The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994 Page: 27
754 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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"All the Vile Passions"
The power to "inflict such moderate corporeal chastisement as may be
necessary and proper" could be used to control the apprentices. If they
ran away or left without permission, they could be recaptured, brought
before a justice of the peace, and remanded into the service of the mas-
ter or mistress. If he or she refused to return, the individual would be
jailed or be allowed to give bond for an appearance at the county court's
next term. If the apprentice left without "good and sufficient cause,"
then he or she would receive punishment as provided by the vagrant
laws until he or she agreed to return to his or her master or mistress. If
the judge determined the apprentice had reason to violate the inden-
ture he could annul the agreement6
Additionally, the legislature passed a separate punishment law to pre-
vent individuals from persuading, tampering with, enticing away, har-
boring, secreting; and feeding a laborer or apprentice. Upon conviction
the violator, in addition to being held liable for damages, would be pun-
ished by a fine of not more than five hundred or less than ten dollars,
imprisonment in the county jail for six months, or both. It was a misde-
meanor for any individual to employ a laborer or apprentice under con-
tract and deprive the contractor of his or her Iservices. Upon conviction,
a fine of not less than ten nor more than five hundred dollars "for each
and every offence," or imprisonment not exceeding thirty days in the
county jail, or both, and liability for damages could be imposed."3
The legislature enacted a vagrancy statute as another method of con-
trolling the black population. By defining a vagrant as "an idle person,
sion for leave, then the judge of the county where the apprentice resided assumed jurisdiction
over the individual. Any apprentice moved without permission and retained for more than thirty
days, "shall not be held liable for a further compliance with his indentures." They could, howev-
er, choose to remain in the indenture. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, V, 98o (1st and 2nd
quotations), 981 (3rd quotation).
86 Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, V, 980; ". . . a synopsis of laws respecting persons of col-
or," Jan. 3, 1867, S. Exec. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., 225. Apprentices would not have had
the necessary cash to post bail.
97 Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, V, 998 (quotation); ". .. a synopsis of laws respecting
persons of color," Jan. 3, 1867, S. Exec. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., 221-222. Once again
Richter attributes this portion of the code to the Bureau, specifically to Joseph B. Kiddoo, the
second assistant commissioner, in his Circular Order No. 14; Overreached on All Sides, 96. Judicial
authorities retained considerable power under the black codes. In fact, they became the single
most important individual in directing and controlling the requirements of the laws and super-
vised apprentices. Judges had the power to "hear and determine and grant all orders and de-
crees" at any time. To prevent individuals, family members, or relatives from enticing away,
concealing, or harboring a "deserting" apprentice, the law levied a five-dollar-a-day fine and the
offending party would be liable for damages sustained by the master or mistress "on account of
such willful" conduct. This made it especially difficult for black relatives to dissolve an indenture
or ascertain if its provisions were being upheld. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, V, 981
(quotations); ". .. a synopsis of laws respecting persons of color," Jan. 3, 1867, S. Exec. Doc. 6,
39th Cong., 2nd Sess., 226-227. In Overreached on All Sides, Richter stated that the apprenticing
law was a "measure long awaited by citizens and the bureau alike." The Bureau had refused per-
mission to state authorities to bind out children before the law's passage (pp. 95 [quotation], 96).
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994, periodical, 1994; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117154/m1/55/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.