Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-02-14
AUNTON SPECTATOR AND GENERAL ADVERTISER
General Assembly.

General Assembly.
SENATE.-On Tuesday last, House bill
ousting the directors and officers of the
lunatic asylums came up in the Senate,
the question being on agreeing to sub.
stitute proposed by Mr.. Bailey.
Mr.. Bailey's substitute was that the
boards of directors of the Central, East
ern, and Western lunatic asylums shall
consist of eleven members each. The
term of Office shall be for three years
commencing on the first day of March,
1882, and continue until their successors
are appointed. It also vacates all the
offices of all directors and of all subor-
climates, including physicians, nurses,
&C.
Mr.. Koiner, after briefspeech, offer.
ed an amendment intended to allow the
appointment of new directors, but not
to vacate the offices of physicians.
nurses, &c. Rejected by party vote.
Mr.. Lowell offered the following
amendment:
Provided, That this act shall not be
construed to impair the obligations OF
any contracts which may have been en-
tered into between the officers of the
Western, Eastern, and Central Lunatic
Asylums and the present boards of di-
| rectors.
Mr.. Riddleberger asserted the doctrine
that the Legislature has the right to re-
move such officers at any time, and said
when they are removed their pay ceases.
There is no such thing. declared he, as
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
instead of one year, and that was the
first aggressive measure, and justified
the severe remedy now proposed.
The substitute WIS adopted, and the
bill ordered to a third reading
AYEs-Messrs. Bailey, Barnes. Bliss.
Elliott, Eskridge, Jones, Lybrook, Mar
tin, Mayo, Newberry, Norton, Rawles,
Rlddleberger, Rue, Stevens, Walker,
Webb, Wilcox, Williams, and Wood
20
NoEs-M essrs. Atkinson, Berry,
Christian, Diggs, Glasgow, Heaton,
Hurt, Koiner, Lowell, Lovenstein, ivy.
man, Wingfield of Hanover, Wingfield
of Albemarle-13.
Several gentlemen announced that
they were paired.
The bill was then passed, and is as fol-
lows:
HOUSE BILL NO. u.s.
Il Bill to Amend and Re-enact Sections
8 and of Chapter 80 Of the Code Of
1873, Regulating Lasndtic AsyLasns and
the Care of Insane Persons and Their
Estates, and to Add additional Sec
tions Thereto.
l. Be It enacted By the General Assem-.
big of Virginia, That sections 3 and 6 OF
chapter 50 of the Code of 1873 be amend.
ed and re.enacted so as to read as fol-
lows:
IS. The Boards of Directors of the
Central, Eastern, and Western Lunatio
Asylums shall consist of eleven mem
bers each. Thesterm of office shall be
for three years, commencing on the LIST
day of March, 1882 and continue until
their successors are appointed. Six di-
rectors shall constitute court for the
transaction OF business.
| 26. Said Boards of Directors shall as
semble upon the 1st day of March. 1882,
or as soon thereafter as possible, OF the
asylums for which they are appointed
respectively, and shall elect superinteu-
dents, who shall be physicians, and may
appoint executive committees and Of
ficers, nurses, and attendants for the
asylums, respectively. and prescribe
their compensation, and generally re-
organize said asylums as to said boards
may seem right and proper.
S59. The Offices of all directors to said
asylums, as at present constituted, shall
be, and the same are hereby, declared
vacant upon the LIST day of March, 1882 !;
and all offices therein filled by said
Boards of Directors as at present con-
stituted, shall be, and the same are here
by, declared vacant upon the LIST OF
March, 1882.
| 2 co. All acts and parts of acts incon-
sistent herewith are hereby repealed.
| 9. This act shall be in force from its
passage.
HoUsE.-The House of Delegates at
P. NJ, passed the bill for the settlement
of the State debt, known as the Riddle
| berger bill, by vote of Sc to 80 one re-
adjuster kelly, of Washington county,
voting in the negative An amendment
providing that the bill be submitted to
the people for ratification was defeated
yeas IA, nays H. The affirmative vote
was about equally divided between the
readjusters and democrats.
Able speeches In opposition to the
adoption of this Bill were made by
Messrs. Cogbiil and Skinner
SENATE.-On Wednesday, the Senate
by vote of % too repealed the whip
ping post law by adopting the follow
ing:
Be it enacted By the General assembly,.
That so much of sections IL and Is OF
chapter of the Criminal Code prescrib.
ing punishment by stripes, approved
March IA, 1878, is hereby repealed, and
that said Offences be punished as mis-
demeanors, at the discretion of the jury.
This act is not to deprive the july OF in.
fiicting any other punishment mention
ed in section ~.
Messrs. Koiner and Thurman said
they would favor the repeal of the law
furnishing by stripes provided suf
ficient substitute could be provided, and
such substitute they did not see in this
bill
In the House, Mr. Duff Green offered
joint resolution for the removal OF
Judge Francis T. Anderson, one of the
judges of the Court of Appeals. The
resolution is similar to that offered some
time since for the removal of Judge
Moncure, except that he is TO be retired
without pay.
ABOUT STATE DONATIONS,
Mr.. Taylor, of Montgomery, intro
duced the following:
Resolved by the General assembly,
That a 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 Assembly at its next seq
sion how and in what manner and for
what purpose the donations 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 pre-
ceding the 1st day of October, 1882, have
been expended IS required by law that
the committee shall! have authority to
examine the books of said institutions
and witnesses on oath. Ehs committee
shall also report if there be any adj
tional accommodations needed for luna
tics now confined in any of the jails of
this Com
THURsDAY.-Thes Senate proceeded to
discuss the special ordsr-the House
bill for the payment of the committee