General Assembly of Virginia.
[Extra session.]
Senate.
Wednesday,Feb. 20th, 1861.
The Senate was called to order at the usual hour.
Mr. Isbell in the Chair.
Bills Reported.--Mr. Paxton, by leave, introduced a bill to incorporate the Rockbridge White Sulphur Springs Company; to enforce balances due from Commissioners of forfeited and delinquent lands; to prevent abuses of the telegraph; for the relief of the securities of Eugenius Tibbs, late Sheriff of Ritchie county; directing the payment of certain interest to E. J. O'Brien; amending an act passed March 20, 1860, authorizing the Council of Richmond to construct a Railroad in its streets.
Remonstrance.--Mr. Brannon presented the remonstrance of sundry citizens of Randolph county, against changing the Eastern terminus of the Sclavin's Cabin and Summersville Turnpike.
Memorial.--Mr. H. W. Thomas presented a memorial of the pilots upon the Potomac river, asking an increase in the rates of pilotage.
On motion of Mr. McKenney, it was
Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of reporting bill 224 of last session.
Committee--Messrs. McKenny, Carraway and Urquhart.
On motion of Mr. Hubbard, it was
Resolved, To inquire into the expediency of repealing so much of section 43 of chapter 26 of the Code of Virginia as exempts officers and privates of volunteer companies from services on juries.
Bill Rejected.--The bill for the relief of Philip D. Lipscomb, Clerk of Prince William county, was rejected.
Resolutions from Michigan.--A communication was received from the Executive, transmitting a copy of joint resolutions from the State of Michigan in favor of coercion, and proffering men for that purpose.
The message of Gov. Letcher, accompanying the resolutions, was laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
On motion of Mr. August, the resolutions were returned to the Governor, with instructions that they be sent back to the State of Michigan without comment.
A communication from the Executive was also read, transmitting a joint resolution adopted by the State of Texas against coercion.
Ordered to be laid on the table and printed.
Also, a communication from Gov. Letcher, transmitting a communication received on the evening of the 18th, from Hon. John Robertson, Commissioner to visit the seceding States, accompanied by sundry documents, numbered from one to nine, inclusive.
These documents embrace the correspondence between the Commissioner and the Governors of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
Ordered to be printed.
Mr. Douglass then proposed the following joint resolutions, (which, under the rules, lay over one day,) as a response to all the resolutions which have been sent to Virginia in favor of coercion and pledging men and money for that purpose: ‘
Resolved, That the General Assembly of Virginia does not look upon their fellow-citizens of the seceding States, whilst engaged in defending their constitutional rights against the threatened invasion of a dominant political party in the free States, as traitors or rebels, to be slaughtered and subjugated by force.
Resolved, That Virginia, having heretofore declared her purpose to resist the forcible conquest of the seceding States, hereby reiterates that declaration, and will, if the course of Michigan and other non-slaveholding States, as indicated in various resolutions heretofore sent to this body, be adhered to and carried into effect, render her entire military strength to resist all such attempts at coercion; and hereby pledges herself to meet force by force in the effort to maintain the true principles of the Constitution, and uphold the common rights of the slaveholding States.
Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be sent by the Governor of this State to the Legislature of Michigan. ’
Ordered to be printed.
Resolutions of Inquiry.--The following resolutions of inquiry were adopted and referred: By Mr. Wickham, of limiting the period of applying for appeals to the Courts of Appeals; by Mr. Coghill, of repealing so much of the law regulating examining Courts as requires the reduction to writing the testimony of the witnesses adduced at the trials in said Courts.
Petition.--Mr. Christian presented the petition of John B. Donovan, and other citizens of Matthews county, praying the passage of a law for relief of Commissioners of the Revenue in said county.
The order of the day being called for, the bill for the relief of the Banks of the Commonwealth was taken up.
Mr. Coghill moved to reconsider the vote by which the 5th section of the bill had been adopted, in order to offer a substitute.
The proposition gave rise to a debate of some length, in which Messrs. Coghill, August, Brannon, and Thomas of Fairfax, participated.
The motion to reconsider was carried, and Mr. Coghill moved to strike out all after the word ‘"and,"’ in the fifth line of the fifth section, which was carried.
Mr. Coghill then proposed to amend by inserting after the word ‘"and,"’ the following: ‘
"According to an uniform percentage upon the aggregate amount of capital, circulation and deposits of all the Banks of the Commonwealth on the 1st day of October next, preceding the requisition." ’
Mr. Thomas, of Henry, moved to strike out the 4th section of the bill, which repeals the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th sections of the act of 1858.
Pending the discussion of this proposition, a communication was received from the Governor, urging immediate action on the Armory bill.
The communication was read, laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.
The bill referred to in the Governor's communication was made the order of the day for to-morrow at 11 o'clock.
On motion of Mr. Paxton, the Senate adjourned. 