W WOT Wk 
AN ORDINANCE prescribing Rules and Regulations relative to nui- 
sances, sources of filth, and causes of sickness within City of Boston. 
Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the Mayor, Aidermen and Common 
Council of the City of Boston, in City Council assembled, That 
the department of internal and external police, as far as it re- 
gards the preservation of the health oY the City, be placed 
under the superintendence of the City Marshal ; whose duty 
it shall be, and he shall have the power, to carry into execu- 
tion, all the ordinances, rules and laws made by the City 
Council, relative to causes of sickness, nuisances, and sources 
of filth that may be injurious to the health, or may affect the 
comfort of the City, which do or may exist within the limits 
thereof ; subject always to the direction, authority and control 
of the Mayor and Aidermen ; and it shall be the duty of the 
City Marshal to cause all such nuisances, sources of filth, 
and causes of sicknes, to be prevented, removed, or destroyed, 
as the case may require, conformably to the ordinances of the 
City Council, as aforesaid, and the laws of the Commonwealth; 
and to this department shall belong the care of the streets, the 
care of the common sewers, and the care of the vaults, and 
whatever else affects the health, security, and comfort of the 
City, from causes or means arising or existing within the 
limits thereof. 
Sec. 2. Be it further ordained, That in the month of May 
or June annually, there shall be appointed, by concurrent vote 
of the City Council, five consulting Physicians, whose duty it 
shall be in case of an alarm of any contagious, infectious, or 
other dangerous disease occurring in the City or neighbor- 
hood, to give to the Mayor or either Board of the City Council 
all such professional advice and information as they may re- 
quest, with a view to the prevention of the said diseases, and at 2 
all convenient times to aid and assist them with their counsel 
and advice in all matters that relate to the preservation of the 
health of the inhabitants. 
Sec. 3. lie it further ordained, That the Mayor and Aider- 
men shall have power to remove or cause to be removed from 
any dwelling house or other place within said City, any person 
or persons, sick with any contagious or infectious disease, or 
any person who may have been exposed to such contagious or 
infectious disease, to any hospital or place within the City, or 
to any island within the harbor, proper for the reception of" 
such sick and exposed persons ; Provided a majority of the 
consulting Physicians shall give their opinion in writing, to 
said Mayor and Aidermen, that such removal is necessary and 
expedient, for the safety of the inhabitants. And in case any 
person sick with such contagious or infectious disease, in any 
house or other place within said City, cannot in the opinion 
of said Physicians, be removed, then the Mayor and Aider- 
men shall have power to cause any house or tenement conti- 
guous thereto, to be vacated, by the removal of the occupants 
thereof, for such time as said Physicians or a majority of 
them shall think expedient, and the safety of the inhabitants 
may require. 
Sec. 4. Be it further ordained, That each and every tene- 
ment within the Cityof Boston, that is, or may hereafter be 
used as a dwelling house, shall be furnished with a sufficient 
drain under ground, to carry off the waste water, and also 
with a suitable privy, the vault of which shall be sunk under 
ground, and be built in the manner hereinafter prescribed ; 
and of sufficient capacity in proportion to the number of in- 
habitants of such tenement-which privy and vault and drain 
shall be in common and subject to the use of all said inhabit- 
ants 
Sec. 5, Be it further ordained, That for any offence against 
the provisions of the foregoing section, the owner or owners 
of each and every tenement so used, as aforesaid, shall 
forfeit and pay a sum not less than five dollars nor more 
than twenty dollars, for each and every week during which 
said tenement or any part thereof shall be used as a dwelling 
house. 
Sec. G. Be it further ordained, That if the Mayor and Ai- 
dermen shall at any time be satisfied that any tenement used 
as a dwelling house, is not provided with a suitable privy and 
vault and drain or either of them as aforesaid, they may give 
notice in writing to the owner thereof or his agent, if either be 
an inhabitant of the City, or if otherwise, public notice in two 
newspapers printed in Boston, requiring such owner or agent, 
within such time as they shall appoint, to cause a proper and 
sufficient privy and vault and drain to be constructed for such 
tenement, to be common and subject to the use of all the in- 3 
habitants thereof; and in case of neglect or refusal to obey 
such notice, the Mayor and Aldermen shall have power to 
cause such privy and vault and drain to be made for such 
tenement, the expense of which shall be paid by such owner or 
agent. 
