CHAP. 310.—An ACT to amend certain sections, repeal certain sections of
and to add certain new sections to, chapter 21, Code of Virginia, be-
ing sections 300 to 382, inclusive, providing for the public defense

Approved March 14, 1912.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
sections three hundred and one, three hundred and twelve, three
hundred and fourteen, three hundred and twenty-eight, three
hundred and twenty-nine, three hundred and forty-four, three
hundred and forty-five, three hundred and forty-six, three hun-
dred and forty-seven, three hundred and forty-eight, three hun-
dred and fifty-five, three hundred and sixty, three hundred and
sixty-four, three hundred and sixty-eight, three hundred and
sixty-nine, three hundred and seventy-one, three hundred and
seventy-two-a, three hundred and seventy-three, three hundred
and seventy-four, three hundred and seventy-six, three hundred
and seventy-seven and three hundred and seventy-nine, of the
Code of Virginia be amended to read as hereinafter set forth.

§1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
sections three hundred and eight-a, three hundred and thirty-
eight-a, three hundred and fifty-five-a, three hundred and fifty-
five-b, three hundred and seventy-two-b, three hundred and
seventy-six-a, and three hundred and eighty-a, as hereinafter set
forth be added to chapter twenty-one, Code of Virginia, and that
sections three hundred and one-a, three hundred and seven, three
hundred and thirteen, three hundred and fourteen, three hun-
dred and seventeen, three hundred and eighteen, three hundred
and twenty, three hundred and twenty-one, three hundred and
twenty-two, three hundred and twenty-four, three hundred
and twenty-five, three hundred and twenty-six, three hundred
and twenty-seven, three hundred and fifty-seven, three hundred
and fifty-eight, three hundred and fifty-nine, three hundred and
sixty-five, of the Code of Virginia be repealed.

§301. Volunteers; of what to consist.—The Virginia vol-
unteers shall consist in time of peace of not more than forty
companies of infantry, four troops of cavalry, four batteries of
field artillery, five divisions of naval volunteers, one of which
may be a special engineer division, twelve companies of coast
artillery, and such auxiliary troops as may be prescribed by the
commander-in-chief. But the commander-in-chief shall have
power to change temporarily or permanently the arms, in whole
or in part, of any company, troop, battery, or division to such
other arm of the service as he may deem advisable. The com-
mander-in-chief shall have the power, 1n case of war, invasion,
insurrection, or imminent danger thereof, to increase the said
force and organize the same, as the exigencies of the occasion
may require.

§808-a. Relative rank of officers—The day of appoint-
ment or election of an officer shall be expressed in his comniis-
sion and shall be considered as the date thereof. When an of-
ficer is appointed, elected, or transferred from one office or or-
ganization to another, without loss of grade or continuous ser-
vice, he shall rank in his grade according to the date of his
original commission, which shall be stated in his new commis-
sion.

§312. Contributing members may be enrolled.—Each volun-
teer company of infantry, troop of cavalry, company of coast
artillery, division of naval volunteers, or organization of aux-
iliary troops, which is armed and uniformed, may, besides
its regular and active members, enroll thirty contributing mem-
bers; and batteries of field artillery may enroll sixty contribu-
ting members, on payments in advance, by each person desiring
to become such contributing member, of not less than twenty-
five dollars per annum, which money shall be paid into the
company treasury, and applied to such purposes as may be au-
thorized by a majority vote of the active members of such com-
pany, and so forth.

Every such contributing member shall be furnished by the
proper officer of the volunteers with a certificate in the nature of
a receipt for the amount paid by him under the provisions of
this section, and in no case shall such contributing member be
required to answer any summons as a juror if exempt from
jury service under the law of the State, provided the said cer-
tificate or other evidence of his exemption is produced to the
officer serving said summons, nor shall such summons be served
upon such contributing member if known to be exempt from
such service. Upon the production of proper evidence by such
contributing member that he is exempt from such service, the
officer serving the said summons shall make a return, showing
the fact of the exemption of said contributing member which
return shall relieve said contributing member of all obligation
to answer the said summons.

