[M] A white man engaged in a disturbance was accompanied by three or four slaves; his counsel contended that there were not persons enough in the affair to constitute a riot, because the slaves were mere chattels in the eye of the law. It was, however, decided that when liable to the punishment of the law, they were persons.
In Louisiana there is indeed a humane provision in this respect:
"If at a public sale of slaves, there happen to be some who are disabled through old age or otherwise, and who have children, such slaves shall not be sold but with such of his or of her children, whom he or she may think proper to go with." But though parents cannot be sold apart from their children, without their consent, yet the master may keep the parents and sell the children, if he chooses; in which case the separation is of course equally painful.—"By the Code Noir, of Louis the Fourteenth, husbands and wives, parents and children, are not allowed to be sold separately. If sales contrary to this regulation are made by process of law, under seizure for debts, such sales are declared void; but if such sales are made voluntarily on the part of the owner, a wiser remedy is given—the wife, or husband, children, or parent retained by the seller, may be claimed by the purchaser, without any additional price; and thus the separated family may be re-united again. The most solemn agreement between the parties contrary to this rule has been adjudged void." In the Spanish, Portuguese, and French colonies, plantation slaves are considered real estate, attached to the soil they cultivate, and of course not liable to be torn from their homes whenever the master chooses to sell them; neither can they be seized or sold by their master's creditors.
The following quotation shows how the citizens of this country bear comparison with men called savages. A recent traveller in East Florida says: "Another trait in the character of the Seminole Indians, is their great indulgence to their slaves. The greatest pressure of hunger or thirst never occasions them to impose onerous labors on the negroes, or to dispose of them, though tempted by high offers, if the latter are unwilling to be sold."
Prop. 4.—Slaves can have no legal claim to any property.
The civil code of Louisiana declares: "All that a slave possesses belongs to his master—he possesses nothing of his own, except his peculium, that is to say, the sum of money or moveable estate, which his master chooses he should possess."—"Slaves are incapable of inheriting or transmitting property."—"Slaves cannot dispose of, or receive, by donation, unless they have been enfranchised conformably to law, or are expressly enfranchised by the act, by which the donation is made to them."
In South Carolina "it is not lawful for any slave to buy, sell, trade, &c., without a license from his owner; nor shall any slave be allowed to keep any boat or canoe, for his own benefit, or raise any horses, cattle, sheep, or hogs, under pain of forfeiting all the goods, boats, canoes, horses, &c., &c.; and it shall be lawful for any person to seize and take away from any slave all such goods, boats, &c., and to deliver the same into the hands of the nearest justice of the peace; and if the said justice be satisfied that such seizure has been made according to law, he shall order the goods to be sold at public outcry; one half of the moneys arising from the sale to go to the State, and the other half to him or them that sue for the same." In North Carolina there is a similar law; but half of the proceeds of the sale goes to the county poor, and half to the informer.
In Georgia, a fine of thirty dollars a week is imposed upon any master who allows his slave to hire himself out for his own benefit. In Virginia, if a master permit his slave to hire himself out, he is subject to a fine, from ten to twenty dollars; and it is lawful for any person, and the duty of the Sheriff, to apprehend the slave. In Maryland, the master, by a similar offence, except during twenty days at harvest time, incurs a penalty of twenty dollars per month.
In Mississippi, if a master allow his slave to cultivate cotton for his own use, he incurs a fine of fifty dollars; and if he license his slave to trade on his own account, he forfeits fifty dollars for each and every offence. Any person trading with a slave forfeits four times the value of the article purchased; and if unable to pay, he receives thirty-nine lashes, and pays the cost.
Among the Romans, the Grecians, and the ancient Germans, slaves were permitted to acquire and enjoy property of considerable value, as their own. This property was called the slave's peculium; and "the many anxious provisions of the Imperial Code on the subject, plainly show the general extent and importance of such acquisitions."—"The Roman slave was also empowered by law to enter into commercial and other contracts, by which the master was bound, to the extent of the value of the slave's peculium."—"The Grecian slaves had also their peculium; and were rich enough to make periodical presents to their masters, as well as often to purchase their freedom."