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son of good repute, and who is a skilful judge of the quality of flour, to be inspector of flour at each of the places aforesaid. In case of the death of any person so appointed, or his refusal or neglect to act, the justices of the said counties respectively, or any three of them, shall, as soon as conveniently may be thereafter, meet together and appoint some other person in the room of the one so dead or refusing or neglecting to act, who shall execute the duties of his office until the next court held for the county where such vacancy may have happened; and at such court the justices shall appoint, in manner before directed, some person to be inspector of flour for the residue of the year. It any of the said courts shall neglect to appoint such inspectors at the times directed by this act, the governor, with the advice of the council, may supply such vacancy; and the person so appointed, having taken the oath herein after mentioned before a justice of the peace, shall continue in office during the same time, and have the same power and authority, as if he had Flour, how been appointed by the court of the county. All boltmanufactured wheat flour and every cask thereof brought to any of the places before mentioned for exportation, from and after the first day of March next, shall be made by the miller or manufacturer thereof, merchantable and of due fineness, and without any mixture of coarser Size of barrel flour, or the flour of any other grain than wheat. All bread and flour casks which shall be brought to any of the places before mentioned for exportation, after the first day of March next, shall be well made of good seasoned materials, tightened with ten hoops, sufficiently nailed with four nails in each chine hoop, and three nails in each upper bilge hoop; and the flour barrels shall be of the following dimensions, to wit, the staves shall be twenty-seven inches in length, and the head seventeen inches and an half in diameter.— Every miller of flour and baker of bread for exportation, shall provide and keep a distinguishable brand mark, with which he shall brand every cask of flour and bread, and mark thereon the tare and nett weight, before the same shall be removed from the place where it was bolted or baked, under the penalty of two shillings and sixpence for every barrel of flour not hooped and nailed as aforesaid, and for every cask of flour or bread so removed and not branded and marked as

Brands.

aforesaid, to be recovered from such miller or baker who shall neglect to comply with the directions of this act, or from the person who brings such flour or bread to any of the places aforesaid for sale; and in case the penalty aforesaid shall be recovered from the person bringing the said bread or flour for sale, such person shall and may recover the same from the miller, baker, or bolter from whom such flour or bread was purchased or received; provided it appears that he gave notice to such miller, baker, or bolter, that he intended to carry the same to one of the places before mentioned for sale or exportation, and that he requested such baker, miller, or bolter to secure and brand the said barrels. Every miller and bolter shall put into each cask the Contents of full quantity of one hundred and ninety-six pounds of barrels. flour; and if any one of them shall put a smaller quantity of flour into any cask than is directed by this act, he shall forfeit for the deficiency of every pound under three, sixpence, and for the deficiency of every pound more than three, one shilling. All casks wherein bread Tare. shall be packed, shall be weighed and the tare marked thereon; and if any person shall put a false or wrong tare on any cask of bread, to the disadvantage of the purchaser, he or she shall forfeit for every cask so falsely tared, five shillings; and the inspector, or his assistants, upon suspicion or at the request of the purchasers, shall, and he is hereby required to unpack any cask of flour or bread, and if there shall be a lesser quantity of flour than is above directed, or if the cask wherein bread is packed shall be found to weigh more than is marked thereon, the miller, baker, or bolter, as the case may be, shall pay the charges of unpacking and repacking over and above the penalties aforesaid, but otherwise the said charges shall be paid by the inspector or by the purchaser, if the trial be made at his request. Every occupier of a mill who shall grind and manufacture wheat into flour and pack the same in barrels, shall make out, subscribe, and deliver to the person authorised and empowered to carry away the said flour, a manifest of the gross, tare and nett weight of such flour, and if he shall neglect or refuse so to do, he shall forfeit and pay five shillings for every barrel of flour delivered without such manifest. Every baker of bread for exportation shall deliver with the said exportation. bread a manifest of the contents thereof with his brand

Manifests.

