preceding any election of school committee, and who has paid by herself, her parent, guardian, or trustee, a State, county, city, or town tax, assessed upon her or her trustee in this State within two years next preceding such election, shall have a right to vote in all such elections for members of school committees. St. 1884, c. 298,

§ 4.

In computing the age of a person, the day of his birth is included, and a part of a day is regarded as a whole day. A person born on the last day of January, 1868, arrived at the age of twenty-one years the moment he entered upon the day next preceding the last day of January, 1889. Two persons, one born on the 28th day of February, 1868, the other on the 29th day of the same month, arrived at the age of twenty-one at the same time, and each, if he had all other necessary qualifications, could vote at a meeting held on the 27th day of February, 1889. Chitty on Cont., 193, note g; Metcalf on Cont., 38; Bishop on Cont., § 1338; Bardwell v. Purrington, 107 Mass. 419.

Generally speaking, a pauper is a person receiving aid and assistance from the public for himself or his family, under the provisions made by law for the support and maintenance of the poor. And such person ceases to be a pauper as soon as further aid or assistance from the public, for himself or his family, is unnecessary and is

not furnished. Opinion of Justices, 11 Pick. 540; Ibid., 124 Mass. 596.

No person who actually supports himself and his family shall be deemed to be a pauper by reason of the commitment of his wife, child, or other relative to a lunatic hospital or other institution of charity, reform, or correction, by order of a court or magistrate, and of his inability to maintain such wife, child, or relative therein; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to release him from liability for such maintenance. Pub. Sts., c. 83, § 3.

If

A married woman whose husband is living, is under no legal obligation to support their children. And if their children are supported by the town, she does not, by reason of such support, become a pauper. Gleason v. Boston, 144 Mass. 25. The residence required as a qualification of a voter must be next preceding the meeting, and must have been continuous and uninterrupted. a voter duly qualified in point of residence removes from the place of his domicile and becomes an inhabitant of some other town, he cannot vote in the place of his new domicile till he has resided there the required time; nor can he return to the town of his former domicile and there vote, without again qualifying himself by living there the required time. The time of residence requisite to qualify a voter will run on and be attained, notwithstanding that during a portion of the time he

may be otherwise disqualified. Cush. Parl. Law, §§ 41, 42, 43, 74; Kinneen v. Wells, 144 Mass.

497.

Persons who reside on lands purchased by or ceded to the United States for navy yards, forts, and arsenals, when there is no other reservation of jurisdiction to the State than that of a right to serve civil and criminal process on such lands, do not acquire, by residing on such lands, any right to vote. Opinion of Justices, 1 Met. 580.

Among citizens are included all native-born persons, foreign-born children of citizen parents, foreign-born persons who have been naturalized according to the laws of the United States, and minor children of naturalized parents.

WHEN at a town meeting there is a vacancy in the office of town-clerk, or when he is not present, the selectmen shall call upon the qualified voters present to elect a clerk pro tempore in like manner as town-clerks are chosen. The selectmen shall sort and count the votes and declare the election of such clerk, who shall be sworn to discharge the duties of said office at such meeting, and be subject to like penalties for not discharging them, as town-clerks are for neglect of the like duties. Pub. Sts., c. 27, § 97.

During the election of a moderator the townclerk if present shall preside, if he is absent or if there is no town-clerk the selectmen shall preside, if neither the selectmen nor town-clerk is present the justice of the peace calling said meeting shall preside; and the town-clerk and selectmen and said justice of the peace when so presiding shall have the power and perform the duties of moderator. St. 1890, c. 423, § 215.

Selectmen, moderators, and town-clerks, when required to preside at town meetings, may appoint

tellers to aid them in checking the names of voters, or in assorting and counting votes. Such tellers shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. If such tellers are appointed by the selectmen, the oath may be administered by a justice of the peace. If they are appointed by the moderator or by the town-clerk, the oath must be administered by the town-clerk, who shall make a record of the taking of such oath. Pub. Sts., c. 155, § 2. St. 1890, c. 423, § 222.1

If, at the time of the assembling of the voters, there is a vacancy in the office of town-clerk, or the town-clerk is absent, the first business is choosing a town-clerk. This election must be by ballot, and the check-list must be used. The selectmen have no authority to appoint a clerk for the town meeting, and if they have previously appointed a clerk as provided by Pub. Sts., c. 27, § 98, the clerk so appointed is not authorized to act as clerk of the meeting. Attorney-General v. Crocker, 138 Mass. 214.

At every town meeting, except meetings for the election of national, State, district, and county officers, the first business, except when no clerk is present, is the choice of a moderator. The

1 Tellers appointed by moderators or by town-clerks were required to be sworn by the town-clerk. St. 1883, c. 229. It was provided by St. 1890, c. 419, approved June 16, 1890, that tellers hereafter appointed in towns might be sworn by the moderator. This last-named statute seems to have been repealed by St. 1890, c. 423, §§ 222–228. Approved June 21, 1890.