§313. Formation. of a brigade.—Upon the completion of
the formation of three regiments of infantry, the commander-
in-chief may, in his discretion, form them into a brigade; but
only when the exigencies of the service require same, and when
the good of the service will be promoted thereby. The staff of
the brigade shall be appointed by the brigadier-general com-
manding, and they shall be commissioned by the commander-
in-chief on the request of the appointing officer as in the case
of regimental and battalion staff officers.

§314. Election of officers of the Virginia volunteers.—
The captain and lieutenants of a company shall be elected by
the ballots of the enlisted men of said company; the major of
a battalion shall be elected by the ballots of the commissioned
officers of the companies composing said battalion; the colonel
and lieutenant-colonel of a regiment shall be elected by the bal-
lots of the commissioned officers composing said regiment; if a
brigade be formed, the brigadier-general shall be elected by the
ballots of the colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and of the majors
commanding the battalions of the regiments composing said
brigade; the commissioned officers of a division of naval volun-
teers shall be elected oy the ballots of the enlisted men of said
division; the commander, lieutenant-commander, and navigator
of a battalion or naval volunteers shall be elected by the ballots
of the commissioned officers of the divisions composing said bat-
talion; provided, that at all elections of officers as aforesaid, in
order to be elected a candidate must receive the vote of a ma-
jority of those eligible to vote. The commissioned and non-
commissioned staff of regiments or battalions shall be appointed
by the permanent commander thereof; and permanent com-
manders of separate battalions or regiments shall appoint the
non-commissioned officers of companies upon the written recom-
mendation of the respective company commanders; non-commis-
sioned officers of unattached companies shall be appointed by
their respective captains. The permanent commander of any
regiment, separate battalion, or unattached company may re-
duce to ranks any non-commissioned officer of his command.
When the electors neglect or refuse to fill a vacancy, the colonel
of the regiment or major of the separate battalion in which the
vacancy exists, shall appoint a suitable person thereto, but not
before such vacancy has existed for at least ninety days from
the date of the order authorizing an election; such vacancies
shall be filled by the appointment of the adjutant-general in
the case of unassigned companies. |

§328. No action allowed against officers and enlisted men,
and so forth.—No action or proceeding shall be prosecuted or
maintained against a member of a military court, or officer or
person acting under its authority or reviewing its proceedings
on account of the approval or imposition or execution of any
sentence, or the imposition or collection of fine or penalty, or
the execution of any warrant, writ, execution, process, or man-
date of a military court, nor shall any officer or enlisted man
be liable to civil or criminal prosecution for any act done while
in the discharge of his military duty.

§329. Collection of fines imposed by court martial.—For
the purpose of collecting any fines or penalties imposed by a
court martial, the president of the court shall, within fifteen
days after the fines or penalties have been imposed and ap-
proved, make a list of all the persons fined, describing them
distinctly, and showing the sums imposed as fines or penalties
on each person, and shall draw his warrant, under his official
signature, directed to any marshal of the court, or to the sheriff,
sergeant, or constable of any city or county, as the case may be,
thereby commanding him to levy such fines or penalties, to-
gether with the costs, on the goods and chattels of such delin-
quent, and the said warrant shall thereupon have the force and
effect of a fieri facias, but such delinquent shall not be entitled
to the benefit of any exemption law of this commonwealth, as
against such warrant and the lien thereof. In default of suffi-
cient personal property to satisfy the same, the officer executing
the same shall take the body of the delinquent and convey him
to the jail of the city or county in which he may be found,
whose jailer shall closely confine him without bail for two days
for any fine or penalty not exceeding two dollars, and two ad-
ditional days for every dollar above that sum, unless the fine or
penalty and jailer’s fees be sooner paid. No such imprisonment
shall extend beyond the period of ten days.

