Towns may raise money necessary for bighways, and direct how sessed, and col it may be as lected. Fines imposed, in making and expending the money in his bills, or in not giving notice of such deficiency to the Selectmen in case the sum raised for the repair of the highways by the town, shall be found insufficient for that purpose. SEC. 19. Be it further enacted, That the several towns in this State having a population of eight hundred inhabitants, at any public legal meeting of the inhabitants thereof regularly notified and warned for that purpose, may vote to raise any sum of money, to be laid out for the making and repairing of highways in said towns, as they may deem necessary; and may by a vote of said towns, if they see fit, direct the same to be assessed in money on the polls and ratable estate real and personal of the inhabitants, residents and non-residents of their town, as other town charges are by law assessed, and the same to be committed to the Collector of taxes for said town, to be collected and paid as other town charges are collected and paid. SEC. 20. Be it further enacted, That all fines imposed by to be expend the Supreme Judicial Court, or by the Curcuit Court of Common Pleas within this State, or any town for any neglect in making or repairing any highways or bridges within the same, shall be appropriated and disposed of, for the making and repairing the highways and bridges so defective as aforesaid. Courts may appoint agents to expenditure of fines, SEC. 21. Be it further enacted, That the Supreme Judisuperintend cial Court or the Circuit Court of Common Pleas shall, at the collection and Session when any such fine shall be imposed as aforesaid, appoint one or more person or persons to superintend the collection and appropriation of the same for the purposes aforesaid; whose duty it shall be to attend to the collection of such fine, and the appropriation thereof in manner aforesaid; and shall make return of his or their doings therein to doings, to the the Court, that may have imposed said fine, whenever thereto by them required. and make return of their Courts. Plantations to have same pow ties as towns, highways. SEC. 22. Be it further enacted, That the inhabitants of ers and liabili- plantations who are or shall be empowered and required to in regard to assess taxes upon themselves towards the support of government, or for defraying the charges of any county, shall be vested with like powers, be under the like obligations, and liable to like penalties, so far as such powers, obligations and penalties have any relation to the making, repairing or amend. ing the highways, and for compensating any individual who may suffer damage by laying out any highway as the towns within this State have, are under or subject to; and like proings to be had ceedings shall be had by and against such plantations as may in regard there be had by or against said towns, in every case respecting the highways, mutatis mutandis. And the Assessors of such plantations shall be held to perform all the duties required of the Selectmen of towns relating to highways and invested with the same powers. Like proceed. to. SEC. 23. Be it further enacted, That all highways laid out through unin places to be expense of pro it unreasona Proceedings in or hereafter to be laid out through any tracts of land in this Highways State, not comprehended within the bounds of any incorporated corporated town or plantation aforesaid, shall be made passable and con- made and revenient for travelling and kept in good repair by the owners paired at the or proprietors of the said tract of land, township or planta-prietors, tion, unless in the judgment of the Court of Sessions for the unless Court of county in which such lands lie, it may be deemed unreasona- Sessions deem ble; in which case the same shall be done at the expense of ble: the county, or partly at the expense of the county and partly such case. at the expense of the proprietors, as the said Court shall order. And all the proprietors or owners of such tracts of land, townships or plantations last mentioned, shall be held to pay their proportion, according to their interest to all cost and expenses of making and repairing the ways aforesaid through any part of the tracts, townships or plantations last mentioned: Provided nevertheless, That all lands reserved for Proviso as to the use of the first settled Minister, the ministry, schools, or for lands, &c. the future appropriation of the Legislature in the said tracts, plantations and townships last mentioned, shall be, and hereby are exempted from all taxes for making and repairing highways therein. ministerial to Court of out such road. given by news Court to lay SEC. 24. Be it further enacted, That the Courts of Ses- On application sions in the several counties in this State, whenever applica- Sessions to lay tion shall be made to them to lay out any new highway through any such tract, township or plantation last mentioned, or for an order thereof to amend and repair any highway already laid out in the same, the said Court shall cause notice thereof Notice to be to be given, by publishing the substance of such application papers. three weeks successively in one of the newspapers printed in the town of Portland, and such other paper as the said Court shall direct, in order that the proprietors of said lands may appear before said Court, at such time as the Court shall therein prefix, and