Читать книгу Race Distinctions in American Law - Gilbert Thomas Stephenson - Страница 23

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Another common form of legislation with regard to free Negroes was that relative to their contracts for personal service. A Florida^[100] statute of 1865 required that all contracts with persons of color should be in writing and fully explained to them before two credible witnesses, and that one copy of the contract should be kept by the employer and the other by some judicial officer of the State and county wherein the service was to be performed. Contracts for less than thirty days might be oral. The Negro who failed to perform his contract by wilful disobedience of orders, wanton impudence, or disrespect, failure or refusal to do the work assigned to him, idleness, or abandonment of the premises, was treated as a vagrant. In 1866^[101] the law ceased to be a race distinction when, by a new enactment, it was greatly limited and made applicable to whites and blacks alike.

The law of Kentucky^[102] required contracts between white persons and Negroes to be in writing and attested by some white person. The contracts were to be treated as entire, so that, if either party should, without good cause, abandon the contract, the other should be held to have performed his obligation.

Mississippi^[103] enacted that all contracts for labor with freedmen, free Negroes, or mulattoes for a longer period than one month should be in writing, attested by two disinterested white persons in the county where the labor was to be performed, and read to the Negro by some officer. If the laborer quit without good cause before the expiration of the term, he forfeited his wages for the year up to the time of quitting. That State made it the duty of every civil officer and the option of every other person to arrest and carry back to his employer every Negro laborer who had left, and the person making the arrest was entitled to receive five dollars as a fee and ten cents per mile from the place of arrest to the place of delivery, the same to be paid by the employer and taken out of the wages of the Negro. The Negro might appeal to a justice of the peace who might summarily try the merits of the case. Then, either the master or the servant might appeal to the county court which had power to remand the deserter to the employer or to dispose of him otherwise as it thought right and just, and its decision was final.

In Virginia^[104] all contracts for service between a white person and a Negro for more than two months had to be in writing, signed by both parties, acknowledged before a justice of the peace, notary public, clerk of the county or corporation court, overseer of the poor, or two or more credible witnesses in the county or corporation where the work was to be done. And the justice, notary, etc., had to read and explain the contract to the Negro.

Of all the Southern States, South Carolina^[105] went much the furthest into detail as to contracts for service. Persons of color who made contracts for service or labor were to be known as servants, and those with whom they contracted, as masters. Contracts for one month or more must be in writing, attested by one white witness, and approved by the judge of the district court or a magistrate. If the period of service was not mentioned, it was until the twenty-fifth of December next after making the contract. If the wages were not stipulated, they were to be fixed by the district judge or magistrate on application by one of the parties and notice to the other. A Negro, ten years or more of age, having no parent living in the district and not an apprentice, might make a valid contract for a year or less. Contracts must be presented for approval within twenty days. Contracts for one month or more were not binding on the servant unless written and approved. Failure to make such a written contract was a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of from five dollars to fifty dollars. If the servant received only board and clothing, a written contract was unnecessary. The fee for approval ranged between twenty-five cents for a contract of one month or less to one dollar for a contract for one year and one dollar for each year or part of a year in addition, half the fee to be paid by each party.

Labor on farms was minutely regulated. Hours of labor, except on Sundays, were from sunrise to sunset, with a reasonable interval for breakfast and dinner. Servants must “rise at the dawn in the morning, feed, water, and care for the animals on the farm, do the usual and needful work about the premises, prepare their meals for the day, if required by the master, and begin the farm work or other work by sunrise.” They must be careful of all the animals and property of their masters, and especially of the animals and implements used by them; must prevent them from injury by others. They were answerable for all property lost, destroyed, or injured by their negligence, dishonesty, or bad faith.

All lost time, not occasioned by the master, and all losses caused by neglect of duty might be deducted from the wages of the servant. Food, nursing, and other necessaries for the servant, while absent from work on account of sickness or other cause, might also be deducted. Servants must be quiet and orderly in their quarters, at their work, and on the premises. They must extinguish their lights and fires, and retire to rest at seasonable hours. Work at night and out-door work in bad weather was not to be exacted except in cases of necessity.