§338-a. Who may wear uniform, insignia, and so forth—Any
person who shall wear any uniform or any device, strap, knot
or insignia of any design or character used as a designation of
grade, rank, or office, such as are by law or by military regu-
lations, duly promulgated, prescribed for the use of the active
militia or similar thereto, except members of the army and navy
of the United States and the volunteers of this or the mi-
litia of any other State, officers of such independent military
organizations as may be authorized by law, or members of asso-
ciations wholly composed of persons honorably discharged from
the service of the United States or of a State, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine
of not more than twenty-five dollars nor less than five dollars;
provided, that any retired or honorably discharged officer or
enlisted man may wear the uniform and insignia of rank to
which he was entitled while in active service.

§344. Military property to be deposited within eight
days after tour of duty.—Every officer and enlisted man shall
return to the armory, or other place or places of deposit, each
article of military property of the United States or of the
commonwealth issued to and received by him for use in the
military service, within eight days after such tour of duty, or
forthwith upon order of his commanding officer; and the pos-
session of any article of such property bv the person to whom
it was issued, elsewhere than in the armory or designated place
or places of deposit, shall be prima facie evidence of embezzle-
ment of such article of property by the person to whom it was
issued.

§345. Not to be used for private purposes.—No officer or
enlisted man shall use, except upon military duty, or by special
permission of his commanding officer, any article of military
property belonging to the United States or to the common-
wealth.

$346. Officers and enlisted men personally liable for mili-
tary property.—Every officer and enlisted man, to whom any
article of military property is delivered in pursuance of the
provisions of this chapter, shall be held personally responsible
for its care, safe-keeping and return. He shall use the same
for military purposes only, and upon receiving a discharge, or
otherwise leaving the military service, or upon demand of his
commanding officer, shall forthwith surrender and deliver up
the said property to the said commanding officer in as good
order and condition as the same was at the time he received it,
reasonable use and ordinary wear thereof excepted.

§347. Punishment for injuries to same.—Whoever shall
wilfully or maliciously destroy, injure, or deface any arms or
articles of military property belonging to the United States or
to the commonwealth, or receive any property in violation of
the preceding sections of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and be fined not exceeding double the amount
of the value of the property so injured or defaced, or, in the
discretion of the jury, be imprisoned in jail not less than two
weeks nor more than two months.

§348. Selling or pawning property punished.—Whoever
shall secrete, sell, dispose of, offer for sale, or in ‘any manner
pawn or pledge, or receive in pawn or pledge, or buy any of the
articles mentioned in this chapter, the property of the United
States or of the commonwealth, knowing the same to be the
property of the United States or of the commonwealth, shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction
thereof, be imprisoned in jail for not less than six months, nor
more than one year, or, in the discretion of the jury, be fined
not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars.

$355. Exemptions of persons in military service from
arrest.—No person belonging to the military forces shall be ar-
rested on any process issued by or from any civil officer or court,
except in cases of felony or breach of the peace, while going to,
remaining at, or returning from any place at which he may be
required to attend for military duty; nor in any case whatsoever
while actually engaged in the performance of his military du-
ties except with the consent of his commanding officer.

$355-a. Interference with employment of officers and en-
listed men of Virginia volunteers.—A person, who either by
himself, or with another, wilfully deprives a member of the
Virginia volunteers of his employment or prevents, by himself
or another such member being employed, or obstructs or annoys
said member of the Virginia volunteers or his employer in his
trade, business or employment, because said member of said
Virginia volunteers is such member, or dissuades any person
from enlistment in said Virginia volunteers by threat or in-
jury to him in his employment, trade or business, in case he
shall so enlist, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on con-
viction thereof, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one hun-
dred dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail not more than
thirty days or shall suffer both fine and imprisonment.

§355-b. Rights of Virginia volunteers.—No club, society,
association, corporation, or organization shall, by any consti-
tution, rule, by-law, resolution, vote or regulation, or otherwise,
discriminate against any member of the Virginia volunteers
because of his membership in said Virginia volunteers, in re-
spect to his rights to retain and exercise the rights of mem-
bership therein; nor shall any person or persons, public service
corporation, licensed hotel, theatre, or any public resort or
place of amusement discriminate against a member of the Vir-
ginia volunteers because of his membership in the Virginia vol-
unteers or because of his military uniform. The violation of
the act of assisting, abetting or aiding in the violation of any
provision of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof the guilty party or parties shall he fined
in any sum not exceeding one hundrea dollars or imprisoned in
the county jail for a period not exceeding thirty days, or shall
suffer both such fine and imprisonment.

