Germans, 3534 were natives of Ireland and 3425 of England. Of
the total population 52,264 were of foreign parentage (i.e. either
one or both parents were foreign-born) and 9769 were of German,
8235 of Irish and 4792 of English parentage, both on the father’s
and on the mother’s side. Out of the total of 793,546 members of
religious denominations in 1906, more than half, 415,987, were
Baptists; the Methodists numbered 200,771; and there were
39,628 Presbyterians, 28,700 Roman Catholics, 28,487 Protestant
Episcopalians, 26,248 Disciples of Christ, and 15,010 Lutherans.
Virginia in 1900 had 46.2 inhabitants to the square mile. The principal
cities of the state are: Richmond (the capital), Norfolk,
Petersburg, Roanoke, Newport News, Lynchburg, Portsmouth and
Danville.
Government.—Virginia has had six state constitutions: the first was adopted in 1776, the second in 1830, the third in 1851, the fourth in 1864, the fifth in 1869, and the sixth, the present, in 1902. Amendments to the present constitution may be proposed in either house of the General Assembly, and if they pass both houses of that and the succeeding General Assembly by a majority of the members elected to each house and are subsequently approved by a majority of the people who vote on the question at the next general election they become a part of the constitution. A majority of the members in each house of the General Assembly may at any time propose a convention to revise the constitution and, if at the next succeeding election a majority of the people voting on the question approve, the General Assembly must provide for the election of delegates. To be entitled to vote one must be a male citizen of the United States and twenty-one years of age; have been a resident of the state for two years, of the county, city, or town for one year, and of the election precinct for thirty days next preceding the election; have paid, at least six months before the election, all state poll taxes assessed against him for three years next preceding the election, unless he is a veteran of the Civil War; and have registered after the adoption of the constitution (1902). For registration prior to 1904 one of four additional qualifications was required: service in the army or navy of the United States, of the Confederate States, or of some state of the United States or of the Confederate States; direct descent from one who so served; ownership of property upon which state taxes amounting to at least one dollar were paid in the preceding year; or ability to read the constitution or at least to show an understanding of it. And to qualify for registration after 1904 one must have paid all state poll taxes assessed against him for the three years immediately preceding his application, unless he is a veteran of the Civil War; and unless physically unable he must “make application in his own handwriting, without aid, suggestion or memorandum, in the presence of the registration officers, stating therein his name, age, date and place of birth, residence and occupation at the time and for two years next preceding, whether he has previously voted, and, if so, the state, county and precinct in which he voted last”, and must answer questions relating to his qualifications.
Executive.—The governor, lieutenant-governor, attorney-general, secretary of the commonwealth, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and commissioner of agriculture are elected for a term of four years, every fourth year from 1905, and each new administration begins on the 1st of February. The governor must be at least thirty years of age, a resident of the state for five years next preceding his election; and, if of foreign birth, a citizen of the United States for ten years. He appoints numerous officers with the concurrence of the Senate, has the usual power of vetoing legislative bills, and has authority to inspect the records of officers, or to employ accountants to do so, and to suspend, during a recess of the General Assembly, any executive officer at the seat of government except the lieutenant-governor; he must, however, report to the General Assembly at its next session the cause of any suspension and that body determines whether the suspended officer shall be restored or removed.
