DRAFT 
OF A 
Metropolitan Sanitary Code. 
(Reported to the Committee on Internal Hygiene,) 
By HENRY G. CLARK, M.D., of Boston, 
One of the Committee. DEAF T 
OF A 
Metropolitan Sanitary Code. 
(Reported to the Committee on Internal Hygiene,) 
Bv HENRY G. CLARK, M.D., of Boston, 
One of the Committee. [COPY.] 
“ Quarantine and Sanitary Convention, 
“Baltimore, April 30, 1858. 
“Resolved, That the Sanitary Committee, or Committee on Internal Hygiene, 
be also instructed to prepare some detailed and specific plan for regulating 
the internal sanitary condition or hygiene of Cities, which shall embrace all 
the subjects which may properly come within the province of preventive 
medicine, and to report the same to the next meeting of this Convention.” 
Boston, February, 1859. 
Sir, — The above refolution having been referred to me 
by yourfelf, as Chairman of the Committee on Internal 
Hygiene, I have the honor now to tranfmit the accompany- 
ing Draft of a Sanitary Code for Cities, as my Report 
thereon. Very refpectfully, 
HENRY G. CLARK. 
Thomas Miller, M. D., 
Wafhington, D. C. 
Geo. C. Rand & Avery, Printers to the City of Boston. CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Public Health Act, ...... 5 
Sanitary Code for Cities, ..... 7 
Sanitary Survey, ..... 8 
Sewerage, ...... 9 
Cleansing, . . . . . .12 
Slaughter Houses, . . . . .14 
Markets, .... .14. 
Dram Shops and Drinking Houses, . . 16 
Lodging Houses, . . . . .16 
Cellars, . . . . . . . 16 
New Streets and Houses, . .17 
Supply of Water, . . . .18 
Ventilation, ..... 19 
Pleasure Grounds, . . 19 
Epidemic and Contagious Difeases, . 19 
Vaccination, ..... 20 
. Interment of the Dead, . . . .20 
/ 
General Provisions, . . . .22 
Appendix, ....•••• 24 D R A F T 
OK AN ACT FOK ESTABLISHING GENERAL AND LOCAL BOARDS 
OF HEALTH, AND FOR OTHER SANITARY PURPOSES. 
An Act, in addition to existing Acts, for promoting 
the Public Health. 
WHEREAS it is expedient that further and more effectual pro- 
vision should be made for improving the sanitary condition 
of populous places : Be it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of 
Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the 
same, as follows; that is to say: 
I. This Act may be cited for all purposes as “ The Public Health Act, 
I860” 
II. The Governor of the Commonwealth, with the advice and consent 
of the Council, shall appoint five discreet and suitable persons, who, 
together with the Secretary of State for the time being, and the Gov- 
ernor. ex officiis, shall together he and constitute a hoard, to he called 
“The General Board of Health;” and shall have and execute all the 
powers and duties necessary for superintending and promoting the gen- 
eral sanitary affairs of the State. 
1 IT. They shall hold their offices for five years, or until others are 
appointed in their place; and they shall be sworn to the faithful per- 
formance of their duty. 
IV. They shall meet at such convenient times as they deem expe- 
dient. and their necessary official expenses shall he paid out of the treas- 
ury of the State, hut they shall receive no other compensation for their 
services. 
Preamble. 
Title. 
General 
Board of 
Health. 
Term ot 
office. 
Meetings. 
Expenses. 
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15 
20 6 
Act for Promoting the Public Health. 
Secretary. 
Medical 
Health 
Officer. 
Engineer or 
Surveyor. 
Agents. 
Duties of S. 
Boards. 
General 
duties. 
City govern- 
ments author- 
ized to estab- 
lish Local 
Boards of 
Health. 
Transfer of 
powers. 
Repealing 
clause. 
V. They shall appoint a competent person, who may also be the Reg- 
ister General, to be the Secretary or Actuary of the Board, who shall 
receive such a salary, not exceeding dollars per 
annum, as the Board shall determine. They shall also appoint, if need 
be, a competent physician, who shall be styled a Medical Health Officer, 
and another competent person for Surveyor, who shall be removable at 
their pleasure, and who shall receive such fees or other compensation as 
the Board may from time to time determine. 
They may also appoint and employ such other persons as may be 
necessary to carry into effect the sanitary laws of the State, and delegate 
to them the necessary powers, subject to the approval of the Local Boards 
of Health, hereinafter provided for. 
VI. They shall consider and decide upon sanitary questions submitted 
to them by the State, cities, towns, or Local Boards of Health. 
VII. They shall, by reports or otherwise, diffuse information to the 
inhabitants of the State on sanitary matters; and shall aid, by regula- 
tions, suggestions, and by furnishing blanks, &c., the various Local 
Boards of Health. 
VIII. The corporate authorities of the various cities and towns of this 
Commonwealth are hereby authorized and empowered to establish Local 
Boards of Health, and to enact and enforce, generally and severally, such 
laws, ordinances, and regulations as they may deem expedient or neces- 
sary for promoting the sanitary condition of the said cities and towns, 
and as are not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the State, 
or the authority of the General Board of Health. 
IX. And the said authorities are also authorized to delegate to the 
said Local Boards of Health, or other agents, all the powers necessary for 
the convenient execution of said laws, ordinances and regulations. 
X. All Acts and parts of Acts incompatible with this Act are hereby 
repealed. 
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DRAFT OF AN ORDINANCE FOR PROMOTING THE HEALTH OF 
TOWNS. 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
WHEREAS by an Act of the Legislature in the year 1860, entitled 
“ The Public Health Act,” this Corporation has been duly au- 
thorized and empowered to make all needful rules and regulations for 
the preservation of the health of its inhabitants: Be it therefore 
ordained by the Councils of the Town of , and by authority 
thereof, as follows, to wit: 
I. This Ordinance shall be cited for all purposes as “ The Municipal 
Sanitary Code.” 