§360. How bands may be disbanded, and so forth.—In time
of peace and when not in service of the State or of the United
States, the permanent commander of a regiment or separate
battalion shall have authority to disband the band of his regi-
ment or separate battalion, as the case may be, and to revoke
the warrants of the non-commissioned officers thereof, and when
so disbanded the musicians shall have credited to them the
time already served as a part of their term of service.

$364. Right of troops to streets and highways; excep-
tions.—United States forces or troops, or any portion of the Vir-
ginia volunteers, parading or performing any duty, according
to law, shall have the preferable right in any street or high-
way through which they may pass; provided, the carrying of
the United States mails, the iegitimate functions of the police.
and the progress and operations of fire engines and fire de-
partments shall not be interfered with.

$368. How troops called out in time of danger.—In case
of any breach of the peace, tumult, riot, or resistance of law, or
imminent danger thereot, it shall be lawful for the sheriff of
any county, or the mavor of any city, to call upon the governor
for aid, and, in cases where the emergency is such as not to ad-
mit of this delay, upon the commanding officer of any division,
brigade, regiment, separate battalion, company, or troop; and
it shall be the duty of the commanding officer of the division,
brigade, regiment, separate battalion, company, or troop, upon
whom such call is made, to order out, in aid of the civil authori-
ties, the military force, or any part thereof, under his command.
Such call for aid shall be by means of a summons issued by the
sheriff or mayor, directed to the commanding officer of any
such division, brigade, regiment, separate battalion, company.
or troop, directing him to order his command, or a part there-
of, to appear at a time and place therein specified, to aid the
civil authority in supporting the laws; which summons shall be
In substance as follows:

Commonwealth of Virginia.

To (insert the officer’s title) A. B, commanding (insert his
command):

Whereas, it has been made to appear to (the sher\it or may Or:
as the case may be) of the (county, city or town) of..........
that (here state one or more of the causes above mentioned) in
OUr .......0.. Of... cece ee eee , and that military force is
necessary to aid the civil authority in suppressing the same;
now, therefore, we command you that you cause (your com-
mand or such part thereof as may be desired) armed and equip-
ped with ammunition, and with proper officers, to parade at

Leta e ene es ,On............., then and there to obey such
orders as may be given according to law. Hereof fail not at
your peril, and have you there this summons, with your do-
ings, returned thereon.”’

This summons shall be signed and properly attested as the
act of such sheriff or mayor, and may be varied to suit the cir-
cumstances of the case; and a copy of the same shall be im-
mediately forwarded to the commander-in-chief. The officer
to whom the order of the commander-in-chief or such summons
is directed shall forthwith order the troops therein called for, to
parade at the time and place appointed; and shall immediately,
by telegraph or other most expeditious means, notify the com-
mander-in-chief, of the receipt of such summons, and also by
letter through the usual military channels. Such troops shall
appear at the time and place appointed, armed, equipped, and
with ammunition, and shall obey and execute such orders as
they may then and there receive according to law.

$369. Commander of troops to be under direction of civil
officer.—All orders from civil officers to military commanders
must be in writing, signed by the author, and attested by two
witnesses, except when the circumstances make the same im-
possible. Military commanders shall transmit a copy of such
orders at once to their superiors and to the commander-in-chief.
Such orders shall set forth the purposes to be accomplished by
the military officer to whom they are addressed, but shall not
prescribe the military measures to be employed nor the orders to
be issued by said officer, who shall use such measures and issue
such orders as he shall deem necessary to accomplish the pur-
pose indicated. For neglecting or refusing to obey the proper
orders of the civil officer requesting his aid, a military com-
mander shall be liable to fine of not less than one hundred nor
more than five hundred dollars.

