Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-02-03
Legislative.

The senate has defeated the McCune
anti-firting bill by vote "a to 8. There
was a lively debate over the meaeure.
A bill making horizontal cut in the
salaries of state officials was offered in
the house by Mr.. Featherston.
A bill was introduced by Mr.. Walker
to release and transfer to the counties
of Augusta. Rockingham, Shenandoah
and Frederick, the interest of the Com
monwealth in the Valley Turnpike
road.
Mr.. s. H. Walker, of Augusta. intro
duced bill to abolish the state board
of agriculture, and to transfer the
property, powers and duties pertain.
ing to them to the board of visitors of
the Virginia Agricultural and Mechani-
cal College and Polytechnic Institute.
The bill provides that the treasurer of
the college shall keep an account of all
moneys received under the act making
the transfer to constitute an annual
report of the said board of visitors to
the governor and to effect the provi
sions of the act the board is authorized
to make use of and employ, as far as
practicable, the officers aud scientific
staff and equipment of the Virginia
Agricultural Experiments station under
it's control.
A bill was offered by Mr.. Lowry mo.
343), to authorize the board of direc-
tors of the Virginia penitentiary to
grounds of the said institution for the
confined therein.
When the bill for the relief of the
charities named in the will of the late
Lewis Ginter from the payment of the
collateral inheritance tax, came up,
Mr.. Munford went over the list of insti-
buttons named and told briefly of the
work done by each.
The bill was passed by vote of 26
to 5.
MIR, Winborne is the author of bill
in the house to esta hlish circuit court
for the city of Buena Vista. The bill
was introduced by him at the request
of the Buena Vista council. The OBJ
ject is to have Judge Mclaughlin of
this circuit hold term of the circuit
court at Buena Vista as Judge Whittle
of the Fourth circuit now holds term
of his court at Lynchburg.
House bill No. 247, reducing the fees
of jailers, was taken up last week and
Mr.. Pitcher moved to dismiss the bill,
| while Mr.. Anderson, of Richmond,
moved to recommit it.
Mr.. Churchman, of Augusta, offered
as an amendment that the fees to be
paid by the State be fixed at twenty.
five cents per day each for from three
to thirty inmates and at twenty cents
for from thirty to fifty inmates.
| Mr.. Hicks, of Roanoke, briefly spoke
in favor of recommitting the bill, and
Mr. Wallace, of Richmond, pointed out
the effects which the bill would have
on the jailer of the city of Richmond
and took the ground that under the
proposed reduction there would be left
for the jailer only the sum of $3.50 an
nually to pay for his own services, al
lowing for the feeding ten cents pei
day per man. The average number oil
inmates was not 200, as had been stat
ed. but only $50. The gross receipts
amounted now only to about $4,000,
and out of that he had to pay the sal
aries of seven guards.
| Mr.. Withrow, of Bath, moved to ad
journ, but the motion was not.
| Mr.. Felkes, Of Richmond, thought
the country members had agreed not
to retrench among themselves, but
they had apparently agreed to jumI
at the city fellows to cut them down
He thought it unfair to proceed il
that manner against the city Of Rich
mond. which paid one sixth of the en-
tire State taxes.
The motion to dismiss the bill wal
then lost and the House declined to re-
commit the bill.
|