II. The duty of executing and enforcing the provisions of this “ Code ” 
is hereby vested in the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, [or, in towns, in 
the Board of Selectmen, or such other persons as shall be chosen by the 
legal voters of said towns or districts,] and they are hereby constituted 
the Local Board of Health, with all the powers and privileges usually 
invested in Boards of Health, and with such further especial powers as 
may be conferred by the provisions of this Ordinance. 
III. And said Local Board, or its authorized agents, shall have the 
right at all times to enter into or upon any premises for the purposes of 
this Ordinance, and also to call upon any of the officers or of the police, 
to aid them in the execution of its provisions. 
IV. In the construction, and for the purposes of this Ordinance, the 
following words and expressions shall have the meanings hereinafter 
assigned to them; that is to say: 
The term “ person,” and words applying to any individual,. shall apply 
to and include corporations, aggregate or sole. 
The term u owner ” shall mean the person for the time being entitled 
to the rent of the land or premises in connection with which the term is 
used, whether on his own account, or as trustee or agent for any other 
person. 
The expression “ improvement commissioners ” shall mean the com- 
missioners, trustees, or other persons, entrusted by any local act with 
powers of cleansing, paving, or otherwise improving any town. 
The term “ town ” shall also include “ cities,” or any other municipal 
corporation. 
Preamble. 
Title of ordi- 
nance. 
Local Board 
of Health — 
how consti- 
tuted. 
How empow- 
ered. 
Right to en- 
ter premises 
for the pur- 
poses of this 
ordinance. 
Terms used 
in this ordi- 
nance. 
“ Person.” 
“ Owner.” 
. “ Improve- 
ment com- 
1 missioners.” 
1 “ Town.” 
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30 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
“ Land.” 
“ Drain.” 
“ Sewer.” 
“ Slaughter- 
house.” 
“ District.” 
“ Street.” 
“ House.” 
The term “ land ” shall include messuages, buildings, lands, and 
hereditariments of every tenure ; also rivers, streams, wells, and waters 
of every description ; also easements of any description in respect of the 
foregoing particulars. 
The term “ drain ” shall mean any drain of, and used for the drainage 
of one building only, or premises within the same curtilage, and made 
merely for the purpose of communicating therefrom with a cesspool or 
other like receptacle for drainage, or with a sewer, into which the drain- 
age of two or more buildings or premises, occupied by different persons, 
is conveyed. 
The term “ sewer ” shall mean and include sewers and drains of every 
description, except drains to which the word “ drain,” interpreted as 
aforesaid, applies. 
The term “ slaughter-house ” shall mean and include the buildings and 
places commonly called slaughter-Jiouses and Knacker’s yards, and any 
building or place used for slaughtering cattle, horses, or animals of any 
description. 
The term “ district ” shall mean the entire area, places, or parts of 
places, comprised within the limits of any district to which this “ Code,” 
or any part thereof, shall be applied. 
The term “street” shall include a square, circus, crescent, terrace, 
place, row, mews, alley, court, passage, or other like place, in which the 
houses are continuous, or separated only by small intervals of space. 
The word “house ” shall include schools, factories, and other buildings, 
in which more than twenty persons are assembled at one time. 
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25 
Sanitary Survey. 
V. There shall be made, annually, a thorough sanitary survey of the 
town or district, as the case may be; and at any other time, when it 
shall appear from the returns to the Registrar that the number of deaths 
shall exceed, annually, that of twenty-five to a thousand of the popula- 
tion of such place. 
And the Board of Health may, if in their discretion they think fit, 
direct the Medical Health Officer to cause public inquiry to be made as 
to the following matters and things, or any of them ; that is to say: — 
As to the sewerage, drainage, and water supply; 
As to the number and sanitary condition of the inhabitants; 
As to the accumulation of filth; 
As to any other matter of which the Board may require to be in- 
formed. 
VI. The said survey shall be made in the manner following, to 
wit: 
The inspecting Medical Health Officer shall have the right to call 
upon the Chief of Police, who shall detail for this service a sufficient 
Board to in- 
spect and ‘ 
make peri- , 
odical sur- 
veys. 
i 
1 
Things to be 
noticed. 
Mode of or- 
ganizing and 
making such 
survey. 
30 
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40 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
9 
number of the regular patrol force, who shall act as inspecting health 
officers. 
Upon receiving his instructions, each officer will commence and dili- 
gently prosecute his inquiries ; carefully noticing the state of the streets, 
lanes, courts, passages,common stairs,houses,rooms,cellars,yards or vacant 
lots, in his assigned district; reporting, in detail and in writing, all accu- 
mulations of filth; all cases where the drains or water-closets are foul or 
obstructed; all cases of prevailing sickness, especially where there is 
great over-crowding, or unusual destitution; also, all cases of dead 
bodies found in single living-rooms. 
The reports may be made in the manner of the blank forms hereto 
annexed. (See Appendix.) 
VII. When any nuisance or other source of disease is discovered, 
notice, in the proper form, is to be served upon the owners or occupants 
forthwith to abate the same, and in case of refusal or neglect for a period 
of hours, the Medical Health Officer is authorized and di- 
rected to cause the same to be abated or removed in the most summary 
manner; and he is hereby authorized to call upon the Chief of Police, 
the Engineer, the Registrar, and the Superintendents of Health, of 
Streets, and of Drains, to aid him in such removal. 
The expense of such removals or abatements of nuisances (of which 
an accurate account is to be kept,) shall be chargeable to the owners or 
occupants of the premises. 
These measures shall be so continuously pursued as to prevent, as far 
as possible, any re-accumulation of the causes of disease sought to be 
removed, and each officer shall be held strictly responsible for the 
sanitary condition of his assigned district. 
All persons, acting under and by the authority of this order, may 
be authorized to enter upon and into any premises which it may be 
necessary to visit in compliance with its provisions; but their object in 
so doing must be first stated to the occupants, and all unnecessary an- 
noyance to them most carefully avoided. 
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Nuisances,, 
how abated. 
Sewerage. 
