Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/15

 and then of disposing of himself to the one he should select.

Both master and servant could protect themselves from every form of encroachment upon each other. It was, for instance, in the power of the master to require that the servant should pay double the value of the labor of every day he lost for avoidable causes, and if this happened to be in the harvest time, the sum was to be increased by ten. On the other hand, the servant might covenant that he should not be compelled to plant and tend to more than two hundred weight of tobacco during any one year, this being a much smaller task than was usually imposed upon individuals of his class.

Many controversies arose between masters and servants who had been introduced without indentures, as to the time when their terms ought to expire, and this led to the passage of a large number of important acts. The rule which prevailed at first was that every member of the latter class who had been imported into Virginia without written covenants, should be bound for a period of four years if his age was in excess of twenty-one, five if he was under twenty, and seven if under twelve. The provisions of this statute were substantially modified in 1654 so far as aliens were involved. When the latter had come in without indentures, they were required, if more than sixteen years old, to remain in the employment of the planter to whom they were assigned, for a term of six years. If the person in question was under sixteen, this term was extended until he had attained his twenty-fourth year. It was found that this law worked to the disadvantage of