city committees, to be named by your committee, and to which each will report. Your committee begs to report that the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives recently reported unanimously in favor of the bill, adopting a greater portion of your committee's last report, and giving credit therefor. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has announced its intention to make a similar report, as soon as opportunity permits. The Attorney-General has officially endorsed it and the President has authorized a statement of his approval. A majority of both the Federal Senate and House have publicly committed themselves to the passage of the bill. It was publicly advocated by men like Senator Elihu Root, Judge Alton B. Parker, and exPresident Taft, who put aside their political differences, and stood shoulder to shoulder in an effort that meant so much to the return of the old-time faith in and respect for the judge and the lawyer. THOMAS W. SHELTON, Chairman. R. T. BARTON. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION AND LAW REFORM. THE WORK OF THE LEGISLATURE OF 1914. (Prepared by Hon. Lewis Machen, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and Law Reform, by request.) The Legislature of 1914 convened on the 14th day of January and ceased its active work on the 14th day of March, though final adjournment did not occur until the 20th. One thousand and twenty-nine bills were introduced during the session, besides numbers of joint resolutions dealing with various subjects. Three hundred and sixty-eight acts were passed as well as two joint resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution. The following bills were vetoed: House Bill 126, for the relief of oyster planters whose oysters are unmarketable by reason of the affection known as green gill; House Bill 450, to authorize the board of supervisors of the county of Franklin in their discretion to relieve the purchasers of the stock of the Franklin and Pittsylvania Railroad Company from liability for taxes on the said stock under the county levy, for a period not to exceed ten years; Senate Bill 110, to authorize the auditor of public accounts to pay the allowances made jurors summoned from the city of Richmond to try a criminal case in the corporation court of the city of Alexandria; and House Bill 89, to repeal as far as the county of Powhatan is concerned, an act to provide for working roads in the counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan and Goochland, approved March 30, 1884, as amended, and to authorize the Board of Supervisors of Powhatan county to use certain money which had accrued to the credit of the permanent road fund created under said act for the purpose of making temporary repairs to roads and bridges, for the reason that, in the opinion of the patron, the act did not accomplish the purpose for which it had been enacted. The following did not become law, as the Governor withheld. his signature: House Bill 177, amending Section 3112 of the code so as to require the Court of Appeals to formulate a system of pleading, which was allowed to die at the instance of the gentlemen who were especially interested in simplifying judicial procedure, because it was believed the bill had been fatally amended. House Bill 186, in regard to the roads of Augusta county, because it was a duplicate of Senate Bill 235, which had been previously approved; another local bill which met the same fate for a like reason; and Senate Bill 267, to authorize any turnpike company of this State to extend, operate and maintain its line of turnpike road into or through any county or any part thereof, with the consent of the board of supervisors of such county upon such terms as may be agreed upon by such board of supervisors and such company, because the Governor was advised by the Attorney-General that the bill was unconstitutional. House Bill 113, relating to an election for a dispensary at Scottsville, was returned to the House by the Governor for a slight amendment, which was duly made, and the bill subsequently approved. House Bill 86, exempting physicians from the payment of a license tax, became law without the Governor's signature. All the other bills that were passed received the approval of the executive, and in only one case was there an effort to override his veto, and that was made in the Senate and failed by a vote of 26 to 1. A BURDEN ON THE GOVERNOR. It is worth while to remind ourselves that under our legislative system the power of the executive is much greater than most people suppose. The bills that reach him five days before final adjournment (excluding Sunday) he must sign, veto or allow to become law without his signature. Whereas, those that reach him afterward must be signed by him or perish. Of the former class he might veto the whole lot and the members would be too widely dispersed to reassemble and take action, as the constructive sessions are held by only a handful and to pass a bill over the executive's disapproval requires a recorded vote of two thirds, including a majority of members elected to both houses. If it were possible to get them back to Richmond they would be obliged to pay their own expenses while in the city, and would not even be allowed mileage. There were 305 bills—or about five-sixths of the whole number-submitted to the Governor after the ninth day of March, and he could have wiped them all out by vetoing some and withholding his signature from the rest. Fortunately, no Governor since the proclamation of the present Constitution has taken advantage of this enormous opportunity to undo the work of a legislative session. At best, the accumulation of bills upon the desk of the Governor in the closing days of the session constitutes a weighty burden and a trying responsibility upon a conscientious executive. ACTS OF A GENERAL NATURE FEW. Of the bills which actually have become law, 183 are decidedly special or local, while the remaining 177 may be considered of more or less general application. Of the general bills 127 are amendatory of existing statutes, and the other 50 in a sense new, though some of them have been operative in other States. AMENDMENTS SLIGHT. The amendatory acts make no radical change in the existing law. The majority, indeed, cause alteration so slight that a very careful inspection is necessary to detect the amendment. For example, section 164 of the code is so amended as to allow a postmaster to be a member of the State Board of Health; section 246, so that eight copies of the forthcoming volume of the Virginia Reports shall be sent to each college and university which has a law school; section 804, so that the Circuit Court may entertain a petition to change the name of a magisterial district and sections 2638 and 2640, so that certain officers of corporations which act as personal representatives may take oath and give bonds. The act approved January 30, 1912, allowing motions for damages in cases of tort is repealed in 1914, but at the same time section 3211 is amended so as to permit the remedy by motion to apply to torts, which seems to leave the matter about as it was in 1913. These are but a few of many inconsequential changes which are made in the statutes. ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION. There are a dozen acts relating to the assessment of property and the collection of taxes, most of which refer to the mechanical processes by which these functions are performed. The most notable act relating to taxation, of course, is the one creating the Tax Revision Committee of ten members-four appointed by the Speaker of the House, three by the President of the Senate, and three by the Governor. This able committee is now diligently at work, and I am in a position to know that its labor will prove highly valuable. The extra session to be called to meet next winter will be devoted exclusively to a revision of the tax system even though it be doubtful whether such a task may be accomplished within the constitutional limit. There are some other tax laws of interest. The rate on money in banks is reduced to twenty cents and the tax segregated to the use of the State, while money belonging to the counties, magisterial districts, cities and towns is exempt. The tax on incomes is also segregated, and counties, towns and cities of less than 65,000 inhabitants are forbidden to tax incomes. Another act of interest in that connection is the amendment of sections 117 and 118 of the revenue act so as to exempt physicians and surgeons from the payment of a license tax, which is a result of a campaign extending over eight or ten years. There is an act declaring there shall be a lien on real estate for town taxes. Another exempts building and loan associations organized on a wholly mutual plan, doing only the business of a building and loan association, and operating in not more than five contiguous counties. Another imposes a license tax upon venders of fruit, newspapers, etc., on trains at the rate of ten cents for each mile of track the route covers. An additional mode is provided for enforcing a lien for taxes, namely, by means of a chancery suit brought by the attorney for the Commonwealth in its name. For the purpose of defining a hotel within the meaning of the tax laws, an act declares it to be a lodging house of more than |