VIII. The said Board of Health may, if they shall think fit, cause to 
he prepared, or procure, a map, exhibiting a system of sewerage for ef- 
fectually draining their district for the purpose of this Ordinance, upon a 
scale to be prescribed by the General Board of Health; and every such 
map shall be kept at the office of the said Board, and shall, at all rea- 
sonable times, be open to the inspection of the tax-payers of the district 
to which it applies. 
IX. All sewers, whether at present existing, or which shall be here- 
after constructed, shall be entirely under the management and control of 
the Board of Health. 
Board to pro- 
vide a map 
of the sew- 
erage. 
Sewers to be 
under con- 
trol of Board 
of Health.. 
35 
40 10 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
X. The Board of Health shall cause their district to be effectually 
drained upon the plan recommended by the General Board of Health of 
Great Britain; and they shall have power within such district from time 
to time to do any of the following things : 
(1.) To repair, arch over, enlarge, lessen or otherwise alter any 
existing sewer or drain. 
(2.) To construct any new sewer or drain, with a like power of repair- 
ing and altering the same. 
(3.) To discontinue, close up, or destroy any sewer or drain. 
(4.) To carry any sewer, drain, or pipe for the distribution of sewage 
through, across, or under any turnpike or other road, or county 
bridge, or any street or place laid out as, or intended for a 
street, or under any cellar or vault which may be under the 
pavement or carriageway of any street or intended street, 
upon condition of making good all damage done by them; or 
if it is deemed necessary by the Surveyor of the Board, into, 
under, or through any lands whatever, upon making due com- 
pensation for the same; 
Subject, nevertheless, to the restrictions hereinafter mentioned; that 
is to say: 
(1.) All sewers and drains shall be so constructed and kept as not to 
create a nuisance, or be injurious to health. 
(2.) If, by the exercise of any of the above powers, any person is 
deprived of the lawful use of any sewer or drain, the Board 
shall provide for his use some other sewer or drain equally 
convenient. 
XI. The Board of Health are hereby empowered, upon making due 
compensation, to do the following things; that is to say: 
(1.) To construct, either above or under ground, such reservoirs and 
other works as may be necessary for holding the sewage flow- 
ing from the sewers of their district, or to provide outfalls for 
the same. 
(2.) To cause the sewers to empty into such reservoirs or outfalls, by 
means of connecting sewers, or such other means as they think 
fit. 
(3.) To contract with any company or person for the sale of such 
sewage, or for the distribution of it over any land; and any 
such company for these purposes shall have the same privileges 
and be subject to the same conditions as would the Local 
Board. 
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40 
Powersof 
Board as to 
sewerage in 
the district. 
Powers of 
Board to 
make con- 
tracts for 
sewerage. Sanitary Code for Cities. 
11 
(4.) To contract for, purchase, or take on lease any buildings, engines, 
materials, or apparatus for the purpose of receiving, storing, 
disinfecting, or distributing any such sewage, and to lease or 
assign such buildings, engines, materials or apparatus to any 
company or person with whom the said Board of Health may 
contract, as aforesaid. 
(5.) To purchase or take on lease any land where such purchase or 
leasing is necessary for carrying into execution the above 
objects. 
XII. No person shall, without the consent of the Board of Health, do 
the following things, or any of them : 
(1.) Cause any sewer or drain to communicate with or be emptied 
into any sewer of the Board of Health. 
(2.) Cause any vault, arch, or cellar to be newly built or constructed 
under any public street; and if any sewer, drain, vault, arch, 
or cellar is made, in contravention of this Ordinance, the Board 
of Health may cause the same to be pulled down, if they shall 
think fit, and the expenses incurred by them in so doing shall 
be repaid to them by the offender, and be recoverable from 
him in a summary manner. 
XIII. Any owner or occupier of premises adjoining any district, may, 
with the consent of the Board of Health, cause any sewer or drain from 
such premises to communicate with any sewer of the Board, upon such 
conditions as they shall mutually agree. 
XIV. Whenever it appears to the Board of Health that any house 
or other building, already built, is without any drain, or water-closet, 
and emptying into such place as is sufficient for effectual drainage, the 
Board may by notice require the owner of such house or building, within 
a reasonable time therein specified, to make a sufficient drain of a con- 
struction approved by the Board of Health, emptying as follows; that 
is to say, if the sea, or a sewer of the Board of Health, or any sewer 
which they are entitled to use, is within one hundred feet of the site of 
such house or dwelling, emptying, as the Board may direct, either into 
the sea or such sewer; but if no such means of drainage are within that 
distance, then emptying into such covered cesspool or other place, not 
being under any house, and not being within such distance from any 
house, as the Board of Health directs; and if the person on w7hom such 
notice is served fails to comply with the same, the Board may them- 
selves do the work required, and assess the expenses to the owner or 
occupant aforesaid. 
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40 
Unauthor- 
ized drains 
forbidden. 
Use of sew- 
ers by per- 
sons out of 
the district. 
Drains in ex- 
isting houses. 12 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
XV. The following rules shall be observed with regard to drains of 
houses not already built: 
(1.) The drains of every such new house or building as aforesaid, shall 
be covered in, and be of such size and materials, at such level, 
and with such fall, as may be effectual, in the opinion of the 
Surveyor or Engineer of the Board, to secure a proper drainage 
of such house or building, and its appurtenances. 
(2.) If the sea, or a sewer of the Board of Health, or a sewer which 
they are entitled to use, is within one hundred feet of any 
part of the site of such new house or building, the drains so to 
be constructed shall communicate with such one of those 
means of drainage as the Board directs. 
(3.) If no such means of drainage are within that distance, then the 
last-mentioned drains shall communicate with and be emptied 
into such covered cesspool or other place, not being under any 
house, and not being within such distance from any house, as 
the Board of Health directs. 
(4.) Any house or building which, during the process of repairs, shall 
be pulled down to the ground floor, shall be subject to the 
same regulations as if it were a new house or building. 
XYI. If any house or building is built or rebuilt, or any drain con- 
structed, contrary to the foregoing provisions, the owner of such house or 
building shall be subject to the following liabilities ; that is to say : 
(1.) He shall incur such a penalty for each offence as the Board 
may determine; or, 
(2.) The Board of Health, after due notice and his failure to comply 
therewith, may thereupon proceed to do the work required, 
and assess the expenses upon said owner. 
