that proper steps be taken at the next meeting of the legislature to enlarge the powers of the board. It seems to me that if such a resolution were adopted it would lend the moral support of the Association to the desired reform.

Mr. J. Vaughan Gary, of Richmond: Mr. President, I would like to make one suggestion. If we adopt the proposed resolution, we will not lose any time, for the reason that we have another meeting of the Association before there is another meeting of the General Assembly. Therefore the resolution proposed to-day will give the Committee of the Association an opportunity to go before the Board of Bar Examiners and seek to have it adopt the necessary regulations, and, if the board will not take action, the Committee will have an opportunity to investigate the matter carefully and make suggestions to this Association before the General Assembly meets again.

Personally, I think it is a very serious question as to just what action we should ask of the legislature. If we go before the legislature and ask them to prescribe a standard, we are going to have a tremendous fight on our hands. On the other hand, if we go before the legislature and ask them to give the bar examiners the right to prescribe a standard, we will have a fair chance of getting them to vest that authority in men who know what qualifications are necessary for the practice of law. Therefore I do not think that we will be losing time by adopting the resolution, but we will be adopting a course which will the better accomplish our purposes.

Mr. James S. Barron, of Norfolk: Mr. President, Mr. Gary has put it in a very concrete way. It seems to me that we all agree on this, that the legislature of Virginia is not the proper body to prescribe educational requirements. It does not attempt to prescribe the moral or legal requirements, and they ought not to attempt to prescribe the educational requirements.

I think that this Association should be very slow in going to the legislature with the idea that they are going to pass on educational requirements. It seems to me that our proper course should be and I think we are about agreed on it-to have the

Committee of this Association confer with the Board of Bar Examiners and report next year what are the scholastic requirements of other States, and then ask the legislature to give the Board of Bar Examiners power to adopt such requirements in educational matters as it sees fit.

Mr. George E. Haw, of Richmond: Mr. President, I heartily agree with Mr. Williams that the requirements in Virginia are not sufficient. I am also thoroughly in accord with Mr. Barron and Mr. Gary in their position that we should not attempt to have the legislature prescribe educational requirements, but that the authority should be vested in the Board of Law Examiners to fix the requirements. If that is done I am satisfied we shall eventually have established correct standards. Therefore, I would like to second the substitute of Senator Barron.

Mr. Lewis C. Williams: Mr. President, I would like to second Mr. Barron's substitute.

The President: The Chair would like to know if there was a second to Mr. Moreland's substitute, or if he insists on it?

Mr. Moreland: No, I don't think it was seconded.

The President: Mr. Moreland's substitute not being seconded, the question comes up on the substitute of Mr. Barron. Will Mr. Barron state his substitute a little more definitely?

Mr. Barron: In substance, my resolution is that the Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar confer with the Board of Law Examiners and report at our next meeting the scholastic and other requirements of other States for admission to the bar and recommend what act the legislature should pass.

Adopted.

Mr. E. Randolph Williams: Mr. President, the Committee on Resolutions reports and recommends the following resolution:

Be it Resolved, That the Virginia State Bar Association express its grateful appreciation of the hospitality extended to it by the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association and by the Newport News-Hampton Bar Association.

Seconded and adopted.

Mr. E. Randolph Williams: The Committee also reports and recommends the following resolution:

Be it Resolved, That the Virginia State Bar Association express its appreciation to the management of The Chamberlin-Vanderbilt Hotel for the courtesies and consideration extended during the meeting of the Association.

Seconded and adopted.

Mr. E. Randolph Williams: In concluding, Mr. President, may I say that the Committee on Resolutions was composed of myself, Chairman; Mr. J. Gordon Bohannan, of Petersburg; Professor F. D. G. Ribble, of the University of Virginia; Mr. John B. Jenkins, Jr., of Norfolk; and Mr. A. Stuart Robertson, of Orange, and that the Committee had your co-operation.

The President: The report of the Committee on Obituaries will now be made by Mr. J. Jordan Leake, Chairman. Will the members of the Association please arise and stand while the report is presented?

Mr. J. Jordan Leake, of Richmond, then presented the report of the Committee on Obituaries.

(See Report at end of Minutes.)

On motion duly seconded the report was received and filed.

The President: The next order of business is miscellaneous business. Is there any miscellaneous business that anybody wants to present? If not, the next matter is the election of officers.

The Association then went into the election of officers, and the following gentlemen were nominated for the respective offices, and the Secretary, by motion duly seconded in each case, was instructed to cast the unanimous ballot of the Association for the election of the nominees named, and they were accordingly elected, as follows:

President-Mr. Whitwell W. Coxe, of Roanoke.

Vice-Presidents-Mr. Howard C. Gilmer, of Pulaski, Southwest; Mr. Frank M. Wray, of Berryville, Valley; Mr. V. R. Shackelford, of Orange, Piedmont; Mr. Charles T. Lassiter, of Petersburg, Southside; Mr. T. D. Savage, of Norfolk, Tide

water.

Secretary and Treasurer-Mr. C. M. Chichester, of Richmond.

Members of Executive Committee-Mr. Robert L. Pennington of Bristol; Mr. James G. Martin, of Norfolk.

The Association then adjourned, subject to the call of the Executive Committee.

C. M. CHICHESTER,

Secretary.

ANNUAL REPORTS

1928

REPORT OF SECRETARY.

THE CHAMBERLIN-VANDERBILT HOTEL,
OLD POINT COMFORT, VIRGINIA,
August 1, 1928.

To the Virginia State Bar Association:

The activities of the Secretary's office for the year beginning July 1, 1927, and ending June 30, 1928, in addition to the routine of ordinary correspondence, have consisted principally of communications to the membership of the Association and to the profession in connection with the presentation to the 1928 Legislature of the proposed bill for the organization of the bar which was approved by the Convention of the Bar held at Virginia Beach August 4, 1927, and, on the following day, August 5, 1927, by the Association.

Committees were appointed by the Convention of the Bar and by the Association, respectively, to present the proposed bar organization bill to the General Assembly and the Committee of the Association was authorized to take such steps as it might deem wise to secure further consideration and action by local bars between the meeting of the Convention of the Association and the convening of the legislature.

In co-operation with these committees and in pursuance of the directions of the Association, your Secretary had several reprints made consisting of addresses and arguments at the Convention of the Bar, in addition to a reprint of the proposed bill as amended, and these were, from time to time, sent to members of the bar, and to various persons in different parts of the State