A DIGEST OE THE 
Acts of Ibc Commont'ocaltlj 
RELATING TO THE 
MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY, 
TOGETHER WITH THE 
BY-LAWS 
AND 
RULES AND ORDERS OF TEE SOCIETY AND COUNCILLORS. 
BOSTON: 
DAVID CLAPP & SON, PRINTERS 334 WASHINGTON ST. 
18 7 4. A DIGEST OF THE 
Acts of % Ccnnmonfofalllj 
RELATING TO THE 
MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY, 
TOGETHER WITH THE 
BY-LAWS 
AND 
RULES AND ORDERS OE THE SOCIETY AND COUNCILLORS. 
BOSTON: 
DAVID CLAPP & SON, PRINTERS 334 WASHINGTON ST. 
1 8 7 4. A DIGEST OF THE 
ACTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH 
delating to tfje fHassadjusctts fffdJttal iSoctetg, 
NOW IN FORCE. 
1874. 
T. As health is essentially necessary to the happiness of society, and 
as its preservation or recovery is closely connected with the knowledge 
of the animal economy and of the properties and effects of medicines; 
and as the benefit of medical institutions, formed on liberal principles, 
and encouraged by the patronage of the law, is universally acknow- 
ledged,—The Fellows and their successors shall be, and continue for- 
ever, a body politic and corporate by the name of 
“ IttassacJjmscttsi fHeln'eai Society.” 
II. The Fellows of the Society shall have one common seal, and 
power to break, change, and renew the same at their pleasure. 
III. The Fellows of the Society shall have full power and authority 
to make and enact such Rules and By-Laws, for the better government 
of the Society, as are not repugnant to the laws of this Commonwealth; 
and to annex reasonable fines and penalties to the breach of them, not 
exceeding the sum of twenty pounds. 
IV. The Fellows, at their annual meetings, whenever such a num- 
ber shall be present as the regulations of the Society may require, may 
revise, alter, enlarge, and repeal the By-Laws of the Society, as the 
major part of the Fellows present may see fit and not otherwise. 
V. The Fellows of the Society may sue and be sued in all actions, 
real, personal, or mixed, and prosecute and defend the same unto final 
judgment and execution, by the name of the “Massachusetts Medical 
Society. ’ ’ 
VI. The Treasurer, for the time being, is authorized to sue, in the 
name of the Society, in an action of debt, before any Court proper to 
try the issue, for such sums of money as may become due to the Society 
from any person being, or who has been, or who shall become a Fellow 
thereof, for the annual, or other assessments of the Society, or for 
penalties accruing under and by virtue of the By-Laws and votes of the 
Society, by declaring generally, against the defendant, as indebted to 
the Society for the penalty, or sum due, setting forth the substance only 
of such By-Law or vote: and the Society shall thereafter recover judg- 4 
ment for so much debt or damage as they shall prove to be due, and no 
more. 
VII. The Treasurer shall have full power and authority to sue for, 
and recover, such reasonable fees of office, as shall be established by 
the Society for the examination of candidates and for letters testimonial 
in favor of such as shall be approbated. 
VIII. The Fellows of the Society may, and shall forever, be deemed 
capable in law of having, holding, and taking in fee simple, or any less 
estate, by gift, grant, devise, or otherwise, any land, tenement, or other 
estate, real or personal; provided, that the annual income of the whole 
real estate shall not exceed the sum of two hundred pounds, and the 
annual income or interest of said personal estate shall not exceed the 
sum of six hundred pounds—valued in silver at six shillings and eight 
pence per ounce. 
IX. The annual income or interest of the said real and personal 
estate, together with the fines and penalties paid to the Society or re- 
covered by them, shall be appropriated to such purposes as are con- 
sistent with the end and design of the institution of the Society, and 
as the Fellows thereof shall determine. 
X. The Society is authorized to use the annual income of their 
permanent fund to defray current expenses. 
XI. The Fellows of the Society shall not be liable to be enrolled or 
mustered in the militia of this Commonwealth. 
DISTRICT SOCIETIES. 
XII. Subordinate Societies in different portions of the Common- 
wealth may be established, to consist of the Fellows of the Massachu- 
setts Medical Society residing within such districts respectively—where- 
in the communication of cases and experiments may be made, and the 
diffusion of knowledge in medicine and surgery may be encouraged and 
promoted. And the members of such subordinate societies shall be 
holden to report to the Councillors of the general Society all such cases 
as may be selected for their importance and utility. 
XIII. These subordinate societies shall be subject to the regulations 
of the general Society, in all matters wherein the general Society shall 
be concerned. They may appoint their own officers, and establish 
regulations for their particular government, not repugnant to the By- 
Laws of the general Society; and shall be capable to purchase, and re- 
ceive by donation, books, philosophical and chirurgical instruments, or 
other personal property, and may hold and dispose of the same, exclu- 
sive of any authority of the general Society. 
XIV. On the application of any five Fellows, the Councillors shall 
be authorized to subdivide or alter any of said districts, and to make 
new districts whenever the public good may seem to require it. 
XV. Each of the District Societies into which the Massachusetts 
Medical Society has been or may be divided, may elect annually, by 
ballot, from among its members, the Councillors and Censors to which, 
by the By-Laws of the Society, it may be entitled. And such Coun- 
cillors and Censors shall hold their respective offices for the year next 
ensuing, and until others have been elected in their places. 5 
COUNCILLORS. 