Drains in 
new houses. 
Penalties for 
unauthorized 
drains, &c. 
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Cleansing. 
XVII. The following works shall be done in respect to scavenging : 
(1.) All public streets, together with the foot pavements thereof, shall 
be properly cleansed and watered ; all roads shall be properly 
cleansed, and the whole or any part of such roads may, in the 
discretion of the Board of Health, be watered. 
(2.) All dust, ashes, and rubbish shall be carried away from the prem- 
ises of the inhabitants. 
(3.) All privies and cesspools shall be from time to time emptied 
and cleansed. And the Board of Health may themselves un- 
dertake, or contract with any person to undertake the aforesaid 
works, or any of them. 
30 
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40 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
13 
XVIII. No person, except by direct authority of the Board, shall under- 
take to remove any of the substances mentioned in the preceding sec- , 
tion, or obstruct the Board or its agents in so doing. 
XIX In cases where the Board of Health do not themselves under- 
take, or contract with any person to undertake, the works heretofore 
named, they may make by-laws imposing on the occupier of any prem- 
ises any or all of the duties of cleansing. They may affix reasonable 
penalties for the breach of said by-laws. 
XX. Whenever the Board of Health shall be satisfied that the num- 
ber of persons occupying any tenement or building is so great as to be 
the cause of nuisance, or sickness, or a source of filth; or that any tene- 
ments or buildings are not furnished with vaults constructed according 
to the provisions of this Ordinance; or with a sufficient number of privies 
or water-closets with underground drains; with proper ash-pits, or with 
a proper water supply ; or that, from any cause, they are in a condition 
which is prejudicial or dangerous to the public health, or to the health of 
the occupants themselves; they may thereupon issue notice in writing 
to such persons, or any of them; that is to say, the owner, agent, or occu- 
pant, or either of them, to cause either or all of these deficiencies to be 
supplied, and the premises put into a cleanly and proper condition, within 
such reasonable time as they shall appoint: and in case of neglect or 
refusal to obey such notice, they may themselves cause the alterations 
and cleansings to be done forthwith, and the expense of it shall be paid 
by such owner, agent, occupant, or other person. Or they may, if they 
think fit, issue notice to the persons inhabiting such tenement, or to the 
owner or agent, requiring them to remove from and quit the premises, 
within such time as the Board may deem reasonable; and if the person 
or persons so notified, or any of them, shall neglect or refuse to remove 
from said tenement or building, the Board of Health are hereby fully 
authorized and empowered thereupon forcibly to remove them. 
XXI. The Board of Health may make and issue by-laws for the pre- 
vention of nuisances arising from filth, dust, ashes, and rubbish, or from 
the keeping of animals, and may annex reasonable penalties for the 
breach of said by-laws. 
XXII. The business of a blood-boiler, bone-boiler, bone-burner, fell- 
monger, slaughterer of animals of any description not fit for human food, 
soap-boiler, tallow-melter, tripe-boiler, or other, noxious or offensive 
business, trade or manufacture, shall not, without the consent of the 
Board, be established within the district; and the Board may make such 
regulations in regard to these occupations as they may deem expe- 
dient. 
No person to 
remove with- 
out permit. 
Authorized 
to make by- 
laws and 
affix penal- 
ties. 
Board au- 
thorized to 
compel own- 
ers and occu- 
pants to put 
their premi- 
ses into a 
healthy con- 
dition. 
And to va- 
cate by force 
or cleanse 
the premises 
at their op- 
tion. 
Board may 
make by- 
laws against 
, nuisances. 
■ Offensive 
trades not to 
> be carried on 
l without per- 
mission of the 
! Board. 
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40 14 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
Stagnant 
water, &c. 
f 
t 
S 
c 
c 
t 
1 
t 
No filth to 
be thrown 
into streets, t 
squares, lots, _ 
or into ponds d 
or docks. t 
I 
S 
I 
i 
c 
Livery sta- 
bles to be 
kept clean. 1 
( 
i 
t 
( 
1 
1 
i 
Swine not to 
be kept. j 
Slaughter- 
houses. ( 
Inspectors 
may enter 
markets and 
examine pro- 
visions ; and, 
in certain 
cases, seize 
and destroy. 
XXIII. When the contents of any sewer, or any accumulations of 
filth are discharged into any river or stream, in the bed of which 
the quantity of water is so much diminished, either by drought during the 
summer or by any other cause, as to be insufficient to keep the channel 
3lear, the Board of Health may, by excavations or other operations, so 
leepen the channel as that the flow of water will be accelerated, and 
the contents of said sewers or drains be thereby prevented from accumu- 
lating and stagnating in parts thereof, to the injury of the health, and 
the annoyance of the surrounding population. 
XXIV. No person, without the license of the Board of Health, shall 
throw into, or leave in or upon any street, square or vacant lot, or into 
any pond or body of water, within the limits of this town or dis- 
trict, any dead animal, dirt, sawdust, soot, ashes, cinders, shavings, hair, 
manure, oyster, clam or lobster shells, waste water, rubbish or filth of 
any kind, or any refuse animal or vegetable whatsoever. Nor shall any 
person throw into, or leave in or upon any dock, flats or tide-water with- 
in the jurisdiction of this district, any dead animal or other foul or 
offensive matter, except as above provided. 
XXV. The owners and occupants of livery and other stables within 
the limits of the town or district, as the case may be, shall not wash 
or clean their carriages or horses, or cause them to be washed or cleaned 
in the streets, nor otherwise encumber the same ; they shall keep their 
stables and yards clean, and shall not permit more than four cartloads 
of manure to accumulate in or near the same, at any one time between 
the first day of May and the first day of November; nor within that 
period suffer the same to be removed, except between the hour of 
twelve at night and two hours after sunrise. 
XXVI. Swine shall not be kept within the limits of the town without 
a permit from the Board of Health. 
Slaughter Houses. 