show cause why such highway should not be laid out or amended, as the case may be. And if such pro- on default, &c. prietors do not appear and show cause, to the satisfaction of of proprietors, said Court, that such highway ought not to be laid out or made, out road and or amended at the expense of said proprietors, then the said &c. Court may proceed to lay out such highway in the manner prescribed by law, and to order the same to be made or amended at the expense of the said proprietors, as the case should require; and shall cause an assessment to be made on Mode of assesssuch tracts of land, township, or plantation, at so much per ing. acre as they shall judge necessary for making or mending such highway and defraying the necessary expense attending the same; and the proprietors of the said tracts, townships, or plantations last mentioned, where the lands therein are held in severalty shall be severally assessed their respective proportions in every tax which may be ordered for making or repairing the highways therein: Provided, Such proprietors shall previously furnish said Court with proper documents for that assess the lands, treas tise the tax : how lands are to be sold, and when, after be paid. County meer purpose; and the Treasurer of the county wherein the land so assessed may lie, shall forthwith cause such tax to be advertised in manner aforesaid, requiring each and every owner or proprietor of any part of the tract, township or plantation last mentioned, to pay said tax; or if the assessment is made in severalty, his part thereof to said Treasurer within six months from the first publishing said advertisement, and notifying such proprietors, that unless the same shall be paid within the time specified, so much of the said land will be sold at public vendue, at a certain day and place in the said advertisement to be expressed: And when any proprietor or owner of any part of such tract, township or plantation last mentioned, (the parts thereof not being severally assessed,) shall pay his proportion of such tax, he shall take a receipt therefor, describing the land for which he shall pay such tax, and so much of the remaining part of such land for which said tax shall not be paid before the expiration of the said six months, shall be sold by the Treasurer aforesaid, or his successor in office, or such committee as the Court of Sessions aforesaid shall appoint for that purpose, at the time and place set forth in the advertisement, as may be necessary to pay the remainVendue ma, be ing part of said tax, with incidental charges. And the said Treasurer or committee are hereby authorized to adjourn the time of sale of such land from day to day, if he or they shall judge it necessary, not exceeding three days, and make a good and sufficient deed or deeds of such lands, allowing the same time of redemption, and subject to the payment of the like interest as is by law allowed in the cases of land sold for taxes; and the money so raised shall be applied by said Court, or by a committee to be by them appointed for that purpose, to make and repair said highways: And a similar method had fer repair shall be taken from time to time by said Court for keeping in ing such high repair all highways leading through such tracts, townships or ways. plantations last mentioned, in case the owners thereof shall Proprietors of neglect to keep said highway in sufficient repair. And the call meetings, owners and proprietors of any such tract, township or plantation last mentioned, are hereby authorized to call meetings for the purpose of raising such sums of money as they may judge necessary for making and repairing such highways, and for choosing officers for assessing and collecting the same. adjourned. Similar proeredings to be such lands, may raise money, &c. Any person ay se nove Planes lif highways. SEC. 25. Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any person to pull down and remove any gates, rails, bars or fence upon or across any highway or county road, unless such gate, bars or fence have been erected or continued by the leave and license of the Court of Sessions for the same county; and if any such incumbrance be in or across any private way, the same may be removed by the order of some Justice of the Peace of the same county, unless the gate or bars were erected or continued by the leave of the town or the person or persons for whose particular use and benefit the grieved by such may to C.ses Duty of survey. or to remove obstructions in highways. private way was laid out: And any person aggrieved by the Any person ag removal of such gate, bars or fence, shall be relieved at the removal may Court of Sessions for the same county; if upon examination it shall appear, that the same were erected or continued by license or leave, as aforesaid. And when any logs, lumber or other obstructions shall, by any person be unnecessarily placed or left on any highway, it shall be the duty of the surveyor within whose limits the same may be so placed, or left, or in his absence, of any other surveyor within the town forthwith to remove the same: and the person so removing the same shall not be liable for any loss or damage happening thereto by such removal, unless such loss or damage was occasioned by gross negligence or design: and on conviction of any person of having obstructed any highway in manner aforesaid, before any Court of competent jurisdiction, he shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five dollars to the use of the State, and double the expense of the removal of such obstruction, to the use of the person who shall have removed the same, or such person may recover the double of such expense to his own use in an action on the case: Provided nevertheless, That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to give pow- fences set up er to any surveyor or other person to remove or pull down for preventing any fence which may be lawfully set up or erected upon or fectious disor across any way for the purpose of preventing the spreading of infectious disorders. Penalty for ob structing highlumber, &c. ways by logs, Proviso, as to spread of in ders. es. &c. being may be remov SEC. 26. Be it further enacted, That when any building, Buildings, fenefence or other incumbrance, erected or continued on any adjudged nuistown or private way, or on any public highway, a common ances by Court, training field, burying place, landing place or other piece of d land, appropriated for the general use, ease or convenience of the community at large, or the inhabitants of any county, or town, shall by any Court, having cognizance thereof, be adjudged and determined a nuisance, and ordered to be abated, in case the materials of such building, fences or other incumbrance, upon a public sale thereof, at auction, shall be insufficient to pay the costs and charges of prosecution and removal; the Court from whence the process for removal shall issue, shall and may order the deficient sum to be raised and Expense of re. levied from the goods and chattels of the person or persons be defrayed. who shall be convicted of erecting or continuing the same. moval how to &c. front where the true be known, after SEC. 27. Be it further enacted, That where buildings or Buildings, fenc fences have been erected fronting upon, or against any training on certain ing field, burying place, common landing place, highway, pri- public grounds, vate way, street, lane, or alley in any town in this State, where bounds cannot from length of time or otherwise the breadth or quantity 40 years standthereof is not known, or can be made certain by the records, considered the or by any other boundaries; and such buildings or fences true bounds. have been upheld, maintained and continued for more than forty years, such fences or buildings shall be deemed and taken to be the true ancient boundaries thereof; but ne ing are to be 60 years pre In other cases length of time, (under three score years,) shall justify the scription ne- continuance of a fence or building on any town or private fy continuance way, or on any public highway, a common training field, cessary to justi of fence, &c. of such propri called. burying place, landing place or other piece of land appropriated for the general use, ease or convenience of the community at large, or for the inhabitants of any particular county, town, or parish, but the same may be removed by order of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, or the Supreme Judicial Court, as a nuisance, upon the presentment of a Grand Jury. [Approved March 2, 1821.] :00: CHAPTER CXIX. An Act for enabling Proprietors of Private Ways and Bridges to repair them in equal proportion. SEC. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of RepresentHow racetings, atives, in Legislature assembled, That when and so often as etors are to be any number of the proprietors and rightful occupants of any private way or bridge, where there are four, or more than four of them, shall judge a proprietors' meeting necessary, three of them applying to a Justice of the Peace within and for the county where the said way or bridge lies, such Justice is hereby authorized and empowered to grant a warrant for calling the same; or otherwise one fourth part of the said proprietors may, of themselves, call such meeting; in either case to be done by warrant under the hand of the said Justice, posted up in some public place or places, in the town or towns where the said proprietors and rightful occupants live respectively, seven days at least before the time appointed for such meeting, signifying the time, place and business thereof: and the major part of the proprietors and rightful occupants so assembled, shall have full power to determine by a the mode of cal. major vote on any other way of calling meetings in future, and to choose a Clerk and surveyor, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their respective trusts, as town officers are; and to determine what repairs on the said way or ways, bridge or bridges, are necessary; and also each proprietor's and occupant's proportion of labor and materials necessary for repairing the said way or ways, bridge or Proceedings as bridges; and such surveyor, so chosen and sworn, shall have May agree on ling future meetings and choose clerk and surveyorto be sworn. to repairs. the same power with respect to such ways or bridges, as the surveyors of highways are by law invested with; and shall be governed by the same rules as are prescribed by law for their direction; and in case of neglect or refusal of any proprietor or occupant, in attending the said work by himself or other sufficient person in his stead; or furnishing materials when required by the said surveyors, necessary for the repair of the said ways or bridges, agreeable to the determination of the said proprietors; he or she shall be subject to |