XVI. The Councillors, elected by the District Societies, shall as- 
semble and convene three times in the year, at such times and places as 
the By-Laws of the general Society shall direct; provided, that the first 
stated or annual meeting shall be held in the same place and within 
thirty days before or after the annual meeting of the general Society; 
and at such other times and places as the By-Laws may direct, and 
whenever notified to convene by their presiding officer. 
XVII. At their annual meetings the said Councillors shall proceed 
to appoint, from among themselves, a President, and such other officers 
of the Society as are and shall be required in the Buies and By-Laws 
thereof to be so appointed. 
XVIII. At any meeting of the said Councillors, they may fill any 
vacant office; and perform any other duties, as the By-Laws of said 
Society shall direct. 
CENSORS, OR EXAMINERS. 
XIX. The Censors, elected by the District Societies, for the pur- 
pose of examining candidates, shall, at least three of them, be convened 
in Boston on the Thursday next preceding the annual meeting of the 
general Society, and at such other times and places as the By-Laws 
shall direct. 
XX. The Censors, at their stated meetings in each of the said 
districts, shall examine all who may offer themselves to be approved as 
practising physicians or surgeons, who have received such an education 
as is, or may be from time to time, prescribed by the regulations of the 
Society, and who are duly qualified as candidates for such examination. 
XXI. If the said Censors shall unreasonably refuse to examine 
any person who is duly qualified for such examination, they shall 
severally forfeit a sum not exceeding four hundred dollars, to be re- 
covered by such candidate for his own use. 
OFFICERS. 
XXII. The Fellows of the Society shall have full power and author- 
ity, from time to time, to determine and establish the names, number, 
and the duty of their several officers, and the tenure or estate they shall 
respectively have in their offices; and also to authorize and empower 
their President, or some other officer, to administer such oaths to such 
officers as they, the Fellows of the Society, shall appoint and determine 
for the well-ordering and good government of the Society, provided the 
same be not repugnant to the laws of this Commonwealth. 
FELLOWSHIP. 
XXIII. Any person of good moral character, found to possess the 
qualifications prescribed by the Rules and Regulations of the Society, 
shall, upon examination by the Censors and not otherwise, be admitted 
a Fellow; and the Fellows shall have power to suspend, expel or dis- 
franchise any Fellow of the Society. 6 
XXIV. All persons so elected, shall, within one year after such 
election, subscribe the By-Laws of the Society, or otherwise declare in 
writing their assent to the same; or such election shall be void. 
XXV. The Councillors, at any of the three stated meetings of the 
same, and only at these meetings, and after three months’ nomination of 
every candidate and not otherwise, may, by a major vote of those pre- 
sent, elect any suitable person, not resident within this Commonwealth, 
to be an honorary member of the Society. 
LICENTIATES. 
XXVI. Every candidate who shall be approved by the Censors, 
shall be entitled to letters testimonial, under their hands, of their ap- 
probation and of their license to practise physic or surgery, or both ; 
which letters shall be sealed with the seal of the Society, and shall be 
signed by the President and Secretary thereof. 
XXVII. No person shall be entitled to his letters <of license, until 
he shall pay such reasonable fees as shall be established by the Society 
to be paid for such examination and letters of license. 
XXVIII. When any person who has been educated to the practice 
of physic or surgery, in any place out of this State, and who has come 
into this State to pursue the same, shall present himself to either of the 
Boards of Censors as a candidate for their approbation or license—if 
they are satisfied that he has received an education equivalent to that 
prescribed by the regulations of the Society, and that he has been duly 
examined and approved by some competent authority, they may license 
him to practise physic or surgery, or both, as the case may be, without 
subjecting him to a new examination. 
MEETINGS. 
XXIX. The Fellows shall have full power and authority to establish 
the place, time, and manner of convening the Fellows of the Society; 
and also to determine the number of Fellows that shall be present to 
constitute a meeting of the Society; provided, that the annual meeting 
may be held in such one of the principal towns or cities of the Com- 
monwealth as the Society or the Councillors shall, from year to year, 
determine. BY-LAV/S. BY-LAWS. 
EEVISBD OCTOBER,, 1874. 
FELLOWSHIP. 
I. Every candidate for admission into the Massachusetts 
Medical Society must, by proper credentials and examination, 
satisfy the Censors of said Society that he possesses the following 
qualifications for fellowship:— 
That he is not less than twenty-one years of age; that he is of 
sound mind, and good moral character; that he has a good gene- 
ral English education ; that he has a knowledge of the principles 
of experimental philosophy; that he has such an acquaintance 
with the Latin language as is necessary for a good medical and 
surgical education; that he has studied medicine and surgery 
three full years under the direction, and attended the practice, of 
some reputable, regularly educated physician or physicians ; that 
he has attended two terms of study, or two full courses of lectures 
in separate years, at an authorized medical school, recognized by 
the Councillors of said Society; that he does not profess to cure dis- 
eases by, nor intend to practise, spiritualism, homoeopathy, allopathy, 
Thompsonianism, eclecticism, or any other irregular or exclu- 
sive system, generally recognized as such by the profession or 
declared so by the Councillors of said Society ; and, by a further 
examination, a part of which shall be in writing, that he has an ade- 
quate knowledge of anatomy, pathological anatomy, physiology, 
general and medical chemistry, materia medica, therapeutics, mid- 
wifery, the theory and practice of medicine, clinical medicine, 
surgery, clinical surgery, hygiene, and public hygiene. 
If successful in such an examination as to his credentials, char- 
acter, personal and professional qualifications, to the satisfaction 10 
of at least three of the Censors present, the candidate, after pay- 
ing the District Treasurer the assessment for the current year and 
signing the By-Laws, shall receive a certificate of membership 
(Digest, XXVI., XXVII.), and be enrolled a Fellow of the 
Society. 
