LAW REGULATING CONTRACTS BETWEEN MASTERS AND SERVANTS

SECTION 1

That all contracts between two or more persons, the one binding himself to labor in certain and determined employments, or all those contracted for, and the other offering his money in determined daily, monthly, or yearly salary, shall be respected and enforced by the civil law, according to the agreement made by their own free and voluntary will; which free will is based upon the obligations of natural rights, and consequently gives room to exact the fulfillment of said obligations before the proper tribunals according to the conditions that are solemnly and mutually stipulated in the contract; the person bound to serve giving his personal labor, and the master by paying him his salary, be it in advance or after rendering the service.

SECTION 2

That the amount of salary demanded by the person binding him or herself to labor, be it male or female, old or young, shall be such as freely and voluntarily agreed upon by the contracting parties.

SECTION 3

That the things or articles supplied by masters to their servants shall be furnished to them at the market value they may have at the time of supplying them, or, in lieu thereof, the current money.

SECTION 4

Fathers of families are not permitted to bind out their children to serve, contracting excessive debts until they are driven into a state of slavery; and it is further prohibited when the salary or emoluments received from their masters shall be converted into pauperism, or spending their time in gambling or other disorders. They are only permitted to do so in the following cases:

When their poverty demands it, devoting what they draw on account of their salaries to the support of their own and legal families.

They cannot do so when the amount is more than that which is due them at the end of one year; and even serving more than this time, be it remembered that the debt shall not exceed the mentioned amount.

If the parent contracting dies, the son shall not be obliged to continue serving.

SECTION 5

That if the servant does not wish to continue serving for any cause, such as the ill-treatment of the master, and receiving better pay from another, or from any other cause that he may assign, on paying the amount yet due he cannot be bound to continue in service, but if he does not pay the said amount he shall be bound.

SECTION 6

That if the person serving dies who personally bound himself, the family of the person shall not be obliged to pay the balance due by him, but it shall be paid from the effects of the deceased.

SECTION 7

When contracts are made between masters and their servants, for the benefit of both, each one shall be liable for damages to any interest arising from any fault committed by them; but if it arises from any unavoidable circumstance, the owner of the property shall be liable for all damages.

SECTION 8

That the persons contracting their services shall fulfill their duties with all punctuality, and shall use all vigilance, night and day, for the articles under their care, and also on holidays if required, according to the contract and importance of the service rendered, be it in the house, traveling, or in pastures; but if the contract be for merely daily work, as laborers, it shall be their duty to labor during the day from sunrise until sunset.

SECTION 9

That the servant who, without permission of his master, shall sell, dilapidate, steal, or in any manner waste his master's property, shall indemnify the same, not only paying the value of the articles, but also the damages and profits that might accrue from said articles, but shall also be liable to punishment by the authorities according to law and the nature of the guilt and damages incurred.

SECTION 10

That the prefects, alcaldes, and justices of the peace shall indiscriminately authenticate the books of accounts between masters and servants, specifying the terms of the contract.

SECTION 11

That any justice of the peace, or judicial authority, shall take cognizance of, and define all questions between masters and servants, according to their jurisdiction.

SECTION 12

When a servant runs off, his master may present himself before any authority and take out a warrant of the debt, and with it may proceed, in person or otherwise, to any part of the Territory and make his claim, which shall be attended to according to law.

SECTION 13

If any person or persons should trust him any money, they shall have no right to exact the payment thereof until said servant shall finish paying the amount due to his master, unless the master should voluntarily agree to cover said debt.

SECTION 14

That all male or female servants shall respect their masters as their superior guardians, and all faults of disobedience or insubordination committed by them, and all attempts made by them to injure their masters, shall be determined and tried according to law.

SECTION 15

Masters who shall chastise their servants or force them to serve beyond the bounds of their contracts, as specified in Section 8, shall be tried according to law by the competent authorities; and, on being found guilty of the charge, shall be fined in a sum not more than twenty-five nor less than one dollar, to be applied to the use of the county wherein the case is tried, recoverable before any alcalde of the county in a summary manner.

SECTION 16

Proviso: All free white men and women, not embarrassed by law or other reasonable causes preventing the fulfillment thereof, may celebrate this species of contract.

SECTION 17

Minors under 21 years of age, subject to parental authority, cannot celebrate the contracts specified in this act, excepting minors from 14 to 20 years of age, not under parental jurisdiction, or that of any other person in the capacity of guardian or overseer: in such case they are considered in the same capacity as the persons referred to in the foregoing section.

SECTION 18

All persons having servants may advance them on account, when they demand it, two-thirds of their monthly salary, in order to supply the wants of their families.