XXVII. No place shall be used or occupied as a slaughter-house ex- 
cept by permission of the Board of Health; and they may make by- 
laws with respect to their management, and for keeping the same in a 
wholesome state. 
The Markets. 
XXVIII. The Medical Health Officer or either of the Inspectors or 
Agents of the Board of Health may, at all reasonable times, enter into 
and inspect any shop, building, stall, or place kept or used for the sale of 
butcher’s meat, poultry or fish, or as a slaughter-house; and to examine 
any animal, carcass, meat, poultry, game, flesh or fish which may be 
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40 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
15 
therein; and in case either of them, being intended for the food of 
man, shall appear to be unfit for such food, the same may be seized; 
and if it prove to be unwholesome, he shall order the same to be de- 
stroyed, or be so disposed of as to prevent its being again exposed for 
sale. 
XXIX. No person shall be permitted to bring into town for sale, or ; 
sell, or offer for sale any fresh fish, until the same shall have been J 
cleansed of their entrails and refuse parts; and such entrails and parts 
shall be thrown overboard below low-water mark; and shall never be 
kept beyond the flowing of the next tide; and until so thrown over- 
board, they shall be kept in a close and safe manner on board the j 
vessels or boats in which the fish were brought. And no person shall ] 
sell or offer for sale fish, of any kind, unless the same be kept in 
covered stalls, fish boxes or other houses, which shall always be clean 
and in good order; or, in clean covered carts, or boxes, well secured 
from the rays of the sun. 
XXX. No person shall have in his possession for sale, or shall sell or 
offer for sale within the limits of the town, any vegetables whatever, ex- 
cepting green peas in the pod, and green corn in the inner husks, which 
have not previously been divested of such parts or appendages as are 
not commonly used for food. 
XXXI. No person shall land on any wharf or other place, or shall 
bring into town any decayed or damaged grains, vegetables, or fruit, 
without a permit from an officer of the Board of Health, and in such 
manner as he may direct. 
XXXII. No person shall sell any adulterated or unwholesome food or 
drink; and if, upon being notified by the Board to discontinue such prac- 
tice, he shall neglect or refuse to obey such order, he may be ejected 
from the precincts of the market, and such articles of food or drink may 
be seized and destroyed. 
XXXIII. If any person shall falsify any milk, by adulteration with 
water or otherwise, or by the abstraction of its cream or any other sub- 
stance originally belonging to it; or, if any person having reason to 
believe it to be so falsified shall sell the same or cause it to be sold; he 
shall be liable to have it seized and destroyed, and to fine and imprison- 
ment, and to have placards, stating his offence and the sentence imposed, 
posted up at his place of business or elsewhere as the Board may deter- 
mine. This shall also apply to milk from diseased cows. 
XXXIV. All bread shall be sold by weight. And if, on examination 
by the proper officer, any of the loaves shall be found to fall short of the 
weight required by the Board, the whole may be seized and distributed 
to the poor. 
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Fresh fish, 
how sold and 
kept. 
Entrails, &c., 
to be re- 
moved out of 
the town 
limits. 
Vegetables, 
&c., how 
sold. 
Damaged 
and decayed 
vegetables, 
&c. 
Sale of adul- 
terated food 
or drink pro- 
hibited. 
Adulteration 
of milk. 
i 
Swill-milk. 
1 Bread sold 
> by weight. 
Swill-milk. 16 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
XXXV. And the Board of Health is also hereby authorized to make, 
promulgate, and enforce such by-laws for the government of the market 
houses and the sale of provisions, as they may think expedient. 
Dram-Shops and Drinking Houses. 
XXXVI. All unlicensed dram-shops and drinking houses for the sale 
of intoxicating drinks, are hereby declared to be nuisances, and may be 
abated as such by the Board of Health. 
Common Lodging Houses. 
XXXVII. No person shall keep a common lodging house without a 
license from the Board of Health, after inspection by the Medical Health 
Officer of the Board. And a register shall be kept, in which shall be 
entered the name of every person applying to register any common 
lodging-house kept by him, and the situation of every such house ; and 
the said Board shall from time to time make by-laws for fixing the 
number of lodgers who may be received into each house so registered ; 
for promoting cleanliness and ventilation therein; and with respect to 
the inspection thereof, and the conditions and restrictions under which 
such inspection may be made : and the person keeping any such lodging- 
house shall give access to the same when required by any person who 
shall produce the written authority of the Board, for the purpose of 
inspecting the same, or for introducing or using therein any disinfecting 
process ; and the expenses incurred by the said Board in such process, 
shall be assessed and collected from the keeper of said house; and if any 
such keeper of such lodging-house shall neglect or refuse to obey the 
directions of the Board of Health, he shall forfeit his license. 
Cellars. 
XXXVIII. No cellar or underground room shall be let or occupied 
separately as a dwelling, without being registered and licensed by the 
Board, and unless it possesses the following requisites; that is to 
say: 
(1.) Unless the same is in every part thereof at least seven feet in 
height, measured from floor to ceiling thereof; nor, 
(2.) Unless the same is at least one foot of its height above the sur- 
face of the street or ground adjoining or nearest to the same ; 
nor, 
(3.) Unless there is outside of and adjoining such cellar or room, and 
extending along the entire frontage thereof, and upwards from 
six inches below the level of the floor thereof, up to the surface 
of the said street or ground, an open area of at least three 
feet wide in every part; nor, 
Regulation 
of market- 
houses. 
Dram-shops 
and drink- 
ing-houses, 
how abated. 
Lodging- 
houses to be 
registered 
and licensed. 
Access to by 
health officer 
at all times 
Cellars, under 
what condi- 
tions they 
may be in- 
habited and 
let. 
Open area 
required. 
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40 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
17 
(4.) Unless the same is well and effectually drained, and secured 
against the rise of eflluvia from any sewer or drain; nor, 
(5.) Unless there is appurtenant to such cellar or room the use of a 
water-closet or privy, as the Board may require ; and of an ash- 
pit, furnished with proper doors and coverings; nor, 
(C.) Unless the same has a fireplace, with a proper chimney or other 
ventilating flue; nor, 
(7.) Unless the same has an external window of at least nine super- 
ficial feet in area, clear of the sash frame, and made to open in 
such manner as is approved by the Surveyor of the Board. 