II. A candidate may be examined at any stated meeting of 
Censors ; but, if the examination be unsatisfactory, he shall not be 
reexamined by any Board of Censors in less than six months after- 
wards. (XX., XXI.) 
Application for examination or reexamination must be made to 
the Secretary of the Society of the District in which the candi- 
date resides. 
III. Every Fellow shall be entitled to a Diploma on the pay- 
ment of such sum as the Councillors shall from time to time 
determine. 
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP. 
IV. A candidate for election to Honorary Membership in 
the Society shall be nominated to the Councillors at a Stated 
Meeting, by two or more Fellows, and said nomination shall be 
referred to the Committee on Membership and Resignations, who 
shall report at the next Stated Meeting. 
The affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Councillors present 
shall be necessary to elect to Honorary Membership. 
REQUIREMENTS AND PRIVILEGES. 
Y. Every Fellow of the Society, unless Honorary or Retired, 
shall be annually assessed such sum as the Councillors shall from 
time to time determine—to be prepaid from year to year on or 
before each annual meeting of the Society; but assessments may 
be remitted in any case, on the recommendation of the Com- 
mittee on Finances, by a vote of the Councillors. 
Any Fellow who has arrived at the age of sixty-five years, 
has paid all his assessments, or has been excused from them, and 
has notified the Treasurer of the Society thereof in writing, 
may, on recommendation of a Committee and by a vote of the 11 
Councillors, become a Retired Member. He shall be entitled to 
all the privileges of a Fellow, and shall conform to all the re- 
quirements of the Society, and be subject to all its penalties, except 
that he shall not be liable to assessments, nor be bound to accept 
any office in the Society. 
VI. Any Fellow, whose dues have been paid or remitted, 
may, on written application and for satisfactory reasons, first ex- 
amined and reported upon by a Committee, be allowed to resign 
Fellowship and to withdraw from the Society by a vote of the 
Councillors. 
Any Fellow removing out of the State may have liberty to re- 
tain his Fellowship so long, and only so long, as he punctually 
pays the annual assessment. 
Any one who has retired or resigned, or lost his Fellowship by 
removal from the State, may, on application in writing, be re- 
stored to full Fellowship by the vote of the Councillors at any 
Stated Meeting. 
ETHICS AND DISCIPLINE. 
VII. Any Fellow who has not paid an assessment to the Soci- 
ety for five consecutive years, and who, after due notification of 
his delinquency, neglects, or declines, without sufficient excuse, to 
pay his dues, may, on report of the Committee on Membership 
and Resignations, be dropped from the Roll of Fellows by a vote 
of the Councillors. 
Any Fellow may be punished by censure, disfranchisement, or 
expulsion (Digest, XXIII.), or be deprived of his privileges, on 
conviction by a Board of Trial (in the manner specified in By-Law 
XXXI.), upon charges of the following description, made to the 
President of the Society in writing, and signed by three or more 
Fellows, viz.:— 
For any gross or notorious immorality, or for any crime of 
which he may have been convicted. 
For any attempt to disorganize or to destroy the Society. 
For the breach of any By-Law of the Society, for which 
censure, disfranchisement, expulsion, or deprivation of privileges is 
made the penalty. 12 
For furnishing to any person, or presenting in liis own behalf, a 
false certificate or statement of character or studies as a student, 
or principles as a practitioner of medicine, tending to deceive the 
public or the Censors of the Society. 
For any conduct unbecoming and unworthy an honorable 
physician and Fellow of this Society. 
VIII. Any person engaged in the practice of medicine or sur- 
gery in this Commonwealth, who has not received such a medical 
education as is required by By-Law I., and any one guilty of prac- 
tices forbidden to Fellows (I.), shall be deemed an irregular practi- 
tioner ; and it shall be disreputable and unbecoming (VII.) 
for any Fellow to advise or consult with any such irregular prac- 
titioner, or in any way to abet or assist him as a practitioner of 
medicine or surgery. 
IX. Any person who publicly advertises for sale, or otherwise 
offers to the public, any medicine the composition of which he 
keeps secret, or offers to cure any disease by any such secret 
medicine, or by any secret treatment, shall be considered an 
irregular practitioner; and, if a Fellow of this Society, shall be 
liable to expulsion, or to such other penalty as a Board of 
Trial may think proper to inflict. (XXXI.) 
X. There shall be annually appointed by the Councillors a 
Committee of five (three of whom shall be its quorum), to be called 
the Committee on Ethics and Discipline, whose duty it shall be 
to listen to complaints or charges which any individual or Society 
may wish to bring against a Fellow, and to cause such charges 
to be carried before a Board of Trial, if the Committee ffEink it 
expedient; whose further duty it shall be to consider any per- 
sonal matters or questions of privilege, so called, when the hear- 
ing thereof in general meeting is objected to by any Fellow; 
and to report upon any question of Ethics or Discipline which 
may be referred to it for such purpose by the Councillors or by 
the Society. 
ANNUAL MEETING. 
XI. A meeting of the Fellows of this Society shall be held, 
annually, in such one of the towns or cities of the Commonwealth, 
on such Wednesday in May or June, and at such hour, as the Councillors shall, from year to year, determine. Ten Fellows 
shall constitute a quorum, but a less number may adjourn the 
meeting from time to time. 
DISTRICT SOCIETIES. 
