Martin Harry and several other men obtained permission to build a Market House for their city.
(Elizabeth-town became Hagerstown in 1815.) They were responcible for insuring weights used were accurate. Market days were Wednesday and Saturday; so families could plan their shopping trips and farmers could plan their market days to sell their goods.
It sounds a "little monopolistic" - also like a pre-walmart.
CHAP. XI.
An ACT to establish a market-house in Elizabeth-town, in Washington county, and for the regulation of the same.
Preamble. WHEREAS it has been represented to this general assembly, by sundry inhabitants of Washington county, that they labour under many great inconveniencies, for want of a market-house in Elizabeth-town, in said county; that a large and commodious space of ground was laid out for that purpose, in the center of said town, and appropriated for said purpose; and that the said petitioners propose to build thereon
at their own expence; and it appearing reasonable to grant the prayer of said petition: Therefore, Commissioners to lay out ground, &c.
II. Be it enacted, by the general assembly of Maryland, That Henry Shryock,
Matthias Need, and
Martin Harry, be and are hereby nominated and appointed commissioners, who are vested with full power and authority, in virtue of this act, to lay out a certain portion or part of the said reserved ground, as before mentioned, in said town, for the purpose of building a market-house thereon, and to contract with fit and proper persons for the building a house, not less than fifty feet in length and thirty in breadth, for a market-house, for the use of the inhabitants of said town and county.
III. And be it enacted, That the said portion of ground, laid out by the said
commissioners as aforesaid, shall be bounded. To be bounded, &c.
IV. And be it enacted, That from and after the twentieth day of August next,two days in every week shall be held as market days within the town of Elizabeth aforesaid, to wit, Wednesdays and Saturdays; and victuals and provisions whatsoever, brought to the said town for sale, except beef by the quarter or large quantity, and pork by the hog or hogs, upon those or any other days, shall be carried to the public market-house of the said town, there to be sold to the inhabitants, at the stated market hours, to wit, from any time in the morning to twelve at noon. Market days, &c.
V. And be it enacted, That
no inhabitant of the said town, or other person, shall presume to buy, or cause to be bought, or any person or persons, being and within one mile thereof, or having brought any kind of victuals or provisions whatsoever to the said market for sale (except as before excepted) either upon the above stated market days, or any other day of the week, during the time of the above stated market hours, at any other place whatsoever, but at or in the aforesaid market-house, under the penalty of twenty shillings current money for every such offence, to be recovered by warrant, before any justice of the peace for Washington county, or the county where the person shall reside, as in case of small debts, to be paid to such person as the commissioners aforesaid shall appoint as their clerk of the market in Elizabeth-town aforesaid, to be by them applied to the repairing of the said market-house, and such other purposes as they may think necessary. Penalty on persons buying provisions out of market, &c.
VI. And be it enacted, That
no person whatsoever, after the time aforesaid,
bringing or sending, or having brought or sent, any provisions or victuals to the said town for sale, shall presume to sell, or cause to be sold, the said victuals or
provisions so bringing or sending, or brought or sent, as aforesaid, to the said town, or within one mile thereof (except as before excepted) under the penalty
of ten shillings current money, with costs as aforesaid (if a free person) to be recovered, paid and applied, as aforesaid. On persons selling, &c.
VII. And be it enacted, That if any person or persons shall hereafter presume to slaughter or butcher any cattle kind, sheep or hogs, in or near about the said market-house, that he or they, so doing, shall forfeit and pay seven shillings and six-pence current money for every such offence, to be recovered, paid and applied, as aforesaid, with cost aforesaid. On persons slaughtering cattle, &c.
VIII. And be it enacted, That if any person shall sell, or offer for sale, any meat within the said market which shall be blown, in such case it shall and may be lawful for the clerk of the said market to seize all such meat sold or offered for sale in the said market, and the same to condemn to and for the use of the prisoners confined in Washington county gaol; and the butcher, or other person, for every such offence, shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty shillings current money, which shall be applied as aforesaid. Blown meat to be seized, &c.
IX. And be it enacted, That from and after the twentieth day of August next, all such and every article of provision sold by weight within the said market, shall
be weighed in scales and weights tried by the standard of the county, or the standard to be provided and kept by the commissioners aforesaid. Provisions to
be weighed in scales, &c.
X. And be it enacted, That the clerk of said market shall have power and authority to take the possession, care and charge, of the market and market-house Clerk's duty,&c.
CHAP.XI.
LAWS of MARYLAND.
aforesaid, during his continuance in office, and to
inspect all provisions brought thereto for sale, and destroy any he shall find and adjudge unsound or unwholesome; and also
to try the weights and measures used at the said market by standards,if any provided and kept there by said commissioners of said market for that purpose, and the same,
when false or untrue, to seize and dispose to the highest bidder, and shall pay the money arising from such sale to the said commissioners, to be by them applied as aforesaid; and the clerk of the said market (unless revented by sickness, or other unavoidable accident or necessity all, and he is hereby required to attend in the said market, at such hours as the commissioners may appoint at the different seasons; and if such clerk shall neglect or refuse to attend as aforesaid, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of five shillings current money, to be recovered by the commissioners of said market for the time being, before any justice of the peace for Washington county, to be paid and applied by them to the use aforesaid; and the said clerk may be removed and displaced by said commissioners for the time being at their pleasure or direction.
Horses not to be put under market-house,&c.
XI. And, whereas it has been practised by people coming in from the county,
to tie their horses in the said market-house, which is very indecent, and offensive
to the inhabitants of the said town; Be it enacted, That any person or persons,
who shall, after the time aforesaid, put their own, or any other person's horse,
mare or gelding, into or under the said market-house, on any pretence whatsoever,
he or they shall pay or forfeit two shillings and six-pence current money, with
cost aforesaid, to be recovered, paid and applied, as aforesaid. Justices to fill up vacancies, &c.
XII. And be it enacted, That if any person appointed commissioner by this act, shall die, refuse, or otherwise be rendered incapable to discharge the duties enjoined by this act, that the justices of Washington county may nominate and appoint some person or persons in his or their place, so as to make the number of three commissioners as aforesaid, that the commissioners so appointed shall have the same powers as the commissioners appointed by this act.
