176

THE RELATIVE DUTIES OF MANKIND.

[Part III.

CHAPTER II.

THE RELATION OF PRINCIPAL AND AGENT.

The kinds of agents most worthy of the notice of a moralphilosopher are attorneys, brokers, factors, and other mercantile,manufacturing, and agricultural agents. I proceed to explain thenature of their duties.

of slaves. Indeed, reasons exist why it should be here extended to acts donewilfully in the course of a public employment, and to which the master's assent,from its nature, may be fairly implied.”

In this decision, sound policy, law, reason, and morals, as they always ought,fully coincide. In truth these terms in their best sense, always mean the samething. Besides this, we have two earlier decisions in this State, on the samesubject, which may be seen in 2 Bay, p. 345, and 3 McCord, p. 400.

By our laws, too, the lives and limbs of servants (slaves) are protected againsttheir masters and all others; — their masters are required by law to furnish themwith sufficient food and clothing; — excessive and cruel chastisement is alsopunishable by law. The reason for enacting these provisions is declared byour legislature, to be, because “ cruelty is not only highly unbecoming thosewho profess themselves Christians, but is odious in the eyes of all men whohave any sense of virtue and humanity.” Servants are further declared u to beunder the ‘protection of the masters and managers of plantations, as well as un-der their government; ” and, to prevent the provisions of the act from beingevaded in their u true intent and meaning,” it is enacted, that, under circum-stances calculated to favor evasion, “ the master shall be adjudged guilty of theoffence, unless he can make the contrary appear by good and sufficient evidence ,or shall, by his own oath, clear and exculpate himself.” (2 Brevard, pp. 240-242.) Moreover, any person who shall wilfully murder any servant (slave),must, by the laws of this State, answer for such servant’s life by forfeiting hisown. (Acts of 1821, p. 12.) I do not find any law, which requires the masterto give his servants moral and religious instruction; but the Act of 7th June,1712, secures baptism to all servants who may wish to receive that sacrament,and also the profession of the Christian faith; and the practice is nearly uni-versal for masters, not only to permit, but to encourage their servants to attenddivine worship on Sunday. Provision is made, too, for their accommodation, inalmost, if not quite, all our churches. The Spanish laws, on this subject, maywell be commended, which require masters to have their servants prepared forbaptism by suitable instruction, and to pay a priest to explain to them the Chris-tian doctrine, and to administer to them the holy sacraments of the Church.(See Royal Spanish Order, contained in Report of Ilth of August, 1832, madeto the House of Commons on the Extinction of Slavery throughout the BritishDominions, folio, p. 241.)