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breach of

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all parties as Action for aforesaid shall be entitled to an action for the damages covenant. they may sustain for any breach or breaches of contract entered into by such deed, and in the same manner as is prescribed in and by the aforementioned act.

out, &c.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said over- Idlers to seers of the poor shall have power to set to work, or bind be bound out to service, by deed as aforesaid, for a term not exceeding one whole year at a time, all such persons residing and lawfully settled in their respective towns, or who have no such settlement within this State, married or unmarried, upwards of twenty-one years of age, as are able of body, but have no visible means of support, who live idly, and use and exercise no ordinary and daily lawful trade or business to get their living by, upon such terms and conditions as such overseers shall think proper: Provided always, That any person, thinking him or Proviso. herself aggrieved by the doings of said overseers in the premises, may apply by complaint to the supreme judicial court, in the county where they are bounden, or where the overseers who bound them dwell, for relief; which court, after due notice to the overseers, and to the master of such person, shall have power, after due hearing and examination, if they find sufficient cause therefor, to liberate and discharge the party complaining from his or her master, and to release him or her from the care of the overseers, or otherwise to dismiss the complaint, and to give costs to either party, or not, as the said court may think reasonable.

may re

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall Townreside in any town in this State, not being legally settled council therein, and shall become or be likely to become charge- move pauable to such town, it shall be lawful for any one of the pers. overseers of the poor of such town to make complaint thereof to the town-council; and in case such overseer shall judge it necessary that an order should be made sooner than the town-council are likely to meet of course, he shall give a notification to the town-sergeant to notify the town-council to meet at a time and place therein named, who upon such notification are required to meet, and are hereby fully empowered to enquire, either by the oath of such poor person or otherwise, in what town he was last legally settled, and upon the best information they can obtain, to adjudge and determine to what town or place he lawfully belongs within this State, or in which

By order, he was last legally settled; which being done, the townunder seal. council shall make an order, under their seal, to be signed by their clerk, for the removal of such person to such To whom town or place; which order being directed and given to directed. the town-sergeant or one of the constables of such town, he shall proceed forthwith to remove such person, and such of his family, if any he hath, as by law ought to be removed with him, to the town or place to which he is adjudged by such order to belong, and there deliver him to one of the overseers of the poor of such town, and leave an authentic copy of the order with the said overseer; and if such overseer shall refuse to accept such poor person, he shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars, to pauper. be recovered by an action of debt by the town-treasurer of the town from which such poor person was sent, to and for the use of the poor of said town.

Penalty

for not re

ceiving

Town may

from the

order of removal.

To the sup. jud. court.

Terms of

ecuted.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any overseer of appeal the poor of any town in this State, to which such poor person or persons shall be removed as aforesaid, shall think his town aggrieved, at the determination and order of the town-council, for the removal of such poor person or persons, it shall be lawful for him, in behalf of his town, to appeal to the next supreme judicial court, to be holden in the county in which the town from which such poor person or persons were removed, lies; and the party apthe appeal. pealing shall file reasons of appeal in the clerk's office of the court to which the appeal shall be brought, twenty How pros- days before the sitting of said court; and the clerk of said court shall forthwith send a copy of such reasons of appeal to one of the overseers of the poor of the town from which such poor person or persons were removed; who upon receipt of such copy is hereby fully empowered to appear at the court where the appeal is brought, and to defend and maintain said order of the town-council; which court shall have full power, upon hearing the confirm or cause, to confirm or reverse such order, as to them shall appear agreeable to law; which judgment shall be final: and in case the said order shall be confirmed, the town which appealed shall pay the whole cost of court, in which shall be included the charges of removing such What cost poor person or persons; and in case the said order shall be reversed, then the town from which such poor person or persons were removed shall pay the cost of court, and also the charges that the town to which he or they were removed shall have been at, for his or their support, be

Court may

reverse.

and by whom paid.

REMOVAL.

tween the time of the removal and the determination of the appeal; and such poor person or persons shall be removed back to said town at the proper cost and charges thereof, which shall be levied by an execution against the town-treasurer of such town.

277

removal,

Penalty

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the town-ser- Order of geant or constable who shall be charged with an order how exefor the removal of any poor person or persons as aforesaid, cuted. shall have power to go into any town in this State for putting such order into execution, and shall make return upon said order to the town-council who granted the same, at their next meeting, which shall be lodged in the clerk's office; and he shall give copies thereof to any person who shall desire them, and shall take the same fees therefor as in other cases; and in case any town-sergeant or con- for neg stable shall refuse or neglect to put such order in execu- lect. tion when delivered to him, he shall, for every such refusal or neglect, forfeit the sum of twenty dollars, to be recovered by the town-treasurer, at the court of common pleas of the county in which the town where said forfeiture arises, lies, or before a justice's court in said town, to and for the use of the poor of said town: and the town- Fees of sergeant or constable who shall remove any poor person &c. or persons, as by this act is directed, shall be allowed and paid, at the discretion of the town-council, for his trouble, out of the treasury of the town from which such person or persons shall be removed.

