WAA W3/4L I&32 - .' ;:: * W&% b.:S"*k:;$p;-'- I, w '■» bWf i« "' OtV> 2" , ^yi/1 LAWS TU^ CORPORATION, REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH, OP TH« CITY OF "WASHINGTON IN BELATiua TO THE REMOVAL OF NUISANCES, PRESERVATION OF THE HEALTH OF THE CITY.- • eOWPILED AND PUBLISHED UNDER \N ACT 01 THK COUNCIL. WASHINGTON: , , ■-■:-* 1832. '¥3? AN ACT to authorize the publication of a compend of the laws and regu- lations relating to nuisances and the preservation of health. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of common council of the tity of Washington, That the Mayor be, and he is hereby authorized, to cause to be prepared and printed, in convenient pamphlet form, not ex- ceeding five hundred copies, a compend of all the laws now in force, in this Corporation, relating to nuisances, and the preservation of health, including the regulations of the board of health; and that the sum of fifty dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and is hereby appropriated, for de- fraying the expenses of the same, to be paid out of the general fund. ALEXANDER M'INTIRE, President of the Board of Common Council. PETER FORCE, President of the Board of Aldermen. Approved, August 17th, 1832 JOHN P. VAN NESS, Mayor. LAWS RELATING TO THE BOARD OP HEALTH. AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a health officer for the city of Washington. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That as soon as may be after the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of the Mayor, with the concurrence of the board of aldermen, to appoint a discreet and prudent citizen, being a member of the medical society of the district of Columbia, to be health officer of the city of Washington, who shall continue in office until the fourth Monday in June next, or until a successor is appointed. . ., Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of said health officer to report to the Mayor, from time to time, all nuisances coming under his observation, or of which he may be informed, which, in his opinion, endanger the health ol the citizens; all sources of disease, prevailing epidemics, and con- tageous diseases, with which the city, or any part thereof may be afflicted, with the means which, in his judgment, are best adapted to remove the evils, restrain their progress, or prevent JheTrrecurrence; to keep a correct register of the deaths which Lv take place in the city of Washington, tak.nc care to de- bate the'different diseases or causes o suet deaths he different sexes and ages of the deceden^, »nd whe her resi dents or strangers, white or colored, and to publish the same bringing a ^'^^"the date of his or her death, sex, and color ot the decedent and whether a resident or ^^z^:^^^y ^ —tted t0 the 4 health office, on the beginning of each week: and in case no such certificates can be obtained from said undertakers, or others, it shall be the duty of the sexton to make a memoran- dum of the name, age. sex, &c. of the decedent, from enqui- ries of the person bringing the same for burial, which memo- randum it shall be his duty to transmit to the healsh officer, in the manner provided in relation to the aforesaid certificates. Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Mayor to give public notice, by proclamation, in the National Intelligencer and City Gazette, of the time when this law shall go into operation, of the name and residence of the person appointed health officer; and requiring of the sextons, and re- questing of undertakers, physicians, coroners, heads of families, and ajl other citizens, to aid in carrying the provisions of this act into effect. Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That a sum not exceeding fifteen dollars, to be paid to the health officer, for stationary and other contingent expenses incurred by him, in the discharge of his aforementioned duties, be, and the same is hereby annually appropriated out of the general fund of the Corporation. Approved, August 14thT 1819. AN ACT establishing a board of health for the city of Washington. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That from and af- ter the first day of April, there shall be appointed, and annu- ally thereafter, and as vacancies may happen, by the Mayor, by and with the advice and consent of the board of aldermen, a board of health for the city of Washington, to be composed of one physician and one citizen not a physician, from each ward, in addition to the physician or surgeon attending the Washington Asylum, who shall always make one of the board of health. ' Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That so much of the act passed on the fourteenth of August, A. D. eighteen hundred and nine- teen, as relates to the appointment of a health officer, be, and the same is hereby repealed; and that the board of health to be appointed under this act be, and they hereby are vested with all the powers, authority, and privileges, heretofore allowed by law to the said health officer, and in addition