Chap. 398.—An ACT to give aid to soldiers, sailors, and marines of
Virginia maimed or disabled in the war between the states, and to
the widows of Virginia soldiers, sailors, and marines who lost their
lives in said war in the military service.

Approved March 5, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
there shall be paid out of tle treasury of Virginia, upon the!
warrants of the auditor of public accounts, annually upon or
after the first day of April in each year, to the persons here-
after designated and described and classified, upon the proofs
hereinafter prescribed, the amounts hereinafter specified, as
follows: To every person who is and has been at the time of '
his application, a citizen and resident of this state for one‘
year, and who lost an arm, or a leg, or a foot, ora hand while |
in discharge of his duty as a soldier, sailor, or marine of Vir-
ginia in the war between the states, the sum of thirty dollars
per annum; to every such citizen of Virginia who in like
manner lost two eyes, or two feet, or two hands, or a hand

and a foot, by reason of wounds received while in discharge
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of his duty as aforesaid, the sum of sixty dollars per annum;
to every such citizen who was disabled by reason of a wound
received while in discharge of his duty as aforesaid, if such
disability be proved to be total, thirty dollars per annum; if
such disability be partial, fifteen dollars per annum; to every
widow remaining unmarried of any soldier, sailor, or marine
of Virginia, whose husband lost his life while in the discharge
of his duty in the military service of Virginia or of the Con-
federate States, during the late war between the states, the
sum of thirty dollars per annum: provided, that at the time
of such application and of receiving aid under this act, such
widow shall be unmarried and a resident of Virginia: and
provided further, that she shall receive such aid only so long
as she remains unmarried and a resident of Virginia.
2. This act shall apply to any native of Virginia wno en-
listed from any other state in the military service of the Con-
federate States, and who is or shall be at the date of ,his ap-
plication for the benefit of this act, a citizen and resident of
this state; but no person holding a national, state, or county
office which pays him in salary or fees over three hundred
dollars per annum, or whose income from any other source
amounts to three hundred dollars, or who owns in his or her
own right, or whose wife owns property of the assessed value
of more than one thousand dollars, or who is in receipt of aid
or of a pension from any other state, or from the United
States, shall be entitled to any of the benefits of this act, or
who is an inmate of any soldiers’ home.
3. Before any person shall be entitled to the benefit of
this act, and receive the aid hereby provided for, he or she
shall file in the court of the county or corporation in which
the applicant resides (or in the hustings court of the city of
Richmond, if the applicant resides in that city), an applica-
tion for relief in the following form: “I, , a native of

the state of , and now acitizen of Virginia, resident

at ,in the county or city of ,in said state of
, and who was a soldier (sailor or marine, as the case
may be) from the state of Virginia, in the war between the
United States and the Confederate States, do hereby apply
for aid under the act of the general assembly, entitled an act
to give aid to soldiers, sailors, and marines of Virginia,
maimed or disabled in the war between the states; and to
the widows of Virginia soldiers, sailors, and marines, who
lost their lives in said war, in the military service. And I do
solemnly swear that while in the discharge of my duty in
the service of the Confederate States, as a member of (here
state specifically the command and branch of the service to
which the applicant belonged), on or about the day
of , 18——, I was wounded (here state specifically
the battle, combat, or encounter in which the applicant was
wounded), and that from the effects of such wound I was dis-
abled as follows: (here state whether the disability is total
or partial), and that by reason of such wound and disability,
I am now entitled to receive, under said act, the sum of ——

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dollars annually. I further swear that I do not hold any
national, state, or county office which pays me in salary or
fees over three hundred dollars per annum; nor have I an
income from any other source which amounts to three hun-
dred dollars; nor do I own in my own right, nor does my
wife own, property of the assessed value of more than one
thousand dollars; nor do I receive aid or a pension from any
other state, or from the United States; and that I am not an
inmate of any soldiers’ home. I do further swear that the
answers given to the following questions are true: First,
What is the applicant’s age? Second, In what battle or com-
bat, or under what circumstances was the applicant wounded?
Third, What was the precise nature of the wound received?
Fourth, What limb, if any, did the applicant lose by reason
of said wound? What eye, if any, did he lose? Fifth, If no
limb or eye was so lost, what is the precise nature of the disa-
bility occasioned thereby? Sixth, Ts it total? (a) Is it par-
tial; and if so, to what extent does it disable him from man-
ual labor? Given under my hand this day of ,
18——.”

“TY, judge of the court for the of "
doecertify that , whose name is signed to the forego-:
ing application, personally appeared before me in open court,
and having the said application read and fully explained to
him, as well as the statements and answers therein made, he,
the said , made oath before me that the said state-
ments and answers are true. Given under my hand this ——
day of , 18—.”

