-may unite with Stockbridge and

Pittsfield Rail

road.

SECTION 2. Said Lee and New Haven Railroad Company is hereby authorized to enter with its road or any branch thereof, upon, and unite the same with, and on the road of the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad Company, at any point in the towns of Lenox, Lee or Stockbridge, for a Commissioners reasonable compensation. If the corporations cannot agree upon the terms and conditions upon which such accommodation shall be furnished, commissioners may be appointed in the manner prescribed in section one hundred and seventeen of chapter sixty-three of the General Statutes, with all powers given them therein.

to be appointed

if roads cannot

agree upon terms.

$500,000 additional capital stock.

SECTION 3. Said company may increase its capital stock to a sum not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars, if the same may be necessary to complete said railroad and its branches.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Chap. 349 AN ACT TO

Dorchester annexed to Boston, and to become part of

Proviso.

Approved June 2, 1869.

UNITE THE CITY OF BOSTON AND THE TOWN OF
DORCHESTER.

Be it enacted, &c., as follows:

SECTION 1. All the territory now comprised within the limits of the town of Dorchester, in the county of Norfolk, Suffolk County. With the inhabitants and estates therein, is hereby annexed to and made part of the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and shall hereafter constitute a part of the county of Suffolk, subject to the same municipal regulations, obligations and liabilities, and entitled to the same immunities in all respects as the said city of Boston: provided, however, that until constitutionally and legally changed, said territory shall continue to be, for the purpose of electing members of house of repre- the house of representatives, part of the county of Norfolk, ator, councillor, constituting the fifth representative district thereof; for the purpose of electing a senator, part of the second Norfolk senatorial district; for the purpose of electing a councillor, part of the second council district, and for the purpose of electing a representative in congress, part of congressional district number two, as the same are now constituted.

Election of members of

sentatives, sen

&c.

Duties of selectmen, town clerk and ward oflicers.

All the duties now required by law to be performed by the selectmen and town clerk, of the town of Dorchester, or either of them, pertaining to the election of representatives in congress, state councillors, senators and members of the house of representatives, shall in like manner devolve upon and be performed by the board of aldermen and city clerk of the city of Boston.

It shall be the duty of the ward officers of the ward, erected out of said territory as hereinafter provided, to make return of all votes that may be cast therein, from time to time, for representatives in congress, state councillors, senators, members of the house of representatives, and for all other national, state, district, county, municipal and ward officers, to the city clerk of the city of Boston.

of Dorchester

Dorchester to

property.

SECTION 2. All the public property of the said town of Public property Dorchester shall be vested in and is hereby declared to be to be vested in the property of the city of Boston; and said city of Boston Boston. shall succeed to all the rights, claims, causes of action, rights to uncollected taxes, liens, uses, trusts, duties, privileges and immunities of said town of Dorchester. The town treasurer Treasurer of of the town of Dorchester shall, on or before the second deliver books, Monday of January, in the year eighteen hundred and papers and seventy, under the direction of the selectmen of said town of Dorchester, who shall for this purpose, and for all other purposes necessary to carry into full effect the provisions of this act, continue to hold their offices over, transfer, deliver, pay over and account for to the city treasurer of the city of Boston, all books, papers, moneys and other property in his possession as town treasurer of said town of Dorchester, when this act shall take effect; and the city of Boston shall Boston to be become liable for and subject to all the debts, obligations, of Dorchester. duties, responsibilities and liabilities of said town of Dorches

liable for debts

tions, &c., to

ter. All actions and causes of action which may be pending, Pending acor which shall have accrued at the time this act shall take survive. effect, in behalf of or against the town of Dorchester, shall survive, and may be prosecuted to final judgment and execution, in behalf of or against the city of Boston.

courts in Suffolk

Counties.

SECTION 3. The several courts within the county of Suffolk, Jurisdiction of except the municipal court for the southern district of the and Norfolk city of Boston, after this act shall take effect, shall have the same jurisdiction over all causes of action and proceedings in civil causes, and over all matters in probate and insolvency, which shall have accrued within said territory hereby annexed, that said courts now have over like actions, proceedings and matters within the county of Suffolk: provided, however, Provisos. that the several courts within the county of Norfolk shall have and retain jurisdiction of all actions, proceedings and matters, that shall have been rightfully commenced in said courts prior to the time when this act shall take effect; and

supreme judicial court and the superior court within the county of Suffolk, after this act shall take effect, shall have the same jurisdiction of all crimes, offences and misdemeanors that shall have been committed within the said territory, that

Territory to constitute part

jurisdiction of

of Boston.

the supreme judicial court and superior court within the. county of Norfolk now have jurisdiction of: provided, proceedings shall not have been already commenced in any of the courts within the county of Norfolk, for the prosecution of said crimes, offences and misdemeanors; in which case, the said courts within the county of Norfolk shall have and retain jurisdiction of the same for the full, complete and final disposition thereof. All suits, actions, proceedings, complaints and prosecutions; and all matters of probate and insolvency which shall be pending within said territory, before any court or justice of the peace, when this act shall take effect, shall be heard and determined as though this act had not passed.

SECTION 4. Said territory shall be added to, and constiof district under tute a part of the judicial district under the jurisdiction of municipal court the municipal court of the city of Boston. Said court shall have the same civil and criminal jurisdiction in said territory as it now has by law in its district as it now exists. SECTION 5. The said territory shall constitute a ward of the city of Boston, to be called ward sixteen, and shall so remain until the alteration of the ward limits of the city of Boston, provided by law. And the ward so established shall be entitled to all the municipal and ward officers which each of the other wards of said city of Boston is entitled to.

