THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH.

On the 16th day of March, 1893, I appointed a State board of health, apportioned among the divisions of the State as the statute requires, to hold office for a term of four years from the date of their commissions. I was induced to make these appointments because of the great uneasiness felt throughout the country, occasioned by the danger of an invasion by cholera from some foreign port. The gentlemen composing the board accepted the trust, and promptly met in the city of Richmond, organized and made all arrangements necessary under the circumstances to protect the State against the fearful epidemic. Active efforts were inaugurated by the general government and the health officers in the various cities, and we have so far escaped from the dreadful scourge.

On examination of our statutes, sections 1714 to section 1722 of the Code of Virginia, 1887, it will be seen that the powers given to this board are limited and defective. The first section provides that the board shall not in any way be a charge upon the State, yet to be effective in case of trouble there must necessarily be an expenditure of some money. Besides, it cannot be expected that business men can give their time and talent to the State, pay their travelling expenses and hotel bills without reimbursement, not to speak of compensation for work done and responsibility incurred. In view of the fact that we have so many ways of quick communication with all parts of the world, and our coast line so extensive that we cannot hope to escape for all time these epidemic diseases, it is both wise and prudent that the statute should be revised and the board of health put upon a better basis, both as to its powers and the compensation of its members. It is now believed that more can be done by medical science in preventing disease than in curing those who have been stricken. It seems to be wiser, therefore, to endeavor to prevent the invasion than to rely upon the skill of our physicians to cure those afflicted.

SOME THINGS WHICH HAVE BEEN

ACCOMPLISHED DURING THE

PRESENT ADMINISTRATION.

1st. We have settled the public debt of the State.

2d. We have increased the revenues nearly half a million of dollars without changing the rate of taxation.

3d. We have saved to the State the expenses of two legislatures by not calling extra sessions, which can scarcely be less than $150,000.

4th. We have had the oyster grounds of the State surveyed, and while the charts have not been completed, already thousands of dollars from rental of the said grounds have been added to the

revenue.

5th. We have enlarged the asylums, and have taken the unfortunate lunatics from the jails and given them comfortable homes, where they can be properly cared for.

6th. We have built new barracks for the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Blacksburg.

7th. We have increased the pensions of the poor old veterans from $65,000 to $100,000.

8th. We have increased the annuity to the Soldiers' Home from $10,000 to $30,000.

9th. We have assessed for taxation all the property on the military reservation at Old Point, amounting to $281,000 in value, which has never been taxed before.

10th. We have made a written contract for building a library and a place of safe deposit for the valuable records of the State, the building to be fire-proof, and to cost $161,246.40. The money appropriated for its payment was $200,000. A want long felt, but the State could not consider it while the public debt was unsettled.

11th. The penitentiary, which has been a most onerous burden, is now a source of revenue to the State, and has paid during the present administration a net sum of $115,000.

12th. We collected in 1892 from the United States government $448,144.52 of direct tax for a portion of the people of Virginia, and have paid it over for distribution to those entitled.

13th. The public schools were never so efficient in instruction, nor so largely attended before, and the colleges of the State have not shown such prosperity since the war.

14th. Our financial condition has been such as to enable us to return the arrearages due to the public schools, occasioned by the operations of the funding bill of 1871, with interest, and the appropriations to them have been increased by the sum of $75,000 annually.

15th. Without appropriation, we have saved sufficient money from the civil contingent fund to put in thorough repair the mansion and the capitol. We have taken up the old wooden floors and wainscoting, and have replaced them with marble. We have painted the entire building and refurnished the public halls with carpets, etc., and we have turned into the treasury of the State the sum of $3,000, being the balance of the contingent fund still to our credit for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1893.

Amid the financial storm which is raging in the general government, I may point with pardonable pride to these evidences of Virginia's prosperity as some things which have been accomplished during my administration.

STATE OFFICERS AND ASSISTANTS.

I cannot close this message without bearing testimony to the efficiency and devotion of the heads of the various departments of the government and their assistants to the interest of the State, and to acknowledge their uniform courtesy and kindness to me. If there is anything creditable in the management of the affairs of the Commonwealth during the present administration, due acknowledgment must be made to each of them for their part in the good work. They deserve the thanks of all for their faithful labor in behalf of the Commonwealth, and for their devotion to her every interest.

CONCLUSION.