XII. The Commonwealth shall be divided by the Councillors 
into Medical Districts, which may, from time to time, be subdivided 
or altered as circumstances may require. (Digest, XIV.) A Dis- 
trict Medical Society, for the purposes designated by Law (Digest, 
XII.), shall be formed in each Medical District—to consist of 
all the Fellows of the State Society residing within the District, 
and none other. 
XIII. Every District Society shall hold its Annual Meeting 
for elections between the fifteenth of April and the fifteenth of 
May, and at least ten days before the Annual Meeting of the 
State Society. (XV.) 
At the Annual Meeting of each District Society there shall be 
elected for said Society a President, who shall be, ex officio, a Vice- 
President of the State Society (XXIII.) ; a Secretary ; a Treas- 
urer ; a Librarian; a Commissioner of Trials (XXXI.) ; and 
such other officers as may be designated in said Society’s By-Law's ; 
also by ballot (Digest, XV.) the number of Councillors to which 
said Society may be entitled by By-Law XVII.; and, at the same 
time, five Censors for the examination of candidates in that Dis- 
trict. (XX., XXL) . 
If a District Society fail or omit, from any cause, to make the 
aforesaid elections, or any of them, the officers previously chosen 
shall hold their respective offices for the year next ensuing, and 
until others shall have been elected in their places. (Digest, XV.) 
XIV. District Societies may in other respects make their 
own regulations, provided they are not incompatible with the By- 
Laws of the State Society. (Digest, XIII.) 
XV. The Secretary of each District Society shall, at least ten 
days before the Annual Meeting of the Councillors, furnish the 
Recording Secretary of the State Society with the names and resi- 
dences of the officers of his District Society, and of its Council- 
lors and Censors for the year ensuing, together with the full names 14 
and the residences of all those, not already reported, who have be- 
come Fellows in the District during the year—designating whether 
by original admission, after examination by the Censors of the Dis- 
trict, or otherwise; and shall also report to him any changes in 
the By-Laws of said District Society that may have been made 
during the year previous. (XXII.) 
XVI. The Treasurer of each District Society shall collect the 
assessments within his District as soon as may be. He shall, on or 
before the Annual Meeting of the Councillors, make a full return 
to the Treasurer of the Society of all the assessments charged on 
his books, with the condition of each, whether paid or unpaid; and 
transmit the amount collected, after deducting such reasonable 
expenses as he may have incurred, and five per cent, for services ; 
and such return and remittance shall be a full release from any de- 
mand arising from the charge created in By-Law XXVIII. He 
shall also report the deaths and removals which have occurred in 
the District, and any circumstances respecting the pecuniary abili- 
ties of the members which it may be important for the Treasur- 
er to know. In case any District Treasurer shall neglect to make 
his return as herein provided, he shall be liable to be proceeded 
against according to law, for the whole amount of assessments 
charged to him on his list, provided the same do not exceed the 
sum which this Society is authorized by the charter to impose 
as a penalty for a breach of its By-Laws; but, should it exceed 
that sum, he may be proceeded against for that sum, in addition 
to the amount actually received by him. 
COUNCILLORS. 
XVII. Councillors shall be chosen by the District Societies, 
as directed in By-Law XIII.; each Society choosing, from among 
the Fellows residing within its District, in the proportion of one 
Councillor to every eight Fellows, as nearly as may be. 
XVIII. There shall be three stated meetings of the Coun- 
cillors annually ;—the first, which shall be the Annual Meeting, 
on the day preceding the Annual Meeting of the Society, and in 
the same city or town where the meeting of the Society is to be 
held ;—the second, on the first Wednesday in October ;—and the 15 
third, on the first Wednesday of February, at such hour and 
place, in the city of Boston, as the President shall direct. 
The President shall call a special meeting of the Councillors 
whenever he may deem it expedient, or whenever five Council- 
lors may request it in writing. 
Nine Councillors shall be requisite to form a quorum for the 
. transaction of business ; but a smaller number may adjourn the 
meeting from time to time. 
XIX. At their Annual Meeting, the Councillors shall choose, 
by ballot, the following officers of the Society ; viz.: a President, 
Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, 
Treasurer, and Librarian ;—the officers so chosen, as also the 
Councillors, Censors and Commissioners of Trials, chosen by the 
District Societies, to hold their respective offices until others are 
chosen in their stead. (XXX.) The Councillors shall also desig- 
nate, by vote, in what city or town within the Commonwealth, 
and on which Wednesday in the month of May or June, the 
Anniversary of the Society, for the next calendar year, shall be 
held ; they shall choose, from among the Fellows of the Society, 
a Committee on Membership and Resignations, a Committee on 
Ethics and Discipline, a Committee on Publications, a Committee 
on Finances, a Committee of Arrangements for the Anniversary, 
and an Anniversary Chairman, whose duty it shall be to act as 
Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, and to preside at 
the annual dinner for said year; and they shall also appoint a Fel- 
low to deliver at said Anniversary Meeting a Discourse on some 
subject, of his own selection, connected with medical science. 
(Rules 13, 14.) 
In case of the non-acceptance, death, or absence of the Anni- 
versary Chairman, or of the Fellow appointed to deliver the An- 
nual Discourse, it shall be the duty of the President of the Society, 
with the Committee of Arrangements for the anniversary, to 
appoint a substitute. 
A copy of every Annual Discourse shall be deposited with the 
Recording Secretary within ten days after it has been delivered. 
(Rule 12.) CENSORS. 
XX. The Censors shall examine, according to the Rules and 
By-Laws (I., II.), such candidates as have received the education 
required, and are otherwise duly qualified for examination, and 
none other. (Digest, XX.) Blanks, approved by the Council- 
lors, shall be furnished the Censors by the Recording Secretary 
of the State Society for the purpose of facilitating these exami- 
nations. 