-to constitute ward sixteen of Boston.

Ward officers to be elected.

School committee.

SECTION 6. If this act shall be accepted as hereinafter provided, said territory shall, after the second day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, constitute a ward of the city of Boston, to be called ward sixteen, for all the purposes mentioned in this section and in section seven of this act. And the board of aldermen of said city of Boston shall, in due season, issue their warrant for a meeting of the legal voters of said ward, to be held on the second Monday of December, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, at some place within said ward, which shall be designated in said warrant, there first to choose a warden, clerk, and five inspectors of elections for said ward, who shall hold their offices until the first Monday of January in the year eighteen hundred and seventy, and until others shall be chosen and qualified in their stead; second, to give in their ballots for the several municipal and ward officers for the year eighteen hundred and seventy, for which they shall be entitled to vote by virtue of the provisions of this act.

The voters of said ward shall designate, by their ballots cast at said meeting, the term of service for which each of the six school committee men, who shall be chosen in said ward, shall serve, so that two of the number so chosen shall

vote for muni

serve for three years, two for two years, and two for one year. The board of aldermen of the city of Boston shall prepare lists of all the legal voters in said ward, to be used at said meeting, and shall do all other things which they are now by law required to do in respect to like elections in other wards in the city of Boston; and at said meeting, any legal voter of said ward may call the citizens to order, and preside until a warden shall have been chosen and qualified. All ward officers whose election is provided for in the preceding section, shall be qualified according to law. The Citizens may citizens of the territory by this act annexed to the city of cipal officers of Boston, shall have the same right to vote for municipal Boston in the officers, at the annual municipal election of the city of Boston, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as they would have had if said territory had formed part of the city of Boston for more than six months next before said election. SECTION 7. After the present municipal year the board of Number of alaldermen of the city of Boston shall consist of twelve mem- cilmen and bers, and the common council of the city of Boston shall consist of sixty-four members. The number of wards of said city, including the ward to be formed out of the territory hereby annexed, shall be sixteen.

year 1869.

dermen, coun

wards in Bos

ton.

firemen, &c., of

continue in dis

SECTION 8. The several police officers and watchmen that Police officers, may be in office in the town of Dorchester when this act Dorchester, to shall take effect, shall thereafter continue in the discharge charge of their of their respective duties, in the same manner as if they duties. were police officers and watchmen of the city of Boston, until others shall be appointed in their stead. And the fire engineers and firemen of the town of Dorchester shall in like manner continue in the discharge of their duties, as if they were engineers and firemen of the city of Boston, till others are appointed in their stead.

chester in coun

just proportion

ty.

SECTION 9. All the interest which the town of Dorchester Interest of Dornow has in the public property of the county of Norfolk, is ty property rehereby released and acquitted to said county of Norfolk. leased. Such proportion of the debts and obligations of the county Boston to pay of Norfolk, existing when this act shall take full effect, over of debts of and above the value of all the property belonging to said county Norfolk Coun as should proportionally and equitably be paid by the inhabitants and property owners of the territory by this act annexed to the city of Boston, shall be paid by said city of Boston to said county of Norfolk; and the supreme judicial court shall have jurisdiction in equity to determine the amount of such proportion, (if any,) and enforce the payment of the same upon a suit of equity, in the name of said county, to be

Amount may be ment enforced

fixed and pay.

by S. J. C.

Obligation of contracts not

impaired.

Proviso.

Act not to take full effect unless accepted by voters of Boston and Dorchester.

Meetings to be

held in both

places June 22,

1869.

brought therefor within six months after this act shall go into full operation, by the county commissioners of said county of Norfolk, if they shall deem such suit for the interest of said county; but no such suit shall be instituted after said six months.

Nothing contained in this act shall impair the obligation of contracts; and the property and inhabitants of the territory by this act annexed to the city of Boston shall continue liable to the existing creditors of the county of Norfolk, in like manner as if this act had not been passed: provided, that if any person, by reason of his being an inhabitant of, or owning property in, said territory, shall be compelled to pay any part of an existing debt or obligation of the county of Norfolk, the amount of such payment shall constitute a debt to him from said county as hereafter to be constituted, exclusive of said territory, and may be recovered in like manner as other debts against the county of Norfolk.

SECTION 10. This act shall not take full effect unless accepted by a majority of the legal voters of the city of Boston present and voting thereon by ballot, at meetings which shall be held in the several wards of said city, and also by a majority of the legal voters of the town of Dorchester present and voting thereon by ballot, at a meeting which shall be held in said town. All said meetings shall be held simultaneously on the twenty-second day of June of the present year, and upon notice thereof duly given at least seven days before the time of said meetings, and the polls shall be opened at nine o'clock in the forenoon of said day, and shall be closed at six o'clock in the afternoon. In case of the absence of any ward officer at any ward meeting in aid city held for the purpose aforesaid, or of any of the electmen, or of the town clerk at any meeting in said town held for said purpose, a like officer may be chosen, pro tempore, by hand vote, and shall be duly qualified and shall have all the powers, and be subject to all the duties, of the regular officer at said meetings. Said ballots shall be "yes" or "no" in answer to the question, "Shall an act passed by the legislature of the Commonwealth in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, entitled 'an act to unite the city of Meetings, how Boston and the town of Dorchester,' be accepted?"

› tempore.

Ballots.

warned.

Such

meeting in the town of Dorchester shall be called, notified and warned by the selectmen of said town, in the same manner in which meetings for the election of town officers in said town are called, notified and warned; and such meetings in the city of Boston shall be called, notified and warned by the board of aldermen of said city in the same manner in