An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-299, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to devices signalling intention to turn or stop and rules therefor.
Volume 1968 Law 99
Volume | 1902/1904 |
---|---|
Law Number | 579 |
Subjects |
Law Body
Chap. 579.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 143 of an act entitled ‘‘an
act to raise revenue for support of the government and public free schools, and
to pay the interest on the public debt, and to provide a special tax for pen-
sions, as authorized by section 189 of the Constitution,” approved April 16,
1903.
Approved January 6, 1904.
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section one
hundred and forty-three of an act entitled “an act to raise revenue for
support of the government and public free schools, and to pay the interest
on the public debt, and to provide a special tax for pensions, as author-
ized by section one hundred and eighty-nine of the Constitution,” ap-
proved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and three, be amended and re-
enacted so as to read as follows:
Liquor License.
§ 143. No person, corporation, company, firm, partnership, or associa-
tion shall, within the limits of this State, engage in the business of recti-
fying or of manufacturing or distilling malt or alcoholic liquors, other
than wine, or sell, or offer to sell, by sample or representation or other-
wise, wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture 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 way, without first having obtained license therefor; nor shall the
license confer the privilege of selling in any way, except in the manner
hereinafter provided. “And all mixtures, preparations, and liquids (ex-
cept pure apple cider) which will produce intoxication shall be deemed
ardent spirits within the meaning of this section. A license to sell by
wholesale shall only include the privilege to scll in quantities of five gal-
lons or more, except that wholesale dealers in malt liquors may have the
privilege of selling by bottles and jugs in quantities of not less than one
dozen to licensed retail dealers only. A license to sell by retail shall in-
clude only the privilege of selling in quantities not exceeding five gallons
at any time to any individual, 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 drunk at the places where sold.
A license to keep an ordinary or hotel shall confer all the rights and
privileges of a retail liquor dealer. Under a license to keep a malt liquor
saloon, malt liquors, or any mixture thereof, may be sold to be drunk
where sold, but shall not be taken away from the place of sale. Any per-
son desiring to carry on the business of a wholesale liquor dealer, and also
that of a retail liquor merchant, shall obtain a separate license for each
and comply with all the provisions of this section 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 twenty
dollars, and, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment not exceed-
ing twelve months: provided, that nothing in this section shall prevent
wholesale confectioners from selling fruits preserved in ardent spirits,
nor breweries from sellifg beer direct to consumers at their homes.
Licenses required by this section shall be obtained from the county,
circuit, or corporation court of the county or citv in which the business
is to be conducted, except that the license to sell wine, ardent spirits,
malt liquor, or any mixture thereof, hy 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 vessels regularly engaged in plying the waters of the Atlan-
tic ocean), shall be obtained on the certificate of the county, circuit, cor-
poration, or hustings court of some county or city within the limits and
jurisdiction of which such steamboat, canal boat, ship, barge, or other
vessel tisually plies or is ‘usually stationed, and the license to a sample
liquor merchant shall be obtained on the certificate of circuit, corpora-
tion, or hustings court of some city of the State, but when so obtained the
license shall carry the privilege of selling anywhere in the State. The
clerk of the court granting the certificate to certify to the genuineness of
the license under the scal of the court. Any person, firm, company, cor-
poration, partnership, or association desiring to obtain a license such as
is required in any of the cases specified in this section shall make a
written application therefor to a comimissioner of the revenue of the
county or city from the circuit, county. or corporation or hustings court
of which a certificate is required. Such application shall state the name
of the applicant, the residence of the applicant, the nature of the business
for which the license is desired, the place where it is proposed to be prose-
cuted, and the amount required by law to be paid for the privilege 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.