Bread, for

Degrees of flour to be branded on

mark thereon, and his name subscribed thereto, under the penalty of forty shillings for every manifest delivered contrary thereto; and if any cask of bread be found lighter upon trial than is set down in the manifest, he shall forfeit for every pound deficient in the same proportion, as is heretofore directed as to flour. Every cask of flour brought to any of the places beforementioned, to be from thence laden and shipped for exportation, shall be submitted to the view and examination of the inspectors at such place, who shall inspect and try the same by boring through the head with an instrument not exceeding half an inch in diameter to be by him provided for that purpose; and if he shall judge that the same is well packed, and merchantable according to the directions of this act, he shall plug up the whole, and brand the cask in the quarter with the name of the place at which he is inspector with a public brand-mark to be provided for that purpose, and shall also brand and mark the degree of fineness which he shall on inspection, determine the said flour to be of, which degree shall be distinguished as follows, to wit: Superfine, fine, middling, shipstuff, for which trouble the inspector shall have and receive of the owner of such flour the sum of two pence, and no more for each cask. No inspector shall pass any flour which shall prove on examination to be unmerchantable according to the true intent and meaning of this act; but shall cause the same to be marked on the bilge with the word condemned, or secure it for a further examination if required, which examination the owner shall procure to be made within twenty days, and the inspector shall and may demand and receive from the owner or own-ers thereof, the same rate and prices as if the same had Appeal from been passed. When any person shall think himself inspectors. aggrieved by the judgment, or want of skill in an inspector in rejecting flour as unmerchantable, it shall be lawful for such person to apply to a justice of the peace, who shall, at the charge of the complainant, issue a warrant, directed to three indifferent persons well skilled in the manufacture of flour to view and examine the same, which said three persons, having taken the same oath, or affirmation, as by this act is herein after directed to be taken by every inspector of flour, shall carefully view and examine the same, and if they or any two of them, shall pass and declare the

barrels. Inspectors'

fees.

same to be merchantable; in such case the inspector
shall erase out the word condemned, and put such Review.
brand on the said flour as they or any two of them
shall direct, and shall repay to the complainant his
costs; but if on such review the judgment of the in-
spector shall be confirmed, in such case the owner of
the flour shall pay the cost of such review; and the
said inspector for his trouble shall and may receive
twopence for each cask by him received in case his
judgment shall be confirmed. It shall not be lawful

for any person to export, or lade on board of any ship
or vessel for exportation out of this state any cask of
flour marked condemned by an inspector, or to export
or lade on board of any ship or vessel for exportation
from any port or place within the state any casks or
barrels of flour not inspected and branded as aforesaid,
on pain of forfeiting fifty shillings for every cask or
barrel exported or laden on board of any ship or ves-
sel for exportation.

tide water.

Oath of in.

III. Provided nevertheless, That where any mill for Attendance the manufacturing of flour shall be situated on naviga- at Mills on ble water, below the falls, it shall be lawful for the owner of such mill to require the inspector of flour who resides the nearest thereto, to attend and inspect the flour manufactured by him; and the inspector, or his deputy, is hereby required to inspect and brand all such flour in the same manner, as if such flour had been carried to the place at which he is inspector, and the proprietor may thereupon export the same in like manner, as if it had been inspected at any of the before-mentioned places. Every inspector of flour, before he enters on the execution of his office, shall make oath or affirmation" that he will, without favour, af- spectors. fection, malice, or partiality, carefully inspect all flour brought to him and which he shall be required to examine; that no flour shall be passed or branded by him without his inspecting the same; that he will not brand or cause to be branded, as passed, any cask or casks of flour that do not appear to him to the best of his skill and judgment, to be sufficiently clean, sweet, and merchantable; that he will mark on all casks of flour the degree thereof, according to the directions of this act; that he will carefully examine the casks in which flour brought for inspection shall be contained, and that he will not pass or brand any such casks, unless

flour

they be of such size, goodness, and thickness, as by this act, required." No inspector of flour shall directly Inspectors or indirectly purchase any flour by him condemned nor not to deal in any other flour whatsoever, other than for his own use, under the penalty of forty shillings for every barrel by Penalty for him purchased. If any person shall alter the mark altering stamped on any cask of flour by an inspector, or shall brand, &c. mark or brand any cask of flour which has not been inspected with any mark or brand similar to, or in imitation of, an inspectors mark or brand, or, after an inspector shall have passed any cask of flour as merchantable, shall pack into such cask any other flour, or, after any cask of flour shall be branded condemned, shall unpack and repack the same in other casks for exportation, such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of forty shillings for every cask. If the quantity of flour which shall be brought to any of the beforementioned places for inspection shall at any time be so great that the inspector cannot alone examine the same with sufficient dispatch, or, if through sickness, the inspector Assistant in shall be incapable of discharging the duties of his of

spectors.

fice, on such occasions it shall be lawful for him to appoint one or more persons of good repute and good judges of the quality of flour to assist him in the execution of his office. Such assistants having taken the oath or affirmation prescribed by this act to be taken by an inspector shall be authorized to inspect and brand any flour in the same manner as the inspector Inspectors, may do. The courts of the several counties in which how remov. the beforementioned places are situated may at any

ed.

time remove from office any inspector of flour for neglect of duty, malfeasance, or corrupt practices, and may supply the vacancy occasioned thereby by appointing another inspector for the residue of the year. The penalties and forfeitures imposed by this act may be recovered by the informer before a single magistrate where the penalty does not exceed twenty-five shillings, and where it doth exceed that sum in any court of record within this state, one half to the use of the informer, and the other to the use of the commonwealth. So much of every act of assembly as comes within the purview of this act, shall be, and is hereby repealed.

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