Chap. 699.—An ACT to amend and re-enact chapter 2 of an act approved March
6, 1890, entitled an act to provide for the assessment of taxes on persons,
property, and incomes, and on licenses to transact business, and imposing
taxes thereon for the support of the government and public free schools
and to pay the interest on the public debt, and prescribing the mode of ob-
taining licenses to sell wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any, mixture
thereof, in cases where a court certificate is required, and to repeal section 9
of chapter 2 of this act relating to liquor licenses.

Approved March 4, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That chapter
two of an act approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety,
entitled an act to provide for the assessment of taxes on persons,
property, and incomes, and on licenses to transact business, and im-
posing taxes thereon for the support of the government and public
freo schools, and to pay the interest on the public debt, and prescrib-
ing the mode of obtaining licenses to sell wine, ardent spirits, malt
liquors, or any mixture thereof, in cases where a court certificate ie
required, and to repeal section nine of chapter two of this act, relat.
ing to liquor licenses, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as
follows:

§ 1. That no person, corporation, company, firm, partnership, 01
association shall, within the limits of this state, engage in the busi.
ness of rectifying or of manufacturing or distilling malt or alcoholic
liquors other than wine, or sell, or offer to sell, by sample or repre.
sentation or otherwise, wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mix.
ture thereof, alcoholic bitters, bitters containing alcohol, or fruits
preserved in ardent spirits, either by wholesale, retail, or to be drunk
at the place where sold, or in any other way, without first having ob.
tained license therefor; nor shall the license confer the privilege o!
selling in either way except in the manner hereinafter provided
And all mixtures, preparations, and liquids (except cider) whick
will produce intoxication shall be deemed ardent spirits within the
meaning of this section. A license to sell by wholesale shall onl;
include the privilege to sell in quantities of five gallons or more, ex
cept that wholesale dealers in malt liquors may have the privilege o
selling by bottles and jugs in quantities of not less than one dozen
A license to sell by retail shall include only the privilege of sellin;
in quantities not exceeding five gallons at any time to any individua
which shall include both the privilege of selling to. be delivered
to the purchaser in bottles, jugs, demijohns, or other vessels, and the
privilege of being drank’at the place where sold. A license to keep
an ordinary shall contain all rights and privileges of a retail liquoz
dealer. A license to keep a malt liquor saloon under which nc
malt liquors nor any mixture thereof shall be sold to be taken away
from the place of delivery but shall bedrunk there. Any person de-
siring to carry on the business of a wholesale liquor dealer, and alsc
that of a retail liquor merchant, shall obtain a separate license
for each, and comply with all the provisions of this act in relation
to both privileges. A violation of the provisions of this section
shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine
of not less than one hundred dollars, and in the discretion of the
court by imprisonment not exceeding twelve months; provided that
nothing in this section shall prevent wholesale confectioners from
selling fruits preserved in ardent spirits.

§ 2. Licenses required by the preceding section shall be obtained
in accordance with the provisions of section five hundred and thirty-
five of the code of Virginia, or of an act entitled an act to prescribe
the mode of applying for and obtaining a license (other than a
license for which the certificate of a court is required by law before
it is granted), the tax on which but for this act would be fifty dol-
lars or more were it issued for the period of one year, as the case may
be, except those required in the following classes of cases:

Class I. License to sell by retail, or a malt liquor saloon, or an or-
dinary.

Class II. License to sell wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor or any
mixture thereof, by retail, upon any steamboat, canal boat, ship,
barge or other vessel, at any wharf or landing, or upon any river,
creek, sound or any of the other waters of this commonwealth (other
than yoneels regularly engaged in plying the waters of the Atlantic
ocean ).

Class III. License to sample liquor merchants.

The first class can only be granted on the certificate of the county
or corporation or hustings court of the county or city where the busi-
ness for such license is required is proposed to be conducted.

The second class can only be obtained on the certificate of the
county, corporation or hustings court of some county or city within
the limits and jurisdiction of which such steamboat, canal boat,
ship, barge or other vessel usually plies or is usually stationed.

The third class can only be obtained on the certificate of the cor-
poration or hustings court of some city of the state, but when so ob-
tained the license shall carry the privilege of selling anywhere in
the state—the clerk of the court granting this certificate to certify
to the genuineness of the license under the seal of the court.

