Chap. 207.—An ACT for the Protection of Religious Meetings and Preserva-
tion of Order at the Same.

Approved March 28, 1871.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, If any
person shall erect, place, or have any booth, stall, tent, car-
riage, boat, vessel, or other vehicle, or contrivance whatever,
for the purpose or use of selling, giving, or otherwise disposing
of, any kind of spirituous or fermented liquors, or any other
articles of traffic, or shall sell, give, barter, or otherwise dis-
pose of any spirituous or fermented liquors, or any other
articles of tratlic, within one mile of any camp meeting, or
other place of religious worship, during the time of holding
any meeting tor religious worship at such place, such person,
on conviction before a justice of the peace, for the first offence,
shall be fined not less than five nor more than twenty dollars,
and stand committed to jail until the fine and costs are paid ;
and for the second offence, shall be fined as aforesaid, and be
imprisoned not less than ten nor more than thirty days.

2. If any person shall commit any offence against the pro-
visions of the preceding section, he shall, in addition to the
penalties therein mentioned, forfeit all such spirituous or fer-
mented liquors and other articles of traffic, and all the chests
and other things containing the same, belonging to and in the
possession of the person so offending, together with such booth,
stall, tent, carriage, boat, vessel, vehicle, or other contrivance
or thing prepared and used in violation of said section; and it
shall be the duty of any sheriff, deputy sheriff, .or constable, if
he sees any person violating the preceding section, to arrest
the offender and carry him before a justice of the peace. The
sheriff, deputy sheriff, or constable, when he arrests the offen-
der, shall seize the property hereby declared to be torfeited,
or shall seize the same ona warrant against the offender, if
such offender cannot be found; and the justice of the peace,
before whom such offender is convicted, or before whom the
warrant is returned that the offender cannot be found, shall
enter judgment of condemnation against such property, and
issue a fieri facias for the sale thereof: provided, the person
who has been returned not found, and whose property has been
condemned in his absence, may appear at any time before the
sale of the property, and have the case tried as if he had ap-
peared at the return of the warrant.

3. The provisions of the two preceding sections shall not
apply to any licensed tavern keeper, merchant, shopkeeper,
farmer, or other person in the usual and lawful transaction of
his ordinary business, in the usual place of transacting such
business, or to any person having permission, in writing, from
the superintendent of such meeting, to sell such articles as may
be named in such permission: provided, this permission shall
not extend to the sale of any spirituous or fermented liquors.

4. All fines imposed and collected under this act, for dis-
turbing religious meetings, shall be paid to the county; and
nothing in this act shall prevent the courts of record from
exercising their common law or statutory jurisdiction in all
cases for disturbing public worship: provided, that the party
convicted under any of the preceding sections, shall have the
right to appeal to the next county court for the county where
the conviction is had, upon giving bail for his appearance at
court, and, upon such appeal, shall be entitled to a trial by
jury: and provided further, that when any person or persons
are proceeded against under this act, he, or they, shall not be
held to answer for the same offence before any grand jury or
court of record, except as herein provided.

0. The supervisor or any justice of the township, where the
meeting is held, shall have power to appoint a temporary police
to enforce the provisions of this act.

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