And whosoever lets, occupies, or continues to let, or knowingly suffers 
to be occupied, any cellar or underground room, contrary to this section, 
shall be liable to forfeit his license, and shall be subject, if he persists, to 
such other penalty as the Board may determine: and every cellar, or 
underground room, in which any person passes the night, shall be 
deemed to be occupied as a dwelling within the meaning of this Ordi- 
nance; but the above rule shall be qualified in respect to areas as follows : 
(1.) In any area adjoining a cellar or underground room, there may 
be placed steps necessary for access to such cellar or room, if 
the same are so placed as not to be over or across the said 
external window. 
(2) Over or across any such area there may be steps necessary for 
access to any building above the cellar or room to which such 
area adjoins, if the same be so placed as not to be over or 
across any such external window. 
New Streets and Houses. 
XXXIX. The Board, with the consent of the town councils, and with 
the advice and aid of the engineer or surveyor, shall fix and determine 
the following matters; that is to say: 
(1.) With respect to the level and width of new streets, and the 
provisions for the sewerage and paving thereof. 
(2.) With respect to the structure of walls of new buildings, in 
reference to stability and the prevention of fires. 
(3.) With respect to the sufficiency of the space in connection with 
buildings, to secure a free circulation of air, and the ventilation 
of buildings. 
(4.) With reference to the drainage of buildings, to water-closets, 
privies, and cesspools in connection with buildings, and to the ’ 
closing and prohibition of buildings or parts of buildings unfit' 
for human habitation. 
Also, drains. 
Water-closet 
and ashpit. 
Fireplace, 
or ventilat- 
ing flue. 
License for- 
feited if, &e. 
Steps to cel- 
, lar, how to 
be made. 
■ Steps to up- 
per apart- 
ments. 
New streets, 
how laid out 
and con- 
structed. 
Sewerage. 
Security 
against fire. 
Ventilation. 
Drainage, 
water-clos- 
ets, &c. 
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Sanitary Code for Cities. 
They may annex such penalties, and further provide for the observance 
of these regulations by such by-laws as they think necessary; and may 
alter or pull down any work begun or done in contravention of such by- 
laws : Provided, however, that no person shall be deprived by any by- 
law of such right of appeal as is hereinafter given in respect of by-laws. 
Supply of Water. 
XL. The following provisions shall be observed with respect to the 
supply of water : — 
(1.) All public wells, pumps, conduits, or other works used for the gra- 
tuitous supply of water to the inhabitants, shall vest in, and 
be under the control of, a Board of Improvement Commis- 
sioners, or such persons as may be chosen for that purpose by 
the town councils, with the approbation of the Board of 
Health, who shall have the right to direct the use of the 
water for any sanitary purpose. 
(2.) A sufficient quantity shall be supplied for domestic purposes, the 
takers paying such fixed rates therefor as may be determined; 
and 
(3.) May be supplied to any public baths or wash houses, or for 
manufacturing purposes, on such terms and conditions as may 
be mutually agreed upon. 
(4.) A sufficient quantity shall be provided for flushing sewers and 
drains, for putting out fires, for cleaning and watering the 
streets, and for other public purposes. 
(5.) The expense of providing a supply of water for the foregoing 
purposes, over what shall be paid by the takers, shall be as- 
sessed on the inhabitants, or paid in such other way as the 
councils shall determine. 
XLI. Any person who wilfully wastes or fouls the water, or injures any 
■ of the works for its supply, shall be liable to such penalties as the Board 
or the Commissioners shall determine, and shall be also liable to a suit 
for damage at common law. 
XLII. When it shall appear that any house or tenement let to other 
r persons than the owners thereof is not in any way supplied with water, 
the owners of such house or tenement shall be notified by the Board of 
Health to supply the same; and in case of refusal or neglect to do so 
within a reasonable time, the Board may supply the same at the ex- 
pense of the owner, or, at its option, vacate the premises. 
Right of ap- 
peal in all 
eases. 
Supply of 
water. 
To be under 
control of 
commission- 
ers. 
Shall be sup- 
plied for do- 
mestic use. 
For baths 
and wash- 
rooms. 
For drains, 
sewers, fires, 
cleaning, 
&c. 
Cost, how 
paid. 
Penalties for 
waste, foul- 
ing, or injur- 
ing the 
works. 
All houses to 
have a supply 
of water. 
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35 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
19 
Ventilation. 
XLm. No cellar, lodging-house, or other “ house,” intended for the 
constant occupation of not less than ten persons, or for the occasional 
assemblage of large numbers of persons, shall be used or occupied, ex- 
cept under the following conditions; that is to say : 
(1.) Unless the same shall be provided with some effectual means of 
ventilation, as follows: — 
a By ventiducts for supplying fresh air of a suitable tem- 
perature, which shall have a capacity of not less than one 
hundred square inches for twenty-five persons, and in the same 
proportion for any greater or less number ; or, 
b. By some other mode capable of supplying pure air 
to each person at the rate of four cubic feet per minute. 
c. By discharging ventiducts, which open directly into 
heated Hues, or which are conducted into the outer air above 
the roof and then terminated by a suitable cowl or cap, and 
which shall have a capacity not less than two-thirds of that of 
the admitting ventiducts; or, 
d. By an open fireplace, an Arnott’s valve, an opening into 
some other ventilated apartment; or, 
e. By some other effectual method of expelling the foul 
air. 
(2.) Or unless the drains, vaults and water-closets are securely trapped 
and effectually ventilated: — 
a. By connecting them with the rain-water spouts : or, if 
within the house, as in the case of water-closets, by 
b. A ventilating flue opening above the roof, or which 
is connected with a heated flue. 
Pleasure Grounds. ' 
XLIV. The Board of Health may, with the approval of the town 
council, hold, purchase by agreement, take on lease, maintain, lay out, 
plant, and improve land for the purpose of being laid out as public 
walks or pleasure grounds, and support or contribute towards any prem- 
ises provided for such purposes by any person whomsoever. 