§ 3. Any person, firm, company, corporation, partnership or associa-
tion desiring to obtain a license such as is required in any of the three
classes of cases specified in the preceding section shal] make a written
application therefor to a commissioner of the revenue of the county or
city from the county or corporation or hustings court of which a cer-
‘ificate is required. Such application shall state the name of the ap-
plicant, the residence of the applicant, the nature of the business
for which the license is desired, the place where it is proposed to be
prosecuted, and the amount required by law to be paid for the privi-
lege of such license. Upon such application shall be endorsed the
certificate of the treasurer of such county or city that the amount so
required has been deposited with him by the applicant in gold or
silver coin, United States treasury notes or national bank notes, and
such certificate shall also state whether or not coupons purporting to
be cut from bonds of this state were tendered to the treasurer by the
applicant at the time of deposit aforesaid and accepted by him for
identification and verification, according to law or according to the
facts there shall be endorsed upon such application the certificate of
the treasurer that coupons were tendered to him for the whole or any
part of the amount so required, and that such coupons (specifying
the amount thereof) have been duly verified, and if tendered for
part only that the balance of the amount so required has been depos-
ited with him in gold or silver coin, United States treasury notes or
national bank notes.

8 4. Upon the receipt of such application, with the treasurer’s cer-
tificate so endorsed upon it, the commissioner of the revenue, if he
be a commissioner in a city in which there is a board of commis-
sioners of excise, shall make and sign the following endorsement
thereon :

Referred to the board of commissioners of excise of the city of

Otherwise he shall make and sign the following endorsement
thereon :

Referred to the county court of county; or

Referred to the corporation or hustings court of the city of ,
as the case may be. The action of the board of commissioners of
excise upon such application shall be as provided in sections five
and six of an act entitled an act to establish boards of commission-
ers of excise and to define their duties and powers, approved Feb-
ruary , eighteen hundred and ninety. Pending the conside-
ration of this application by the board the applicant shall not, with-
out license, pursue the business for which said license is desired.

§ 5. When such application has been endorsed by the commis-
sioner of the revenue “ referred to the county court of county,”
or “ referred to the corporation or hustings court of the city of :
as the case may be, or when such application has been endorsed by
the commissioner of the revenue “referred to the board of excise
commissioners of the city of , and been further endorsed
“approved” by the said board, the applicant shall present the appli-
cation so endorsed to the county, corporation, or hustings court
whose certificate is required; and said court shall thereupon hear
such evidence as may be introduced for or against the application,
and hear and determine the question of granting the same. It shall
be lawful for any person who may consider that he or they would be
aggrieved by the granting of such license to have himself or them-
selves entered and made a party defendant to said application and to
defend and contest the same. If the court be fully satisfied, upon

the hearing of the testimony for and against the application, that
the applicant is a fit person to conduct such business and that he
will keep an orderly house, and that the place at which it is to be
conducted is a suitable, convenient, and appropriate place for con-
ducting such: a business the court may, upon the execution by the
applicant of a bond in a penalty of not less than two hundred and
fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, with good security,
conditioned for faithful compliance with all the requirements of this
act, grant such license; and thereupon the commissioner of the rev-
enue shall issue the same in such form as may be prescribed by the
auditor of public accounts. Either party to such application shall
have the right to appeal from the order of judgment of the court
granting or refusing such application during the term at which the
application is heard and decided to the circuit court of said county
or corporation. The judge of such circuit court shall take cogni-
zance of such appeal, and may hear the same either in term time or
vacation, and may grant the license upon the terms prescribed in
chapter two of this act or may refuse the same, and the decision of
such circuit court, or of the judge thereof in vacation, shall be final,
and no appeal, writ, or error or supersedeas shall lie thereto. The
party to any such proceeding who shall substantially prevail shall,
in cases where such applications are contested be entitled to recover
their costs from the opposite parties, as in other civil cases. All
bonds taken under chapter two of this act shall contain the waiver
of the homestead exemption of the obligors therein. In cases where
the board of commissioners of excise return to the applicant his ap-
plication disapproved, or in case an application be finally refused by
the court, the applicant shall have refunded to him by the treasurer
or other collecting officer the amount of money deposited by him or
the coupons tendered and verified by him; and where, at the time
of deposit of money by the applicant, papers purporting to be cou-
pons were also tendered and accepted for identification and verifica-
tion, such papers shall also be returned to the applicant when the
application is disapproved by said board or finally refused by the
court.

§ 6. So soon as licenses shall be granted under chapter two of this
act, it shall be the duty of the commissioner of the revenue certify-
ing the same to make return thereof to the treasurer or other col-
lecting officer of the city or county and to the auditor of public
accounts; and it shall be the duty of such treasurer or other collect-
ing officer, immediately upon such license being granted, to place
the amount of any such deposit as may have been made with him
under chapter two of this act to the credit of the commonwealth, and
within twenty days thereafter to pay the same over to the auditor of
public accounts.