Orin case the applicant is entitled to receive aid as a widow,
she shall make an application in the following form:

«yy, , resident at ,in the county of , in:
the state of Virginia, do hereby apply for aid under an act of!
the general assembly, entitled an act to give aid to soldiers, sail-
ors and marines of Virginia, maimed or disabled in the war
between the states, and to the widows of Virginia soldiers,
sailors, and marines, who lost their lives in said war in the
military service; and I do swear that 1am the widow of—,
who was a member of , and who, while in the discharge
of his duty in the military service during the late war be-
tween the states, lost his life; and I do further swear that I
am not receiving aid from, or a pension from any state, or
from the United States, and that I do not hold any national,
state, or county office which pays me in fees or salary over
three hundred dollars; that my income from nosource amounts
to three hundred dollars, and that I do not own in my own
right, property of the assessed value of one thousand
dollars, and that I am now entitled to receive annually
the sum of thirty dollars, under the terms of the aforesaid
act of the general assembly. And I do further swear that
the following answers are true: First, What was the name of
the applicant’s deceased husband? Second, When and where,
as nearly as can be ascertained, did the applicant’s husband
die; and from what cause? Third, When and where were

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the applicant and her deceased husband married? Fourth,
Has the applicant ever married again?”

a , judge of the court for the of
, do certify that , whose name is signed to the
foregoing application, personally appeared before me in open
court, and having the said application fully read and ex-
plained to her, as well as the statements and answers therein
made, she, the said , made oath before me that said
statements ang answers are true. Given under my hand this

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4, After such application has been signed and sworn to by
the applicant and certified by such judge, he shall examine
such evidence as shall be adduced before him as to the facts
set forth in such application, and if he be satisfied from the
evidence of at least two credible witnesses, that the facts set
forth in said application are true, he shall certify on the back
of the application to the following effect:

“I, —— ——, judge of the court, for the of
, do certify that I have carefully inquired and exam-
ined into, and am fully satisfied, from the evidence adduced
before me, that each and all of the facts set forth in the
within application are true; that the applicant is the idegti-
cal person named in the application; that the application is
for these reasons approved, and it is therefore certified that
—— is entitled to receive annually from the state of
Virginia the sum of dollars.”

5. Total disability, in the meaning of this act, shall be
such as wholly incapacitates the applicant for manual labor.
The partial disability which shall entitle an applicant to the
benefit of this act, must be proved and ascertained to the
satisfaction of the judge to be such as incapacitates the appli-
cant for obtaining a livelihood by his manual labor, and to
be equivalent to that which would be occasioned by the loss
of a limb.

6. Such applications may be heard in term time at the
courthouse of the county or city in which the applicant
resides. The clerk of said court shall enter upon the minute
book of the court an order, stating whether said application
is allowed or not. When such judge is satisfied that the
claim made by the applicant is just, and sustained by the
proofs, the clerk of his court shall so certify the same to
the auditor of public accounts under: the seal of the said
court, and shall.at once forward the original application to
the said auditor, who shall file the same in his office.

7. The auditor shall carefully examine every such appli-
cation and the certificates thereto, upon the receipt thereof;
and upon being satisfied that all the requirements of this
law have been complied with in all particulars, and that the
applicant is entitled to the relief as herein provided, he shall
draw his warrant upon the treasurer, in favor of the appli-
cant, for the amount authorized by this act to be paid to him
or her. And for the proper discharge of the duties
prescribed by this section, the auditor shall be allowed

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temporarily to employ when necessary, and pay for the ser- |
vices of a competent clerk to assist in such examination, the!
cost of such assistant service not to exceed nine hundred

dollars in the aggregate. He shall reject all applications in
which the proofs and facts certified do not show the appli-'
cants to be entitled to the benefits of this act, and shall class-

ify the applications according to the tacts proved.

8. After an application has been once so passed, approved, .
and allowed, it shall only be necessary for the applicant |
annually thereafter to file with the auditor of public accounts |
@ certificate from the clerk of the court, by which, or by the |
judge thereof, the original application was approved, setting
forth that the applicant is the identical person named in the
original application, and that he or she is still alive, and if a
widow of a deceased soldier, sailor, or marine is still unmar-
ried and a resident of this state, and that the applicant has
made oath before him that the applicant does not own in his
or her own right, or in the right of his wife, property of the
assessed value of one thousand dollars, and does not hold a-
state, county, or federal office, the annual fees or salary from
which amount to three hundred dollars, and has not an
annual income from any source amounting to three hundred
dollars, and upon the receipt of such certificate of such clerk,
the auditor of public accounts shall, from time to time,
annually draw his warrant upon the treasurer, in favor of
such applicant, for the amount he or she is entitled to under
this act. .

9. The auditor of public accounts shall cause the forms of |
applications and the certificates required by this act to be:
prepared; and he will cause a sufficient number of each class
of forms to be printed and distributed to the clerks of each of
the courts hereinbefore mentioned, for the use of applicants.
Said applications for each county or city shall be numbered
from one upwards.

10. No fee or other compensation shall be charged or re-:
ceived by any clerk, attorney, or other person for any ser-|
vices rendered to any applicant under the provisions of this:
act, and any person who shall purchase from any soldier, sailor,
or marine, or from any widow of any deceased soldier, sailor, or
marine any claim allowed under the provisions of this act, for
a price or sum less than the full amount thereof, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall

e fined or imprisoned, or both, at the discretion of the court.
The provisions hereby made for disabled soldiers, marines, ;
and widows of deceased soldiers, shall be exempt from levy, |
garnishment, or attachment for any debt or pecuniary de-
mand.

11. The sum of sixty-five thousand dollars, or so much.
thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for the
year ending September thirtieth, eighteen hundred and
eighty-eight, and for each year thereafter, to meet the re-
quirements of this act, payable out of any money in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated.

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12, All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act
are hereby repealed.
13. This act shall be in force from its passage.