Treasurer, ap- to hold and sent of five members of the board at a legal meeting; but no alteration shall be valid until approved by the governor and council. SECT. 3. There shall be a treasurer appointed by the governor and council, who shall before he enters upon the discharge of his duties give a bond to the commonwealth, with sureties satisfactory to the governor and council, in the sum of three thousand dollars, conditioned that he shall faithfully account for all money received by him as treasurer; which bond when approved shall be filed in the office of the treasurer of the commonwealth. SECT. 4. The treasurer shall receive, hold, and invest, for the benefit invest legacies, of the school, all legacies, devises, and donations, to or on account of the school, subject to such regulations as may be established from time to time by the trustees. &c. 1856, 63. Commissioners who, judges of pro bate, shall have jurisdiction under this chapter. SECT. 5. The governor with the advice and consent of the council to be appointed, upon request of the mayor and aldermen, selectmen, or overseers of the poor of any city or town, shall appoint and commission in the same manner as justices of the peace are appointed and commissioned one or more suitable persons residing in such city or town, who shall have authority therein to hear and determine complaints and make commitments under this chapter; and judges of the probate courts shall have like authority within their respective counties. 1855, 442, § 9. Variance from SECT. 6. When a girl between the ages of seven and sixteen years is brought by a constable, police officer, or other inhabitant of this state, before such judge or commissioner, upon complaint that she has committed an offence punishable by fine or imprisonment other than by imprisonment for life, or that she is leading an idle, vagrant, or vicious life, or has been found in any street, highway, or public place, in circumstances of want and suffering, or of neglect, exposure, or abandonment, or of beggary, the judge or commissioner shall issue a summons to the father of said girl, if he is living and resident within the place where she was found, and if not, then to her mother if she is living and so resident; and if there is no such father or mother, to the lawful guardian of said girl, if any there is so resident, or if not, to the person with whom according to her own statement and such testimony as shall be received she resides; and if there is no person with whom she statedly resides, the judge or commissioner may appoint some suitable person to act in her behalf; requiring him or her to appear at a time and place stated in the summons, to show cause, if any there is, why said girl shall not be committed to said institution. SECT. 7. At the time mentioned in the summons, the judge or com missioner shall proceed to examine the girl and any party appearing in answer to the summons, and to take such testimony in relation to the case as may be produced. If the allegations are proved, and it appears that the girl is a suitable subject for said institution, and that her moral welfare and the good of society require that she should be sent thereto for instruction, employment, or reformation, he shall commit her by a warrant in substance as follows: а To (A B) one of the constables (or police officers) of the city (or town) of You are hereby commanded to take charge of C D, a girl between the ages of seven and sixteen years, who has been proved to me to be a suitable subject for the state industrial school for girls, and a proper object for its care, discipline, and instruction, and deliver said girl, without delay, to the superintendent of said school, or other person in charge thereof, at the place where the same is established. And for so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant. 18 at , (in the county of in the Dated this day of commonwealth of Massachusetts.) But no variance from said form shall be deemed material if it suffi form, when not ciently appears upon the face thereof, that the girl is committed by the magistrate in the exercise of the powers given to him by this chapter. The warrant shall be executed by a constable or police officer of the place material. mons. Courts may transfer girls judges or com where the case is heard. Accompanying the warrant, the magistrate shall transmit to the superintendent, by the officer serving it, a statement of the substance of the complaint and testimony given in the case. SECT. 8. Summonses to appear before a judge or commissioner as Service of sumaforesaid, shall be served by a constable or police officer, by delivering 1855, 442, § 5. the same personally to the party to whom it is addressed, or leaving it with some person of sufficient age at the place of residence or business of such party; and said constable or police officer shall immediately make return to the same magistrate of the time and manner of such service. SECT. 9. When a girl between seven and sixteen years of age is brought for trial before a trial justice or court of criminal jurisdiction, charged with an offence which may be punished by fine or imprisonment, and the justice or court is of opinion that if found guilty she would be a missioners. fit and proper subject for said school, a decree to that effect shall be 1855, 442, § 8. entered of record; and thereupon such justice or court shall by a war- Repealed rant cause such girl to be brought forthwith before some judge or comih 349 1870 missioner authorized to commit girls to the school, and transmit to him the complaint or indictment and warrant by virtue of which she has been arrested, and he shall thereupon have the same jurisdiction and powers as if she had been brought before him upon an original complaint. SECT. 10. If a girl previously committed to the school is brought Second commitbefore a judge or commissioner upon any allegation set forth in section ment may be six, he may examine the case and issue his warrant for committing her summons to to the school without having issued the summons required in said 1855, 442, § 6. section. made without parents. Fees of judges and officers. SECT. 11. The fees and compensation allowed to judges and commissioners under this chapter, shall be the same as by law are allowed to trial justices; and all officers serving process shall be allowed the same fees