be liable for

sessors of towns, plantations, parishes and religious socie- Assessors to ties, shall not hereafter be made responsible for the as- personal faithfulness only, in sessment of any tax which they are by law required to assessing laxassess ; but the liability if any, shall rest solely with said law. towns, plantations, parishes and religious societies; and [Preceding the Assessors shall be responsible only for their own per- vol. 3, p. 61.] sonal faithfulness and integrity.

es required by

Act, ch. 229,

sors or town

SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of Assessors to make a record of their assessment Record of assessment and and of the invoice and valuation from which such assess- valuation to be deposited in ment shall have been made, and before the taxes are office of assescommitted to the proper officer for collection, deposit the clerk. same, or a copy thereof, in the Assessor's office, when any such is kept, otherwise with the town clerk, with whom it shall remain for the purpose of affording to all persons interested, an opportunity for examining and correcting any error that may have happened in the assessment of any tax; and it shall not be necessary to deposit any other record or copy of the invoice and valuation or of their assessment with the town clerk or any other person whatever. And any place where the Assessors usually meet to transact business, or keep their papers or books, shall be considered their office for the purposes aforesaid.

ry assess

made in cases

&c.

SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That when any Assessors, after having completed the assessment of any tax, Supplementa shall discover that they have through accident or mis- ments may be take, omitted any polls or estate liable to be assessed, of omission, they may, during the term for which they were elected, by a supplement to the invoice or valuation and to the list of assessments, assess such polls and estates, their proportion of such tax according to the principles on which such assessment was made, certifying that the same were omitted by mistake or accident; and such supplemental list of assessments, shall be committed to the collector, with a certificate under the hands of the Assessors, or a major part of them, stating that such taxes were omitted in the list previously committed to him, and that the pow

lection enforc

ed.

ers contained in their previous warrant, (specifying the date thereof,) are extended to such supplemental list. And the collector shall have the same power in collecting such and the col. taxes, that he may have in collecting those contained in the original list committed to him: and he shall be subject to the same liabilities that he is subject to in collecting other taxes: And all assessments shall be valid, notwithstanding that by such supplemental invoice or assessment, the whole amount thereof, shall exceed the sums to be assessed by more than five per cent.; and notwithstanding that it may alter the proportion of the tax allowed by law to be assessed on the polls.

valid notwith

change of oc

less notice be

SECT. 4. Be it further enacted, That when the Assessors of any town, plantation, parish or other religious society, shall, in assessing any tax, continue to assess any real estate to the person to whom it was last assessed, Assessments such assessment shall be valid, notwithstanding that the standing ownership or occupancy of such estate may have since cupancy, un- been changed; unless previous to the making of such asgiven by own- sessment the owner or occupant, to whom the same was assessed in the last preceding assessment, shall give to [See ch. 229, the assessors, or one of them, notice, stating the time vol. 3. p. 61.] when he ceased to be owner or occupant of such estate, and the name of the person to whom the same was transferred or surrendered. And any tenant in common, or joint tenant of a freehold or other estate real or personcertain cases, al may be considered the sole owner for the purpose of for taxation. taxation, unless he shall make known to the assessors the

er, &c.

Tenant in common to be considered sole owner, in

amount and kind of interest he has in such estate.

SECT. 5. Be it further enacted, That any town, planTowns, par tation, parish, or religious society, that shall appoint ishes,&c. may their treasurer, collector of taxes, may at any meeting at batements for which they shall vote to raise any tax, agree, not only the abatements to be made to persons who

agree upon a

payment at certain peri

lector;

ods, to treasur- upon er, when col-shall voluntarily pay their taxes to the collector at certain periods; but likewise the periods at which any person by so paying his taxes may be entitled to such abatement. And a notification of such vote being post

notice thereof.

ed up in one or more public places within said town, shall mode of giving be sufficient in lieu of posting up a copy of the fiftyseventh section of the Act to which this is in addition. And when any town or other corporation aforesaid, shall ch. 116, vol. 2, p. 501.j not agree upon any abatements to be made as aforesaid, it shall not be necessary to post up a copy of said fiftyseventh section as prescribed in said Act.

[See sec. 59,

treasurer and

tended for

collection of

SECT. 6. Be it further enacted, That all the powers granted to treasurers who are appointed collectors of tax- Powers of es, shall be extended till the collection of any tax, that collector exshall have been committed to them, shall be completed, completing notwithstanding that the year for which they were ap- taxes. pointed may have previously elapsed. And any such treasurer may allow as a compensation to the officer who [Ch. 116, vol. 2, p. 502.] shall leave any summons as prescribed in the sixty-first section of an Act to which this is in addition, the twenty Compensation cents prescribed by said Act to be paid into the treasury summons. for every such summons, or such reasonable part thereof

as shall be agreed upon between such treasurer and offi

cer.

for service of

Treasurers of

towns, &c.

