wards. 1821, c. 110, § 2. § 1. council, and they are empowered during the year 1860, and whenever thereafterwards they may 1850, c. 167, deem it expedient, not oftener than once in ten years, to cause a new division of the city to be made into twelve wards, in such manner as to inAmended clude an equal number of voters in each ward, as nearly as conveniently may be, consistently with well-defined limits to each ward; and, until such division be made, the boundary lines of the wards shall remain as now established.'] 1865, c. 7. Annual meeting for cers. 1854, c. 39. SECT. 4. The annual meeting of citizens, for the election the election of municipal officers hereinafter menof city offi- tioned, shall be held on the second Monday of 1851, c. 167. December, and the citizens of said city qualified 1824, c. 49. to vote in city affairs shall for the purpose of such election then meet together within the wards in which they respectively reside, at such hour and place as the board of aldermen may by their warrant direct and appoint; and the person receiving the highest number of votes for any office shall be deemed and declared to be elected to such office; and, whenever two or more persons are to be elected to the same office, the several persons, to the number required to be chosen, having the highest number of votes, shall be declared elected. Certificates of election SECT. 5. Every person so chosen in any ward shall, within forty-eight hours of his election, be 1887, c. 240. furnished by the clerk with a certificate thereof, to be furnished. 1 By the annexation of Roxbury, the number of wards was increased to fifteen. And by the annexation of Dorchester, the number was again increased to sixteen. Sts. 1867, c. 359, § 7; 1869, c. 349, § 5. signed by the warden, clerk, and a majority of 1867, c. 240. the inspectors, which certificate shall be presumptive evidence of the title of such person to the office therein mentioned. ment of mu § 2. ward offi SECT. 6. The municipal officers to be chosen Commenceat the annual election shall enter upon the duties nicipal year. of their respective offices on the first Monday of 1924, c. 49, January. SECT. 7. The qualified voters of said city shall, Election of at the annual meeting, choose by ballot one war- cers. den and one clerk and five inspectors of elections for each ward, who shall be resident in said ward, and who shall hold their offices for one year and until others shall be chosen and qualified in their stead. cers to be sworn.. 1821, c. 110, § 3. SECT. 8. The ward officers mentioned in the Ward offipreceding section shall respectively make oath faithfully and impartially to discharge their several duties, which oath may be administered by the clerk of such ward to the warden, and by the latter to the clerk and inspectors, or to all of said officers by any justice of the peace for the county of Suffolk; and a certificate thereof shall be entered in the record, to be kept by the clerk of the ward. tion of ward SECT. 9. In case of the non-election of any Non-elecward officer at the annual meeting, adjournments officers. may be had for the purpose of effecting such election, in the same manner as is hereinafter provided with regard to the election of members of the common council. SECT. 10. In case of the absence of any ward Absence o ward offi. cers. officer at any ward meeting, such officer may be 1821, c. 110, chosen pro tempore, by hand vote, and shall have all the powers, and be subject to all the duties of the regular officer at such meeting. § 3. 1845, c. 217, § 3. Power and duty of war den. Duties of ward clerk. § 3. SECT. 11. It shall be the duty of the warden to preside at all ward meetings, with the powers of moderators of town meetings. In case of his absence, the clerk, and, in case of the absence of the clerk, any inspector, shall preside, according to seniority, until a warden shall be chosen, as provided in the preceding section. SECT. 12. It shall be the duty of the clerk to 1821, c. 110, make a fair and true record, and to keep an exact journal of all the acts and votes of citizens at the ward meetings, and to deliver over such records and journals, together with other documents and papers held by him in his said capacity, to his successor in office. Duties of warden and SECT. 13. It shall be the duty of the warden inspectors. and inspectors of each ward to receive, sort, and count, and of the warden to declare, all votes at any election within such ward. 1821, c. 110, § 3. Duties of ward offi cers at all elections. § 3. SECT. 14. It shall be the duty of all ward offjcers, authorized to preside and act at elections of 1845, 0.217, city officers, to attend and perform their respective duties at the times and places appointed for elections of any officers, whether of the United States, state, city, or wards, and to make and sign the regular returns of the same. Election of mayor. SECT. 15. The qualified voters of said city 1821, c. 110, shall, at the annual meeting, be called upon to give in their votes for one able and discreet person, § 5. c. 7, § 14. being an inhabitant of the city, to be mayor of See G. S. said city for the term of one year. All the ballots so given in, in each ward, being sorted, counted, and declared, shall be recorded at large by the clerk in open ward meeting; and, in making such declaration and record, the whole number of votes or ballots given in shall be distinctly stated, together with the name of every person voted for, and the number of votes given for each person respectively, such numbers to be expressed in words at length; and a transcript of such record, certified and authenticated by the warden, clerk, and a majority of the inspectors of elections for each ward, shall forthwith be transmitted or delivered by such ward clerk to the clerk of the city. It shall be the duty of the city clerk forthwith to enter such returns, or a plain intelligible abstract of them, as they are successively received, upon the journal of the proceedings of the board of aldermen, or some other book to be kept for that purpose. aldermen to examine returns of votes for 1821, c. 110, 1830, c. 7, § 2. SECT. 16. The board of aldermen shall, as Board of soon as conveniently may be, within three days of such election, meet together and examine all the said returns, and they shall cause the person who mayor. may have been elected mayor to be notified in $5. writing of his election; but, if it shall appear by said returns that no person has been elected, or if the person elected shall refuse to accept the office, the board shall issue their warrants for a new election, and the same proceedings shall be had as are provided in the preceding section for the Proceedings in case of no choice of mayor be fore the choice of a mayor, and repeated from time to time until a mayor shall be chosen. SECT. 17. Whenever, on examination by the board of aldermen of the returns of votes given for mayor at the meetings of the wards, holden for the purpose of electing that officer, last premunicipal ceding the first Monday of January in each year, 1830, c.7, §1. no person shall appear to be chosen, the board of commence ment of the year. Proceedings in case no mayor is aldermen, by whom such examination is made, shall make a record of that fact, an attested copy of which record it shall be the duty of the city clerk to produce and read, on the first Monday of January, in the presence of the members returned to serve as aldermen and common councilmen; and the oaths prescribed by law may be administered to the members elect. The members of the board of aldermen shall thereupon proceed to elect a chairman, and the common council a president, in their respective chambers; and being respectively organized, they shall proceed to business in the manner hereinafter provided, in case of the absence of the mayor; and the board of aldermen shall forthwith issue their warrants for meetings of the citizens of the respective wards, for the choice of a mayor, at such time and place as they shall judge most convenient; and the same proceeding shall be had in all respects as are. hereinbefore directed, and shall be repeated from time to time, until a mayor shall be duly chosen. SECT. 18. Whenever it shall appear, by the regular returns of the elections of city officers, ull board of that a mayor has not been chosen, or that a full chosen, or a |