Epidemic and Contagious Diseases. 
XLV. When any epidemic, endemic, or contagious disease shall 
threaten the town, or affect any part of the same, in order that measures 
of precaution may be taken with promptitude, according to the exi- 
gency of the case, the Board of Health may issue such directions and reg- 
ulations as they may think fit; and they shall provide for the frequent 
All houses 
and apart- 
ments inhab- 
ited by more 
than ten per- 
sons to be 
ventilated. 
Drains, 
vaults,water- 
closets, &c., 
to be trapped 
and venti- 
lated. 
May lay out 
walks and 
pleasure- 
grounds. 
Epidemic, 
endemic,con- 
tagious and 
malignant 
diseases, 
measures to 
be taken 
against. 
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» 
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30 
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40 20 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
cleansing of streets and public ways, and for the cleaning, purifying, 
ventilating, and disinfecting of houses by the owners or agents; for the 
removal of nuisances; to provide for the sick by establishing and opening 
temporary hospitals, and for the speedy interment of the dead; and gen- 
erally for preventing or mitigating such malignant diseases, in such man- 
ner as to the said Board seems expedient. And if any vessel, having 
any contagious or other malignant disease on board, or having come 
from ports where such diseases are prevailing, shall arrive at either of the 
wharves, or come to anchor near them, she shall be ordered by the 
Health Officer to proceed to Quarantine, there to report herself to the 
Quarantine Physician. 
Public Vaccination. 
XLVI. In order to prevent the spread of small pox, and to diffuse 
the benefits of vaccination, it is hereby ordained, that there shall be pro- 
vided a suitable apartment for the Medical Officer of the Board, at which 
place he shall attend at such times as the Board may direct; and he 
shall vaccinate without charge any inhabitant of this town not previously 
vaccinated, who may apply for that purpose. And he shall give certifi- 
cates of said vaccination, without which no child shall be admitted to the 
public schools. And he shall also always have on hand, as far as practi- 
cable, a sufficient quantity of vaccine lymph to supply the physicians of 
the public institutions. 
Interment of the Dead. 
XLVII. The Board of Health, with the consent of the councils, shall, 
from time to time, provide, in such places as, having regard to the public 
health, may appear to them expedient, and within or without the limits 
of the district, burial grounds of sufficient extent for the decent inter- 
ment of the bodies of all persons dying within the district; and it shall 
be lawful for the said Board, in case it appears to them necessary or ex- 
pedient so to do, to enlarge any burial ground provided by them under 
this Ordinance, and to make any road to such ground, or to enlarge or 
improve any existing road for facilitating the approach to such burial 
ground ; and for providing any such burial ground, or improving it, they 
may purchase any lands which it may appear to them expedient to pur- 
chase for that purpose. 
XLVIII. They may inclose and lay out the burial grounds thus pro- 
vided, and build therein suitable chapels for the performance of the 
burial service, and such other buildings and works as may appear to 
them fitting and proper. 
XLIX. When the said Board shall be of opinion that interment (other- 
wise than in the burial grounds provided in this Ordinance), should be 
discontinued, wholly, or subject to any exception or exceptions, in any 
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40 
Infected 
vessels to be 
sent to quar- 
antine. 
Vaccination 
to be free. 
Children not 
admitted to 
school with- 
out. 
Provision to 
be made for 
the inter- 
ment of the 
dead. 
Board may 
purchase 
burial- 
grounds. 
And may lay 
out and en- 
close them 
for that pur- 
pose. Sanitary Code for Cities. 
21 
part or parts of the town [or district,] they shall, after due notice, order 
their discontinuance; and the grounds so discontinued shall be closed 
or fenced up in such a manner as to protect the public health, and 
secure proper respect to the bodies interred therein. And this section 
shall also be considered as applying to vaults under churches and chapels 
as well as to the open burial grounds. 
L. No burial shall take place or be permitted in any of the so 
closed grounds, or under or in any churches or chapels to which this 
order shall have been applied, except in the cases following; that is to 
say: 
(1.) In case of long previously existing private rights of sepulture, 
the Board may in their discretion give a license, under such re- 
strictions as may seem to them proper. 
(2.) Or if, on representations properly made to them, they may deem 
the permission, if granted in exceptional cases, not prejudicial 
to the public health. 
LI. But any and all persons who may have, by any such discon- 
tinuance or closure of any burial ground, as provided for in section 
XL1X., been deprived of any rights of sepulture, shall have in the newly 
consecrated ground the same rights as they respectively would have 
had in the burial places thus closed and discontinued ; or they shall be 
otherwise equitably compensated therefor. 
LII. The relatives of any deceased person, with the consent of the 
Registrar, or other person having charge of the closed ground in which 
the body of the deceased has been interred, and subject to the regula- 
tions of the Board, may cause such body to be removed to, and re in- 
terred in any burial ground provided under this Ordinance. 
LIII. The Board from time to time may make regulations as to the 
depth and formation of the graves and places of interment, the nature of 
the coffins to be received in the burial grounds thus provided, the time 
and mode of removing bodies, and generally, as to all matters connected 
with the good order of such burial grounds, and as to the conduct of 
funeral processions, and the convenient exercise of the rights of interment 
therein : and such regulations shall be printed and published, and shall 
be fixed and continued on some conspicuous part of every such burial 
ground. 
LI V. All burials shall be registered in books to be kept for the purpose, 
in the manner directed, and by the officer whose duty it shall be made 
by the Board of Health. 
May discon- 
tinue old bu- 
rial places. 
Burials pro- 
hibited ex- 
cept under 
certain cir- 
cumstances. 
Compensa- 
tion must be 
made to pro- 
prietors of 
burial rights. 
Relatives 
may remove 
bodies by per- 
mission. 
■ Board to reg- 
ulate depth of 
graves, &c. 
Funeral cere- 
monies. 
i All burials to 
be regis- 
tered. 
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35 22 
Sanitary Code for Cities. 