§371. How officers discharged.—The commander-in-chief
may discharge a commissioned officer upon the tender of his
resignation, upon the disbandment of the organization to which
he belongs, when he shall accept an appointment in the United
States service; when he has removed his residence out of the
bounds of his command to so great a distance that it is in-
convenient to perform the duties of his office; when he has
been absent from his command for more than three months
without leave; upon recommendation of the board of examin-
ers, as prescribed in section three hundred and nine; when he is
unfit for military service by reason of permanent physical dis-
ability; when he has been found guilty of conduct unbecoming
an officer and a gentleman: upon sentence of court-martial, af-
ter trial according to law; upon conviction in a court of justice
of an infamous offense; and if a staff officer, on the written re-
quest of the officer appointing him or upon whose staff he is.

§372-a. Retired list of members of Virginia volunteers.—
There shall be a retired list of officers and enlisted men of the
Virginia volunteers.

Any person who shall have been appointed and served as
adjutant general, and shall have resigned, or been relieved, or
any officer or enlisted man in the Virginia volunteers who shall
have served for at least ten years as an active member in the
Virginia volunteers, or ten years computing the period served
in the Virginia volunteers and the period in which he shall have
served in the active service of the Confederate States or United
States, or as a cadet at the Virginia military institute or the
Virginia polytechnic institute, may, upon his own application
through the regular military channels of the commander-in-
chief, be placed upon the retired list of Virginia volunteers,
and may only be required to answer any summons in aid of the
civil authorities and to attend the annual inspections and muster
of the command to which he belonged before retirement: pro-
vided, that any officer or enlisted man who may have received
an honorable discharge from the service of the Virginia volun-
teers, after having served at least ten years therein, may, upon
his application in like manner, be placed upon the retired list.
Officers shall be commissioned in their respective rank as re-
tired officers with commissions of the same grade as when re-
tired, except in the case of officers who have to their credit fif-
teen years or more of service, such officers being retired with
commission in the next service grade to their active grade: non-
commissioned officers shall receive warrants as of the retired
list with the rank held when retired; provided, further, how-
ever, that if at any time during the ten years’ service, required
by this act such officers or non-commissioned officers shall have
been in the service of the Confederate States or of the United
States, holding commissions or warrants of higher grade than
those held by them at the time of their entrance in to the ser-
vice of the Confederate States or the United States, such offi-
cers shall be retired with commissions of the highest grade held
by them while in the service of the ex-Confederate States or
the United States; and such non-commissioned officers shall
receive warrants as of the retired list with the highest rank
held by them when in the service of the Confederate States or
of the United States. All retired officers, non-commissioned
officers and privates retired shall be borne upon the rolls of the
respective commands to which they belonged before retirement
or to which they were attached by orders of the commander-
in-chief as such. They shall be a part of said commands and
shall so remain unless dismissed from the service by court-
martial or discharged at their own request.

In computing the term of service necessary to be placed on
the retired list, herein provided for, the time of service of any
applicant in the army of the Confederate States of America, shall
be considered a part of said ten years’ service; provided, that
nothing herein contained shall be construed as exempting com-
missioned and non-commissioned officers and privates from jury
service.

All officers, non-commissioned officers and privates hereto-
fore placed on the retired list by virtue of the provisions of
the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-two,
shall be transferred to and borne upon the retired list of Vir-
ginia volunteers hereby created.

§372-b. Disbandment of a military organization.—The com-
mander-in-chief may, by order, disband for cause, any regi-
ment, battalion, company, troop, battery, or naval division, or
body of auxiliary troops, but no member of a bisbanded organ-
ization shall be deprived of credit for the time of his service
therein, and all enlisted men of such disbanded organization
shall be entitled to re-enlist, unless specifically denied the privi-
lege of re-enlistment under the terms of the order of disband-
ment. In case of the disbandment of such organization the en-
listed men thereof shall be entitled to an order of discharge.

