Chap. 315.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 4128, 4124,
4152, 4159, 4160, 4161, 4162, 4163, 4164, 4167 and 4173, of chapter
202, code of Virginia, in relation to rules governing the man-
agement of the penitentiary.

Approved February 19, 1802.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That sections forty-one hundred and twenty-three, forty-
one hundred and twenty-four, forty-one hundred_and fifty-
two, forty-one hundred and fifty-nine, forty-one hundred
and sixty, forty-one hundred and sixty-one, forty-one
hundred and sixty-two, forty-one hundred and sixty-three,
forty-one hundred and sixty-four, forty-one hundred and
sixty-seven and forty-one hundred and seventy-three, of
chapter two hundred and two, be amended and _re-enacted
so as to read as follows:

§ 4123. Male prisoners to subscribe to rules, and so
forth; how refractory, and so forth; convicts provided
for; disposition of insane.—Before any male prisoner
shall be permitted to labor in the shops, or elsewhere out
of his room, he shall make and subscribe such promise
of obedience and fidelity to the rules and orders of the
institution, as shall be prescribed by the governor, and it
shall be the duty of the superintendent, as far as practi-
cable, to provide suitable employment in separate rooms
for the refractory and obstinate, and for those of disor-
dered mind ‘or who for any cause are unfit to be congre-
gated in the shops. If at any time there is reasonable
ground to doubt the sanity of a convict, the superintend-
ent shall report it to the governor, who shall order such
convict to be brought before the circuit court of the city
of Richmond, which is hereby charged with the trial of
the fact as to his sanity in the manner provided in sec-
tion four thousand and thirty-two, and if the jury find
him insane, he shall be transferred to one of the lunatic
asylums as provided in section sixteen hundred and sev-
enty-two and sixteen hundred and seventy-three, and
when restored to sanity he shall be returned to the peni-
tentiary in the manner prescribed in section four thous-
and and thirty-three.

§ 4124. Male and females to be kept separate; how
clothed; infants.—The male and female convicts shall be
kept separate from each other, and the males shall have
their heads and beards close shaven or shorn once a fort-
night, and oftener if need be. Every convict shall be
clothed at the public expense in a distinctive uniform for
each sex made of coarse material. An infant accompa-
nying a convict mother to the penitentiary or born after
her imprisonment therein, shall be returned, on attaining
the age of four years, to the county or city from which
the mother came, to be disposed of as the county court of
said county or the hustings or corporation court of said
city may order.

§ 4152. Who may enter interior of penitentiary, visitors
not to converse with convicts.—The governor, members of
the general assembly, ministers of any religious denomi-
nation for performing religious service and the officers and
others having duties or business therein -may go into the
interior of the penitentiary. Any person who shall obtain
a permit to do so from the governor may also visit the
same. The boardof directors shall prescribe the time and
conditions on which all other persons may enter the inte-
rior of the penitentiary. There shall be no conversation
between a visitor and a convict unless special license
therefor be given by the governor or superintendent.

§ 415'. Where superintendent may reside, his fuel, etc.
His duties.—The superintendent may reside in one of the
dwelling-houses on the penitentiary grounds fronting on
Belvidere street, and shall be allowed his fuel, water and
gas. He shall be the chief executive officer of the peni-
tentiary, and shall direct its internal police and manage-
ment, subject to the control of the board of directors.
- § 4160. How clerk, assistant clerk and assistant keepers

appointed; their oath; matron.—There shall be appointed
by the governor, on the recommendation of the board of
directors, a clerk of the penitentiary and an assistant
clerk, and on the recommendation of the superintendent
not exceeding seven assistant keepers, who shall take the
oath prescribed by law for public officers. The governor
may also, if the board recommend it, appoint a matron of
the female department.

§ 4161. Rank and duties of assistant keepers; where
first assistant may reside; his fuel, and so forth.—The
duties of the assistant keepers shall be prescribed by the
superintendent, and they shall be designated and stand in
authority as first assistant, second assistant, and in like
order. The first assistant may reside in the other of the
two houses named in section forty-one hundred and fifty-
nine, and shall be allowed his fuel, water, and gas. He
shall act in place of the superintendent when he is
absent. The duties of the first assistant shall, in his ab-
sence, be performed by the second assistant, and in like
order, in succession.

§ 4162. The superintendent may purchase material and
supplies for penitentiary.—The superintendent shall, with
the approval of the board, and under such regulations as
it may prescribe, purchase such material and provis-
lons a8 may be necessary for the institution, of which he
shall keep an account showing separately the kind and
quantity of material and provisions purchased, and the
price thereof.

8 4163. Moneys received to be paid into treasury; how
paid out.—He shall, at the end of each month, or oftener
if the board direct, pay all money received by him into
the treasury, to the credit of the penitentiary fund, and
the same shall be paid out on the order of the superin-
tendent, approved by the board.

§ 4164. Monthly report of superintendent.—He shall
make a report to the board at its firat meeting in each
month of his receipts for the hire of convicts, and from
any other source, and also of his disbursements during
the past month, vouchers for which shall be examined
by the board and preserved by the clerk.

§ 4167. Employment of guard; their number and du-
ties; how dismissed; right of guard and officers to carry
weapons; absentees.—The superintendent may employ a
guard not exceeding forty persons as the interior and ex-
terior guard of the penitentiary, who shall each take an
oath faithfully to discharge the duties of his office, and
shall perform such duties as the superintendent (subject
to the control of the governor) may direct. Any person 80
employed may be dismissed from service at the discretion
sither of the board or the superintendent. It shall be

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lawful for any officer er guard to carry sufficient weapons
to prevent escapes, suppress rebellion, and for self-defence,
and to use the same against any convict for such purpose.
The superintendent may adopt regulations approved by
the board under which leave of absence may be granted
to an assistant keeper or member of the guard. If an ab-
sentee furnishes satisfactory evidence to the superinten-
dent that his absence was unavoidable from sickness his
pay may continue during such absence.

§ 4173. Tasking convicts; how compensation for work
done beyond task fixed and paid.—The superintendent,
with the consent and advice of the governor, may establish
a system of tasking the convicts in the different wards of
the penitentiary, when it can be done, and allow to any
convict a reasonable compensation for work done beyond
his task, which shall be placed to his credit and paid to
him when he is discharged from prison; or if he request
that a portion or all of it be paid to his family or near
relatives, the superintendent may do so at any time during
his imprisonment; or if he so desire, it may be paid to
him from time to time in provisions or other articles se-
lected from a standing list to be prepared by the superin-
tendent and approved by the board; said articles to be
purchased by the superintendent as provided in section
forty-one hundred and sixty-two, and charged to the con-
victs at cost. The amount to be allowed for work done
shall be fixed by the superintendent with the approval of
the board.

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