Chap. 70.

Lawrence to be a city.

Administration,

in a mayor, alder

men, and common councilmen.

affect the health, safety, or convenience, of the inhabitants of said town.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.

March 19,

AN ACT to establish the City of Lawrence.

Be it enacted, &c., as follows:

SECTION 1. The inhabitants of the town of Lawrence shall continue to be a body politic and corporate, under the name of the city of Lawrence, and as such shall have, exercise, and enjoy, all the rights, immunities, powers, and privileges, and shall be subject to all the duties and obligations now incumbent upon and appertaining to the said town, as a municipal corporation.

SECTION 2. The administration of all the fiscal, prudential, &c., to be vested and municipal affairs of the said city, with the government thereof, shall be vested in one municipal officer, to be styled the mayor; one council of six, to be called the board of aldermen; and one council of eighteen, to be called the common council; which boards, in their joint capacity, shall be denominated the city council, and the members thereof shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their respective duties. A majority of each board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. And no member of either board shall receive any compensation for his services.

No compensation.

City divided into
six wards.
Ward one.

Ward two.

Ward three.

Ward four.

SECTION 3. The city shall be, and the same is hereby divided into six wards, as follows:-All that portion of the city north of the Merrimack River, and east of a line drawn from said river northerly through the centre of Newbury Street to Meadow Street, thence through the centre of Meadow Street to the bridge over the Spicket River, on the Haverhill road, thence through the centre of the Haverhill road to Prospect Street, thence northerly through the centre of Prospect Street to the city line, shall be one ward, and known as Ward One.

All west of said line, and east of a line drawn from Merrimack River northerly through the centre of Lawrence Street until it reaches the city line, shall be one ward, and known as Ward Two.

All that portion west of the centre of said Lawrence Street and east of a line drawn through the centre of Hamp shire Street northerly from the Merrimack River until it reaches Pine Street, thence through the centre of Pine Street until it reaches Lawrence Street, near the city line, shall be one ward, and known as Ward Three.

All that portion of the city west of said line drawn through Hampshire Street, and east of a line drawn through the centre of Turnpike Street northerly from the Merrimack

River until it reaches the city line, shall be one ward,

known as Ward Four.

and

All that portion of the city north of the Merrimack River, ward five. and west of a line drawn through the centre of Turnpike Street northerly from said river, shall be one ward, and known

as Ward Five.

All that portion of the city south of the Merrimack River, ward six. shall be one ward, and known as Ward Six.

in 1856, and once

thereafter.

wardens, and inspectors.

It shall be the duty of the city council, in the year eighteen city council shall hundred and fifty-six, and after that, once in five years, and revise the wards not oftener, to revise, and if it be needful, to alter the boun- in five years daries of the several wards in such manner that they may contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants. SECTION 4. On the first Monday of December, annually, Election of clerks, there shall be chosen by ballot, in each of said wards, a warden, clerk, and three inspectors of elections, residents of the wards in which they are chosen, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall have been chosen in their places and qualified to act. It shall be the duty of such warden to preside at all ward meetings, with the powers of moderators of town meetings. And if, at any meeting, In absence of the warden shall not be present, the clerk of such ward shall warden, clerk call the meeting to order, and preside until a warden pro tempore shall be chosen by ballot. And if, at any meeting, Clerk pro tem. the clerk shall not be present, a clerk pro tempore shall be may be chosen. chosen by ballot. The clerk shall record all the proceedings and certify the votes given, and deliver to his successor in office all such records and journals, together with all other documents and papers held by him in said capacity.

may preside.

And it shall be the duty of inspectors of elections to assist Duties of inspecthe warden in receiving, sorting, and counting the votes. tors. And the warden, clerk, and inspectors of elections, so chosen, shall respectively make oath or affirmation, faithfully and impartially to discharge their several duties, relative to all elections; which oath may be administered by the clerk of Oaths of ward such ward, to the warden, and by the warden to the clerk administered. and inspectors, or by any justice of the peace for the county of Essex.

officers, how

meetings, how

All warrants for meetings of citizens for municipal pur- Warrants for poses, to be held either in wards or in general meetings, issued, &c. shall be issued by the mayor and aldermen, and shall be in such form, and shall be served, executed, and returned, in such manner and at such times as the city council may, by any by-law, direct.

cation, and term

SECTION 5. The mayor and six aldermen, one alderman Election, qualifi to be selected from cach ward, shall be elected by the qual- of office of mayor, ified voters of the city at large, voting in their respective &c. wards; and three common councilmen, and one person to

Proceedings at elections.

Certificates of

election to be issued.

Proviso.