The Censors shall meet as hereinafter designated, or at such 
times as the Councillors may direct. 
The Censors for the Suffolk District Society shall officiate for 
that District and for the Society at large; and shall meet for the 
examination of candidates, in Boston, on the Thursday next pre- 
ceding the Annual Meeting of the Society (Digest, XIX.), and 
on the Thursday before the last Saturday of September, and of 
February. They may advertise these meetings in such manner as 
the Board may determine ; but they shall not examine any can- 
didate who is already a resident, or in practice, in any District 
except their own. 
The Censors of other medical Districts shall hold their meet- 
ings for the examination of candidates residing in their respective 
Districts, and none other, at the same place and on the same day 
as the stated meetings of the District Societies themselves; but 
shall not advertise unless the District Societies, at their own ex- 
pense, direct it to be done. (II., XIII.) 
Any meeting of Censors, whether a quorum be present or not, 
may be continued by adjournment to such time, and place within 
the District, as may be determined upon by the Censors present. 
The Board of Censors for each District, including the Record- 
ing Secretary of the District, shall receive from the treasury of 
the State Society the sum of three dollars for each and every can- 
didate examined by them—provided, however, that the whole 
amount paid to any one Board shall not exceed the sum of sixty 
dollars for any single year; and each Censor who shall neglect or 
refuse to attend a meeting of the Board, for which he has been 
duly notified, without offering an excuse wdiich shall be satisfacto- 
ry to those who do attend the same, shall pay a fine of five dollars 
to the Treasurer of the State Society. (Digest, III.) XXI. Three Censors shall constitute a quorum, and the senior 
Censor shall preside. 
Unless a quorum be present, no vote shall be taken except on 
the question of adjournment. (II.) 
XXII. The Secretary of each District Society shall be Secre- 
tary of the Board of Censors for his District; and shall call and 
attend all the meetings of the Board. lie shall report all unex- 
cused absences to the Treasurer of the State Society. He shall 
keep a faithful record of the meetings and transactions of the 
Board in the Record Book of the District Society. lie shall ob- 
tain, for successful candidates, from the Recording Secretary of 
the State Society, properly prepared certificates of Fellowship 
(Digest, XXVI.), for which he shall be responsible; and shall 
personally see that all the formal requirements of the By-Laws 
(I., II.) have been complied with by each candidate before giv- 
ing the latter such certificate. 
DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 
XXIII. The President shall call all meetings of the Society 
and of the Councillors, and shall preside at the same. He shall 
perform such other duties as may be assigned to him. 
In case of the disability of the President, his duties shall devolve 
on the Vice-President; who also, in the absence of the former, or 
at his request, shall officiate in his place. If both President and 
Vice-President are absent from any meeting, the senior President 
of a District Society present, or such Chairman as the Society or 
Councillors may appoint, shall preside pro tempore. (VII., XVIII., 
XXVIII., XXXI. Rules 12, 14, 6-8.) 
XXIV. The Corresponding Secretary shall have the 
charge and custody of all letters and communications transmitted 
to the Society or to the Councillors; and to him they should be 
addressed. He shall prepare and transmit whatever communica- 
tions the Society or the Councillors may direct. He may cause 
letters or communications, written in any foreign language, to be 
translated into English. He shall perform such other duties as 
may be assigned to him. 18 
XXV. The Recording Secretary shall keep the seal of 
the Society ; and he shall have charge and custody of the Records 
of the Society and of the Councillors, and of all papers directed 
by them to be kept on his files. He shall give notice of, and at- 
tend, the meetings of the Society and of the Councillors; keep a 
fair record of their proceedings respectively, and of the doings of 
the Commissioners of Trials ; and read, at the meetings of the So- 
ciety, all such communications as the Councillors may direct. He 
shall receive and record the nominations of candidates for Hono- 
rary Membership, and lay them before the Councillors at each 
stated meeting (IV.). He shall furnish the requisite blanks for the 
Censors, and shall attend to the preparation of Diplomas and 
certificates of Fellowship. One week at least before the Annual 
Meeting, he shall transmit to the Treasurer of the Society a cor- 
rect list of all who have become Fellows during the year, and shall 
read the same at the Annual Meeting of the Councillors and of 
the Society. He shall notify the Chairman of every committee 
appointed by the Society or Councillors, in each case stating the 
commission and the names of the Committee ; and he shall perform 
such other duties as may be assigned to him. (XV., XIX., XX. 
XXII., XXVI., XXVII., XXXI. Rules 1, 15, 1, 5.) 
XXVI. If, at any meeting of the Society or of the Council- 
lors, or of a Board of Trial, or at any other meeting where such 
services are required, one of the Secretaries be absent, and the 
other present, the latter shall perform the services of both, so far 
as may be ; but, as soon as possible, he shall arrange, and deliver 
over to the absent Secretary, the papers belonging to his depart- 
ment, with a copy of records or orders, as the case may be. If 
neither be present, a Secretary pro tempore may be appointed by 
the meeting. An assistant Secretary may be appointed by any 
meeting whenever the occasion may seem to require one. 
