Chap. 0049 AN ACT TO INCORPORATE & ESTABLISH A SOCIETY BY THE NAME OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE.
Whereas very great & important advantages may arise to the Community from instituting a Society for the purpose of promoting Agriculture & divers persons having petitioned to this Court to be incorporated into a Society for that laudable purpose.
Be it therefore Enacted by the Senate & House of Representatives in General Court Assembled & by the authority of the same, that the said Petitioners vizi. Samuel Adams, John Avery junr. Joseph Barrell, Martin Brimmer, Charles Bulfinch, John Codman, Edivard Cults, Aaron Dexter, Thomas Durfee, Moses Gill Christopher Gore, Benjamin Guild, Stephen Higgenson, Henry Hill, Samuel Holten, Benjamin Lincoln, John Lowell, Jonathan Mason, Jonathan Mason junr. Azor Orne, Samuel Phillips, Thomas Russell, Samuel Salisbury David Sears, James Sullivan, Cotton Tufts, Charges Vaughan & Thomas Winthrop together with such others who shall become Members thereof be & they are hereby incorporated into & made a body politic & corporate forever by the name of the Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture.
Arid be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said Corporation be & are hereby declared & made capable in Law of having, holding, purchasing & taking in fee simple or any less estate by gift, grant, devise or otherwise, any lands tenements or other estate real & personal; provided that the annual income of the said real & personal estate, shall not exceed the sum of Ten thousand pounds, & also to sell, alien, devise or dispose of the same estate real & personal not using the same in trade or commerce -
And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said Corporation shall have full power & authority to make, have & use a common Seal, & the same to break, alter & renew at pleasure; that it shall be capable in law to sue & be sued, plead & be impleaded answer & be answered unto, defend & be defended in all Courts of record or other Courts or places whatsoever, in all actions real personal & mixed, & to do & execute all & singular
other matters & things that to them shall & may appertain to do.
And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said Corporation may make, establish & put in execution such laws & regulations as may be necessary to the government of said Corporation, provided the same shall in no case be repugnant to the laws & constitution of this State. And for the well governing of the said Corporation, & the ordering their affairs, they shall have such officers as they shall hereafter from time to time elect & appoint; & such officers as shall be designated by the laws & regulations of the said Corporation for the purpose, shall be capable of exercising such power for the well governing & ordering the affairs of the said Corporation & calling & holding such occasional meetings for that purpose as shall be fixed & determined by the said laws & regulations.
And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the end & design of the Institution of the said Society is for the purpose of promoting useful improvements in Agriculture.
And be it further Enacted, that the place of holding the first meeting of the said Society shall be in the town of Boston, & that Samuel Adams Esqr. be & he hereby is authorized & impowered to fix the time for holding the said meeting, & to notify the same to the Members of the said Society by causing the same to be published in one of the Boston News Papers, fo[u]rteen days before the time fixed on for holding the said meeting.    March 7, 1792.