Chap. 407.—An ACT for the relief of Saunders Brothers, of the county of
Nelson. [S B 176]

Approved March 30, 1934

Whereas, J. M. Saunders, W. R. Saunders, T. W. Saunders, G. E.
Saunders and J. A. P. Saunders, partners under the firm name of Saun-
ders Brothers, the owners of two adjoining farms on Tye river, in
the county of Nelson, known as the Hubard places, in the month of
September, nineteen hundred and thirty, leased to the superintendent
of the penitentiary a certain part of one of said farms as a site for a
convict road camp, and the camp was soon thereafter established there-
on. In going out from this camp for work on various roads in that
vicinity, the sergeant of the camp and the men working under him,
with the permission of the said Saunders Brothers, traveled and hauled
materials over a private road through their land and over a private
bridge across Tye river, constructed for and owned by them. This
bridge was about sixty feet long and had been well and substantially
constructed, and at that time, the floor thereof was slightly convex and
was in splendid condition. As the result of the hauling of heavy ma-
terials over this bridge by the said convict road force, the floor of the
bridge was greatly damaged and caused to sag considerably below level,
so that it was thought by the said Saunders Brothers to be in a danger-
ous condition, of which they made complaint to the authorities in charge
of said camp and asked that they be paid damages therefor. The re-
quest for damages was denied; however, the resident engineer of the
State Highway Department agreed to repair the bridge and put it in as
good condition as it was at the time the road forces began using it, and
in the spring of the year nineteen hundred and thirty-two, a force was
put upon, and made certain repairs to said bridge, and upon the com-
pletion thereof, one of the highway engineers assured Mr. J. M. Saun-
ders that the bridge would carry ten tons.

Relying upon this advice, the said Saunders Brothers, in the opera-
tion of their farms and business, continued to use said bridge, but they
did no heavy hauling over the same until about the first of August,
nineteen hundred and thirty-two. On August fifth, nineteen hundred
and thirty-two, Edward Saunders, a son of J. M. Saunders, started
across said bridge with a load of sand on a farm wagon drawn by two
horses, when the bridge completely collapsed and Edward Saunders
was injured, the wagon and harness greatly damaged, and one leg of
the most valuable horse was broken and so badly crushed that it had
to be shot and the other horse was badly injured; as a result of all of
which, the said Saunders Brothers, without fault on their part, sus-
tained loss and damages which they estimate as follows: Loss of one
horse and injury to the other, two hundred dollars; damage to the wa-
gon and harness, fifty dollars; and damage to the bridge, three hundred
and fifty dollars; making a total of six hundred dollars. Now, there-
fore,

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That there
be, and hereby is, appropriated to the said Saunders Brothers, to re-
imburse them for the loss and damages so sustained by them, the sum
of six hundred dollars, the same to be paid out of any moneys in the
State treasury not otherwise appropriated, by the Treasurer upon the
watrant of the Comptroller.