be an overseer of the poor, and one person to be a member of the school committee, and one person to be an assistantassessor, shall be elected by the qualified voters of each ward, and shall be residents of the wards wherein they are elected. All said officers shall be chosen by ballot, and shall hold their offices for one year from the first Monday in January, and until others shall be elected and qualified in their places. SECTION 6. On the first Monday of December, annually, the qualified voters in each ward shall give in their votes for mayor, aldermen, common councilmen, overseer of the poor, school committee, and assistant-assessor, as provided in section five of this act; and all the votes so given shall be sorted, counted, declared, and registered, in open ward-meeting, by causing the names of the persons voted for, and the number of votes given for each, to be written in the ward records in words at length. The clerk of the ward shall, within twentyfour hours after such election, deliver to the persons elected members of the common council, overseer of the poor, school committee, and assistant-assessor, certificates of their elections, sigued by the warden and clerk, and by a majority of the inspectors of elections for such ward, and shall deliver to the city clerk a copy of the records of such elections, certified in like manner: provided, however, that if the choice of common councilmen, overseer of the poor, school committec, or assistant-assessor, shall not be effected on that day, the meeting may be adjourned from time to time, but not more than seven days at any one time, until such election is completed. The board of aldermen for the time being, shall, as soon as conveniently may be, within seven days after such election, examine the copies of records of the Mayor to be noti- several wards, certified as aforesaid, and shall cause the person who may have been elected mayor to be notified, in writing, of his election; but if it shall appear that no person has received a majority of all the votes, or if the person elected shall refuse to accept the office, the board of aldermen shall issue their warrant for a new election, and the same proceedings shall be had as are herein before provided for the choice of mayor, and repeated from time to time, until a mayor shall be chosen, and shall accept the office. In case of the decease, resignation, or absence, of the mayor, or his inability to perform the duties of his office, it shall be the duty of the board of aldermen and the common council, in convention, to elect a mayor to serve during the unexpired term, or until the occasion causing the vacancy be removed. And if it shall appear that the number of aldermen have not been elected, the same proceedings shall be had as are Notice to alder herein before provided for the choice of mayor. Each alder

fied.

Proceedings in case of failure to elect.

Vacancies, how to be supplied.

men.

man shall be notified, in writing, of his election by the mayor and aldermen for the time being.

The oath, prescribed by this act, shall be administered to the mayor by the city clerk, or by any justice of the peace for the county of Essex.

be admini-tered

The aldermen and common councilmen elect, shall, on Oath of office to the first Monday in January, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, and recorded. meet in convention, when the oath required by this act shall be administered to the members of the two boards present, by the mayor, or by any justice of the peace for the county of Essex; and a certificate of such oath having been taken. shall be entered in the journal of the mayor and aldermen, and of the common council, by their respective clerks.

to choose mayor,

&c.

And whenever it shall appear that no mayor has been In case of failure elected previously to the said first Monday in January, the mayor and aldermen, for the time being, shall make a record of that fact, an attested copy of which the city clerk shall read at the opening of the convention to be held as aforesaid.

common council.

absence of mayor.

After the oath has been administered as aforesaid, the two Organization of boards shall separate, and the common council shall be organized by the choice of a president and a clerk, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. In case of the absence of the mayor elect, on the first Proceedings in Monday of January, the city government shall organize itself in the manner herein before provided, and may proceed to business in the same manner as if the mayor were present; and the oath of office may be administered to the mayor at any time thereafter, in a convention of the two branches.

In the absence of the mayor, the board of aldermen may choose a chairman pro tempore, who shall preside at joint meetings of the two boards.

board to

keep record, &c.

Each board shall keep a record of its own proceedings, Each and judge of the election of its own members; and in case of failure of an election, or in case of any vacancy declared by either board, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election.

SECTION 7. The mayor, thus chosen and qualified, shall Duty of mayor. be the chief executive officer of the city; it shall be his duty to be vigilant in causing the laws and regulations of the city to be enforced, and to exercise a general supervision over the conduct of all subordinate officers, and to cause their neglect of duty to be punished; he may call special meetings of the board of aldermen and common council, or either of them, when necessary in his opinion, by causing notices, in writing, to be left at the places of residence of the several members; he shall communicate, from time to

Compensation.

Executive power of mayor and aldermen.

time, to both of them, such information, and recommend such measures, as in his opinion, the interests of the city may require; he shall preside in the board of aldermen, and in convention of the two boards, but shall have a casting vote only. His salary for the first year under this charter shall be five hundred dollars, and no more. He shall afterwards receive for his services, such salary as the city council shall determine, and shall receive no other compensation; but such salary shall not be increased or diminished during the year for which he is chosen.

SECTION 8. The executive power of the said city generally, and the administration of the police, with all the power heretofore vested in the selectmen of Lawrence, shall be vested in, and may be exercised by, the mayor and aldermen, as fully as if the same were herein specially enumerated. The mayor and aldermen shall have full and exclusive power to appoint a constable and assistants, or a city marshal and assistants with the powers and duties of constables, and all other police officers, and the same to remove Bonds may be at pleasure. And the mayor and aldermen may require any person who may be appointed marshal or constable of the city, to give bonds for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office, with such security and to such amount as may be deemed reasonable and proper; upon which bonds the like proceedings and remedies may be had as are by law provided in the case of constables' bonds taken by the selectmen of towns.

required of constable, &c.

Powers of mayor, aldermen, and

certain officers.

All other powers now vested in the inhabitants of the common council. said town, and all powers granted by this act, shall be vested in the mayor and aldermen and common council of the said city, to be exercised by concurrent vote, each board to have Appointments of a negative upon the other; but the city council shall, annually, as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect by joint ballot, in convention, a city treasurer, collector of taxes, three assessors, and a city clerk, and two persons to be selected from the members of the board of aldermen, to be overseers of the poor, and shall, in such manner as the said city council may determine by any bylaw made for the purpose, appoint or elect all subordinate officers, not herein otherwise directed, for the ensuing year, define their duties and fix their compensations, in cases where such duties and compensations shall not be defined and fixed by the laws of the Commonwealth.

Sittings to be public.

All sittings of the mayor and aldermen, of the common council, and of the city council, shall be public when they are not engaged in executive business. The city council shall take care that money shall not be paid from the treasury unless granted or appropriated; shall secure a just