When such application has been endorsed by the commissioner of the
revenue, “Referred to the corporation court of the city of .7 ag
the case may be, or when in towns of over five hundred inhabitants, based
on the last United States census, in which police protection is afforded, or
when application is made by any person, partnership, or corporation own-
ing or operating a hotel at a health resort having a natural mineral
spring or situated by the sea or any large body of salt water connected
therewith, or when such application is made for license to be exercised in
any community in a county contiguous to a city, though such community
be not incorporated, having on the fifteenth day of March, nineteen hun-
dred and three, police protection paid for by the public, and wherein the
court upon: evidence is satisfied that there is within a radius of one-half
of a mile of the place where such business is proposed to be conducted five
hundred or more inhabitants, and wherein licenses for the sale of liquor
have been granted during the twelve months next prior to the passage of
this act: provided, that no part of any city or incorporated town or of
any other county shall be included within such radius; or when any appli-
cation for a license is made by any manufacturer or distiller of alcoholic
liquors, such application has been endorsed by the commissioner of the
revenue, “Referred to the county court of county,” until Febru-
ary first, nineteen hundred and four, and after that time it has been en-
dorsed, “Referred to the circuit court of county,” as the case may
be, the applicant shall present the application so endorsed to the corpo-
ration, county, or circuit 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
would be aggrieved by granting such license to have himself 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 con-
duct 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: appro-
priate place for conducting such a business, the court may, upon the
execution by the applicant of bond in the penalty of not less than two
hundred and fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, with good security,
conditioned: for faithful compliance with all the requirements of this sec-
tion, grant such license; and thereupon the commissioner of the revenue
shall issue the same in such form as may be prescribed by the auditor of
public accounts. In case an application is refused by the court, the ap-
plicant shall have refunded to him by the treasurer or other collecting
officer the amount of money depositcd by him. In all cases except those
in this section before provided for, when such application has been en-
dorsed by the commissioner of the revenue, “Referred to the county court
county,” until February first, nineteen hundred and four, and
after that time it has been endorsed, “Referred to the circuit court of
county,” the applicant shall present the application so endorsed
to the 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: provided,
however, that in all cases other than those hereinabove excepted, before
any application for a license to sell by retail or to keep a malt liquor
saloon or an ordinary shall be presented to any county court before the
first of February, nineteen hundred and four, or to the circuit court after
that time, the applicant shall, in addition to complying with all the other
requirements of this section, first advertise his intention of making such
application by posting a written notice of such intention at the front door
of the courthouse of the county in which the business is proposed to be
conducted, and also at the place where it is proposed to conduct the said
business, for thirty days next preceding the day on which such applica-
tion shall be presented to the said county court before the first of Febru-
ary, nineteen hundred and four, or to the circuit court after that time,
and no court shall consider any such application until it shall have been
first proved to its satisfaction that the notice required by this section has
been so posted. It shall be lawful for any person who may consider that
he would be aggrieved by the granting of such license to have himself en-
tered 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 personally superintend the
same, and: will keep an orderly house, and that the place at which it is to
be conducted is a suitable, convenient, and appropriate place for conduct-
ing such a business, and one at which police protection is afforded, and if
it shall further plainly appear to the satisfaction of the court that a ma-
jority of the qualified voters of the district or town in which the privilege
is sought to be exercised are in favor of the application, that the sale of
ardent spirits at that place will not be contrary to a sound: public policy
or injurious to the morals or the material interest of the community, the
court may, upon the execution by the applicant of bond in the penalty of
not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars, with security conditioned for the faithful compliance with all
the requirements of this section, grant such license; and thereupon the
commissioner of revenue shall issue the same in such form as may be pre-
scribed by the auditor of public accounts. But if the court shall not be
fully satisfied: that all of the requirements of this scction have been com-
plied with, it shall refuse to grant the license. Either party to such ap-
plication shall, until the first of February, nineteen hundred and four,
have the right to appeal from the order or judgment of the county court
granting or refusing such application during the term at which the ap-
plication is heard to the circuit court of said county. The judge of such
circuit court shall take cognizance of such appeal, and may hear the same,
either in term time or in vacation. And if he shall be clearly of opinion
that all the requirements of this section have been fully complied with,
may grant the license upon the terms herein prescribed; but if such re
quirements have not been fully complied with, he shall refuse the same,
115
and the decision of such circuit court, or of the judge thereof in vacation,
shall be final, and no appeal, writ of error, or supersedeas shall lie thereto.
And after February first, nineteen hundred and four, there shall be no
appeal from the order of the circuit court on such application. The
party of 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 this act shall contain the waiver of the homestead exemption of the
obligors therein. In case an application be finally refused by the court.
the applicant shall have refunded to him by the treasurer or other col-
lecting officer the amount of money deposited by him: provided, however,
that in any district in which a vote on the proposition of license or no
license has been taken and decided affirmatively within the twelve months
prior to the application, the court shall presume that the qualified voters
are in favor of license: provided, however, that this section shall not be
construed as repealing any special act prohibiting the sale or manufacture
of ardent spirits in any county, district, or town; nor shall it be con-
strued. as allowing licenses to be granted in counties, districts, or towns
during such periods as, under the operation of the local-option statutes,
the result of clections held thereunder is against the granting of licenses
to sell liquor: and provided, further, that. anv person, firm, or corpora-
tion who has heretofore been licensed as a retail liquor dealer, and having
on hand a stock of liquor purchased before the passage of this act, who
is by the operation of this act prevented from obtaining a renewal of such
license, shall have for the period of thirty days after the passage of this
act the privilege of disposing of the said-stock of liquor at wholesale
without being required to take out additional license.
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.
The spccific sum to be paid for the privilege of selling by retail wine.
ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture of any of them, in the coun-
try or in towns or villages of one thousand inhabitants or less, or upon
any vessel, shall be one hundred and seventy-five dollars, or in cities or
towns or villages exceeding one thousand inhabitants, three hundred and
fifty dollars.