as they are entitled to for serving process in criminal proceedings. SECT. 12. Any girl ordered to be committed to the school may appeal Appeal allowed. from such order in the manner provided in respect to appeals from trial 1855, ±±2, § 7. justices. And the case shall be entered, tried, and finally determined, in the court to which the appeal is made. &c. 11, 13. SECT. 13. Any girl committed to the school shall there be kept, disci- Girls to be kept plined, instructed, employed, and governed, under the direction of the until bound out, trustees, until she is bound out, or arrives at the age of eighteen years, 1855, 442, §§ 5, or is otherwise legally discharged. SECT. 14. The trustees shall discharge and return to her parents, Trustees may guardian, or protector, any girl who, in their judgment, ought for any 1855, 42, § 12. discharge girls. cause to be removed from the school. And in such case the trustees shall make an entry upon their records of her name, the party to whom she was returned, and the date when she left the school, together with a statement of the reasons for her discharge; a copy of which record signed by their secretary they shall forthwith transmit to the judge or commissioner by whom the girl was committed. may bind them out, &c. SECT. 15. The trustees may bind out as an apprentice or servant any girl committed to their charge, for a term not longer than until she arrives at the age of eighteen years; and the master to whom the girl is bound shall by the terms of the indenture be required to report to the trustees as often as once in every six months, her conduct and behavior, and whether she is still living under his care, and if not where she is. And the trustees, and master or mistress, apprentice or servant, shall respectively have all the rights and privileges and be subject to all the duties set forth in chapter one hundred and eleven in the same manner as if said binding or apprenticing were made by overseers of the poor. SECT. 16. A person receiving an apprentice under the provisions of Indenture of this chapter, shall not assign or transfer the indenture of apprenticeship, not to be asnor let out her services for any period, without the consent in writing of signed, except, the trustees. If the master for any cause desires to be relieved from the cancelled. apprenticeship &c.; may be 1855, 442, § 15. contract, the trustees upon application may in their discretion cancel the indenture and resume the charge and management of the girl, and shall have the same power and authority in regard to her as before the indenture was made. Discharge of girl, when master is guilty of cruelty, &c. SECT. 17. If a master is guilty of cruelty or misusage towards a girl so bound to service, or of any violation of the terms of the indenture, the girl or trustees may make complaint to a judge or commissioner afore1855, 442, § 16. said, who shall summon the parties before him and examine into the complaint; and if it appears to be well founded, he shall by certificate under his hand discharge the girl from all obligations of future service, and restore her to the school to be managed as before her indenture. SECT. 18. Upon the death of the master to whom a girl is so bound to service, his executor or administrator, with the consent of the girl in writing, acknowledged by her and approved by the trustees, may assign the indenture to some other person; which assignment shall transfer to and vest in the assignee all rights and subject him to all responsibilities of the original master. Assignment of indenture upon 1855, 442, § 17. death of master. Trustees to be guardians of girls so bound out. 1855, 442, § 18. Instruction, &c., of girls; se lection of mas ters when binding out girls. 1855, 442, § 19. Duties of superintendent. 1855, 442, § 20. bond, ac counts, &c., of. 23. 1857, 215. SECT. 19. The trustees shall be the guardians of every girl so bound or held for service, shall take care that the terms of the contract are faithfully fulfilled, and that she is properly treated; and they shall especially inquire into the treatment of every such girl and cause any grievance to be redressed. SECT. 20. They shall cause the girls under their charge to be instructed in piety and morality, and in such branches of useful knowledge as are adapted to their age and capacity, and in some regular course of labor, either mechanical, manufacturing, or horticultural, or a combination of these, and especially in such domestic and household labor and duties as are best suited to their age, strength, disposition, and capacity; and in such other arts, trades, and employments, as may seem to the trustees best adapted to secure their reformation, amendment, and future benefit. In binding out girls they shall have scrupulous regard to the religious and moral character of those to whom it is proposed to bind them, that they may secure to the girls the benefits of good example and wholesome instruction, and the best means of improvement in virtue and knowledge, and the opportunity of becoming intelligent, moral, useful, and happy women. SECT. 21. The superintendent, with such subordinate officers as the trustees may appoint, shall have the general charge and custody of the girls. He shall be a constant resident at the school, and under the direc tion of the trustees shall discipline, govern, instruct, and employ, and use his best endeavors to reform, the inmates in such manner as shall, while preserving their health and promoting the proper development of their physical system, secure the formation as far as possible of moral, religious, and industrious habits, and regular thorough progress and improvement in their studies, trades, and employments. SECT. 22. He shall before he enters upon the duties of his office give 1855, 412, §§ 21, a bond to the commonwealth, with sureties satisfactory to the governor and council, in the sum of two thousand dollars, conditioned that he shall faithfully perform all his duties and account for all moneys received by him as superintendent; which bond when approved shall be filed in the office of the treasurer of the commonwealth. He shall have charge of all the property pertaining to the school within the precincts thereof, and under the direction of the trustees shall make purchases of books with the income and profits, and according to the terms of the donation of Henry