thereto, the pow- er of electing a president and register, or secretary; also of 5 forming such a code of regulations, regarding the preserva- tion, or restoration of the health of this city, particularly in regard to pestilential or contageous diseases, which may not be repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the act of incorporation, or charter of this city, or the laws or regulations of this Corpora- tion. Sec. 3. And be it enacted. That it shall be the duty of the board of health to declare, by resolution, what are consid- ered by them as nuisances, or sources of disease: such resolu- tion to be published; and it shall thereafter become the duty of each and every member of the board within his ward, to give notice to the ward commissioner of any nuisances in his ward, who shall forthwith have the same removed. Approved, March XOth, 1822. Extract from an act to provide for the removal of nuisances from cellars and domestic enclosures, and for other purposes. " Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That any five members of the board of health, may be competent, at any regular, called, or adjourned meeting of the board, to do business." Approved, May 22d, 1822. AN ACT t'> empower the Board of Health to enforce its regulations. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That the Board of Health, as established bv the act, entitled "An Act establish- ing a Board of Health for the city of Washington," approved March thirtieth eighteen hundred and twenty-two, shall have full power and authority to enforce all regulations which have been, or. may from time to time hereafter be adopted by srid board for the preservation of the health of the city: Provided, the same be consistent with the raws of this Corporation. Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That all persons resident, or being within the city, shall obey, and be governed by the re- gulations adopted as aforesaid, and published by the said board. Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the several commissioners, police constables and scavengers of the city are required to obey all orders they may receive in their respective wards from the said board. 6 Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That for every violation of any of the regulations of the said board, where no penalties are provided by the present laws of the Corporation, every per- son so violating shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding twenty dollars; and for every day any person shall continue to violate any of said regulations, such person shall forfeit and pay a like sum. Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That it shall be, and is hereby made the duty of each and every member of the said Board of Health, and of each and every commissioner and police constable, in their respective wards, to inform against and prosecute any and every person who shall violate any of the regulations of the said board, established for the purposes mentioned in this act. Approved, August nth, 1832. LAWS RELATING TO NUISANCES. Extract from an act for the preservation of springs, wells, hydrants, and pumps, and for other purposes. "Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of common council of the city of Washington, That it shall not be lawful for any person to clean fish, water horses, or fill and leave barrels or casks at any of the public springs, pumps, wells, or hydrants, in this city; nor shall any person or persons do any other act in or near the said springs, pumps, wells, or hydrants, whereby the water may be made impure. And any person offending herein, shall be subject to a penalty of five dollars, for every offence, one half for the use of the informer, and the other half tor the use of this Corporation, recoverable before any justice of the peace for the county of Washington." Approved, July 28th, 1816. Extract from an act, to amend the act, concerning nuisances. te Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That from and after the passage of this act, the owner or owners of every domestic annimal that shall be found dead in any of the avenues, streets, alleys, lanes, enclosed lots, or on any open unenclosed ground, within the jurisdiction of this Corporation, shall be obliged to bury such annimal at least two feet below the surface of the earth; and if such owner or owners do not remove and dispose of such dead animals in manner aforesaid, within twelve hours after being notified thereof by the commissioner of the ward, he, she, or they shall incur a penalty of not less than five, nor more than twenty dollars, to be recovered and applied as other fines under the acts of this Corporation; and it shall be the duty of the said commissioner, if the owner or owners shall not re- move the said animal or animals within the time specified, or if no owner can be found for such animal or animals, forthwith to remove said nuisance, and the expense thereof to be paid out of any money to the credit of the general fund. 8 "Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That any butcher or butcherg, Or other person, bringing meat, to any of thn market ho-'ise's in this city, for sale, shall not leave the l*-gs, head, or offal of any animal within or about such market houses, after the usual market hours, under the penalty of not less than five, nor more than twenty dollars, for every offence, to be lecovered and ap- plied agreeably to the provisions in the first section of this act. "Sec. 5 And be it enacted, That from and after the publica- tion of this act, the owners of any lot or lots of ground in or upon which any artificial excavation shall be, or upon which stagnant water may remain, contrary to the laws of this Corpo- ration, and who shall fail or refuse, to fill up the excavations, drain the stagnant water, or enclose the areas, when legally re- quired so to do, shall pay a fine to this Corporation of ten dol- lars, over and above the sum necessarily expended, by authori- ty, of this Corporation, in filling up, draining, or enclosing the same, to be applied as are other fines imposed by law." Approved, July Wth, 1820. Bxtract from an act, for the appointment of three commissioners and six police constables. "Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the duties imposed on the. commissioners, by the first section of the act, entitled "An act to amend the act concerning nuisances," passed the eleventh day of July, eighteen hundred and twenty, and by the fourth and nineteenth sections of the act, entitled " An act to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which free ne- groes and mulattos may reside in the city of Washington, and for other purposes," be, and the same are hereby assigned and transferred to, and shall hereafter be performed by the police •onstables herein directed to be appointed." Approved, June 26th, 1821. Bxtract from act to provide for the removal of nuisances from cellars and domestic enclosures, and for otner purposes. "Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That whenever the board of health, or either member ; hereof, shall be of opin- ion that any cellar, or domestic enclosure within the city, is in a state of nuisance, or so situated, that, in warm and unhealthy seasons, a nuisance may be thereby created, it shall be the duty 9 of said board, or any member thereof, to eause a notice to be served on the owner or owners, his, her, or thtir aaeut or agents, if such owner or owners, agent or agents, are residents ot this city, and known to the officer notifying; but, if not, to the occupier or occupiers of such cellar or domestic enclosures, directing him, her, or them to remove, as soon as may be, said nuisance, in such manner as may be prescribed in such notice; and if such owner or owners, occupier or occupiers, on receiv- ing such notice, shall neglect or remove such nuisance as may be directed in such notice, he, she or they so neglecting or refusing, shall forfeit and pay a sum of not less than one, nor more than five dollars; and further, the sum of not less than one, nor more than five dollars for every day he, she, or they, shall continue to neglect or refuse to remove said nuisance, agreeably to the direction in said notice contained; and whenever the said board of health or any member thereof, shall have cause to suspect that a nuisance, dangerous to the health of the city, exists in any house, cellar, or enclosure, the said board, or any member thereof, may demand entry there- in in the day time, and if the owner or occupier of such cel- lar or enclosure, shall refuse or delay to open the same, and to admit a free examination, he or she shall forfeit and pay for every such refusal, the sum of ten dollars." Approved, May 22d, 1822. AN ACT supplementary to the several acts in relation to nuisances. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board ofcom- mom council of the city of Washington, That it shall be the duty of the ward commissioners, upon information from the board of health, or any member thereof, of the existence of any nuisance within their respective wards, to have the same removed forthwith, agreeably to the provisions ofthe several actsto which this is a, supplement, and for every failure or neglect so to do, the commissioner offending shall be subject to a penalty of ten dollars, to be recovered and applied as other fines of this Cor- poration are, and that the board of health, or the members there- of for the ward in which the nuisance may be, in case of such failure, be, and they are hereby authorized to have the said nui- sance removed forthwith, the expense of such removal to be paid out ofthe contingent fund ofthe ward. Approved, May 26th, 1823. 