Sec. 7. Be it further ordained, That whenever upon due 
examination it shall appear to the Mayor and Aidermen, that 
the number of persons occupying any tenement or building in 
the City is so great as to be the cause of nuisances and sick- 
ness, and the source of filth ; or that any tenements or build- 
ings are not furnished with vaults constructed according to the 
provisions of this ordinance, and sufficient privies and drains, 
under ground, for waste water ; it shall be the duty of the 
Mayor and Aidermen, and they are hereby authorised and 
empowered to remove such persons or occupants, or any of 
them, from such tenement or building. And the Mayor and 
Aidermen shall thereupon issue their notice, in writing, to 
such persons or any of them, requiring them to remove from 
and quit such tenement or building within such time as the 
Mayor and Aidermen shall deem reasonable. And if the per- 
son or persons so notified, or any of them, shall neglect or 
refuse to remove from and quit such tenement or building 
within the time mentioned in such notice, the Mayor and Ai- 
dermen are hereby authorized and empowered, thereupon for- 
cibly to remove such person or persons from the same. 
Sec. 8. Be it further ordained, That all the vaults and 
privies shall be so constructed that the inside of the same shall 
be at least two feet distant from the line of every adjoining lot, 
unless the owner of said adjoining lot shall otherwise agree and 
consent, and also from every street, lane, alley, court, square 
or public place, or public or private passage way ; that there 
shall be no communication between any vault or privy and any 
common sewer or drain, by which the solid contents of such 
vault or privy can pass into said sewer or drain ; that every 
vault shall be made tight so that the contents thereof cannot 
escape therefrom ; and that said contents shall never be within 
two feet of the surface of the earth : Provided, however, that 
the Mayor and Aidermen are hereby authorized to permit, 
under such restrictions as they shall deem expedient, the con- 
struction of sufficient passage ways or conduits under ground, 
for the purpose of conveying the fluid contents of any of the 
vaults aforesaid into a common sewer or drain. 
That whenever any vault or privy shall become offensive to 
any inhabitants, the same shall be cleansed-And the owner, 
oY his agent, or the occupant of the land, in which any vault 
or privy may be situated, the state and condition of which shall 
be in violation of the provisions of this ordinance, shall remove, 
cleanse, alter, amend, or repair the same within a reasonable 
time after notice in writing to that effect, given by the Mayor, 4 
any Aiderman, the City Marshal, or the Commissioner of 
Health. And in case of neglect or refusal, the same shall be 
performed by the orders of the Mayor and Aldermen, at the 
expense of the owner, agent, or occupant aforesaid. 
Sec. 9. Be it further ordained, That no vault or privy shall 
be emptied, without a permit from the City Marshal, or his 
deputy ; nor in any other mode, or at any other time, than he 
shall direct and appoint, conformable to such regulations as 
the Mayor and Aidermen, from time to time shall make on the 
subject. And no vault shall be opened between the fifteenth 
day of June, and the fifteenth day of September, in each year 
unless on inspection caused to be made, the Mayor and Alder' 
men shall be satisfied that the same is absolutely necessary 
for the health or comfort of the inhabitants. And in such 
case, no more of such contents shall be taken away, than shall 
be deemed absolutely necessary for present safety and relief, 
and with such precautions relative to the preventing of any 
offensive effluvia, as the Mayor and Aidermen shall direct ; 
all the expenses of which shall be borne by such owner, 
agent, or occupant, and which shall never be less than double 
the amount charged during any other month in the year. 
Sec. 10. Be it further ordained, That all waste water shall 
be conveyed through sufficient drains under ground, to a com- 
mon sewer, or to such reservoir, sunk under ground, as shall 
be approved by the City Marshal. And no person shall 
suffer any waste or stagnant water to remain in any cellar or 
upon any lot or vacant ground by him owmed or occupied. 
Sec. 11. Be it further ordained, That whenever it shall 
appear to the Mayor and Aidermen, that any cellars, lots or 
vacant grounds are in a state of nuisance, or so situated that 
they may become a nuisance, and the health of the inhabitants 
be endangered, it shall be their duty and they are authorized 
to cause a notice in writing to be served upon the owners or 
occupants thereof, and if there should be no occupants and the 
owners should not reside in the City, then to give public no- 
tice by advertising in two of the newspapers printed in said 
City, directing said owners or occupants to have said nuisance 
or cause of nuisance removed, by draining, filling up, or oth- 
erwise, in the manner as may be prescribed in such notice ; 
and in case of neglect or refusal to obey said notice, the Mayor 
and Aidermen shall have power to remove the same by filling 
up, draining or otherwise, as they shall deem expedient, and 
said owners or occupants shall defray and pay the expense 
thereof. 
Sec. 12. Be it further ordained, That all house offal, whether 
consisting of animal or vegetable substance, shall be deposited 
in convenient vessels, and be kept in some convenient place, 
to be taken away by the City scavengei s, which shall be done 5 
not less than twice in each week, and as much oftener as the 
Mayor and Aidermen shall direct. 