No burial 
without a 
permit from 
the registrar. 
No permit to 
be issued 
without a i 
physician’s 
certificate of< 
the cause of 
death. ! 
Houses of re- 
ception. 
i 
t 
Funeral 
charges to 
be regulated 
bytheBoard. 
LV. No burial shall take place except upon the written permit of the 
Registrar or Coroner, who, before issuing said permit, shall require to be 
furnished with the name, sex, age, rank, profession or occupation, and 
the residence at the time of death of said person ; nor shall such permit 
be then issued, except the cause of the death of said deceased person 
'shall be fully certified to the Registrar or other permitting officer, by 
some regularly licensed and competent physician or surgeon. 
LVI. The Board may at any time after the passage of this Ordinance, 
build, or otherwise provide, in suitable and convenient locations, houses 
for the reception and care of the bodies of the dead, previously to and 
until interment, and make arrangements for the reception and care of 
such bodies therein, and appoint fit officers for such houses of reception ; 
and they may also appoint or provide medical or other officers, who, in 
cases where the friends of the deceased so desire, may cause the body 
of the deceased to be decently removed to one of the houses of reception 
provided for under this section. 
LVII. The Board may, from time to time, fix, according to a just and 
regular scale of charges, the rates in classes, varying according to circum- 
stances, of prices for the conduct of funerals, but so that in respect of the 
lowest of such classes, the funeral may be conducted with decency and 
solemnity. 
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Gcneral Provisions. 
Officers to 
be elected to 
execute this 
Sanitary 
Code. 
Registrar. 
Medical 
Health Offi- 
cer or City 
Physician. 
Board of 
Consulting 
Physicians. 
LVIII. There shall be elected or appointed annually, or at such times 
as shall be determined by the town councils, for the purposes of this 
Ordinance, the following officers, who shall receive such compensation, 
and perform- such specific duties, as shall be from time to time deter- 
mined ; that is to say : 
(1.) A Registrar, whose duty it shall be to record the births, deaths, 
and marriages. 
(2.) A Medical Health Officer, who shall be the principal physician-in- 
ordinary to the Board of Health, who shall superintend, under 
the direction of the Board of Health, all the sanitary measures 
ordered by the Board; and who shall advise them generally 
as to all matters relating to the public health. 
(3.) A board of five Consulting Physicians, who shall be elected annu- 
ally, and whose duty it shall be, in case of an alarm of any 
contagious or other dangerous disease occurring in the district, 
to give the Board of Health all such professional advice and 
information as they may request, with a view to the preven- 
tion of such disease, and at all convenient times, when requested, 
25 
30 
35 
40 Sanitary Code for Cities. 
23 
to aid and assist them with their counsel and advice in all 
matters that relate to the preservation of the health of the 
inhabitants. 
(4.) An Engineer, or Surveyor, whose duty it shall be to furnish 
all plans required for the use of the Board; to advise in re- < 
lation to the construction and grade of the streets; the struc- 
ture of the drains; the water supply; and, generally, with 
regard to all plans for improving the surface and substratum 
of the district. 
(5.) Superintendents of Streets, of Drains, and of Burials; whose duty, 
it shall be to supervise, and direct, and execute the details of] 
the various departments to which they shall be assigned, under' 
the direction of the Board, of the Health Officer, or of such 
other persons as the Board of Health may direct. 
(G.) Such other officers as the councils may from time to time deter- 
mine. 
LIX. Any person who shall violate the provisions of this Ordinance, or 
any of them; or who shall obstruct the Board, or any of its authorized 
agents, in the performance of their lawful duties; or who shall do 
any act or acts by which the public health is endangered, shall be 
fined therefor not less than dollars, nor more than 
dollars, for each and every offence, and he shall be subjected to such 
other penalty as the Board of Health, with the approval of the councils, 
may fix and determine, and which are not repugnant to the Constitution 
and laws of the State, or in violation of the regulations of the General 
Board of Health. 
LX. If any person feels aggrieved by any order of the Board of 
Health, or by the orders or acts of any of its accredited officers or 
agents, he shall always have the right of appeal to the Board of 
Health; or, if he so elects, he may prosecute such appeal in the courts 
of law, in accordance with the Bill of Rights, as in such cases made 
and provided : but no such appeal shall be entertained by the Board of 
Health, unless said appeal is made within four months next after making 
such order, or the doing of such act, nor unless ten days’ notice in writing 
is given to the party against whom the appeal is brought, stating the 
nature and grounds thereof; nor then, unless the appellant enter into 
sureties duly to abide the decision of the Board, or to prosecute his ap- 
peal in the proper court. 
LXI. All Ordinances and parts of Ordinances heretofore passed, incon- 
sistent with this Ordinance, are hereby repealed. 
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40 
Surveyor. 
Various su- 
perintend- 
ents. 
Penalties for 
violating pro- 
visions of this 
Code. 
Every person 
has a right to 
appeal to 
Board of 
Health or to 
courts of law 
Repealing 
section. APPENDIX. 
The Health Officer, or Inspector, after ascertaining the condition of his 
district, shall make his report in the following manner, viz : 
“ Health Officer, A. B , District , reports the condition of 
premises No. , street, to be as follows: 
1. Prevalent Sickness. 
(Under this head state what the disease is, and how many are affected.) 
2. Overcrowding. 
(State in figures the number of persons occupying the rooms or houses in badly 
situated localities.) 
3. Ventilation. 
(State if there is any: and, if so, whether it is by doors, windows, or fire- 
places; especially when the apartments are closed at night.) 
4. Drainage. 
(State simply if there is any, and whether it is “ good ” or “ bad.") 
5. Filth and Rubbish. 
(State the kind, quantity, (by estimate,) and its specific locality.) 
6. Water Supply. 
(State if there is a supply of water for cooking, washing, or bathing, and of 
what kind.) 
7. Dead Bodies in Single Living-Rooms. 
(State the cause of death, and the general condition of the apartment and its 
inhabitants.) 
He shall also make a record, in a book to be furnished him for that 
purpose, of the same facts in a tabular form.