B. Rogers. He shall keep in suitable books complete accounts of all his receipts and expenditures, and of all property intrusted to him, showing the income and expenses of the institution; and shall ac count to the treasurer in such manner as the trustees may require for all money received by him. His books, accounts, and documents, relat ing to the school, shall at all times be open to the inspection of the trustees, who shall at least once in every six months carefully examine the same, and the vouchers and documents connected therewith, and make a record of the result of such examination. He shall keep a regis- Register of girls ter containing the name and age of each girl, and as far as practicable is to be kept. the circumstances connected with her history to the time of her admission to the school; and he shall add thereto such facts as may come to his knowledge, relating to her history while at the institution and after leaving it. Suits on. SECT. 23. All contracts on account of the institution shall be made Superintendent to make all con、 by the superintendent in writing and approved by the trustees if their tracts in writ by-laws require it; and the superintendent or his successor may sue or ing be sued thereon to final judgment and execution. No suit shall abate 1855, 442, § 22. by reason of the office of superintendent becoming vacant, but any successor in office may take upon himself the prosecution or defence thereof; and upon motion of the adverse party and notice, he shall be required to do so. SECT. 24. The city or town in which any girl sentenced to the school Support of perhas her legal settlement, shall, upon notice and demand by the treasurer ted. of the school, pay to such treasurer fifty cents a week towards the sup- 1856, 150. port of such girl while she remains there; and such city or town may recover any sum so paid, of the parent, kindred, or guardian, liable to maintain the girl. er's accounts. SECT. 25. One or more of the trustees shall visit the school at least Examination of school. once in every two weeks; at which time the girls shall be examined in Records; rethe school-rooms and workshops, and the register inspected. A record ports; treasurshall be kept of these visits in the books of the superintendent. Once 1855, 442, § 25. in every three months, the school in all its departments shall be thor- 1857, 40, $1, 1859, 177, § 2. oughly examined by a majority of the trustees, and a report thereof made to the board. On or before the fifteenth day of October in each year an abstract of the quarterly reports shall be prepared, which, together with a full report by the superintendent, and a list of the salaried officers and their salaries, and, in a tabular form, under the heads specified in section eleven of chapter five, the value of the stock and supplies, shall be laid before the governor and council for the information of the legislature. The treasurer shall also submit at the same time an accurate detailed account of the receipts and expenditures for the year terminating on the last day of the preceding month. for houses, &c.; SECT. 26. The trustees may expend any money given for the pur- Trustees may pose, in erecting houses or other buildings on the lands of the state at expend money Lancaster, for increasing the accommodation of the school, plans there- number not to for being first approved by the governor and council; but the whole number of such houses shall not exceed six. exceed six. Government of seven trustees; tenure of office, 1847, 165, §§ 1, 14. 1850, 112, § 2. 1859, 177, § 3. SECTION 1. The government of the state reform school at Westschool vested in borough shall be vested in a board of seven trustees appointed and appointment, commissioned by the governor with the advice and consent of the compensation. Council, subject to removal only for sufficient cause. The trustees now in office shall continue to hold their offices until the terms thereof expire according to the provisions of this section. On the first Wednesday of February in each year the terms of office of the two senior members as they stand arranged on the list of their appointments shall terminate, and the names of the persons appointed to fill the vacancies shall be placed at the bottom of the list. Other vacancies may at any time be filled, and the names of the persons appointed shall be substi tuted in the list for the remainder of the vacant terms. Any person whose term of office expires may be reappointed. The trustees shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be allowed all expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their duties. Trustees to be a corporation. 1848, 305. to control buildings, &c. 1847, 165, § 14. general powers and duties of. 1847, 165, § 2. SECT. 2. The trustees shall be a corporation by the name of the Trustees of the State Reform School, for the purpose of taking and holding, to themselves and their successors in trust for the commonwealth, any grant or devise of lands and any donation or bequest of money or other personal property made for the use of said institution, and for the purpose of preserving and investing the proceeds thereof in good securities, with all powers necessary to carry said purposes into effect. SECT. 3. They shall have the control of the buildings erected for the purposes of the institution at Westborough, and the lands connected therewith. SECT. 4. They shall take charge of the general interests of the institution; see that its affairs are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the legislature and such by-laws as the board may from time to time adopt, and that strict discipline is maintained therein; provide employment for the inmates and bind them out, discharge, or remand them, as herein provided; appoint a superintendent, a steward, teacher or teachers, and such other officers as in their judgment the wants of the institution may require, and prescribe their duties; exer cise a vigilant supervision over the institution, its officers, and inmates; remove such officers at pleasure and appoint others in their stead; and determine the salaries to be paid to the officers, subject in all cases to the approval of the governor and council. The by-laws may be amended by the assent of five trustees at a legal meeting; but no alteration shall be valid until approved by the governor and council. |