CHAP. 421.—An ACT relating to licensed warehousemen and others
in this state, the storage of property therewith, and making certain
warehouse and other receipts negotiable.

Approved March 6, 1886.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
warehouse or other storage receipts, with the word negotiable
plainly written or stamped on the face thereof by the person,
firm or corporation issuing the same, given for any goods,
wares, merchandise, cotton, grain, flour, tobacco, lumber, iron
or other commodity, stored or deposited with any person, firm
or corporation, keeping a licensed warehouse, or any yard or
other place for the storage of such property, in this state, shall
be negotiable and transferable by indorsement and delivery,
whether the property specified in such receipt be owned by
the person, firm or corporation issuing the same, or of any
other person or persons; and any person to whom the said re-
ceipt shall be so transferred shall be deemed and taken to be
the owner of the property therein specified, so far as to give
validity to any lien, pledge or transfer, made by such transfer,
whether admitted to record or not, subject, however, to pay-
ment of storage and other charges thereon of the person, firm
or corporation keeping such warehouse, yard, or other place
of storage; but no property shall be delivered except on the
surrender and cancellation of the said receipt, or in case of any
partial delivery, the indorsement of such delivery thereon.

2. No such warehousemen, or other person, firm or corpo-
ration, shall issue any warehouse or storage receipt for any
property to any person or persons, purporting to be the owner
or owners thereof, unless such property shall have been ac-
tually received into store, or upon the premises of such ware-
houseman, and shall be in store or on the premises of such
warehouseman, person, firm or corporation, and under his or
their control, at the time of issuing such receipt.

3. No such warehouseman, or other person or corporation,
shall issue any second or duplicate receipt for any property,
while any former receipt for any such property as aforesaid, or
any part thereof, shall be outstanding and uncancelled, without
writing or stamping in plain letters across the face of the same,
duplicate. .

4. No such warehouseman, or other person, firm or corpo-
ration, shall sell or encumber, ship, transfer, or in any manner
remove beyond his or their immediate control, any goods,
wares, merchandise, grain, flour, tobacco, lumber or other
commodity for which a receipt shall have been given by him
as aforesaid, without the cancellation and surrender of such re-
ceipt, or the consent of the holder thereof endorsed thereon,
except to enforce his lien for storage and other charges.

5. Whenever any grain shall be delivered for storage to any
person, firm or corporation, doing business in this state, such
delivery shall in all things be deemed and treated as a bailment,
and not as a sale of the property so delivered, notwithstanding
such grain may be mingled by such warehouseman with the
grain of other persohs, and notwithstanding such grain may be
shipped or removed from the warehouse, elevator or other
place where the same was stored. And in no other case shall
the grain so stored, and which such bailee may hereafter be re-
quired to keep on hand, be liable to seizure upon any process
of any court in any action against such bailee. The provisions
of this act shall apply to grain so stored, and warehouse or
elevator receipts issued for the same shall for all purposes be
within the operation of this act. In such receipts it shall be
sufficient to state the amount, kind and grade of the grain so
stored. .

6. If any manufacturer, merchant or incorporated company,
or their agent, clerk, servant or any other person, shall wil-
fully or fraudulently make or alter any paper purporting to be
a warehouse receipt issued under this act, or who shall wilfully
or fraudulently obtain, remove or deliver any property what-
soever for which such receipt shall have been given, unless such
receipt or other evidence of delivery shall have been surren-
dered and cancelled, or such delivery shall be directed by an
endorsement on such receipt or other evidence of delivery, or
order of the party holding the same, or who shall wilfully or
‘fraudulently violate any of the provisions of this act, such
agent, clerk, servant, manager, manufacturer, merchant or
other person shall be deemed guilty of larceny, and upon in-
dictment and conviction shall pay a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding three years;

or by both such fine and imprisonment: provided, that nothing
herein contained shall be construed to prevent the bona fide
delivery of property to the person entitled to the same, where
the warehouse receipt for the same has been lost or destroyed:
provided, however, that proof of the publication by advertise-
ment for at least two weeks in one or more daily newspapers
published in the city or county where such warehouse or ele-
vator is located, that such receipt has been lost or destroyed,

shall be first filed with such warehouseman or other person be-
fore any such delivery shall be made.

7. Where such property shall be taken from the possession
of any such warehouseman by writ of attachment, replevin, or
other legal process, such warehouseman shall not be liable
therefor to the owner of such property, or to the holder of any
warehouse receipt given for the same; save and reserving,
however, to‘such owner or holder all the legal remedies for the
recovery of the said goods, wares or merchandise from any
person unlawfully detaining the same, or for the recovery of
damages against any person unlawfully taking the same, or for
the protection of any of the rights of the holder of such re-
ceipt as to a lien upon, a claim to, or an interest in any such
property; and so much of this act as forbids the delivery of
property, except on the surrender and cancellation of the ori-
ginal receipt, or the endorsement of such delivery thereon in
case of partial delivery, shall not apply to property replevined
or removed by operation of law or legal process.

8. That any such warehouseman who has parted by mistake
with the possession of property to any person not entitled to
the possession thereof, may, after demand, maintain an action
of detinue for the same, or, if the property cannot be found,
an action of assumpsit, or trover, or conversion, against the
party converting or removing it. In the case of detinue, if
there was fraud in obtaining such possession, the plaintiff shall
first tender to the defendant the storage or other proper
charges which have accrued at the demand of possession.

g. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be and
the same are hereby repealed.

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