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 MASTER AND SERVANT for. But this rule is subject to an apparent ex- ception in the case of carriers of passengers. Where, for instance, a railway company re- ceives passengers to be carried, and intrusts them to the care of its conductors and othe'r servants, if the conductor of a train shall cause a passenger who is in no default to be put off the cars, the company will not only be liable in that case upon the presumption that the conductor was acting in obedience to its orders, but it would also be liable if the conductor should in defiance of orders and wilfully and wantonly inflict an injury upon the passenger, because it was the duty of the company to see to it that the contract of carriage be not in- trusted for execution to those who would either negligently or purposely violate it. It should be observed in respect to these rules of liability on the part of the master, that they do not ap- ply in favor of one of his servants who is in- jured by the carelessness or negligence of a co- servant, but the servant is considered to have taken upon himself by the contract of hiring all risks of that character ; though if he can show that the servant causing the injury was an incompetent or unfit person to be engaged in such employment, and that the master knew it when he employed him, thereby tracing the negligence back to the master, he may hold the latter responsible. One class of persons who make it their business to perform service for others are not held to be servants so far as to make the master liable for their negligent torts. These are such as act in an independent employment, and not under the immediate con- trol, direction, or supervision of the employer. The man who draws goods for me by the day or week is my servant, but the railway compa- ny that transports them is not, neither is the licensed drayman. Corresponding to his lia- bilities to third persons, the master has some rights. One who entices his servant away from him before his time of service has ex- pired, or who injures him so that he cannot la- bor, or who seduces his female servant, is liable to him in damages ; and in the last mentioned case heavy punitory damages are sometimes allowed to be recovered. The courts consider any female a servant who is living with and performing service, however slight, for an- other, whether under contract or not ; and a father, at the common law, only recovers for the seduction of his daughter on the ground of her being his servant. In general, where a third person has a right to hold the master lia- ble for the servant's act or non-feasance, he may at his option hold the servant also ; and on the other hand, though the master may sue for an injury to the servant whereby he has lost his service, so the servant may have an ac- tion on his own account to recover the dam- ages which are personal to himself. It should be observed that, though the officers of a cor- poration are regarded as its servants, yet the chief executive officer or superintendent of its business is for many purposes, so far as third MASTIC 265 persons are concerned, regarded as standing in the place of and representing its principal for the purposes of control and direction of other officers and servants ; and the liability of the corporation will be the same for acts done un- der his direction as though done by direction of the corporate board of management. MASTER SINGERS (Ger. Heistersanger), & class of minstrels who flourished in Germany during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. They were generally of burgher extraction, and in the reign of the emperor Charles IV. were formed into regular corporations, for admission to which a course of apprenticeship was required. Their chief seats were the imperial cities, and they flourished most at Nuremberg. The com- positions of the members, consisting chiefly of devotional and Scriptural pieces, were sub- jected to a peculiar code of laws, and the main faults to be avoided, 32 in number, were distinguished by particular names. At public contests in Nuremberg, a board of four judges, called Merker, sat to hear the poems recited or sung, and mark the faults in each. The first compared the recitation with the text of the Bible lying before him, the second criticised the prosody, the third the rhymes, and the fourth the tunes. He who had the fewest marks re- ceived the prize, and the successful competi- tors were thereupon permitted to receive ap- prentices. These corporations began to decline in the 17th century, and have been succeeded in modern times by the Liederlcrame, Sdnger- lunde, and other singing societies. Among the most famous master singers were Hans Sachs, Muscatbltit, and Michael Behaim. MASTIC (Gr. [lacrixJi, from naaaodai, to chew or eat, so named from the practice of chewing the substance which prevailed formerly as at Mastic Plant (Pistacia lentiscus). present in Greece), a resinous exudation from the bark of the pistacia lentiscus, a shrub about 12 ft. high, found upon the borders of the upper Mediterranean. The drug is ob-