The specific sum to be paid for the privilege of keeping an ordinary
shall be as follows: In the country or in towns having a population of
two thousand or less, one hundred and seventy-five dollars; and in towns
or cities having a population of two thousand or more, three hundred and
fifty dollars; and in either case there shall be paid an additional sum
equal to eight per centum of the annual rent or rental value of the house
and furniture used for the purpose 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 thousand and under two thousand dollars, five per
centum of such rental value, and three per centum of such value from
two thousand dollars and upwards. Such annual rent and rental value
shall be determined by the actual rent of the house and furniture, and
may exceed such rent, and if it is not rental property the commissioner
shall determine the amount to be paid by what the probable rent would
be. 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 there-
for. If the said proprietor or tenant refuse to state the same when so
required, he shall pay a fine of five hundred dollars.
_ Any person who shall for compensation furnish diet for travelers, so-
journers, 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, spirituous, or malt liquors, or any mixtures of
them, shall be deemed to keep an ordinary, and shall constantly provide
the same with diet for travelers, and, unless it be dispensed with by the
court, with stabling and provender or pasturage and provender for their
orees.
Any person who shall keep an ordinary or hotel without a license shall
pay a fine of not less than thirty dollars nor more than one hundred dol-
lars for each day he may continue the same, but where the ordinary or
hotel shall be kept open for but part of the year the tax shall be appor-
tioned according to the time it is kept open.
Any person who shall for compensation furnish lodging, diet, and en-
tertainment for travelers, sojourners, guesta, or boarders in his house, and
sell by retail wine, spirituous, or malt liquors, or any mixtures of them,
shall be deemed to keep a hotel, and shall constantly provide the same for
lodgings, diet, and entertainment for travelers and guests. The amount
hn be paid for the privilege of keeping a hotel is to be determined as fol-
ows:
The specific sum which shall be paid for the privilege of keeping a
hotel, which privilege shall include the privilege of selling wine, ardent
spirits, and malt liquors in such hotels, 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 be as follows:
In the country or towns having a population of one thousand or less.
there shall be paid the sum of one hundred and seventy-five dollars, and
in towns or cities having a population of more than one thousand there
shall be paid three hundred and fifty dollars for this privilege; and in
either case there shall be paid for this privilege an additional sum of one
dollar per room for every room available in said hotel for the lodging
and accommodation of travelers, sojourners, boarders, and guests who may
patronize said hotel: provided, however, that the State licenses to the
keepers of ordinaries or hotels, or to retail liquor dealers, located or
whose places of business are situated within one-half a mile of the cor-
porate limits of any city or town, who may be entitled to license under
the provisions of this section, shall be the same as is imposed upon such
keepers or dealers within the corporate limits of such city or town.
Any person who shall keep a hotel without a license shall pay a fine of
not less than thirty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each
day he may continue the same; but when the hotel shall be kept open for
but part of the year the tax shall be apportioned according to the time it
is kept open. . ;
The bond taken of a licensed dealer under this section shall be deemed
916 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.
forfeited by his failure to pay any part of the amount required of him by
this section, and any portion as to which there is such failure of payment
may be recovered of him and his sureties, by motion or suit in any court
having jurisdiction, and may moreover be collected by the treasurer in
the manner that taxes are collected, and in the discretion of the court his
license forfeited.
The amount required by this section to be paid for the licenses herein
specified shall not be in lieu of any taxes on personal property actually
employed in any of the branches of business specified in this section.
The specific amount which each rectifier shall pay for the privilege of
carrying on his business shall be one hundred and fifty dollars, except
that a manufacturer of ardent spirits may rectify spirits of his own
manufacture without paying any additional sum for such privilege. Each
rectifier who shall desire to sell, by wholesale or retail, spirits so rectified
by him, shall pay for such privilege the same amount required to be paid
by other wholesale and retail dealers in ardent spirits.
Any druggist who desires to sell wine, ardent spirits, or malt liquors.
or any mixture thereof, or alcoholic bitters, shall take out a retail liquor
dealer’s license, and shall, in all respects, be deemed a retail liquor dealer,
and be subject to the requirements of this section: provided, the pro-
visions of this section shall not apply to liquor used by any druggist in
the preparation of medicine. 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 this section to
sell wine, ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture thereof. Any per-
son violating this provision shall be liable in all respects to the same pen-
alties which are imposed by this section for selling wine, ardent spirits,
malt liquors, or any mixture thereof, without a license therefor.
