|
|
Louisiana Black Codes, an Act
1865
Relative to apprentices and indentured servants.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
State of Louisiana, in General Assembly convened, That it shall be the duty
of Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace and other civil officers of this State,
to report to the Clerks of the District Courts of their respective Parishes,
and in the Parish of Orleans (left bank) to the Mayor of the City of New
Orleans, and on the right bank to the President of the Police Jury, on the
first Monday of each month, for each and every year, all persons under the
age of eighteen years, if females, and twenty-one, if males, who are
orphans, or whose parent, parents, or tutor, have not the means, or who
refuse to provide for and maintain said minors; and, thereupon, it shall be
the duty of the Clerks of the District Courts, Mayor and President of the
Police Jury aforesaid, to examine whether the party or parties, so reported
from time to time, come within the purview and meaning of this Act, and if
so, to apprentice said minor or minors, in manner and form as prescribed by
the Civil Code of the State of Louisiana; provided, that orphans coming
under the provisions of this Act shall be authorized to select said
employers when they have arrived at the age of puberty, unless they shall
have been previously apprenticed; provided, that any indenture of apprentice
or indented servant, made before a Justice of the Peace and two
disinterested witnesses, and the original deposited with and recorded by the
Recorder of Mortgages for the Parish, in a book provided for that purpose,
shall be valid and binding on the parties, and when made by the clerk, shall
be also deposited with the Recorder of Mortgages, and all expenses for
passing said acts of indenture shall be paid by the employer.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, &c., That persons who have attained the age
of majority, whether in this State or any other State of the United States,
or in a foreign country, may bind themselves to services to be performed in
this country, for the term of five years, on such terms as they may
stipulate, as domestic servants and to work on farms, plantations or in
manufacturing establishments, which contracts shall be valid and binding on
the parties to the same.
Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, &c., That in all cases, when the age of the
minor cannot be ascertained by record testimony, the Clerks of the District
Courts, Mayor and President of the Police Jury, or Justices of the Peace
aforesaid, shall fix the age, according to the best evidence before them.
Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, & c., That all laws or parts of laws
conflicting with the provisions of this Act, be, and the same are hereby
repealed, and that this Act take effect from and after its passage.
DUNCAN S. CAGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
ALBERT VOORHIES, Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate.
Approved December 21, 1865.
J. MADISON WELLS
Governor of the State of Louisiana
|
|
|
|
|
Home
