Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 37, § 7

A sheriff neglecting or refusing to give bond as required in section eighteen of chapter thirty shall forfeit one hundred and fifty dollars for each month's neglect, at the suit of the attorney general. The superior court shall forthwith certify the fact of such neglect or refusal to the governor and council and to the attorney general, and, unless the sheriff satisfies the governor and council that there was reasonable cause for such neglect and gives security to their satisfaction within twenty days after the receipt of such certificate, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall remove him from office.