Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-05-19
LEGISLATURE OF VIRGINIA.

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of the citizens of Richmond at the public meeting
called for Monday evening, May ~. The amend
ment proposed that the Committee should enquire
whether any Reporter for the Press, in either
house, had participated in the mob last Friday
night
Ho,se.-A communication was received from
the Senate by Mr. Mason, that they had disagreed
to the amendment of the House, to the resolution
in relation to the recent outrage at the Governor s
Mansion. The House receded from its amend
ment.
| communication was received from the Senate
by Mr.. Shelley, that that body has passed bill
to add to and amend the provisions OF the act pass
ed April Oath, 1852, concerning Commissioners of
the Revenue.
Mr.. Imboden presented the petition of 600 vo-
tiers of Augusta, for opening poll for the purpose
of recording the votes of the qualified voters for or
againsthe granting licenses within the said county
for the sale of Intoxicating liquors.
bill concerning divorces and amending the
7th, 9Th and 18th sections of chapter 1909, title 81
of the Code, was read third time and passed.
The following are the provisions Of the bill, as "a
mended
A divorce from the bond of matrimony may be
decreed for adultery, for natural or incurabe i'm
potency lof body, existing at the time OF enter
ing into the matrimonial contract, for cruelty, a
abandonment or deserton, or when either of the
parties is sentenced to confinement in any peniten
tiary for life, for seven years or more and no
pardon granted to the party 50 sentenced after di
for that cause, shall restore such party to his
or her conjugal rights.
A divorce from bed and board may be decreed
for any of the causes mentioned in the preceding
section, for which divorce from the marriagebon
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of bodily hurt.
And be it further enacted, That the 18th sec
ton of the same chapter shall be, and the same is
hereby amended and fe-enacted, SO as TO read as
follows, to wit:
In g-snting divorce from the marriage bond the
court may decree that the guilty party shall not
marry again, in which case the bond Of matrimony
shall be deemed not to be dissolved as to any flu
ture marriage of such party, or in any prosecution
on account thereof. But so much of any decree as
prohibits party from marrying again, may at any
time after and upon the petition OF such party, be
set aside by the court and thenceforward the bond
of matrimony shall be deemed to be dissolved as
to such party also.
TUEsDAY.-Housc.-Th Speaker announced
the following as the committee on the part of the
House, under the joint resolution directing an in
vestgation into the recent outrage upon the Exec
uve Mansion: Messrs. Goode of Bedford, Robin
son of Richmond city, Lewis, Echols, and Tala
ferro
Mr.. Brown, from the special committee on
slaves and free negroes, presented bill providing
for the removal of free negroes and muattoes from
the Commonwealth.
(Ths bill provides for the appointment of'over
seers of free negroes and mulattoes"-their num-
Der and districts to correspond with that of the
commissioners of the revenue in each county, Sc.
1t shall be their duty to hire the free negroes and
mulattoes of their districts to the highest bidder at
public auction the amount so raised to constitute
fund to defray the expenses of the gradual trans
portation of said free negroes, &c. to the place or
country of their own selection. Between the free
negro or mulatto and the owner or hirer Of either
under this act the relation O. master and servant
is established. All free negroes and muattoes a.
bove the age of = years shall have the privilege
of remaining in the commonwealth On the lst
January. 1853, such free negroes or mulattoes as
remain in any of the said districts shall be sold in
to slavery at public auction, unless they select
their owners. The said overseers shall receive as
compensation 5 per cent. on all amounts collected
and accounted for by them.)
The resolution offered some days since by Mr..
Tomlin, proposing an adjournment sine die, and
the substitute offered therefor by Mr. Segar mod
consideration:
ReSolued, That when this House adjourns on
Monday the 3lst instant, it will with the consent
of the Senate stand adjourned to next.
The blank was filled with the fourth Monday
in November, and the substitute was adopted, af-
ter protracted debate, by a vote of II to d.
Messrs. Walker and Tate voted in the aflirma-
tive. Mr.. Imboden would have voted in the neg
alive but had paired off with an absent member.
The Speaker communicated a message from the
Governor giving the reasons according to law, for
his having committed the punishment of the slave
jordan. The reason stated is that the killing was
not the result of design or malice.
WEDNEsDAY.-Senate.-T Senate by vote
of % to IL, refused to agree to the resolution from
the House of Delegates, for an adjourned session
of the Legislature. A motion to reconsider the
vote rejecting the resolution (Which proposed an
adjournment from the 3lst instant to the 22d No
vember next,) was subsequently made and lost,
and also a resolution proposing an adjournment
sine die ON the 10th of June.
House-A large amount Of business was trans
acted by the Clerk and the Speaker. large num-
Der of bills were acted on, upon their first and Sc
cond readings, which kept the Clerk reading and
the Speaker submitting questions from 10 until
O'Clock. No new business worthy of notice was
introduced and no business finally acted upon Of
general interest.-Dispatch.
THURsDAY.-Senate.-The bill from the House
concerning officers elected by joint vote of the two
Houses of the General Assembly, was taken up
and passed.
The House bill providing for the election, &c.,
OF various State officers in corporate towns having
no circuit courts, was amended by substituting
therefor Senate bill and then passed
A Senate bill in relation 10 divorces was also
passed
House-Among other bills reported, was one to
amend the act passed March Sth 80, concerning
the Stanton and James river turnpike company.
A bill authorizing the payment of the field Off
GERS of the Virginia regiment of volunteers, previ-
Gus to their being mustered into the service of the
United States, was rejected-yeas SO. nays e.
"The party Democratic dsplayed its pencham
for concentrating power in the hands of one man,
by taking the appointment Of Inspectors of Tobac-
co from the Magistrates. and giving it to the Gov
ernor. This is on the French idea Of liberty-cen-
tralzation and in direct conflict with the Ameri-
can diffusion of power" -WMg.
Enthusiastically resolution for recess
was amended, so as to read adjourn sine die on the
10Th of June.
House.-Mr. Bottom of Amelia submitted reso-
lutions disappearing the reasons assigned by Gov
johnson for his late exercise of the pardoning pow
er. Messrs Wallace and White did not think it
a proper time to consider the neutrality-suspicious.
fore we do not know land on motion of Mr. Goode
of NJ, they were laid on the table.
vote was taken on the Southwestern Railroad
bill, which was regarded as decisive of the deter
minatlon of the majority to make appropriations
at this time. The adjourned session is the diff
Guilty. If all the necessary appropriations were vo-
ted now there would be no pretext for taking re-
cess until next fall