Sec. 13. Be it further ordained, That no person shall re- 
move or carry through any of the streets, squares, lanes or 
alleys of this City, any house dirt, offal or animal or vegetable 
substances from any of the dwelling houses or other places, in 
any cart or other vehicle, unless such person so removing the 
same, together with the cart or other vehicle in which the 
same shall be carried, shall be duly licensed for that purpose 
by the Mayor and Aidermen, upon such terms and conditions 
as the Mayor and Aidermen shall deem the health and interest 
of the City require. 
Sec. 14. Be it further ordained, That no person or persons, 
unless duly licensed by the Mayor and Aidermen, shall throw 
or deposit, or cause to be thrown or deposited in any street, 
court, square, lane, alley, public square or vacant lot, or into 
any pond, any dirt, sawdust, soot, ashes, cinders, shavings, 
hair, shreds, manure, oyster or lobster shells, waste water, 
rubbish or filth of any kind, or any animal or vegetable matter 
or substance whatever. Nor shall any person or persons 
throw or cast any dead animal, or any foul or offensive ballast, 
in any dock or place, between the channel and the shore. 
Nor shall any person land any such foul or offensive animal 
or vegetable substance within the City. Nor shall any person 
cast any dead animal into the channel without securing thereto 
a sufficient weight to prevent it from floating. 
Sec. 15. Be it further ordained, That if any of the sub- 
stances in the preceding section mentioned, shall be thrown or 
carried from any house, ware-house, shop, cellar, yard, or 
other place, into any street, lane, alley, court, square, public 
place, or vacant lot, as well the owner of such house, or other 
place, whence the same shall have been thrown or carried, as 
the occupant thereof, and the person who actually threw and 
carried the same, shall severally be held liable for such viola- 
tion of this ordinance ; and all such substances shall be remo- 
ved from any street, lane, alley, court, square, public place, or 
vacant lot, by and at the expense of the owner or occupant of 
the house, or other place whence the same were thrown or 
carried, within two hours after personal notice in writing to 
that effect, given by the Mayor and Aidermen, the City Mar- 
shal or Commissioner of Health. 
Sec. 16. Be it further ordained, That all dirt, sawdust, 
soot, ashes, cinders, shavings, hair, shreds, manure, oyster or 
lobster shells, waste water, or any animal or vegetable sub- 
stance, rubbish or filth of any kind, in any house, ware-house, 
cellar, yard, or other place, which the Mayor and Aidermen, 
or City Marshal shall deem it necessary for the health of the 
City to be removed, shall be carried away therefrom by and 
at the expense of the owner or occupant of such house or other 6 
place, where the same shall be found, and be removed to such 
place as he shall be directed within four hours after notice in 
writing to that effect, given by the Mayor, any Aidermen, the 
City Marshal or Commissioner of Health. 
Sec. 17. lie it further ordained, That no person shall sell 
or offer for sale, or have in his possession in any of the public 
or private markets, or in any other place, any unwholesome, 
stale or putrid meat, fish or fruit, or other article of provisions; 
or any meat which has been blown, raised or stuffed ; or any 
diseased or measly pork. 
Sec. 18. Be it further ordained, That no person shall bring 
into the City for sale, nor shall sell, nor offer for sale, any 
halibut, cod, haddock, or mackerel until the same shall be 
cleansed of their entrails and refuse parts, which shall be 
thrown overboard below low water mark, or be kept on board 
the vessels or boats in which the fish were brought, in a safe 
manner, and be removed below low water mark at every flow- 
ing of the tide, And that no person shall sell, nor offer for 
sale in the City, 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. And no person shall 
sell and deliver from any stall, fish box, cart or other place, 
any fish of any kind, except salmon and shad, and also floun- 
ders, smelts, and other small fish, until the same shall have 
been cleansed of their entrails and refuse part, which shall be 
kept in some tight vessel, and be removed below low water 
mark at least once every day. 
Sec. 19. Be it further ordained, That no person shall sell 
or offer for sale, fish, lobsters, oysters, or shell fish of any 
kind, in Market Square, Merchant's Row, South Market- 
street, North Market-street, or the street running from Long 
Wharf to Clinton-street, or in the part of Washington-street 
between Hayward Place and Kneeland-street, those parts of 
Kneeland, Beach, and Essex-streets, between Front and 
Washington-streets, nor in those parts of Boylston and Eliot- 
streets, between Tremont and Washington-streets, except by 
permission of the Mayor and Aidermen, and on such condi- 
tions as they shall order. 
Sec. 20. Be it further ordained, That no person hereafter 
shall bring into the City, or have in his possession for sale, or 
shall sell or offer for sale within the City, any vegetables 
whatever, (excepting green peas in the pods, 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- 
and that no person shall have such parts or appendages in his 
possession, in any public or private market, or in any other 
place, cart, or vehicle in said City, used or occupied for the 
sale of vegetable or other articles of food. 7 
Sec. 21. Be it further ordained, That no swine or goats 
shall be kept within the limits of the City, without the license 
of the Mayor and Aidermen, and in such manner as they shall 
direct. 
