Chap. 405.—An ACT to Amend and Re-enact Chapter 85 of the Code of
Virginia, in Relation to Insane Persons.

Approved November 5, 1870.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
sections one, two, three, eight, ten, twelve, twenty five, sixty,
and sixty-one, of chapter eighty-five of the Code of Virginia,
be and the same are hereby amended and re-enacted so as to
read as follows:

Ҥ 1. Each lunatic asylum established in this state shall be
under the management of a board of directors.

Ҥ 2. There shall be three asylums for the insane: the first
to be located as at present at Williamsburg, under the name
of the Eastern lunatic asylum; the second to be located as at
present at Staunton, under the name of the Western lunatic
asylum; and the third to be located temporarily at Howard’s
Grove, near the city of Richmond, under the name of the Cen-
tral lunatic asylum.

Ҥ 3. The directors of the Central, Eastern, and Western
lunatic asylums, shall consist of eleven members each; the
term of office shall be for three years, commencing on the first
of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, except where
it is otherwise provided by law; five directors shall constitute
a court for the transaction of business.”

Ҥ 8. A treasurer for each asylum (who shall not be a direc-
tor) shall annually be appointed by the board, who shall give
bond in such penalty as shall be approved by the board. He
shall receive and keep all money belonging to said asylum, dis-
burse the same under the orders of the board, and settle his
accounts, as treasurer, semi-annually. His draft on the treasury
for an appropriation shall be under the order of the board, of
which a copy shall accompany the draft; and no sych dratt
shall be allowed by the auditor of public accounts until all
money drawn on account of the next preceding year is duly
accounted for. Hereafter the amounts received for pay pa-
tients at the Eastern, Central, and Western lunatic asylums,
shall be reported quarterly to the auditor of public accounts,
and charged to each asylum, respectively, as a part of the sup-

ort fund thereof.”

“$10. The treasurer of the Eastern and Central lunatic asy-
lums, upon the receipt of moneys in their official capacity,
whether by appropriations of the general assembly, or from
any other source, shall immediately thereupon deposit the samv
in some one of the banks in the city of Richmond, to the credit
of the treasurer of the Eastern or Central lunatic asylums, re-
spectively; and it shall not be lawful for the cashier or other
officer of said bank to pay out the said money so deposited
upon the order, draft, or check of the said treasurer, except
upon the order of the board of directors of said Eastern and
Central asylums, authorizing the same to be drawn; and it
shall not be lawful for the said board of directors to authorize
the said treasurer to draw as aforesaid, except in such amounts
and at such times as shall be necessary to meet expenditures
for the said asylums.”

Ҥ 12. The board of each asylum shall, annually, before the
first day of November, report to the governor, for information
of the general assembly, the condition of the asylum, and an
account of all sums received and disbursed, with a list of the
patients, designated by name or otherwise, in the asylum du-
ring the preceding year, showing their age and sex, place of re-
sidence and civil condition, the deaths and discharges, and con-
dition when discharged, and any statistics and remarks as to
the management of the insane and the subject of insanity,
which in their judgment may be useful.”

Ҥ25. The sheriff, or other officer to whom such order of
the justices is directed, shall immediately ascertain, by written
inquiry of the superintendent of the nearest appropriate asy-
lam, whether there is a vacancy in such asylum, and if there
be none, he shall make a similar inquiry of the other superin-
tendents. Until it is ascertained that there is a vacancy, the
patient shall be kept in the jail of the county or corporation.”

Ҥ 60. The expenses of an insane infant (not paid by his
committee) or married woman, incarred in his or her removal,
maintenance, or care, shall be paid, within the time specified in
the preceding section, to the treasurer of the asylum or into
the public treasury, as the case may be, by the guardian, if
there be one who has sufficient funds in hands, or if no guar-
dian having suflicient estate of such infant, then by his father,
or if no father, by his mother, or by the husband of an insane
woman.

Ҥ61. The directors of either asylum, on behalf of such
asylum, and the auditor of public accounts on behalf of the
commonwealth, may respectively, in their discretion, release
the whole or any part of any claim of such asylum or the
commonwealth, for the expenses attending the removal, main-
tenance, or care of a lunatic, if he have a family dependent on
his estate for support, or if the claim be against the father,
mother, or husband of the lunatic, or if, in their’ opinion, it be
just and equitable that the said claim should be so released.”

2. Be it further enacted, That sections fourteen, fifteen, six-
teen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, and thirty-one of
the said chapter of the Code of Virginia, be and the same are
hereby repealed.

3. This act shall be in force from and after its passage.