XXVII. The records of the Society and of the Councillors 
shall be produced at every anniversary meeting of the Society, and 
placed by the Secretary in some convenient place for the inspec- 
tion of such of the Fellows as are desirous of consulting them ; 
and, at all other times, it shall be the duty of the Secretaries to 
grant every reasonable indulgence to any Fellow of the Society 
who may wish to examine the records. XXVIII. The Treasurer shall give security for the trust 
reposed in him, whenever the Councillors shall judge it to be re- 
quisite, and the funds of the Society will admit of a compensation 
for his services. lie shall demand and receive all money due to 
the Society, together with all bequests and donations. He shall 
if necessary, sue for all fines and assessments due to the Society, 
lie shall, under the direction of the Councillors, sell or lease any 
estate belonging to the Society, and execute the necessary papers. 
He shall, in general, have the care and management of the fiscal 
concerns of the Society, and keep an accurate statement of all re- 
ceipts and expenditures. He shall not pay any money out of the 
treasury without a written order from the President. He shall 
subject his accounts to such examination as the Councillors may 
order. He shall annually render to the Society an account of his 
doings, and of the state of the funds in his hands. He shall, on 
or before the first of January, annually, send to the several District 
Treasurers lists of all the assessments remaining due from the 
members of the District Societies respectively, and shall author- 
ize these Treasurers to collect such assessments and shall charge 
the same to them. (XVI.) And he shall perform such other 
duties as may be assigned to him. (V., XVI., XXY. Rule 
7.) 
XXIX. The Librarian shall have in his custody and charge, 
the books, museum, instruments and apparatus of the Society ; he 
shall keep an accurate register of the same, and arrange them in 
a proper manner; and shall make such disposal of them, from 
time to time, as the Councillors may direct for the benefit of the 
Fellows. He shall make an annual statement of the business of 
his department to a Committee, who shall report the same to the 
Councillors; and he shall carefully record all donations made in 
his department to the Society. He shall distribute the publica- 
tions of the Society in such manner as the Councillors shall direct; 
and he shall perform such other duties as may be assigned him. 
(Rule 4.) 
XXX, Any officer of the Society may, for sufficient reasons, 
resign his office ; or may be removed therefrom, by order of the 20 
Councillors, for neglect or misconduct; in either of which cases, 
or on the death of any officer, the Councillors shall fill the 
office vacated as soon as may be convenient. In case of the tem- 
porary absence or disability of an officer, the remaining officers 
may, if need be, appoint a substitute to serve until the next meet- 
ing of the Councillors. 
TRIALS FOR OFFENCES. 
XXXI. When charges of infraction of the By-Laws shall be 
duly made against any Fellow of the Society (VII., VIII., IX., 
X.), the President thereupon shall select five of the (Commis- 
sioners of Trials (XIII.), who shall constitute a Board of Trial 
for the pending case. He shall appoint a time and place for the 
meeting of said Board, and shall notify the Commissioners ap- 
pointed, also the complainants and the accused party, of said 
time and place. 
The said Board of Trial shall be empowered and required 
to meet as above provided, and three members shall constitute a 
quorum, though a less number may adjourn the meeting from time 
to time. If a quorum be present, they shall proceed to organize 
themselves, and to hear and try the charges aforesaid ; and, if 
convinced that the charges have been substantiated by the com- 
plainants, they shall convict the accused ; or, if otherwise, they 
shall acquit him; and in case of conviction, shall pass sentence, 
such as the laws of the Society authorize, which sentence shall 
take effect from the date of its passage. 
If, after due notification, the accused party shall fail to ap- 
pear at the time and place of trial, without satisfactory excuse 
rendered at the time, he shall be considered as admitting the truth 
of the charges against him, and shall be liable to sentence 
accordingly. 
Upon showing to the Councillors, at their next subsequent 
stated meeting, such cause as shall by them be deemed reasonable 
therefor, the accused shall be entitled to a revision of his trial by 
the Councillors, who may, according to their judgment, confirm or 
reverse the previous decision, or may order a new trial by another 
Board of Trial. 21 
Legal counsel shall be inadmissible at trials; but Fellows 
of the Society may be heard as advocates on either side during 
a trial. 
The Recording Secretary of the Society shall be Secretary of 
the Boards of Trial, and shall attend all trials and keep a record 
of the Commissioners present and of their doings at said trials, 
and shall report all unexcused absences to the Treasurer of the 
State Society. lie shall enter the charges preferred, and the 
result of trial in each case, on the Records of the Society. In 
case of a conviction, after revision by the Councillors, or, if no 
appeal, after the time for revision has passed, he shall communi- 
cate the sentence to the Society, and move that it be confirmed— 
which motion shall be decided at once by the Society without 
debate. Whenever a sentence shall be thus confirmed, he shall 
send a notice thereof to the President of each of the District 
Societies, to be laid before said Societies. (XXV., XXVI.) 
Each Commissioner, the Secretary, and the acting chairman 
of the Committee on Ethics and Discipline when prosecuting 
officer, shall be entitled to receive from the Treasury three dollars 
per diem for the time necessarily spent in a Trial, and in attendance 
on a Trial, with the necessary expenses of travel, as may be decided 
by the Board; and each commissioner who shall neglect or refuse 
to attend the trial for which he has been designated, without offer- 
ing an excuse which shall be satisfactory to those who do attend 
the same, shall pay a fine of ten dollars to the Treasurer of the 
; Society. (Digest, III.) 
The President of the Society shall fill all vacancies by death 
or resignation, or by other causes, whether in the Commissioners 
of the District Societies, in the Boards of Trial, or in the Com- 
mittee on Ethics and Discipline. 
PUBLICATIONS. 
XXXII. All Reports on scientific subjects, and all scientific 
papers, read to the Society or Councillors, shall be referred to 
the Committee on Publications, with instructions that they refer 
each respectively to a Committee of Experts, whose names shall 
not be disclosed, and such as the said Committee of Experts shall designate as worthy of publication, may be published in such a 
way as the Committee on Publications, with the sanction of the 
Councillors, may direct; and at the expense of the Society, if 
there be unappropriated funds in the treasury. 