§ 7. The amount to be paid for a license for the privilege of selling
by wholesale wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture of any
of them, shall be three hundred and fifty dollars: provided, however,
that if any wholesale dealer shall desire the privilege of selling malt
liquors only the specific amount to be paid by him for the privilege
shall be one hundred and fifty dollars.
§ 8. The specific sum which shall be paid for the privilege of sell-
ing by retail wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture of
any of them shall be in the country or in towns or villages of one
thousand inhabitants or less, or upon any vessel, one hundred dol-
lars, or in cities or towns or villages exceeding one thousand inhabi-
tants, two hundred dollars, except that where a person sells under
malt license malt liquors only, in the country or in towaos under five
thousand inhabitants, he shall be required to pay the specific sum
of forty dollars for such privilege.

§ 10. The specific sum which shall be paid for the privilege of
keeping an ordinary, which privilege shall include the privilege of
selling wine, ardent spirits, and malt liquors in such ordinary, to be
drunk where sold, and shall include the privilege of selling the same,
or any mixture of any of them, by retail not to be drunk where sold,
shall read as follows: In the country or in towns having a popula-
tion of two thousand or less, there shall be paid the sum of one
hundred dollars; and in towns or cities having a population of
two thousand or more, there shall be paid two hundred dollars for
this privilege; and in either case there shall be paid for this privi-
lege an additional sum equal to eight per centum of the annual rent
or rental value of the house and furniture used for the purposes of
said ordinary up to one thousand dollars of such annual rent or
value; and on the annual rent or rental value in excess of one thou-
sand and under two thousand dollars, five per centum of such rental
value, and three per centum of such annual value from two thousand
dollars and upwards, to be ascertained as provided in the next sec-
tion.

§ 11. Any person who shall for compensation furnish lodging and
diet to travellers, sojourners or boarders in his house, or provender
for a horse feeding in his stable or on his land (except a drove of
live stock and persons attending it), and sell by retail wine, spiritu-
ous or malt liquors, or any mixture of them, shall be deemed to keep
an ordinary, aud shall constantly provide the same with lodgings
and diet for travellers, and, unless it be dispensed with by the court,
with stabling and provender or pasturage and provender for their
horses; the amount to be required to be paid for the privilege of
keeping an ordinary to be determined by the actual rent of the house
and furniture, and may exceed such rent, and if it is not rental pro-
perty the commissioner shall determine the amount to be paid by
what the probable rent would be, and the commissioner may require
the proprietor or tenant to state on oath what is the amount of such
rent, or what would be a fair rent therefor. And if the said pro-
prietor or tenant refuse to state the same when so required, he shall
pay a fine of five hundred dollars. Any person who shall keep an
ordinary without a license shall pay a fine of not Jess than thirty
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each day he may con-
tinue the same, but where the ordinary sball be kept open for but
part of the year, the tax shall be apportioned according to the time
it is kept open. /

§ 12. Any licensed wholesale liquor dealer may also obtain a
license as a retail liquor dealer upon the payment therefor of one-
half the amount required in section four of chapter two of this act
and sball comply with all the provisions of chapter two of this act.

§ 13. The amount which each keeper of a malt liquor saloon shal
be required to deposit and pay for such privilege shall be forty dol
lars in the country or in towns of one thousand inhabitants or less
and sixty dollars in cities and towns having over one thousanc
inhabitants.

§ 14. The bond taken of any licensed dealer under the second sec.
tion of chapter two of this act shall be deemed forfeited by hit
failure to pay any part of the amount required of him by chapte:
two of this act, and any portion as to which there is such failure o
payment may be recovered of him and his surieties by motion o1
suit in any court having jurisdiction, and may moreover be collectec
by the treasurer in the manner that taxes are collected, and in the
discretion of the court his license forfeited.

§ 15. The amount required by chapter two of this act to be paid
for the licenses herein specified shall be in lieu of all taxes upon the
capital actually employed in any of the branches of business speci.
fied in the first section of chapter two of this act except manu fac-
turers, distillers, and rectifiers.

§ 16. The specified amount which each rectifier shall be required
to pay for the privilege of carrying on his business shall be one hun-
dred and fifty dollars, except that a manufacturer of ardent spirits
may rectify spirits of his own manufacture without paying any addi-
tional sum for such privilege. Each rectifier who shall desire to sell,
by wholesale or retail, spirits so rectified by him shall be assessed
with and pay for such privilege the same amount which is required
to be vaid by other wholesale and retail dealers in ardent spirits.