2 10 Bxtract from an act to authorize the filling up of lots which are below the graduation ofthe streets adjoining the same, and further to prov.de for the removal of nuisances within the city of Washington. "Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That where any lot, or part of a lot, within this Corporation, is, or shall be so situated, as to be below the graduation of the street or avenue on which the same may front, and which shall retain water on the surface thereof, calculated, in the opinion of the board of health, or of the members of that board for the ward in which such lot or part of a lot may be, to affect, injuriously, the health ofthe inhabitants, or to injure or endanger the property in the neighbourhood, it shall be the duty of the commissioner of the ward in which such lot or part of a Jot may be situated, upon the representation of a freeholder within said ward, to call immediately upon the board o( health, or upon the presi- dent thereof, or upon the members of said board for said ward, and obtain his or their opinion, in writing, as to the effects thereof; and if said opinion shall state that the water on said lot or lots, or part of a lot or lots, will be injurious as aforesaid—it shall further be the duty ofthe commissioner forthwith to notify the owner or occupier, if he, she, or they be resident within this city, thereof, with directions to proceed within three days there- after to remove the said water bv filling up said lot or lots, or parts thereof, or by draining the same; and further, to complete the said removal within the further period of three days, if prac- ticable, (of which practicability the Mayor shall be the judge) and if not practicable, within such time as the Mayor may deem reasonable. And if such owner or occupier shail fail, alter notice as aforesaid, to fill up or dnxin such lot or lots, or parts thereof, within the period which may be assigned therefor, to the satisfaction of the said commissioner, it shall be the duty of the said commissioner to proceed forthwith and do the same in such manner as that it will not ret .in water on the surface thereof, due regard being always had to the interest of the owner or proprietor of the properly: but no lot or lots, or parts thereof, shall be filled up to an elevation greater than the most depressed graduation of the street, avenue, or alley, on which the same may front or bind: And the expense incurred by the commissimer shall be paid out ol the funds of the ward; and it shall be the duty of the said commissioner to make re- turn to the Register of the cost incurred in filling up or in draining said lot or lots, or parts thereof; the amount whereof 11 shall be assessed as tax thereon, and shall he placed in the hands ofthe proper collector, who shall collect the same, with inteiest thereon from the date of the- return ofthe commissioner, at the rate of ten per centum per annum. But if any lot or lots, or parts thereof, situated as aforesaid, shall belong to a non- resident or uo-rcsidents, or to a person or persons of unsound mind, or under age, the title to which shall be in dispute so that the true owner or owners cannot be satisfactorily ascertain- ed, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to fill up or drain the same as aforesaid, and to make return as aforesaid to the Register; and the collector, whose duty it shall be to collect the same, shall collect and account for such taxes, as other taxes placed in his hands for collection. "Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That, whenever there shall be, on any lot or lots, or parts thereof, a house or building unoc- cupied, and in a state of dilapidation or decay, or an uncovered cellar or cellars, and the same being represented to the com- missioner, by a freeholder, as provided in the first section of this act, it shall be his duty to lay the said representation be- fore the board of health, if in session; if not, before the Mayor who shall thereupon convene the said board: And if said board, or any portion thereof deputed for that purpose, after an examination of the premises complained of, which shall be made with the least possible delay, shall be of opinion that the same is a nuisance, or is dangerous to the health of those in the vicinity thereof, they shall make representation accordingly to the Mayor, who shall thereupon direct the commissioner forthwith, to notify, in writing, the owner or owners, their ao-ents or guardians, to be left at his or her usual or reputed place of residence, if within the city; and if without, then through the medium of the newpapers authorized to publish the laws of the Corporation, ofthe existence of said nuisance, and to direct the removal thereof within six days from the date of such notice, if practicable, (of which practicability the Mayor shall be the judge;) and if not practicable, then within such time as the Mayor may deem reasonable: And on failure of the owner or owners, their agents or guardians, to remove the said nuisance within the time so prescribed or allowed, it shall be the duty of the commissioner, under the direction ot the Mayor, forthwith to do the same: due regard being, on all such occasions, had to the interest of the owners or proprietors of the property. But if the property on which such nuisance shall exist, shall belong