$373. Appointment of adjutant general; his salary and
duties; his bond; his accounts, and so forth.—The governor of the
State shall appoint the adjutant general, with the rank of
brigadier-general, whose term of office shall be during the term
of the governor appointing him, but no person shall be eligible
for appointment as adjutant general who shall have served as
an Officer less than three years in the aggregate in the Virginia
volunteers or the regular army of the United States; provided,
that nothing in this act shall be construed to make the present
adjutant general ineligible to hold the office of adjutant gen-
eral or reappointment thereto. The salary of the adjulant gen-
eral shall be three thousand dollars per annum. The adjutant
general shall distribute all orders from the commander-in-chief ;
disburse the military fund under the direction of the military
board; attend all public reviews when the commander-in-chief
shall review the Virginia volunteers or any part thereof; obey
all orders from him relative to carrying into execution and
perfecting the system of military discipline established by the
laws of the State and of the United States; furnish blank forms
for. the different returns, vouchers, and rolls as may be re-
quired; receive from the auditor of public accounts the annual
appropriation known as the “military fund,” and deposit the
same in one of the public depositories; receive from the several
officers of the different corps throughout the State returns of
the Virginia volunteers under their command, reporting the
actual condition of their uniforms, arms, accoutrements, and
ammunition, their delinquences, and every other thing which re-
lates to the advancement of good order and discipline; all of
which the several officers of the Virginia volunteers are hereby
required to make, so that the adjutant general may be furnished
therewith; and from all said returns he shall make proper ab-
stracts, and lay the same annually before the commander-in-
chief; and he shall, annually, before the first day of November,
communicate to the governor a statement containing a full re-
port of the financial condition of his department, and a full ac-
count of the military fund; which the governor shall cause to
be published in two newspapers printed in the city of Richmond
having the most general circulation throughout the common-
wealth; and he shall annually, on or before the first Monday
in January, make a return in duplicate of the Virginia volun-
teers, with the condition of their uniforms, arms, accoutrements,
and ammunition, according to such directions as he may receive
from the secretary of war of the United States, one copy of
which he shall deliver to the commander-in-chief, and the other
of which he shall transmit to the president of the United States.

The adjutant general and his disbursing clerks shall each
give bond, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the gover-
nor, as provided in section two hundred and twenty-five of the
Code for other State officers. The penalties of the bonds shall
be as follows: of the adjutant general, thirty thousand dollars;
of each of his disbursing clerks, three thousand dollars.

The office and accounts of the adjutant general shall be
audited by the direction of the governor in the same manner as
the office and accounts of other State departments are audited.

§374. How courts-martial and courts of inquiry appointed,
organized and conducted.—1. In time of war, or service in the
field, at the call of the State or of the United States, in en-
campment or in aid of the civil authorities, courts-martial and
courts of inquiry shall be appointed, organized and conducted as
like courts are appointed, organized and conducted in the United
States army, and their form of procedure and record shall con-
form to that of such courts.

2. In times of peace, and when not in service of the State
or the United States, as aforesaid, the line officer second in
rank in each regiment or separate battalion when concentrated,
or in any part of a regiment or separate battalion when the
companies or battalions thereof are stationed together or are
acting as a unit, or in a company or battery when stationed or
acting alone, or when but one commissioned officer is present
with a command, then that officer (the ranking sergeant present
for duty in such cases making the complaint) shall constitute
a summary court for the trial of all enlisted men of their re-
spective commands charged with offenses punishable by fines, as
provided in this chapter. Such courts shall have power to
have the alleged offender and witnesses brought before it by a
warrant issued by such court and delivered to any sheriff, ser-
geant or constable, of a city, county, or town; and it shall be
the duty of said sheriff, sergeant, or constable to execute said
warrant as other criminal warrants are executed, and he shall
be entitled to the same fee for such services, which shall be
paid to him in the same manner as are allowed and paid him
for executing other criminal warrants. Said courts shall sum-
mon alleged offenders and witnesses to appear before it at a
reasonable time and place, which summons shall- be served by
an orderly of the court or the said civil officers as other sum-
mons are served, and should the alleged offender abscond, or
neglect or refuse to appear, the court may proceed to trial in
his absence as though he were present and had entered a plea
of not guilty.

Said courts shall have power to administer oaths and to hear
and determine the case, and when satisfied of the guilt of the
accused party, may impose the appropriate fine, as provided in
this chapter.