§ 17. Any druggist who desires to sell wine, ardent spirits, or malt
liquors, or any mixture thereof, or alcoholic bitters, shall be required
before he does so, to take out a retail liquor dealer’s license, and he
shall in all respects be deemed a retail liquor dealer and be subject
to the requirements of this law; provided the provisions of chapter
two of this act shall not apply to liquor used by any druggist in the
preparation of medicine. And no alcoholic bitters, whether the
same may have been manufactured in this state or elsewhere, shall
be sold in this state by any person who has not obtained a license
under chapter two of this act to sell wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors,
or any mixture thereof. And any person violating this provision
shall be liable in all respects to the same penalties which are im-
posed by chapter two of this act for selling wine, ardent spirits,
malt liquors, or any mixture thereof, without a license therefor.

§ 18. Every person licensed as a manufacturer or distiller of alco-
holic liquors shall pay for said privilege, at the time his license is
granted, a specific sum therefor, to be graduated and classified as
follows: The manufacturer who shall mash and distill ten bushels
or less per day, thirty dollars; ten bushels and less than twenty per
day, fifty dollars; twenty bushels and less than thirty per day, sev-
enty-five dollars; thirty bushels and less than thirty-five per day,
one hundred and twenty-five dollars; forty-five bushels and less
than seventy-five per day, two hundred dollars; seventy-five bushels
and less than one hundred per day, two hundred and fifty dollars;
one hundred bushels and less than one hundred and fifty per day,
three hundred dollars; ona hundred and fifty bushels and less than
two hundred per day, four hundred dollars; two hundred bushels and
less than two hundred and fifty per day, four hundred and fifty dol-
lars; two hundred and fifty bushels and less than three hundred per
day, five hundred dollars; and on each one hundred bushels per day
in excess of three hundred, at the rate of two hundred dollars for
each one hundred bushels so mashed per day. The above specific
sums shall be paid before commencing his operations, and on the
payment of such specific sum the manufacturer shall have the privi-
lege of selling the liquors actually manufactured by him in quantities
of not less than one gallon at the house where the same is manufac-
tured. The manufacturer of alcoholic liquors by direct fermenta-
tion and distillation from pomage or from cider or fruits, when the
quantity of brandy shall not exceed forty gallons, shall not be re-
quired to pay anything for such privilege; when the quantity ex-
ceeds forty gallons, and the distillery is run less than three months,
the distiller of brandy shall pay a specific sum of ten dollars, but
if the distillery is run more than three months and less than six,
the specific amount to be paid for the privilege shall be twenty dol-
lars, and if run for six months or more, there shall be paid for the
privilege fifty dollars. It shall be the duty of every licensed dis-
tiller who manufactures brandy from fruit to furnish the commis-
sioner of revenue a copy of the returns made by him to the internal
revenue assessor of the United States, and the commissioner of the
revenue shall require said licensed distiller to make affidavit to the
correctness of such return. On payment of the above sum the dis-
tiller of brandy shall have similar privileges in regard to the sale of
brandy manufactured by him to those granted to distillers of whis-
key. For the privilege of manufacturing malt liquors there shal! be
paid fifty dollars, and upon the payment of such specific sum the
manufacturer shall have the privilege of selling the products of his
brewing in quantities in excess of five gallons at any place within
the state of Virginia; and the said manufacturer may have the ad-
ditional privilege of selling the products of his brewing in quantities
not less than one gallon at the place of manufacture; provided that
any resident manufacturer of wine may have the privilege of selling
wine of his own manufacture in quantities not less than one gallon
without paying the license tax or percentage provided by chapter
two of this act.

8 19. The auditor of public accounts shall prescribe a form for
licenses for manufacturers of liquor, wholesale liquor dealers, retail
liquor dealers, and all other persons licensed to sell liquor by the
drink to be drunk at the place where sold, spirituous or malt liquor,
wine, or any mixture thereof, which said licenses shall have printed on
them in plain letters, at least one inch in length, in words and figures,
the year when issued, the month when it begins and expires, and also
the class of licenses, whether wholesale liquor dealer, wholesale and
retail liquor dealer, or retail liquor dealer. Every person obtaining
any such license shall post the same in a conspicuous place in his
office, if a wholesale liquor dealer; and if a retail liquor dealer o1
malt liquor saloon keeper shall post the same in the most conspicu-
ous place about his bar or place of retailing, and shall expose the
same to common observation; and any person failing to keep such
license so conspicuously posted shall on conviction be fined not
exceeding one hundred dollars.