Legislature.—The General Assembly consists of a Senate and a House of Delegates. The Constitution provides that the number of senators shall not be more than forty nor less than thirty-three, and that the number of delegates shall not be more than one hundred nor less than ninety. Senators and delegates are elected by single districts (into which the state is apportioned once every ten years, according to population), the senators for a term of four years, the delegates for a term of two years. The only qualifications for senators and delegates are those required of an elector and residence in their districts; there are, however, a few disqualifications, such as holding certain offices in the state or a salaried Federal office. The General Assembly meets regularly at Richmond on the second Wednesday in January of each even-numbered year, and the governor must call an extra session on the application of two-thirds of the members of both houses, and may call one whenever he thinks the interests of the state require it. The length of a regular session is limited to sixty days unless three-fifths of the members of each house concur in extending it, and no extension may exceed thirty days. Senators and delegates are paid $500 each for each regular session and $250 for each extra session. Any bill may originate in either house, but a bill of special, private or local interest must be referred to a standing committee of five members appointed by the Senate and seven members appointed by the House of Delegates, before it is referred to the committee of the house in which it originated. The governor’s veto power extends to items in appropriation bills, and to overcome his veto, whether of a whole bill or an item of an appropriation bill, a two-thirds vote in each house of the members present is required, and such two-thirds must include in each house a majority of the members elected to that house. Whenever the governor approves of the general purpose of a bill, but disapproves of some portion or portions, he may return the bill with his recommendations for amendment, and when it comes back to him, he may, whether his recommendations have been adopted or not, treat it as if it were before him for the first time.
Judiciary.—The administration of justice is vested principally in a supreme court of appeals, circuit courts, city courts and courts of a justice of the peace. The supreme court of appeals consists of five judges, but any three of them may hold a court. They are chosen for a term of twelve years by a joint vote of the Senate and the House of Delegates. The court sits at Richmond, Staunton and Wytheville. The concurrence of at least three judges is necessary to the decision of a case involving the constitutionality of a law. Whenever the docket of this court is crowded, or there is a case upon it in which it is improper for a majority of the judges to sit, the General Assembly may provide for a special court of appeals, to be composed of not more than five nor less than three judges of the circuit courts and city courts, in cities having a population of 10,000 or more. The state is divided into thirty judicial circuits and in each of these a circuit judge is chosen for a term of eight years by a joint vote of the Senate and the House of Delegates. The jurisdiction of the circuit courts was extended by the present Constitution to include that which, under the preceding Constitution, was vested in county courts, and the principal restriction is that they shall not have original jurisdiction in civil cases for the recovery of personal property amounting to less than $20. Similar to the circuit court is the corporation court in each city having a population of 10,000 or more; the judge of each of these corporation courts is chosen for a term of eight years by a joint vote of the Senate and the House of Delegates, and he may hold a circuit as well as a corporation court. Circuit courts and corporation courts appoint the commissioners in chancery. Three justices of the peace are elected in each magisterial district for a term of four years. There are also justices of the peace (elected) and police justices (appointed) in cities, and in various minor cases a justice’s court has original jurisdiction, either exclusive or concurrent with the circuit and corporation courts. In each city having a population of 70,000 or more a special justice of the peace, known as a civil justice, is elected by a joint vote of the Senate and the House of Delegates for a term of four years.
Local Government.—Each county is divided into magisterial districts, varying in number from three to eleven. Each district elects a supervisor for a term of four years, and the district supervisors constitute a county board of supervisors, which represents the county as a corporation, manages the county property and county business, levies the county taxes, audits the accounts of the county, and recommends for appointment by the circuit court a county surveyor and a county superintendent of the poor. Each county also elects a treasurer, a sheriff, an attorney and one or more commissioners of the revenue, each for a term of four years, and a clerk, who is clerk of the circuit court, for a term of eight years. The coroner is appointed by the circuit court for a term of two years. Each magisterial district elects, besides a supervisor and justices of the peace, a constable and an overseer of the poor, each for a term of four years. The Constitution provides that all “communities” with a population less than 5000, incorporated after its adoption, shall be known as towns, and that those with a population of 5000 or more shall be known as cities. In each city incorporated after its adoption, the Constitution requires the election in each of a mayor, a treasurer and a sergeant, each for a term of four years, and the election or appointment of a commissioner of the revenue for an equal term; that in cities having a population of 10,000 or more the council shall be composed of two branches; that the mayor shall have a veto on all acts of the council and on items of appropriation, ordinances or resolutions, which can be overridden only by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch; and that no city shall incur a bonded indebtedness exceeding 18% of the assessed value of its real estate.
Miscellaneous Laws.—A married woman may manage her separate