There shall be a summary court record book or docket, kept
at each company, troop, or battery post or armory, and in the
field at the headquarters of the command, in which shall be
entered a record of all the cases heard and determined, and the
action had thereon, and no sentence adjudged by said summary
court shall be executed until it shall have been approved by the
company, troop, or battery commander, and if the company,
troop, or battery be attached to a regiment, separate baitalion,
or battalion of a regiment concentrated and acting as a unit,
by the commanding officer of such regiment or battalion, pro-
vided that the governor be, and he is hereby, authorized to
prescribe specific penalties and fines for such minor offenses as
he may deem properly cognizable by such courts; provided,
further, that any enlisted man convicted of any offense by such
court when the fine imposed is in excess of ten dollars, may ap-
peal in writing for a new trial before a general court martial,
giving in all cases his reasons therefor. In case of any such
appeal, the said writing shall be delivered to the officer con-
stituting said court who shall forward the same, together with
a statement in writing of the reasons for the finding of the
court, which is complained of through the said commanding
officer, and the said commanding officer shall approve or disap-
prove the appeal and state his reasons for the action taken in
an endorsement before forwarding the same; provided, further,
that the sentence and judgment of said court shall have the
same force and effect as that of any justice of the peace, and
when countersigned by said commanding officer, and in case of
appeal for new trial by general court by the adjutant general
of Virginia (the fact of an appeal for such trial and its re-
fusal being noted on the face of the warrant, or the fact that
no such appeal was made), the warrant of such court shall be,
in all respects, proceeded upon, and shall have the same force
an effect, as is prescribed in section three hundred and twenty-
nine, and the following sections of this chapter. For the trial
of commissioned officers or for the infliction of a sentence of
dishonorable discharge from the military service of Virginia,
whether of an officer or an enlisted man, or for the purposes
of a court of an inquiry, there shall be a general court martial,
which shall be composed of not less than three commissioned
officers (if practicable in the case of officers of equal rank with
the accused), who shall hear and determine the case in accord-
ance with the military laws of this State and of the United
States, and forward its findings and the record of its proceed-
ings to the governor, by whom its sentence shall be approved
before the same is executed. Said court shall have all the
powers, rights, and privileges hereinbefore vested in the sum-
mary court, especially in regard to administering oaths, com-
pelling the attendance of witnesses and alleged offenders, and in
regard to enforcing its sentence and the collection of fines, save
that the senior member of the court, who shall be the president
thereof, shall give all warrants and summons under his hand,
which shall have the same force and effect and be proceeded
upon in the same manner as is provided for life papers of a
summary court, its warrant for the collection of fines being en-
dorsed with the approval of the governor; provided, however,
that whenever said court shall ascertain the punishment of an
offender to be a dishonorable discharge from the military ser-
vice of this State, it shall sentence such offender to confine-
ment in the city or county jail, as the case may be, for a period
of not exceding ten days; provided, further, that no such sen-
tence shall be executed, unless and until it has been approved
by the governor and eommander-in-chief, to whom the record
and proceedings shall be forwarded.

If such sentence is so approved, the president of said court
shall deliver his warrant with the approval. of the governor as
aforesaid; endorsed thereon, and the said sentence contained
therein to the sheriff, sergeant, or constable of any city, town,
or county, whose duty it shall be to arrest said offender and
deliver him at said jail, where he shall be received and confined
for the time specified in said warrant.

Said courts shall have attached to them a judge-advocate,
whose duties shall be such as are prescribed for such officers
by the laws of this State and of the United States, and when
expressly authorized by the governor, an official stenographer
may be employed by the president of the court.

The officers and members of said courts, summary and gen-
eral, shall have and enjoy all the privileges and immunities
enjoyed by any other court, as is provided in section three hun-
dred and twenty-eight of the Code.