§ 20. It shall be the duty of the judge of the circuit, county, o1
corporation courts to give this act, and particularly the provisions
thereof in reference to the sale of ardent spirits, wine, malt liquors,
or any mixture thereof, in charge to the grand jury at every regular
grand jury term of their respective courts, and to send before the
grand jury the constables and the commissioner of the revenue,
with the view of ascertaining whether any person in their districts
is engaged in the sale of liquors without a license as prescribed in
chapter two of this act.

§ 21. No person shall! sell wine, ardent spirits, or malt liquors, or
any mixture thereof, by retail upon any steamboat, canal-boat, ship,
barge or other vessel at any wharf or landing, or upon any river,
creek, sound, or any of the other waters of this commonwealth, with-
out first having obtained a license therefor in accordance with chap-
ter two of this act; provided that the amount required to be paid
for such privilege to be exercised upon any such vessel shall be the
lowest specific sum required in each case by the provisions of chap-
ter two of this act to be paid for such privilege; and provided,
further, that the provisions of chapter two of this act shall not
apply to any steamship or steamboat which is regularly engaged in
plying the waters of the Atlantic ocean.

§ 22. The provisions of chapter two of this act shall not be con-
strued to repeal or in any wise change the provisions of any local
option law, or the provisions of the charter of any town or city in the
state touching the granting of licenses, except that in any county of
this commonwealth where local option prevails it shall be lawfal
for a druggist to sell wine, ardent or spirituous liquors for medical
purposes only upon the prescription of any regularly licensed prac-
ticing physician; provided, however, he shal! take out the license
required by section sixteen of chapter two of this act.

§ 23. Any person violating any of the provisions of or failing to
comply with any of the requirements of chapter twoof this act shall,
unless when otherwise provided herein, be deemed guilty of a miade-
meanor and be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one
hundred dollars for each offence, and in addition he may, in the dis-
cretion of the jury, be imprisoned not more than sixty days.

§ 24. Any person who shall sell or offer to sell wine, ardent spirita,
malt liquors, cider, or any mixture of any of them, by sample or
other representation, or any agent for the sale or collection of orders
for wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, cider, or any mixture of any
of them by sample or description shall be deemed to be a sample
liquor merchant. A sample liquor merchant’s license shall bea
personal privilege, and shall! not be transferable, nor shall any abate-
ment of the sum required to be paid be allowed. Any person, firm,
or corporation who shal! sell or offer to sell in violation of this seo-
tion, shall pay a fine of five hundred dollars for the first offence and
six hundred dollars for each succeeding offence, the informer to re-
ceive one-half of the fine so collected. No person, firm, or corpora-
tion licensed under this section shall be authorized to sell except to
some person, firm, club, or corporation licensed under some section
of this chapter.

§ 25. The amount to be paid for the privilege of doing business as
a sample liquor merchant shall be three hundred and fifty dollars,
and no person, firm, or corporation shall permit any person except
a duly authorized agent or salesman to sell. under their license
otherwise than for their exclusive use and benefit. No agent or
salesman shall be permitted to sell, or offer to sell, as aforesaid ex-
cept he have with him at the time the license granted to the person,
firm, or corporation for whom he acts, which license shall state the
name of the person, firm, or corporation to whom the license was
granted and the name of the agent or salesman using the same, and
alsoa duly executed power of attorney constituting him such agent
or salesman, which license and power of attorney shall be exhibited
whenever required by any officer of the law or private citizen. For
every agent or salesman employed to sell as aforesaid there shall be
paid three hundred and fifty dollara. Sales of wine, ardent spirits,
malt liquors, cider or any mixture of any of them, by sample shall
be limited to sales by wholesale. Nothing in this or the preceding
section shall be construed to require any licensed wholesale liquor
dealer who has paid his license as such (an amount of not less than
three hundred and fifty dollars) to pay an additional amount for
selling or offering to sell by sample either by himself or agents;
provided that every such agent shall first apply to the court of some
city for the certificate hereinbefore required. No person, firm, or
corporation shall hire their license or allow the use of the same to
any other person, firm, or corporation ; and any person, firm, or corpo-
ration who shall so hire or allow the use of such license to any other
person, firm, or corporation, shall forfeit such license; and the per-
son, firm, or corporation using such license shall pay a fine of three
hundred and fifty dollars for each offence; provided that this and
the last preceding section shall not apply to any person licensed as
a manufacturer under section fourteen of this chapter.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.