Chap. 260.—An ACT to incorporate the Foundling hospital of
the city of Richmond.

Approved February 16, 1892,
Whereas it is represented to the general assembly of

Virginia that the late P. Wilkie Brown, of Richmond,
Virginia, by his last will and testament bequeathed to the
Rev. Joshua Peterkin, D. D., and the Rev. Moses D. Hoge, D.
D., of the city of Richmond, Virginia, a large sum of money
in trust, for the purpose of establishing in the city of
Richmond a foundling hospital, in which are to be ad-
mitted and taking white foundlings in the city of Rich-
mond, from time to time; and for taking care and pro-
viding for such foundlings until they arrive at a suitable
age to be apprenticed, or otherwise placed in condition to
provide for themselves, or until they can be provided for
elsewhere, and enjoined upon and earnestly requested and
directed the said trustees to procure an act of incorpora-
tion from the legislature of Virginia, containing such
provisions as in their judgment would make his purposes
effectual. And whereas it is further represented to the
general assembly of Virginia that the Reverend Joshua
Peterkin has declined to accept the said trust and that
the chancery court of the city of Richmond, by a decree
entered on the twenty-first day of April, eighteen hundred
and ninety-one, has appointed Charles V. Meredith, trustee,
in the place and stead of the said Joshua Peterkin, to act
in conjunction with the said Moses D. Hoge. And in
pursuance of the said last will and testament of P. Wilkie
Brown, deceased, the said trustees do now apply for a
charter of incorporation; therefore,

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That Moses D. Hoge, C. V. Meredith, W. W. Parker, E. A.
Catlin, and John Skelton Williams, and their associates
and successors, a8 hereinafter provided, be, and they are
hereby ,constituted and created a body politic and corpo-
rate by the name of the Foundling hospital of Richmond,
Virginia, and by that name are hereby made capable in
law and equity to sue and be sued, plead and be implead-
ed, contract and be contracted with; to make, have, and
use a common seal, and to alter, break, or renew the same
at pleasure, and shall have the right to take and hold by
purchase, gift, or devise, real and personal estate (the real
estate not exceeding in value two hundred thousand dol-
lars, exclusive of improvements), and to dispose of, mort-
gage, pledge, and convey the same whenever directed by a
majority vote of the board of governors.

2. The five persons hereinbefore mentioned as the incor-
porators of said institution shall constitute the board of
governors, and shal! hold office for life, or so long as they
are residents of Virginia; and in the event of death or
resignation or removal from Virginia of any one or more
of said board, the remaining members shall elect other
suitable persons to fill vacancies, who shall thereupon be
invested with like powers and hold office as their prede-
cessors; and three members shall constitute a quorum to
transact any business.
3. There shall be a meeting of the said board of gover-
nors, within six months after the passage of this act, for
the purpose of organization. Said board shall then elect
from its own members a president, and shall as soon as
practicable appoint a secretary and treasurer, and all
other subordinate officers and agents necessary to con-
duct the affairs of the institution, and shall prescribe
their duties and affix such compensation for their services
as it may deem proper. The board of governors sha!l,
from time to time, adopt such by-laws and regulations as
may be necessary for the government of the institution,
which shall have the same force and effect as if expressed
in this act of incorporation. There shall be an annual
meeting of the board of governors at such time and place
as may be fixed bv the by-laws.

4, In view of the charitable objects to be accomplished
by the institution hereby incorporated, its property, real
and personal, shall be exempt from city, county, and state
taxes. Anda misnomer of the corporation in any deed,
gift, grant, or devise, or any instrument or contract, shall
not vitiate the same if said corporation be sufficiently de-
scribed therein to show the intention of the parties. The
said corporation shall have the power to receive into its cus-
tody and retain under its exclusive control and manage-
ment any white foundling in the city of Richmond,
Virginia. And the “Foundling hospital of Richmond,
Virginia,” hereby incorporated and made a body politic,
shall have the same right as any individual now has to
qualify as statutory guardian, or to be appointed testa-
mentary guardian of an infant eligible to admission into
said institution; but no commission shall be allowed to
said corporation upon moneys received by it as such
guardian. The children who shall be received into said
hospital as aforesaid, shall, from the time they are so re-
ceived, and until they arrive at a suitable age to be ap-
prenticed or otherwise placed in condition to provide for
themselves, or until they can be provided for elsewhere, or
unless sooner voluntarily dismissed by the board of gov-
ernors, remain under its charge and be subject to its
exclusive control. The corporation hereby created is in-
vested with all the rights of a parent or natural guardian
over the person of any child committed to its charge for
the purpose of the protection and proper training of such
child; and the manager of said hospital shall have the
right, by and with the consent of the board of governors,
to apprentice or put to service for a term of years any
of the foundling inmates upon such terms and condi-
tions as in the judgment of the board the welfare of the
child may require. The person to whom such inmate may
be apprenticed or put to service shall report to the Found-
ling hospital of Richmond, Virginia, at stated periods to
be named in the articles of apprenticeship, the condition
of the child as well as the conduct of the same; and
should the party to whom such apprentice may be bound
fail to comply with the terms of the indenture, the board
of governors may cancel said indenture and receive the
apprentice again into the hospital. The chancery court
of the city of Richmond, in whose jurisdiction the said
foundling hospital is located, shall have the power, on
complaint of any person, to investigate the condition or
treatment of a child or children apprenticed or put into
service by said institution, and to correct and annul any
articles of apprenticeship that may have been entered into
under this act, if upon investigation such court should
deem it advisable and just; and for the purposes of exe-
cuting the power hereby given, such court shall cause such
child or children to be brought before it, together with the
persons to whom said child or children may have been
bound.

5. The president shall hold office until the next annual
meeting of the corporation and until his successor is
elected. The secretary, treasurer, and other subordinate
officers shall hold office for such time as the board of gov-
ernors may prescribe.

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