SECT. 7. Be it further enacted, That the Selectmen of towns, and the Assessors of plantations, may require the treasurer of such town or plantation to give bonds may be required to give with sufficient surety or sureties to the satisfaction of bond; such Selectmen or Assessors, for the faithful performance of the duties of his office; and if said treasurers shall neglect or refuse to give such bond, it shall be taken as a refusal to accept such office, and such town or plantation shall proceed to make a new choice as in the case of proceedings a vacancy in said office: And it shall be the duty of ev- fusal. ery such treasurer to render an account of the state of Treasurer to the finances of his town or plantation, and exhibit count. all the books and accounts appertaining to his office to the Selectmen of his town, or Assessors of his plantation, as often as once in three months, if requested, and to any committee appointed by such town or plantation for the purpose, whenever they shall require it.

SECT. 8. Be it further enacted, That the notice of

in case of re

render ac

for taxes, how

ed

and return

thereof in cases of nonresidents.

Notice of sale sale required by the thirtieth section of the Act concerning to be publish the assessment and collection of taxes, to be published in the public newspapers three weeks successively shall be [Ch. 116, vol. so published, three months prior to the time of such sale. 2, p. 485.] And it shall be the duty of the collector to record and return to the treasurer of the same town or plantation, for which such collector is chosen, his particular doings in the sale of unimproved lands of non-resident proprie[Vide ch. 183, tors, or improved lands of proprietors living out of the vol. 3, p. 3.] State, for the taxes thereon, within thirty days after the sale thereof, as aforesaid. And in all cases, where the purchaser of any land sold for taxes shall not live in, or Mode of re- shall remove from, the town in which such land is situdemption of lands sold for ated, it shall be lawful for the proprietor or owner of such tain cases. land to deposit with the treasurer of such town or plantation the sum required by law to redeem the land thus sold; and thereupon such sale shall become void and the purchaser shall be holden to execute to the proprietor a deed of release of the same. And said treasurer's receipt or certificate of the payment to him of a sufficient sum to redeem the lands of any non-resident proprietor, so sold, shall be sufficient evidence of such payment and redemption. And said treasurer shall be holden to pay over to such purchaser on demand the sum deposited with him as aforesaid. And the proprietor, making such payment, shall also pay such treasurer fifty cents for his trouble. [Approved March 6, 1826.]

taxes in cer

[See ch. 501, vol. 3.]

Additional Act, ch. 350, vol. 3.

Chapter 338.

AN ACT providing for the organization of towns, destitute of Town Offi

cers.

BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen

tatives, in Legislature assembled, That in any town, First meeting not organized by the choice of town officers, or in any how called. town which may have been so organized, but shall be

of new towns

destitute of town officers, qualified to call town meetings, any Justice of the Peace, for the County in which such town I shall be, may, on application, made to him in writing, by five or more of the inhabitants of such town, qualified to vote in town affairs, issue his warrant, to some one of such applicants, directing him, that, in manner by law prescribed for notifying town meetings, he notify the inhabitants of such town, qualified as aforesaid, to meet at such timé and place, as may be in such warrant appointed, for the choice of such town officers, as towns are by law empowered to elect. [Approved March 6, 1826.]

Chapter 339.

AN ACT additional to "An Act providing for the government of the State Ch 226, vol.3, Prison, and for the punishment of convicts."

p. 56.

vol. 3, p. 110.]

Convicts, if fe

SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of [Preceding Representatives, in Legislature assembled, That when- Act, ch. 282, ever any female convict, or male minor under the age of sixteen years, shall hereafter be sentenced to confinement males, or if to hard labor, or to solitary imprisonment and hard labor, males under for any term short of life, such sentence may be execut- be punished in ed in and within the precincts of the gaol of the County, prison at the in which such offender may be convicted, or in the State Court. Prison, at Thomaston, as heretofore directed, at the discretion of the Court awarding such sentence; and all [See ch. 368, vol. 3.] charges and expenses for maintaining such convicts, shall be paid by the State.

county or state

discretion of

State Prison

or remove cer

thereof in cer

SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the Inspectors of the State Prison, appointed by virtue of the Act, to Inspectors of which this Act is additional, be, and they hereby are, au- may suspend thorized and empowered, at their discretion, to remove or tain officers to suspend from the exercise of their functions, any offi- tain cases, &c. cer or officers of said State Prison, as well as their agents or servants, (excepting, however, the Warden thereof,) whom said Inspectors may, at any time, find negligent or unfaithful in the discharge of their duties, and to appoint