EARLY QUARANTINE ARRANGEMENTS OF SALEM. 35 



tatives, That when any Ship or other Vessel, wherein 

 any infectious Sickness is, or hath lately been, shall come 

 to any Port or Harbour in this Province, and either two 

 Justices or the Select-Men of the Place shall order the 

 said Vessel to the Province Hospital ; and the Master or 

 INIariners of such Vessel, shall refuse or delay by the 

 Space of six Hours after said Order, given to said Master 

 or either of the Owners of said Vessel, or of the Factors 

 of either of said Owners, to come to sail, if AVind and 

 Weather permit, in order to proceed to said Hospital, the 

 Master of said Vessel shall forfeit and pay the Sum of 

 One Hundred Pounds, and sulfer six Months Imprison- 

 ment ; one half of said fine to be to the Informer or 

 Prosecutor, and the other half to the Poor of the Town 

 or District, to which such Port or Harbour belongs ; the 

 Offender to be prosecuted in any Court of Justice proper 

 to try the same. 



Again, in 1764, Salem was fenced off from her neigh- 

 bors by the Selectmen, Jany. 21, and a w^atch ordered, but 

 these precautions were suspended March 8th, and one 

 thousand persons had the disease by voluntary inoculation, 

 out of a population of forty-four hundred. 



" At a meeting of the Selectmen of Salem August 24th, 

 1772, all present. 



The selectmen being informed that Cap* John Batton 

 had arrived at Salem in a vessel from abroad, & that one 

 of his hands on board was sick of the small pox — 



Agreed that an order be sent to said Batton in the form 

 following, viz* 

 " To Capt. John Batton, 



Sir, We as selectmen of Salem being impowered & di- 

 rected by the laws of this Province to take care for 

 preventing the spreading of infectious diseases, more 

 particularly in the case of vessels coming from abroad ; 



