Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-02-10
The Lunatic Asylums.

THE DATE OF vACATING THE OFFICES
| CHANGED TO MARCH 1ST-A COMMIT
| TEE OF INSPECTION APPOINTED, sc.
In the Senate on Tuesday the House bill
| mo. 75) for ousting the present officers of
the insane asylums came up. The bill as
it stood provided among other things for
vacating the offices on the 18th inst. Mr..
Bailey offered the following bill (Which
fixes March LIST, as the day for vacating
! them) as substitute for it:
HOUSE BILL NO. rs.
| A Bill to Amend and Re-enact Sections 8
! and Of Chapter 50 OF the Code OF 1878,
| Regulating LaHaat5c AsVIaenas and the Care
of Insane Persons and Their Estates and
to Add Additional Sections Thereto.
| 1. Be 1t enacted by the General Assembly
of Virginia., That sections and OF chap.
| ter 80 of the Code of 1878 be amended and
| re-enacted so as to read as follows:
23. The Board of Directors of the Cen
trail, Eastern, and Western Lunatic Asy-
lums shall consist of eleven members each.
The term of office shall be for three years,
commencing on the 1st day of March, 1882,
| and continue until their successors are ap-
pointed. Six directors shall constitute
as. Said Boards of Directors shall as
semble on the LIST day of March, 1882, or
as soon thereafter as possible, at the asy-
lums for which they are appointed respec-
lively. and shall elect SuperintendantS, who
shall be physicians, and may appoint exec
utive committees and officers, nurses, and
other attendants for their asylums, respec-
lively, and prescribe their compensation,
and generally reOrganiz9 said asylums as
to said boards may seem right and proper.
SO. The offices of all directors to said
aaylums, as at present constituted, Shall
be. and the same are hereby, declared va
cant upon the 1st day of March, 1882; and
all offices therein filled by said Boards of
Directors, as at present constituted. shall
be, and the same are hereby, declared va
cant upon the LIST day of March, 1882.
$50. All acts and parts of acts inconsis-
tent herewith are hereby repealed.
2. This act shall be in force from it's
passage.
Mr.. Koiner. after brief speech, offered
an amendment intended to allow the ap-
pointment of new directors, but not to va
cate the offices of physicians, nurses, &c.
Rejected. Ayes ~. Noes %.
MIR. Lowell offered the following amend
ment:
Provided, That this act shall not be con-
strued to impair the obligations OF any
contracts which may have been entered
into between the officers of the Western,
Eastern and Central Lunatic Asylums and
the present board Of directors.
Mr.. Riddleberger asserted the doctrine
that the Legislature has the right to re-
move such officers at any time. and said
1ban fhny ora romovo} their nav oaacac
There is no such thing, declared he, as a
contract between them and the State.
Further. he asserted that at least one of
the asylums, soon after the election, the
directors elected officers for three years in
stead of one year, and that was the FIRST
aggressive measure, and justified the Sc
we're remedy now proposed.
Mr.. Lovell's amendment was defeated.
Ayes 13; Noes 90.
The substitute was adopted, and the bill
ordered to third reading
Ayes.-Messrs, Bailey, Barnes, Bliss,
Elliott, Eskridge. Jones, Lybrook, Martin,
Mayo, Newberry, Norton, Rawles, Riddle
berger, Rue, Stevens, Walker, Webb, Will
cox, Williams and Woods-20.
NOG5.--MeSSTS. AtkluSOu, Deity, SuIlS-
tian, Diggs, Glasgow, Heaton, Hurt. Koi-
ner, Lowell, Lovenste1n, Twyman, Wing
field of Hanover, Wingfield Of Albemarle
-13.
Several gentlemen announced that they
were paired.
The bill was then passed, but it now
goes back to the House.
In the House of Delegates, Wednesday,
Mr.. Taylor offered the following:
Resolued By the General Assembly, That
committee consisting of two members Of
the House of Delegates and one Senator
shall be appointed, whose duty it shall be
to examine and report to the General AS
sembly at its next session how and in what
manner and for what purpose the dona-
tions annually made to the University of
Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute,
and the several asylums of the State have
been expended, and to report whether or
not the donations made these institutions
for the past five years preceding the LIST
day of October, 1882 have been expended
as required by law; that the committee
shall have authority to examine the books
of said institutions and witnesses on oath.
The committee shall also report if there
be any additional accommodations needed
for lunatics now confined in any Of the
jails Of this Commonwealth.