ALTERATION OF BY-LAWS. 
XXXIII. All proposals for alteration of the By-Laws shall be 
stated in writing. 
No alteration of a By-Law shall take effect until it has receiv- 
ed the concurrent vote of the Councillors and the Society; and 
no amendment affecting the import of said alteration shall be en- 
grafted on it without a like concurrent vote. But the Council- 
lors or Society may at any stated meeting, notice having been 
given at a previous stated meeting, or in the call for the meeting 
itself, adopt Rules and Orders for their better government, or alter 
or amend, or annul, the same ; but these Rules or Orders shall not 
be temporarily suspended at any meeting except by an affirma- 
tive rote of at least three-fourths of the Fellows present. 
The Society shall consider, and act on, By-Laws at adjourn- 
ments of anniversary meetings only, and not on the days of said 
meetings. 
FORM OF SUBSCRIPTION. 
The Subscriber agrees to comply with the By-Laws of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society. RULES AND ORDERS. RULES MD ORDERS 
OF 
THE SOCIETY. 
At the annual meeting of the Fellows, the following order shall 
be observed in the transaction of business:— 
1. The proceedings of the last annual meeting shall be read by 
the Recording Secretary, who shall also lay before the Society the 
records of the transactions of the Councillors for the year preced- 
ing, and shall report the names of those who have become Fellows 
or Honorary Members of the Society during that time. 
2. Reports of Committees. 
3. Attention shall be given to any scientific communications 
which the Councillors, or any Fellow of the Society, may present. 
4. Any propositions or suggestions, which may be thought con- 
ducive to the welfare of the Society, or to the general interests of 
medical science, may be brought forward by any Fellow. Upon 
such propositions or suggestions, the Society shall decide by vote 
whether to engage in the consideration of the same. 
5. When any Fellow wishes to speak in debate, he shall rise 
and address the presiding officer. 
6. If a Fellow has spoken once in debate, he shall not speak to 
the prevention of another who has not spoken and manifests a 
desire to speak, nor more than twice without obtaining leave of 
the meeting. 
7. A Fellow shall not interrupt another while speaking, unless 
to call him to order, or to correct a mistake. 
8. A Fellow shall not speak on a subject after the question is 
put. 
9. A motion shall not be considered unless seconded. 
10. A Fellow shall not nominate more than one person for the 
same Cctomittee, provided the first person nominated by him be 
chosen. 26 
11. A vote shall not be reconsidered, at the same meeting, by a 
smaller number than was present at its passing. Yeas and nays 
may be ordered by one third of the members present. 
12. At twelve o’clock, m., the President shall call upon the per- 
son appointed to deliver the Annual Discourse; and other business 
shall be suspended until the discourse shall have been delivered. 
13. On the day of the annual meeting, a dinner shall be provi- 
ded, at the expense of the Society, under the direction of the An- 
niversary Chairman and the Committee appointed for that purpose. 
14. An invitation to the dinner may be given to such professional 
strangers as the President of the Society, or Anniversary Chair- 
man, shall think proper to notice in this manner. 
15. Literary gentlemen interested in medical science, and stu- 
dents in medicine, shall be publicly invited to hear the Annual 
Discourse. EULES AID ORDEES 
OF 
THE COUNCILLORS. 
1. A publication shall be issued annually, under the direction 
of the Committee on Publications, the Treasurer, and the Secre- 
taries of the Society, as early as may be after the annual meeting. 
Such publication shall contain the Annual Discourse, unless other- 
wise directed by the Society or the Councillors, and such other 
medical communications as the Society or the Councillors may au- 
thorize to be so published; and, in an Appendix, an abstract of the 
Proceedings of the Society and of the Councillors, comprising the 
names of all Councillors present at each meeting of the Board ; the 
record of their transactions, excepting such as are of a private or 
personal nature; a list of the officers of the Society, and of each 
District Society; and a list of those who have become Fellows or 
Honorary Members, and of those who have resigned Fellowship 
or deceased during the preceding year. 
2. There may also be annually prepared, under the direction 
of the Councillors and at the expense of the Society, a Retrospect 
of the Medical Literature and Science of the preceding year, having 
reference especially to discoveries and improvements of practical 
value. 
3. All printed publications shall be in octavo. 
4. All publications of the Society shall be distributed by the 
Librarian, by mail or by express, or through the medium' of the 
District Societies, unless otherwise especially requested, to Fellows 
who have paid their dues for the corresponding year, and to such 
Honorary and Retired Members as may annually apply for them. 
5. The Recording Secretary shall issue, and send by mail to 
every Fellow, one month before each annual meeting, a circular, 
which shall contain— 
A notification of the time and place of the annual meeting of 
the Fellows;— 28 
A similar notification of the stated meetings of the Councillors 
for the whole year, and of the stated meetings of the Board of 
Censors for the Suffolk District;— 
All necessary information concerning the payment of assess- 
ments, admission to the annual dinner, obtaining the Society’s pub- 
lications at the annual meeting, and also pointing out some mode in 
which Fellows who do not attend the meeting may obtain them;— 
The conditions of admission to the Society, and all necessary 
information concerning the steps to be taken by those desirous of it. 
