Page:An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans.djvu/59

Rh 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 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 thirtynine 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