Servants were not to be kept at home on Sundays unless to take care of the premises or animals, for work of daily necessity, or on unusual occasions; and then only so many as were necessary to do the work. Sunday work must be done by them in turn, except in cases of sickness or disability, when the work might be assigned out of order. Those away on Sunday must be back by sunset.

Masters might give servants tasks, and might require them to rate themselves as full hands, three-quarters, half, or one-quarter in order to determine the task. If the servant complained of the task, the district judge or magistrate might reduce or increase it.

Visitors of servants could not be invited or allowed by the servants to come on the premises of the master without his express consent, nor could servants be absent from the premises without such permission.

If the servant left his employment without good cause, he forfeited all the wages due him. He must obey all lawful orders of the master or his agent, and “be honest, truthful, sober, civil, and diligent in his business.” The master might moderately correct servants under eighteen years of age. He was not liable to pay for any additional services of a servant, if they were necessary, except by express agreement.

The master might discharge the servant for: (1) wilful disobedience of the lawful order of himself or his agent; (2) habitual negligence or indolence in business; (3) drunkenness, grossly immoral or illegal conduct; (4) want of respect and courtesy to himself, his family, guests, or agents; (5) or for prolonged absence from the premises, or absence on two or more occasions without permission. Or, if the master preferred, he might report the servant to the district judge or magistrate, who had power to inflict suitable corporal punishment or impose a fine, and remand him to work; the fine to be deducted from the wages, if not paid. These were the means by which the judge or magistrate might compel the servant to perform his contract.

The master was not liable to third persons for the voluntary trespasses, torts, and misdemeanors of his servants. Nor was he liable for any contract of his servant unless made with the master’s authority, nor for any acts of the servant unless done within the scope of his authority or in the course of his employment. It was the master’s duty to protect his servant from violence at the hands of others and to aid him in getting redress for injuries.

For a person to deprive the master of the services of his servant, knowing him to be such, by enticing him away, harboring him, detaining him, beating, confining, disabling, or in any way injuring him was punishable by a fine of from twenty dollars to two hundred dollars, and imprisonment or hard labor for not over sixty days. In addition, the master might recover damages for loss of such services.

The master had the right to command the servant to aid him in the defence of his own person, family, premises, or property. He did not have to furnish medicine or medical assistance to the servant unless he especially agreed to do so.

The master might inform a prospective employer of the character of a Negro who had been in his service, and this was a privileged communication unless falsely and maliciously made. The servant could not make a new contract without producing the discharge of his former master or of the district judge or magistrate.

If the master was convicted of a felony or if he managed or controlled his servants so as to make them a nuisance to the neighborhood, any white freeholder might complain to the district judge and have the contract annulled, and the master could not employ any colored servant within two years.

A servant had the right to leave his master’s service for: (1) an insufficient supply of food; (2) an unauthorized battery upon his person or upon a member of his family, not committed in the defence of the person, family, guest, or agent of the master; (3) invasion by the master of the conjugal rights of the servant; (4) or failure by the master to pay wages when due. In any one of the above cases, the servant might collect his wages due him at the time of his departure.

If the master died, the contract—contrary to the usual rule of law—was not terminated without the assent of the servant. His wages up to one year took preference over other debts of the master. If the servant was wrongfully discharged, he could collect wages for the whole period of the contract. Upon the servant’s discharge or the expiration of his term of service, the master must furnish him a certificate of discharge, and upon his request, a certificate of character. If the servant forged or altered this certificate—as by falsely claiming that he had been in a certain previous service—he was guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not over one hundred dollars. All disputes as to alleged wrongful discharges or departures were to be heard by the district judge, who could compel the master to take back the servant or forfeit a penalty of a fine of twenty dollars; or compel the servant to return to his master under pain of corporal punishment or fine.

A servant was not liable for contracts made by the express authority of his master. Nor was he liable civilly or criminally for any act done by the command of his master in defence of his master’s person, family, guest, servant, premises, or property.

Negroes employed as house servants had, at “all hours of the day and night, and on all days of the week,” to answer promptly all calls and execute all lawful orders and commands of the master’s family. They had to be especially civil and polite to their master, his family, and guests, for which they in turn should “receive gentle and kind treatment.”

The statute provided for a regular form of contract between master and servant, which was understood to include all of the above stipulations unless otherwise provided.