They shall receive for their services each, including the
judge-advocate, the prescribed pay and allowances of their re-
spective grades prescribed in this chapter, when actually em-
ployed in the trial of cases or traveling to and from their
home stations in the performance of this duty, which shall be
all the compensation for such services, and no other expenses
shall be allowed to officers of said court in any case, and shall
sit not less than six hours each day while the court is in ses-
sion, unless completing the business before them within that
time; provided, however, that the general court shall be as-
sembled only by order of the governor and commander-in-
chief; and provided, that the summary court shall sit not oftener
than twice each month, and not less than four hours, and shall
receive only the regular per diem, and no other compensation or
expenses shall be allowed the said court.

Both the summary and general court may have an orderly
in attendance, who shall-act as court crier, serve summonses,
and perform such other duties as may be required of him by
the court, and in discharge of his duties he shall be clothed
with the powers and authority of a constable, and shall re-
ceive the sum of one dollar per day.

All fines collected by said courts shall be turned into the
treasury and placed to the credit of the military fund, and
shall be accounted for by the civil officer collecting them as
fines imposed by a justice of the peace are accounted for.

The costs attendant upon holding such courts, shall, upon
being approved by the president of the court, be forwarded to
the governor, and upon being approved by him, shall be paid
out of the military fund.

$376. Military fund.—For carrying into operation the pro-
visions of this chapter, it shall be the duty of the auditor of
public accounts to set aside, annually, to the credit of the adju-
tant general, one and one-half per centum of all receipts into the
treasury derived from regular sources of income, except the
school fund, which sum so set aside shall constitute and be known
as the “military fund,” which is hereby appropriated to the uses
and purposes set forth in this chapter; provided, however, that no
other appropriation shall be made for the purpose aforesaid:
provided, further, that the said fund shall only be drawn upon
as needed from time to time.

Out of the fund so set aside for the year nineteen hundred
and eight the military board is authorized to purchase. at a cost
not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, and cause to be conveyed
to the commonwealth, a tract or parcel of land suitable for
and to be used as a permanent camp ground for the Virginia
volunteers, and to have erected thereon the necessary buildings
for storage and other purposes.

Before said board shall make a purchase of land they shall
cause to be submitted to the attorney general an abstract of
the title of the land, and the title and form of conveyance shall
be approved by the attorney general before the purchase is made.

The said camp ground shall be and remain under the care and
control of the military board, whose duty it shall be to see that
the same is properly cared for and the buildings thereon properly
protected.

§376-a. Improvement of State camp ground and erection of
target range thereon authorized.—That the military board be,
and the same is hereby, authorized to expend the money hereto-
fore appropriated for the purpose of a permanent camp ground,
that is an amount not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars out of
the military fund set aside for the year nineteen hundred and
eight, in and about improving the tract or parcel of land which
has been acquired by the commonwealth for a permanent camp
ground, or in and about constructing thereon a permanent target
range for the Virginia volunteers.

§377. Military board.—For the purpose of controlling and
directing the expenditures and disbursements provided for in
this chapter, the governor, the adjutant general, the senior officer
of volunteers, the assistant inspector general, and the secretary
of the commonwealth, shall be, and are hereby, created a board,
to be known as the “military board,” upon the order in writing
of any three of whom, but not otherwise, the adjutant general
shall issue his warrant for such sum as shall be directed, payable
out of the military fund. But no bill, claim, or allowance, shall
be ordered for payment by said board unless it is itemized, and
its correctness sworn to, for which purpose any member of the
board may administer the oath. Expenditures not specifically
provided for in this chapter, but manifestly in execution of its
general purpose, and for the evident benefit of the volunteer
service, may be made by said board, but only on the concurrence
and the order in writing of all the members. |

§379. Adjutant general’s office—The adjutant general is au-
thorized to select and rent rooms in the city of Richmond to be
used as offices for his department, when suitable quarters are not
available in the government buildings, at a sum not exceeding
fifty dollars per month, which shall be paid out of the public
treasury upon the warrant of the auditor of public accounts, and
such expense shall not be a charge against the military fund.

$380-a. Custom and usage of the United States army and
navy.—All matters relating to the organization, discipline and
government of the Virginia volunteers, not otherwise provided
for in this chapter, or in the regulations for the Virginia volun-
teers, shall be decided by the custom and usage oI the United
States army and navy, respectively.