Sec. 22. Be it further ordained, That the owners and oc- 
cupants of Livery and other stables within the city, shall not 
wash or clean their carriages or horses, or cause them to be 
washed or cleaned in the streets, or public ways, nor other- 
wise encumber the same ; they shall keep their stables and 
stable yards clean, and shall not permit more than two cart 
loads of manure to accumulate and remain in or near the same, 
at any one time between the first day of May and the first day 
of November ; nor shall they within that period remove 
any manure, nor cause or suffer the same to be removed, ex- 
cept between the hours of twelve at night and two hours after 
sunrise. 
Sec. 23. Be it further ordained, That no person shall land 
on any wharf or other place or shall otherwise bring into the 
City, any damaged grain, rice or coffee without a permit 
therefor from the Mayor and Aidermen, and in such manner 
as they shall direct. 
Sec. 24. Be it farther ordained, That whenever any person 
shall have been duly notified to remove any nuisance, or to 
cleanse alter or amend any vault, or drain, or to perform any 
other act or thing which it may be his duty to perform, in obe- 
dience to the laws of the Commonwealth, or the rules, orders, 
regulations, by-laws or ordinances for the preservation of the 
health of the City, which are now, or which hereafter shall be 
made by lawful authority, and the time lim'ted to the perform- 
ance of such duty shall have elapsed, without a compliance 
with such notice, the City Marshal shall issue new notices 
from time to time, to such delinquents, until the duty shall be 
executed, and the nuisance remedied or removed. And the 
Mayor shall cause all persons who shall violate or disobey the 
said health laws and regulations, to be forthwith prosecuted 
and punished. And in case, in the opinion of the Mayor and 
Aiderman, it shall be for the health and comfort of the inhab- 
itants that any particular nuisance should be forthwith remov- 
ed, and without delay, it shall be their duty to cause the same 
to be removed accordingly, at the expense of the owner or 
owners of the land upon which said nuisance exists. 
Sec. 25. Be it further ordained, That the City Marshal, 
or his deputy, or any person authorized by the Mayor for that 
purpose, shall and may at any time between sunrise and sun- 
set, enter into any building within the City for the purpose of 
oxamining into, destroying, removing or preventing any nui- 
sance, source of filth, or cause of sickness therein; or in any 
cellar belonging thereto. And if any person shall refuse to 
.admit such officer, or other person so authorized, into said 8 
building, the City Marshal shall on oath, complain to the Jus- 
tices of the Police Court, and shall apply for their warrant, 
according to the statute in such cases made and provided, and 
shall thereupon proceed, under the authority of said Court, to 
examine such building or other place, and to destroy, remove, 
or prevent any nuisances, source of filth, or cause of sickness, 
that may be found there, in such manner as the Mayor and 
Aidermen shall direct. And the said City Marshall, or his 
deputy, or any person authorized as aforesaid, shall, and may 
at any time between sunrise and sunset, enter into any yard or 
lot of ground, or into any out house, and examine any alley, 
sink, sess-pool, privy, vault, public or private dock, or slip 
drain, or sewer, and shall report to the Mayor and Aidermen 
all such as the health, or security of the City may require to 
be cleansed, altered, or amended. 
Sec. 26. Be it further ordained, That any person offending 
against any of the provisions of this Ordinance, shall forfeit 
and pay a sum not less than three or more than twenty dollars, 
to be recovered by complaint before the Justices of the Police 
Court, and in addition thereto, shall be liable to all the penal- 
ties provided by " An act of the Commonwealth to empower 
the Town of Boston to choose a Board of Health, and to pre- 
scribe their power and duty," and also, "An act concerning 
the regulation of the House of Correction in the City of Bos- 
ton, and concerning the form of actions commenced under the 
By-Laws of said City, and for filling vacancies in the Board, 
of Aidermen." 
Sec. 27. Be it further ordained, That " An Ordinance pre- 
scribing Rules and Regulations relative to nuisances, sources 
of filth, and causes of sickness within the City of Boston," and 
li An ordinance in addition thereto," " An ordinance regulat- 
ing the removal of house offal in the City of Boston," " An 
ordinance regulating the sale of fresh fish," " An ordinance for 
the regulation of the sale of fish within certain streets and 
squares," " An ordinance to prevent the sale of unwholesome 
provisions," " An ordinance for the preservation of the health 
of the City," " An ordinance to prevent the bringing unwhole- 
some or useless vegetable substances into the City," and " the 
several ordinances in addition thereto," and all other ordinan- 
ces or parts of ordinances inconsistent with, or repugnant to 
this, are hereby repealed. 
In Common Council, October 5, 1833. 
Passed. JOHN P. BIGELOW, President. 
In the Board of Aidermen, October 7, 1833. 
Passed. CHARLES WELLS, Mayor.