6. At meetings of the Councillors, all nominations of Com- 
mittees shall be made by the President, unless otherwise ordered, 
7. At the annual meeting of the Councillors, the following 
Standing Committees shall be appointed: viz., a Committee on 
Publications, a Committee on Membership and Resignations, a 
Committee of Arrangements for the Anniversary, a Committee 
on Ethics and Discipline, and a Standing Committee, whose duty 
it shall be to aid and advise the Treasurer in the management of 
the funds of the Society, especially in relation to the collection and 
remission of assessments ; and, with said Committee, the Treasurer 
shall have full power to make remissions to delinquent Fellows in 
all cases where they find sufficient cause. 
8. At the third stated meeting of the Councillors, there shall 
be chosen a Committee to examine the Treasurer’s accounts, on 
the week preceding the annual meeting, and a Committee to ex- 
amine the library and cabinet; also a Committee to examine the 
By-Laws of the District Societies, to see whether they conform to 
the Laws of the State and of the State Society; all of which 
Committees shall make their reports to the Councillors at their 
annual meeting. 
9. The officers of the Society shall retain their places until 
the close of the annual meeting of the Society, and the last official 
act of a retiring President, previous to the final adjournment of the 
Society on Wednesday of the said annual meeting, shall be the 
yielding of his chair to his successor elect, if the latter be present. STAADIAG YOTES AjYD KESOLYES. 
Voted, That the annual assessment be five dollars. ( Councillors’ 
Proceedings, May 29, 1866.; 
Voted, That the fee for the engraved diploma of Fellowship be 
fixed at five dollars. ( Councillors’ Proceedings, May 29, I860.; 
Resolved, That it shall be the duty of each District Medical 
Society, at its meeting next preceding the Annual Meeting of the 
State Society, to select one of its Councillors as its representative 
in the Nominating Committee for the Officers of said State 
Society; and in case of neglect of any District Society in the 
performance of such duty, the selection shall devolve on its 
Councillors who shall be present at such Annual Meeting. 
(Councillors’ Proceedings, Feb. 4, 1874.; 
Voted, That for the purpose of giving greater permanency to 
the composition of the several Boards of Censors, and thereby 
rendering their action more consistent and more efficient, the 
Councillors recommend to the District Societies a reelection at 
each annual meeting of, at least, three of the old Board; and also 
urge the exercise of the utmost care in selecting those who are to 
fill the important office of Censor. (Councillors’ Proceedings, 
Oct. 7, 1874.J 
To prevent misunderstanding with regard to admission into the 
Massachusetts Medical Society, 
Resolved, By the Councillors, with the concurrence of the 
Society:— 
That the only courses of lectures recognized are those of 
regularly-organized medical colleges empowered to confer the 
degree of M.D.,—courses embracing the several branches enume- 
rated in By-law I.; 
That tickets or diplomas of Botanic, Eclectic or Homoeopathic 
colleges, or of colleges devoted to any peculiar or exclusive system 
of medicine, are considered irregular, and will not be recognized 
under any circumstances; 
And, That certificates from teachers who practise any peculiar 
or exclusive system of medicine, who advertise, or who violate in 
any way the code of ethics adopted by the profession in this 
State, will not be taken, even though the teacher himself be a 
regular graduate in medicine. (Councillors’ Proceedings, Oct. 7, 
1874; Society’s Proceedings, Oct. 7, 1874.) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. 
HOW TO DISPOSE OF THEM. 
When a committee is ready to report, the first question is whether 
the assembly will receive the report. 
If the assembly, either by formal vote, or by tacit consent, permits 
a report to be read, the report by such permission is received, and goes 
to the clerk for his files, that is to say, in parliamentary language, lies 
on the table. 
The committee, by the reading of the report, is dissolved and dis- 
charged; and cannot again act without new power from the assembly. 
The report having been received, as above indicated, lies on the 
table, and the matter may end at this point without further action be- 
ing taken, or a word said. 
But if the assembly wishes to discuss, or take action on, any part or 
the Avhole of a report, it can do so as soon as the report is read, or at 
any subsequent time, upon motion properly seconded. 
Whenever a report, or any part of it, is thus taken up, it may be 
treated and disposed of precisely as any other proposition—it may be 
allowed to stand as it came from the committee, or it may be amended 
in its statement, reasoning, opinion, or in its resolutions or other propo- 
sitions, if it contain such—any portion being taken separately, several 
portions together, or the whole at once. 
In whatever way the report be treated, the final question on any por- 
tion, or on the whole, as the case may be, is on acceptance, and “ when 
accepted it is adopted ” (Cushing, p. 151, §295) by the assembly, and 
becomes the statement, reasoning, opinion, resolution, or other act, as 
the case may be, of the assembly, the same as it would have been had 
it originated in the assembly itself without the intervention of a 
committee. 
(Though the question may be properly put on acceptance of a state- 
ment of facts, reasoning, or opinion ; on agreeing to resolutions or other 
similar propositions ; on adopting the order, or on passing or coming to 
the vote recommended, &c ; all these phrases are only equivalent to 
acceptance, which comprehends them all.) 
Tlie points then always to be remembered are, that a report is re- 
ceived by being allowed to be read ; and that the whole, or any part of 
it, when accepted is adopted. 
If the above exposition, strictly in accordance with Cushing and cor- 
rect parliamentary usage, were constantly kept in mind by presiding 
officers, the deliberations of our societies would be greatly facilitated 
and much confusion avoided. PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS IN ORDER 
WHEN A QUESTION IS UNDER DEBATE. 
[Cushing.] 
1.—To adjourn. 
2.—To lie on the table. 
3.—The previous question. 
4.—To postpone to a day certain. 
5.—To commit. 
6.—To amend. 
7.—To postpone indefinitely. 
8.—The main question.