avenue, herein authorized provided, that the said city, in case of such transfer, shall be subject to the same duties, as are imposed by this act upon the corporation aforesaid; and, before such transfer, the said city shall not be liable for damages by reason of any defect or want of repair therein.1

SECT. 8. Before commencing the construction of the bridge aforesaid, the said corporation shall give bonds, with satisfactory sureties, to the attorney-general of this commonwealth, in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars, that the draw in the same shall be properly raised for the passage of vessels by night and by day, until such time as the said bridge may be transferred to, and accepted by, the city of Boston.

SECT. 9. The said corporation may, with the consent and under the direction of the mayor and aldermen of the city of Boston, construct and maintain a double railroad track through the whole or any part of the said avenue, bridge, and street, to Sea street, and thence to the Boston and Worcester railroad, which track shall be used for horse-power only, and not for steam-engines, and may be connected with and worked by the Boston and Worcester railroad corporation, and by this corporation, upon such terms as may be agreed upon between them.

SECT. 10. The said avenue, bridge, and street, shall be open to the public for travel, free of toll; but the railroad tracks provided for in this act shall be used only with the consent of this corporation, or those who may succeed to their rights in the same, and upon such terms as may be agreed upon.

SECT. 11. The said corporation may purchase, hold, and convey, such real and personal property as may be necessary for the purposes authorized by this act.

1 On August 4, 1854, the city entered into a contract with the Mount Washington Avenue Corporation, for the construction of the avenue from Granite street to I street, and giving to the city authority to construct the bridge, street, and avenue, described in the charter, by such parties as the city might select. On August 7, 1854, the city executed a contract with the Boston Wharf Company for the construction of said bridge, street, and avenue, releasing Granite street to the city, and giving the city rights of drainage to the sea. See Statutes and Ordinances (ed. 1876), pp. 70, 71.

SECT. 12. The Bay State Iron Company may extend their pres- Bay State Iron Company may ent railroad tracks to their own premises in South Boston, across cross avenue. the avenue of this corporation.

point commis.

SECT. 13. The said street, bridge, and avenue, with all their re- Governor to ap spective abutments, draws and draw piers, and sluiceways, shall be sioners. constructed under the direction, and to the satisfaction, of a commissioner, to be appointed by the governor and council, and to be paid by the said corporation; and the said corporation shall keep the same, together with the said railroad tracks, in good repair and safe condition, and shall open the said draws, and afford all proper and convenient accommodation to vessels having occasion to pass the same, by day and by night.

SECT. 14. The capital stock of said corporation shall not exceed Capital stock. two hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each; and no shares shall be issued for a less sum, to be actually paid in on each, than the par value of the shares which shall be first issued.

To be completed in three years, or

SECT. 15. If the said street, bridge, and avenue, shall not be completed within three years from the passage of this act, then this act act void. shall be void.

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AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF BOSTON TO BUILD A WHARF.

Be it enacted, etc.:

age.

SECTION 1. The city of Boston, owning flats situated on Condor East Boston. street, in that part of Boston known as East Boston, and lying between, and adjoining, land and flats, now or lately belonging to Robert G. Shaw, on the westerly side, and Charles J. Hendee, on the easterly side of said land and flats, is hereby authorized to build and maintain a wharf on said flats, and to extend it into the harbor channel, as far as the line established by the act entitled "an act concerning the harbor of Boston," passed the second day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, and shall have the Right of wharfright to lay vessels at the end and sides of said wharf, and receive wharfage and dockage therefor: provided, however, that this grant Proviso. shall not be construed to extend to any flats or land of this commonwealth, lying in front of the flats of any other person, or which would be comprehended by the true lines of such flats continued to the said commissioners' line; and provided, also, that so much of said wharf as may be constructed below low water mark shall be built on piles, which piles shall not be nearer to each other than six feet in the direction of the stream, and eight feet in a transverse direction; and that this act shall in no wise impair the legal rights of any person whatever.

SECT. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
April 30, 1853.

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AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN RAILROADS TO TAP THE COCHITUATE
WATER PIPE AT CHARLESTOWN.

Be it enacted, etc.:

may take water.

SECTION 1. The Boston and Maine Railroad, the Eastern Railroad, Corporations and the Fitchburg Railroad Companies, with the assent of the city of Boston, and on such terms and conditions as the said city shall deter

Proviso.

May open streets.

To cross channel.

mine, are hereby severally authorized to insert into the main pipe which conveys the Cochituate water to the state prison, a service pipe for the purpose of taking water for the use of said corporations respectively provided, that each of said corporations inserting a service pipe, as aforesaid, pay to the warden of the state prison such sum or sums, for the use of such pipe, as may be mutually agreed upon by the inspectors of said prison and such corporation.

SECT. 2. Each of said corporations shall have power, with the assent of the city of Charlestown, to open any of the streets or ways of said city, that may be necessary for the purpose of laying down or repairing the service pipes aforesaid.

SECT. 3. Each of said corporations is hereby authorized to carry said service pipe across the channel of Miller's river, in such manner as not to interfere with the navigation thereof; the manner of crossing said channel to be under the direction of a commissioner, who shall be appointed by the governor for that purpose, and who shall be paid for his services by the corporation or corporations requiring such services.

SECT. 4. This act shall be void unless accepted by the city council of Boston within sixty days after its passage.'

April 24, 1854.

Highway in
Boston.

Proviso.

Act repealed.

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AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF BOSTON TO LAY OUT A HIGHWAY.

Be it enacted, etc.:

SECTION 1. The mayor and aldermen of the city of Boston are hereby authorized and empowered to lay out a highway, in continuation of Clinton street, in said city, not exceeding sixty feet wide, and extending from the easterly line of Commercial street, easterly, not exceeding two hundred and forty feet, and from some point on the said continuation, extending north-easterly, not exceeding sixty-six feet wide, and nearly parallel with said Commercial street, to Eastern Packet pier, and from some point on the said continuation of Clinton street, extending south-westerly, not exceeding forty feet in width, to City wharf, so called: provided, that the assent of the proprietors of the flats over which the said highway shall pass, shall be first obtained.

SECT. 2. An act entitled "an act to authorize the city of Boston to lay out a highway," passed April twelve, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, is hereby repealed.

SECT. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.

April 28, 1854.

May construct bridge.

Proviso.

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AN ACT TO EXTEND ALBANY STREET IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Be it enacted, etc.:

SECTION 1. The city of Boston is hereby authorized to construct and maintain a bridge over Roxbury creek, in continuation of Albany street, upon such line as shall be agreed upon between the mayor and aldermen of Boston and the mayor and aldermen of Roxbury provided, that such bridge shall be furnished with a draw of such dimensions, and built in such manner, as shall be approved by

1 Accepted by the city council, June 15, 1854.

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