to persons of unsound mind, or the 12 title thereto shall be in dispute so that the true owner or owners cannot be satisfactorily ascertained, upon the same being de- clared a nuisance as is hereinbefore provided, it shall be the duty of the commissioner, under the direction of the Mayor, forthwith to remove the same, the expense to be paid out of the funds of the ward; and it shall furiher be the duty of the commissioner of such ward, to make return of the expense to the Register, as is directed in the first section of this act, which sum shall be assessed and collected as is therein provided." Approved, June 8th, 1826. Extract from an act prescribing the duties and'fixing the compensation of the Commissioners of the wards. " Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That it shall also be the du- ty of the said commissioners to cause all obstructions or im- pediments in streets, to be removed; to superintend and direct the enforcement of the police regulations of the city; to cause nuisances to be forthwith removed, which may come within their observation, or of which they may be notified by the board of health, or by any member thereof; and shall disclose to the Mayor any known infraction of the laws, and any omis- sion or negiigpnce on the part of officers of police. " Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That in case the commis- sioner of a ward shall fail to cause nuisances, of which he shall be notified, and which shall be contrary to law, to be removed within forty-eight hours after the time of notification, he shall forfeit and pay, for every such failure, the sum often dollars; and incase any one of the said commissioners shall knowingly fail to prosecute an offender, against the police regulations of the city, when the offence shall have been committed in the ward for which be has been appointed, he shall incur the penal- ty for which the offender, as aforesaid, would have been liable: which penalties may be recovered from the commissioners as in other cases." Approved, June 4th, 1S29. LAWS RELATING TO SCAVENGERS AND PRIVIES. AN ACT authorizing the appointment of scavengers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That the Mayor be, and he is hereby authorized, to appoint, on or about the first Monday of August next, and annually thereafter, or whenever a vacancy may happen, one or more scavengers ia each ward, whose duty it shail be, undei the direction ofthe ward commissioners, to see that all laws on the subject of nuisances are complied with and carried into effect; to remove filth and stagnant water from the gutters and other places; to remove, or cause to be removed, dead carcasses, fish, offals, or other offensive substance; and to clean out all privies. In case more than one scavenger shall be appointed for a ward, the Mayor shall designate and prescribe the district for which they may respectively be appointed, and every such scavenger shall be entitled to receive j salary, at the discretion ofthe commis- sioners, not exceeding fifty dollars per annum, in addition to the compensation allowed in the succeeding section, in full for his services to be paid out ofthe general fund. Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That it shall be the duty ofthe scavengers, each in his respective ward or district, once in two months from the first day of April to the first day of Octo- ber, and once in three months, from the first day of October to the first day of April, in every year, to clean out all privies whenever they become off nsive or require cleaning, or within twenty four hours after he shall, at any time, be required to perform that duty by the occupier of the premises. That the box, or other vessel containing the filth, shall be well and suffi- ciently cleansed and replaced in the privy, and the contents disposed of by the scavenger for his interest, or deposited at such place or places as the commissioner of the ward, with the approbation of the Mayor, may direct, and buried, at least ^ two hundred yards from any house or public road, or any street di or avenue, which shall have been opened and improved by this Corporation. That no privy shall be cleansed as aforesaid, ex- cept during the period between three hours after sun-set and one hour before sun-rise. And the scavenger shall be entitled to receive, from the occupier ofthe premises, for the emptying of each box, or other vessel, not exceeding f>ur feet in length, fifty cents: for each box over four feet and not exceeding six feet in length, seventy-five cents; and for all boxes exceeding six feet in length, five dollars each; and for each bucket or other vessel, not exceeding two feet diameter, twenty-five cents. And the owner or occupier of any house, whose privy already erected, shall not be provided with such box, bucket, or other vessel, shall pay to such scavenger the sum of one dollar for every time he shall cleanse the same. Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That it shall be unlawful for any person whatever, except a scavenger, to clean out any privy in the city of Washington, for hire, or for any person to employ any other than a scavenger to clean out any privy for his or their use, for hire. And every person offending against any ofthe provisions of this act, shall forfeit and pay a fine of ten dollars for each offence: Provided, That nothing herein contained shali be so construed as to prohibit any per- son or persons to cleanse lis privy, or cause the same to be cleansed by his servants, or others under his authority; but any person who may so cause his privy to be cleansed, shall cause the contents thereof to be deposited and buried under the same restrictions as are provided by the second section of this act: And provided, also, That no person or persons shall be prohibited from burying, at least one foot below the sur- face of the earth, in their own garden, or lot enclosed for the purpose of cultivation, the contents of said box or boxes, du- ring the months of January, February, November, and De- cember in each year. Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That it shall be incumbent, ex- cept when the ward commissioners shall otherwise allow, on the owner of any house or premises on which a privy shall heteafter be erected, to provide to the same a sufficient box, bucket, or vessel, for the reception of filth, and for every month he or she shall neglect to provide the said box, bucket, or vessel f>r the same, after the erection of the said privy, such owner or owners slvill incur a penalty of five dollars. Sec. b. And be it em Aed? r ai zv.y joivenger or scaven- gers, appointed under th:s act, ?i's«o shrll iy,'i to comply with 15 any ol the requisites therein, shall be fined, not less than one dollar, nor exceeding ten dollars, for each and every offence, to be recovered and applied as other fines for the breaches of the laws of this Corporation are. Sec. .6 And be it enacted, That all fines incurred for a breach of any of the provisions of this act, shall be recovered and disposed of as are other fines imposed by this Corporation. And all acts, or parts of acts, inconsistent with any of the pro- visions of this act, be, and the same are hereby repealed. Approved, July 8th, 1820. AN ACT supplementary to the act, entitled " An act authorizing the ap- pointment of scavengers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington, That, in lieu of the fees authorized to be charged by the act to which this is a supplement, the several ward scavengers of this city shall be entitled to demand, and receive, from the proprietors or ten- ants in their respective wards, for cleansing their privies, the fees or compensation following, to wit: fifty cents for each box, not exceeding three feet in length, eighteen inches in breadth, and eighteen inches in depth; and for each additional foot, or part oi a foot, in length, twenty-five cents. And for all boxes of greater breadth or depth than prescribed by this act the said scavengers be entitled to demand a compensation in the proportion that such additional breadth or depth bears to that prescribed herein. And the said scavengers shall be en- titled to receive for every bucket, or other vessel not exceeding eighteen inches diameter, cleaned by them respectively, the sum of thirty-seven and a halt cents; and every bucket or other vessel, exceeding eighteen inches diameter, shall be charged for at the rate fixed for boxes. Sec 2 And be it enacted, That the second proviso con- tained in the third section of the act to which this is a supple- ment, be. and the same is hereby repealed, excepting in cases where the contents ofthe boxes, buckets or holes of necessa- ries shall have been rendered perfectly inoffensive by the previous use of a chemical preparation of lime, or other neutral- izing substance. Approved, October Zlst, 1820. 16 AN ACT supplementary to the act " authorizing the appointment of scavengers " Be it enacted by the board of aldermen and board of com- mon council of the city of Washington Thai it shall be the duty of the ward commissioners, upon complaint made, or in- formation given in writing, of the offensiveness of any privy or privies within their respective wards, to cause the box or other vessel (the seats and floors if necessary) ofthe said privy or privies to be thoroughly cleansed, by the scavenger of the ward or district in which the said privy or privies may be erected. And if there be no acting scavenger in the said ward or district, to cause the same to be cleansed forthwith, by some other person, at the expense of the owner or occupier of the premises. And if the said commissioners shall neglect or re- fuse to perform the duty required as aforesaid, they shall be fined not less than one dollar, nor more than five dollars, for every such refusal or neglect, which shall be recovered and ap- plied as other fines incurred for breaches of the laws of the Corporation. Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That if the owner or occu- pier of the premises'on which such privy or privies are, or may hereafter be erected, shall refuse to permit the same to be cleansed when necessary, or shall neglect to have the same kept clean at the time designated by the act to which this is a supplement, he or she shall be fined five dollars for every such offence, to be recovered and applied in the same manner as other fines are, arising from violations of the laws of the Cor- poration. And whenever it shall be made appear to the satis- faction of the Mayor, that any privy has become a nuisance, or cannot be kept clean without great difficulty, expense, and inconvenience, it shall be his duty to cause the same to be pulled down or removed, at his option and discretion. Approved, March 23d, 1822. aMTTliTTOKi Ot TUB BOARD OF HEALTH, CONCERNING NUISANCES. Adopted June 16th, 183J. The third section of " An act to establish a board of health for the city of Washington," makes it the duty of said board ''to declare and publish what are considered by them as nuisances and sources of disease, viz: dead carcases, dead fish, or offals of fish, piles of oyster shells, offals from butch- er's stalls, slaughter houses, or tan yards; stagnant water in ponds, marshes, gutters, or sewers; foul hog stye?, privies, or cellars, decayed vegetables, particularly cabbages, putrefac- tion of any description, &c &c. In fact, nuisances considered as a source of disease, may embrace any thing which produces noxious effluvia or offensive smell. The ward commissioners are directed to pay particular at- tention to the above list of nuisances, and have them removed or corrected, whenever they may come under their observa- tion; and it is expected that the commissioners will promptly attend to all orders directed to them by the board of health, or any member thereof; otherwise the penalty will be enforced without delay. As many nuisances may escape the notice of the board of health, the citizens generally are requested to communicate, in writing, from time to time, all neglected nuisances which may come under their observation, designating the places, ow- ners, or occupiers of the property where such nuisances may be discovered, and the best mode of removing or correcting the $ame. All such reports must be directed to the members of the board belonging to the ward where such nuisances may eK1St* H. HTJNTT, President of the Board of Health. JAMES LARNED, Secretary. 18 TEMPORARY REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH, Adopted August With, 1832. The following resolutions have been passed by the Board of Health. The Board of Health, after mature deliberation, have Re- solved, and they do now declare, that the following articles are in their opinion, highly prejudicial to health at the present season. Believing them, therefore, in the light of nuisances, they hereby direct that the sale of them or introduction, with- in the limits of this city, be prohibited from and after the -2d instant, for the space of ninety days: Cabbage, Plums, Green corn, Damsens, Cucumbers, Cherries, Peas, Apricots, Beans, Pineapples, Parsnips, Oranges, Carrots, Lemons, Egg plant, Limes Cimblins, or squashes, Cocoanuts, Pumpkins, Ice creams, Turnips, Fish, Watermelons, Crabs, Cantelopes, Oysters, Muskmelons, Clams, Apples, Lobsters, Pears, Crawfish. Peaches, The following articles the board have not considered it ne- cessary to prohibit the sale of, but even those, they would ad- monish the community to be moderate in using. Potatoes, I Tomatos, Beets, I Onions. Whereas precaution at the present season of the year may* in a great measure, prevent the introduction or general diffusion of any epidemic or malignant disease into the city, and the board of health being sensibly alive to all the important duties which devolve upon them, feel it their duty to suggest, that the most happy consequences to the general health of the citizens would result from a strict enquiry on the part of the 19 heads of families everv, day as to the health of their domestics, and all others intrusted to their charge. The board are also of opinion, that if all contractors or superintendants of every spe- cies of work or labor, now going on in the city, were to make strict enquiry every twelve hours, is to the health ofthe hands employed by them, and to require all who have any premoni- tory symptoms of disease to desist from work and exposure, that none but good consequences would grow out of such a course of proceeding, and that the health ofthe cit\ would thereby be greatly preserved. It is, therefore, the particular desire of this board, that the citizens in general, lend their hearty co-ope- ration in carrying into full effect such measures for the health of the city, as the board may deem it proper from time to time to suggest; and that they will bear in mind this strong fact, that with them and not with the board, rests the important responsibility of checking or increasing the disease which is now passing over our happy country, should it make it appear- ance among us. NLM032778281