Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-05-15
LEGIsLATIyE DOINGs.

The crop pest commission bill was
passed.
Registrars are to be made consery-
ators OF the peace.
The bill providing for popular
election of justices of the peace was
ordered to it's engrossment, the SUBJ
stitute which provided for appoint
mens by circuit judges having been
defeated.
Committee decided to strike out
the provision in the general road bill
as passed by the House authorizing
the employment of short term con-
victs upon the public roads of the
various counties.
ALI slot machines must be licensed.
Commissioners of the Revenue are
enJoined from licensing any machine
into which the element of chance
enters. Only those are lawful which
return value received.
The House by vote of At to 10
turned down motion to take up the
bill calling upon Congress TO amend
the Constitution so u. S. Senators
could be elected by direct vote of
the people. All the representatives
from this section favored leaving the
bill in committee.
Hon. j. III. Biscoe, of Fredericks-
burg, has introduced bill which
provides that any steamboat company,
chartered under the laws of Virginia,
may use any wharf in the State for
the shipping or discharging of
freight or the embarking or landing
of passengers, except that the act is
not to be construed to apply to any
wharf in the limits of any incorpo-
rated city or any private wharf. 1t
is provided that the owner of the
vessel shall be liable to the owner of
the wharf for reasonable wharfage
charges. This bill bears on the
steamboat war on the upper Kappa
hammock.
The State Senate voted 10 to 25 to
concur in the House resolution re.
moving Judge Campbell. The ex-
Judge will now contest before the
Court of Appeals. Senator Byars,
10 speaking for Campbell's removal
very tbruthfully remarked: 81 be-
lieve that the press of the city of
Richmond is responsible for the in
vestigation. The press of this CITY
bullyragged the members of the
General Assembly. But the investi
cation had developed conditions
which disclosed the fact that Camp
bell was unfit for Judge" This case
has already cost the State five
thousand dollars, in cash, besides
the heavy expense of the Legislature
while considering it.
Acknowledgement Anderson trans.
mitted to the General Assembly his
Interpretation of that part Of the
new suffrage plan which involves the
payment of the capitation tax as a
prerequisite to registering and voting.
The Acknowledgement concludes that
as in 1902 so in 1908: all persons
qualified to register may do so with
out having paid their poll tax. All
such persons will be on the perma.
nent roll and will not have to regis
ter again. Any person Offering to
register during the year 1904 must,
he thinks, as prerequisite have
paid the State poll tax Of ST. for each
of the years 1901 and 1902 assessable
against him under the former Con-
stitution, and poll tax of S1.5O for
the year 1908, assessable under the
new Constitution.
The Senate Committee decided by
an unanimous vote to favoiably re-
port bill redistrictiug the State.
This is the original Cumming bill,
which was defeated by the House,
but which Senator Sale, of Norfolk,
introduced in the Senate, The bill
was amended so as to put the coun-
ties of Spotsylvania and Caroline
and the city of fredericksburg back
In the First District, instead of trans
ferring them to the Eighth District,
and the chief ground of objection on
which the Cumming bill failed has
now been removed. Thus, the First
District, under this plan, will be just
as 1t is now, save that the Peninsular
counties and the cities of Newport
News and Williamsburg are added,
all being taken from the Second Dis
trict. In its present form it is said
that the bill will prove acceptable
to all parties interested, and will
nearly equalize the two districts.