constable,

councils

may refuse

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That it shall be in the Townpower and at the discretion of every town-council, to refuse any bond or certificate which may be offered for bonds of keeping their town indemnified from charge, by any per- indemnity. son who shall come into it of bad fame and reputation, or such as the town-council shall judge unsuitable persons to become inhabitants thereof; and upon their refusal to And proaccept the bond or certificate offered, to proceed in manner as aforesaid to remove such person out of such town for whom bond or certificate may have been tendered and not accepted.

ceed to re

cover.

on paupers

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That if any person Penalty who shall be sent out of any town, agreeably to this act, for returnshall voluntarily return thither again, without leave first ing. obtained of the town-council for so doing, such person shall be fined by the town-council not exceeding seven dollars, to and for the use of the poor of such town; and in default of paying the same, shall be publicly whipped, at

Town

councils may re

sons of bad fame.

not

chargeable.

the discretion of the town-council, not exceeding twentynine stripes.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the respective town-councils shall have power, in their discretion, to move per- remove, as aforesaid, all persons not settled in their respective towns, who are of bad fame and reputation, or such as said town-council shall determine to be unsuitaThough ble persons to become inhabitants thereof, though such persons shall not at the time of such removal have become, or shall not then be likely to become, chargeable to such town: and if such persons shall have no legal settlement in any of the United States, the town-council shall May bind have a right to warn such persons to depart from such them out. town, within a limited time, and upon their refusal so to do, to bind out such persons to service for one year, to any citizen of the United States.

Persons

entertain

gers to

give notice to the

town

council.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That in case any taving stran- ern-keeper, innholder, victualler, or any other person whosoever, inhabiting in any town within this State, shall entertain or keep in his or her house, any single person or family, who shall not be legally settled in this State, for more than one whole week from the time of their coming into such town, without giving notice thereof in writing to the president of the town-council, such person so offending shall forfeit and pay a fine of seven dollars for every such offence, to be recovered by the town-treasurer of such town, before any justice or warden, to and for the use of such

Penalty

for bring

pers into

any town

order.

town.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That if any person ing pau- shall bring and leave any poor and indigent person in any town in this State, wherein such pauper is not lawfully setwithout an tled, unless by an order of removal made by a town-council in this State, knowing him to be poor and indigent, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred dollars for every such offence, to be sued for and recovered in an action of debt by the town-treasurer, to and for the use of such town.

For bringing con

SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That if any master or victs into other person having charge of any vessel, shall bring inthe State. to and land, or suffer to be landed, in any place within this State, any person before that time convicted, in any other State, or in any foreign country, of any infamous crime, or of any crime for which he hath been sentenced to transportation, knowing of such conviction, or having reason to suspect it, or any person of a notoriously disso

lute, infamous and abandoned life and character, knowing him or her to be such, shall for every such offence, forfeit the sum of four hundred dollars, one half thereof to the use of the State, and the other half to the use of any person, being a citizen of and residing within this State, who may prosecute and sue for the same, by action of debt as aforesaid.

vessels to

report

sengers.

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the master or any Masters of other person having the charge of any vessel arriving at any place within this State, with any passengers on board, their pasfrom any port or place in any other of the United States, or from any foreign dominion, or country without the United States of America, shall, within twenty-four hours after the arrival of such vessel, make report in writing, under his hand, of all such passengers, their names, nation, age, character and condition, so far as shall have come to his knowledge, to the overseer or overseers of the poor of the town at which such vessel shall arrive : and every such master or other person who shall neglect Penalty for neglect. to make such report, or who shall wittingly and willingly make a false one, shall for each offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered, by action of debt, by the town-treasurer, to and for the use of such town.

sett In

ed.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That if any Indian of Narragan the Narragansett tribe shall reside in any town in this dians may State, and shall become, or be likely to become, charge- be removable to such town, it shall be lawful for any one of the overseers of the poor, and the town-council of such town, to cause such Indian to be removed to the said tribe, in the manner provided for the removal of paupers by the eighth Like other and tenth sections of this act, and there deliver him or her paupers. to the treasurer of said tribe, and leave an authentic copy of the order of removal with the said treasurer; and if Penalty said treasurer shall refuse to accept such poor Indian, he for not reshall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars, to be recovered in like manner and for the same use as is provided in the said eighth section of this act: and if the treasurer of said Tribe may tribe shall think the said tribe aggrieved at the determi- appeal. nation and order of the town-council for the removal of such poor Indian, it shall be lawful for him, in the behalf of said tribe, to appeal to the same court, and in the same manner, as is provided in the ninth section of this act ; and that the said court shall have the same power in the premises as is there provided: and if any Indian who

ceiving.

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