VIRGINIA. 



787 



An apportionment was made lx)th for congres- 

 sional representation, and for memlM>rs of the 

 House and Senate. The railroad legis- 



lation which was adopted, was important. The 

 Mason bilJ, framed largely on the lines of the 

 Interstate Commerce law, went into effect June 

 1. li prohibits the railroads from chargingmore 

 for a snort haul than for a long one ; prohibits 

 the granting of special rights, drawbacks and 

 rebates. and prevents unjust discrimination ; 

 provides the most convenient arrangement for 

 the interchange of passenger and freight traffic 

 at crossing points; provides for the publication, 

 at the various depots, of the amounts charged 

 for freight and passenger traffic, and forbids any 

 change of price, except after ten days' notice ; 

 prohibits false billing and false classification, 

 and requires duplicate bills of lading and ex- 

 pense bills to be furnished ; requires the estab- 

 lishment of telegraph offices, and fixes regula- 

 tions with reference to the notification, by the 

 train dispatcher, of the arrival and departure of 

 trains; requires annual reports from the com- 

 missioner, and also the publication of the Jaws 

 and their posting at stations. The most im- 

 portant section of the law is the fourteenth, 

 which provides that, where any common carrier 

 has been guilty of any violation of the law, either 

 with reference to its freight charges, its train 

 connections, special rates, unjust discrimina- 

 tions, or unreasonable preference, the Railroad 

 Commissioner shall, upon complaint made to 

 him by any one, give notice to the common 

 carrier, and require it to correct the cause of 

 complaint, and if the common carrier fails in 

 ten days to so correct the cause of complaint it 

 is the bounden duty of the Commissioner to pro- 

 ceed, in the name of the Commonwealth, before 

 the circuit court of the county where the cause 

 of action arises, or the judge thereof in vaca- 

 tion, against the company. The case is to be 

 heard without formal pleadings, and is to have 

 precedence over all other business on the docket. 

 The Commonwealth's attorney is required to 

 represent the Commissioner, and the Judge is 

 empowered by mandatory or restraining orders 

 to prevent the common carrier from further vio- 

 lation of the law. In addition to the restrain- 

 ing order provided in this section, the thirteenth 

 section makes the commission of any of the 

 above named acts a misdemeanor, and subjects 

 the carrier, for each act, to a fine of not less 

 than $100, nor more than $500. 



An act was passed for the taxing of the Pull- 

 man cars that pass through the State, and also 

 one requiring railroad companies to return for 

 taxation an itemized statement of all bonds, 

 stocks, and other securities held by them. 



Two bills affecting the oyster industry were 

 passed. One provides for an accurate survey of 

 the grounds, to be made during the summer. 

 The second provides for the appointing of in- 

 spectors for each county where oysters are caught 

 or planted. 



The State debt question was the most complex 

 and important subject presented for settlement ; 

 this, however, was disposed of in a manner 

 which met the unanimous approval of the As- 

 sembly. 



The bill for the distribution of the direct tax 

 money returned by the Federal Government, 



which amounts to about $470,000, was also 

 passed. 



Appropriations fr,r the lunatic asylums, and for 

 the Confederate soldiers, were made, as was a 

 small appropriation for the monument to the pri- 

 vate soldiers and sailors. 



An appropriation of $25,000 for the Virginia 

 exhibit at the World's Fair was also made. 



Among the other acts passed were the follow- 

 ing : 



To prohibit book-making and pool-selling. 



To provide for the treatment, of the indigent but 

 curable blind. 



To authorize the copying of certain county records 

 prior to 1700. 



To provide for the erection of a public fireproof 

 library building within the Capitol square at Rich- 

 mond, to coit $200,000, in which shall be offices for 

 the State officials and for the Supreme Court of 

 Appeals. 



To make Labor Day a State holiday. 



Finances. The report of the Second Auditor 

 for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1892, is espe- 

 cially noteworthy, as it rehearses the particulars 

 of the settlement of the State debt under the 

 act of Feb. 2, 1892. It enumerates the securities 

 presented by the Bondholders' Committee to 

 the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for veri- 

 fication under the act, as follows : Bonds and 

 certificates issued under act of March 30, 1872 : 

 coupon bonds, having thereon tax-receivable 

 coupons due January 1, 1892, and subsequent, 

 $11,985,200 coupons thereon, $4,488.255 ; reg- 

 istered bonds and fractional certificates, $6,893.- 

 69 interest thereon, $7,736.43. Bonds and cer- 

 tificates issued under act of March 30, 1871, as 

 amended by act of March 7, 1872 (Peelers) : 

 coupon bonds, $148,900 ; coupons, $146,281 ; 

 fractional certificates, $745.59 interest, $894.68. 

 Bonds and certificates issued under act of March 

 28, 1879 : coupon bonds (dollar and sterling), 

 having tax-receivable coupons due Jan. 1, 1892, 

 and subsequent, $5,165,500 ; coupons, $1,015,- 

 219 ; registered bonds. $30,900 interest, $8,- 

 294.50. Bonds and certificates issued under acts 

 passed prior to April 17, 1861. (old unfunded,) 

 and under act of March 2, 1866 ; also sterling 

 certificates issued under act of March 30, 1871 : 

 coupon bonds, 18G6 and 1867. $49,000 interest, 

 $67,952.19 ; registered bonds, 1866 and 186?, 

 $2,811 interest, $4,140.25 ; old coupon bonds. 

 $168,500 interest, $226,253.55 ; old registered 

 bonds, $3,200 interest. $3.882 ; sterling old 

 coupon bonds, $394.000 ; coupons, $3oO,(>5G.90 ; 

 sterling coupon bonds, 1866-67, $97,000 ; cou- 

 pons, $86,120.80 ; sterling certificates, issued 

 underact of March 30, 1871, $79. 4o7.50 inter- 

 est, $74,160.33 ; black scrip (dollar), $81,625 ; 

 black scrip (sterling), $14,356.12. Total presented 

 for verification. $24,058,035.55. Deduct from this 

 West Virginia's portion of old debt : interest- 

 bearing certificates, $264,65618; non-interest- 

 bearing certificates. $287.186.48 total, $551.- 

 842.66. Amount to be redeemed by Virginia in the 

 proportion of 19 to 28 : $24,106,192.89. Amount 

 of new bonds to be issued therefor, $16,857.- 

 778.74. Recapitulation: principal presented, 

 $18,163,732.78 ; interest, * 6,494, 302. 77 total, 

 $24.658,035.55. The act of Feb. 20, 1892, made 

 advisable a change in the character of the State 

 securities held by the several institutions of 



