Among the items donated to the Tiverton Historical Society was a box of various documents once owned by Job Wordell (1820-1907), who held most of the town offices, including Town Council. He was also the agent for the Town Asylum (aka Town Farm) and Treasurer for the Tiverton and Little Compton Mutual Fire Insurance Company. One interesting document is a small paper book of legislative Acts that were passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1879. Although the cover and first two pages are missing, the rest, from Chapters 730 to 775 (each Chapter is a different Act) give an insight into the culture of that period.
Some of those which might be considered unusual by today’s standards include Acts regarding taxes on bowling alleys, billiard tables, and shooting galleries; penalties for taking oysters between certain dates; what not to feed swine; penalties for throwing things into public waters; penalties for killing certain game birds; granting free peddling licenses for disabled soldiers and sailors; and waters not to be let by oyster commissioners. These are incorporated in this article; all grammar is per the book.
CHAPTER 733: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF TITLE XIV, CHAPTER 81, SECTION 8, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, “OF BOWLING ALLEYS, BILLIARD TABLES AND SHOOTING GALLERIES.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 8 of Chapter 81, of the General Statutes, is hereby amended so that it shall read as follows:
“SEC. 8. The town council of each town shall assess, levy and collect a tax not exceeding five hundred dollars per annum, on every person who shall own or keep a billiard table for public use and profit in such town, for each billiard table by him kept; and a tax not exceeding twenty-five dollars, nor less than five dollars per annum, on every person who shall own or keep a bowling alley in such town, except in the city of Providence, for each bowling alley by him kept; and a tax, not exceeding two hundred dollars per annum, on every person who shall own or keep a bowling alley in said city of Providence, for each bowling alley by him kept; and a tax, not exceeding two hundred dollars per annum, on every person who shall own or keep a pistol gallery, rifle gallery or other building or enclosure referred to in the second section of this chapter.”
SEC. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
SEC. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
CHAPTER 750: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 72, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, “OF NUISANCES.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. No swine, or animal of the hog kind, shall be kept in any town in this state, to be fed on swill, offal or other decaying substances, brought from any other town or city, but at a place in such town to be designated by the town council thereof.
SEC. 2. Any person violating this act shall be subjected to the penalty prescribed in section 7 of chapter 72, of the General Statutes.
SEC. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
CHAPTER 752: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF SECTION 1, OF CHAPTER 138, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, “GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF FISHERIES.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1, of chapter 138, of the General Statutes, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “with fish,” in line four of said section, the words, “unless the same be filtered in such manner as may be determined by the town council of the town wherein such deposit may be made;” so that said section shall read as follows:
“SECTION 1. Every person who shall throw into or deposit in, or cause to be thrown into or to be deposited in any of the public tide waters of this state, or upon the shores of any such tide waters, any fish offal, or any water impregnated with fish, unless the same be filtered in such manner as may be determined by the town council of the town wherein such deposit may be made, and every person who shall cause any deleterious substance resulting from the smelting or manufacture of copper, or from other manufactures, or from other sources, which is destructive to fish, or which repels them from coming into the said public waters, or which shall do anything which tends to drive them therefrom, to be emptied, deposited or run into the said public waters, shall forfeit one hundred dollars.”
CHAPTER 756: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 569, OF THE PUBLIC LAWS ENTITLED “AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF AN ACT ENTITLED ‘AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 84, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, ‘OF BIRDS,’ AND OF THE SEVERAL ACTS IN AMENDMENT THEREOF AND IN ADDITION THERETO,’ BEING CHAPTER 554, OF THE PUBLIC LAWS.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1, of chapter 569, of the Public Laws, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
“SECTION 1. Section 2, of chapter 554, of the Public Laws, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
‘Every person who shall take or kill, sell, buy or offer for sale, or have in his possession, any woodcock from January 1st to September 1st, any ruffed grouse or any partridge from February 1st to September 1st, or any quail from January 1st to November 1st, any bartrams, sand-piper or grass plover from April 1st to August 1st, any dusky or black duck from March 1st to September 1st, any wood or summer duck from March 1st to September 1st, any blue or green-winged teal from March 1st to September 1st, in any year, shall be fined for every such bird twenty-five dollars.’”
SEC. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
CHAPTER 761: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 127, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, AND IN ADDITION THERETO, “OF HAWKERS AND PEDDLERS.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 127 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding the following section, viz.:
“Sec. 12. The general treasurer is hereby authorized to issue, without cost, for a term not exceeding one year continuously, a license, which shall not be transferable, to personally peddle any merchandize, except watches, jewelry, gold, silver and German silver ware, to any resident of this state who shall have resided therein for two consecutive years, and who served during the late war of the rebellion, in any of the regiments or other military organizations of the United States, or in the naval service of the United States, who shall present to him satisfactory evidence that he is the identical person who so served, and produce the certificate of his honorable discharge, with a certificate, under oath, of some responsible physician or surgeon of this state that in consequence of such service he is physically disabled.”
CHAPTER 747: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 132, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, “OF FREE AND COMMON OYSTER FISHERIES.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 132, of the General Statutes, is hereby amended so to read as follows:
“SECTION 1. Every person who shall take any oysters from the free and common oyster fisheries in any of the waters of the state, other than those hereinafter named, or expose any oysters for sale taken therefrom, at any time between the fifteenth day of May and the fifteenth day of September in each year, shall forfeit twenty dollars for each offense. Every person who shall take any oysters from the free and common oyster fisheries in any of the waters of the state north of a line drawn from Field’s Point to Kettle Point, or expose any oysters for sale taken therefrom, at any time between the first day of May and the first day of November in each year, shall forfeit twenty dollars for each offence.”
SEC. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, and this act shall take effect from and after its passage.
CHAPTER 769: AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF AN AMENDMENT OF TITLE XVIII, CHAPTER 133, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES, “OF PRIVATE AND SEVERAL OYSTER FISHERIES.”
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 4 of chapter 133, of the General Statutes, is hereby amended so it shall read as follows:
“SEC. 4. The oyster commissioners shall not let any land north of a line extending across Providence river from the south side of Hill’s wharf to a freestone monument at Lyon’s Point, in East Providence, or let any of the ponds in Little Compton, South Kingstown, Tiverton, New Shoreham or Westerly, or let Long bed, Rock Island bed, Marsh Island bed, Long Neck flats, Pawtuxet cove, the channel between Long Neck and Marsh Island flats, from the channel in Providence river to the bridge in Pawtuxet, all in Providence river.” Provided, however, that nothing in this act shall affect any of the above-described lands now leased.
SEC. 2. This act shall take effect immediately upon its passage.
(So now you know where the good oyster beds are – or at least used to be!)