Every manufacturer or distiller of alcoholic 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, seventy-five dollars; thirty bushels and leas than forty-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 dol-
lars; one 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 dollars; 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 opera-
tions, and on the payment of such specific sum the manufacturer shall
have the privilege of selling the liquors actually manufactured by him in
quantities of not less than one gallon at the house where the same is
manufactured: provided, further, that all liquors bought shall be taken
away at the time bought from the place where sold. The manufacturer
of alcoholic liquors by direct fermentation and distillation from pomace
or from cider or fruits, where the distillery is run less than three months,
shall pay a specific sum of five 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 dollars, and if run six months or more there shall
be paid for the privilege fifty dollars. It shall be the duty of every
licensed distiller who manufactures brandy from fruit to furnish the
commissioner of revenue a copy of the returns made by him to the inter-
nal revenue assessor of the United States, and the commissioner of the
revenuc shall require said licensed distiller to make affidavit to the cor-.
rectness of such return. On payment of the above sum the distiller of
brandy shall have similar privileges in regard to the sale of brandy
manufactured by him to those granted to distillers of whiskey. For the
privilege of manufacturing malt liquors there shall 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 ex-
cess of five gallons at any place within the State of Virginia; and the said
manufacturer shall have the additional privilege of selling the products
of his brewing in quantitics not less than one gallon at the place of manu-
facture: 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 provided by this section.
The auditor of public accounts shall prescribe a form for licenses re-
quired by this section, which forms 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 the license begins and expires, and also the class
of license.
Every person obtaining any such license shall post the same in a con-
spicuous place in his office, if a wholesale liquor dealer; and if a retail
liquor dealer or malt liquor saloon-keeper, shall post the same in the most
conspicuous place about his bar or place of retailing, and shall expose the
same to common observation ; and any person failing to keep such license
0 conspicuously posted shall, on conviction, be fined not exceeding one
hundred dollars.
It shall be the duty of the judges of the circuit, county, or corpora-
tion courts to give this section, 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 counties, districts, or cities is engaged in the
sale of liquors without a license as prescribed in this section.
No person shall sell wine, ardent spirits, or malt liquors, or any mix-
ture thereof, by retail upon any steamboat, canal boat, ship, barge, or
other vessel at any wharf or landing, or upon any river, creck, sound, or
any of the other waters of this Commonwealth, without first having ob-
tained a license therefor in accordance with this section: 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 this section to be paid for such privilege: and provided,
further, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any steam-
ship or steamboat which is regularly engaged in plying the waters of the
Atlantic ocean.
This section shall not be construed to repeal or in any wise change the
provisions of the charter of any town or city in the State touching the
granting of licenses.
Any person violating any of the provisions of or failing to comply with
any of the requirements of this section shall, unless otherwise provided
herein, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not less than fifty
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense, and in addi-
tion he may, in the discretion of the jury, be imprisoned not more than
sixty days.
Any person who shall sell, or offer to sell, wine, ardent spirits, malt
liquors, cider, or any mixtures of any of them, by sample or other repre-
sentation, 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 be a personal privilege, and shall not be
transferable, nor shall any abatement of the sum required to be paid be
allowed. Any person, firm, or corporation who shall sell, or offer to sell,
in violation of this section, shall pay a fine of five hundred dollars for the
first offense and six hundred dollars for each succeeding offense, the in-
former to receive one-half of the fine so collected. No person, firm, or
corporation licensed as a sample liquor merchant under this section shall
be authorized to sell, except to some club, person, firm, or corporation
licensed under this and the succeeding section.
The amount to be paid for the privilege of doing business as a sample
liquor merchant shal] 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 ex-
clusive use and benefit. No agent or salesman shall be permitted to sell,
or offer to sell, as aforesaid, except he have with him at the time the li-
cense granted to the person, firm, or corporation from whom he acis,
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 also a duly executed power of attorney constituting
him such agent or salesman, which license and power of attornev 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 dollars. 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 section shall be construed to re
quire 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 him-
self 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 cor-
poration who shall so hire or allow the use of such license to any other
person, firm, or corporation shall forfeit such license; and the person,
firm, or corporation using such license shall pay a fine of three hundred
and fifty dollars for each offense: provided, that any person licensed as a
manufacturer under this section may sell by sample, either in person or
through his agents, provided the sales be by wholesale.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as licensing any person,.
firm, or corporation to sell wood alcohol, or any mixture thereof, as a
beverage, and the sale of such wood alcohol, or mixture thereof, as a bev-
crage is hereby prohibited.
Any person who sells alcoholic beverages of any description on Sunday
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hun-
dred dollars, and shall be imprisoned not less than fifteen days nor more
than sixty days in jail, and the license at the place where the alcoholic
beverages were sold on Sunday shall be revoked.
Any person who shall sell alcoholic beverages to a person under twenty-
one years of agé shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con-
viction shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dol-
lars, and the license at the place where the alcoholic beverages were so
sold shall be revoked.
2. This act shall be in force from its passage.