Four of the best years of my life have been devoted exclusively to the State, and as I became acquainted with the workings of the government, and have examined into her great wealth and undeveloped resources, and the inestimable advantages of her geographical position, her soil, her climate, her history, and her noble people, I cannot repress the belief that her future destiny is to be greater than her past, and that she will, under the wise management of her patriotic sons, attain the eminence she once occupied, as the foremost State in point of wealth, population and influence. Let us with filial devotion strive for the accomplishment of this result.

P. W. MCKINNEY.

On motion of Mr. BENDHEIM, the message was passed by and the usual number ordered to be printed.

Mr. BENDHEIM offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That the secretary of the Commonwealth be requested to furnish each member of the House of Delegates, on application, with a copy of the Code of 1887 and a copy of the acts of the last legislature, to be returned to the said secretary at the end of the present session

Which was agreed to.

Mr. BENDHEIM offered the following concurrent resolution: Resolved (the Senate concurring), That in the printing of all bills hereafter introduced which are intended as amendments of the now existing laws, the words intended as the amendments shall be printed in italics; and to enable the committee to carry

out the provisions of this resolution, the patron of the bill will indicate the words intended as the amendments by underscoring them

Which was agreed to.

Ordered, That Mr. BENDHEIM carry the resolution to the Senate and request their concurrence.

A message was received from the Senate by Mr. STUBBS, who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to the resolution.

Mr. RYAN, under a suspension of the rules, presented

No. 1. House bill changing the time for commencing the construction of the Washington and Western railroad, which was read a first time.

On motion of Mr. CARTER, the House adjourned until to-morrow at 12 o'clock M.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1893.

Prayer by Rev. Dr. Moses D. Hoge, of the Second Presbyterian church.

On motion of Mr. Urz, the reading of the Journal was dispensed with.

THOMAS W. RUSSELL, delegate-elect from the county of Accomac, and E. W. SAUNDERS, delegate-elect from the county of Franklin, were sworn in by the clerk.

Mr. HARWOOD offered a concurrent resolution and joint rules for the government of the Senate and House of Delegates when convened in joint assembly for the purpose of counting the votes for governor and lieutenant-governor, respectively, as follows:

Resolved (the Senate concurring), That the general assembly convene in the hall of the House of Delegates on this day at 12:30 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of counting the vote cast on the 7th day of November, 1893, for governor and lieutenantgovernor of the Commonwealth, respectively, and to declare who is elected, and that the following rules be adopted for the government of the joint assembly:

RULES

For the Government of the Senate and House of Delegates when convened in Joint Assembly for the purpose of counting the vote for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, respectively.

1. At the hour fixed for the meeting of the joint assembly, the senators, accompanied by the president and clerk of the Senate,

shall proceed to the hall of the House of Delegates and shall be received by the delegates standing. Appropriate seats shall be assigned to the senators by the sergeant-at-arms of the House.

2. The Speaker of the House of Delegates shall be the presiding officer of the joint assembly. In case it shall be necessary for him to vacate the chair, his place shall be taken by the President of the Senate, or in case of his absence, by such member of the joint assembly as the Speaker may designate.

3. The sergeant-at-arms, doorkeepers and pages of the House shall act as such for the joint assembly.

4. The clerk of the House shall be the clerk of the joint assembly, and shall be assisted by the clerk of the Senate.

5. The rules of the House of Delegates, as far as applicable, shall be the rules of the joint assembly.

6. When the joint assembly meets to count the votes for governor and lieutenant-governor, respectively, the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall open the returns from the several counties and corporations, and as each county or corporation is announced a senator and delegate, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, shall receive said returns and count the votes. They shall deliver the result to the clerk of the House of Delegates, who shall embody the several results in a general statement. Thereupon a committee of one senator and one delegate shall add up the entire vote for governor and lieutenant-governor, respectively, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall announce and declare thereupon who is elected.

7. In calling the roll of the joint assembly, the names of the senators shall be called first, in alphabetical order, and then the names of the delegates in like order, except the name of the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall be called last.

8. If, when the joint assembly meets, it shall be ascertained. that a majority of each house is not present, the joint assembly may take measures to secure the attendance of absentees, or adjourn until the succeeding day, as a majority of those present may determine.

9. When the joint assembly adjourns the senators, accompanied by the President and clerk of the Senate, shall return to their chamber, and the business of the House shall proceed in the same order as when it was interrupted by the entrance of the senators.

Which were agreed to.

Ordered, That Mr. HARWOOD carry the same to the Senate and request their concurrence.

A message was received from the Senate by Mr. JONES, who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to the concurrent resolution and joint rules.