The weekly Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Miss.) 1865-186?, 1865-12-30
THE ,COPIAHAN.
Freednnen,s Law.
AN ACT
To confer civil RIGHTS on Freedmen

SECTION l. BE it enacted by the
Legislature Of the State of Missis.
sippi, That all freedmen, free negroes
and mulattoes may sue and be sued,
implead and be. implicated in all the
courts of law and equity in this
State, and may acquire personal pro.
perty and chooses in action, by des.
cent or purchase, and may dispose Of
the same, in the same manner, and to
the same extent that white persons
may; Provided that the provisions Of
this section shall not be so construed
to allow any freedman, free negro or
mulatto, to rent or lease lands or ten.
ements, except in incorporated towns
or cities in which places the corpo-
rate authorities shall control the
same. .-E. lr
s 3. Be it further enacted, That
all freedmen, free negroes and mulat.
toes may intermarry with each 9th.
er, in the same manner and under
the same regulations that are provi.
ded by law for white persons; Provi,
ded, that the Clerk of Probate shall
keep separate records of the same.
s 8. BE it further enacted, That
all freedmen, free negroes and mulat
toes, who do now and have hereto.
fore lived and cohabited together as
husband and wife shall be taken and
held in law as legally married, and
the issue shall be taken and held as
Legitimate. for allspurposes. That 70
shall not De lawful for any freshman
free negro or mulatto to fntermarry
with any white person; nor iot any
white person to intermarry WIN an
freedman, free negro or A"uiatto; ana
anv noroon who shall so intermarry
sbslI No daemed guilty of felony, and
on conviclon thereof, shall be con-
fined in the State Penitcntiary for
Ire; and those shall be deemed freed
men, free negroes and mulattoes who
are of pure negro blood, and those
descended from a negro to the third
generation inclusive though one an
cestor of each generation may have
been white person.
s 4. Be it further enacted, That
in addition to cases in which freed,
men, free negroes and mulattoes are
now by law competent witnesses,
freedmen, free negroes or mulattoes
shall be competent in civil cases
when party or parties to the salt,
either plaintiff or plaintiffs, defend
ant or defendants, also in cases
where freedmen, free negroes and
mulattoes is or are either plaintiff or
plaintiffs, defendant or defendants,
and a white person or white persons
is or are the opposing party or par
ties, plaintiff or plaintiffs, defendant
or defendants. They shall also be
competent witnesses in all criminal
prosecutions where the crime charg.
ed is alleged to have been committed
by white person upon or against
the person or property of o freedman
free negro or mulatto; Provided that
in all cases said witnesses shall be
examined in open court on the stand
except, however, they may be exam
med before the Grand Jury, and
shall in all cases be subject to the
rules and tests of the common law as
to competency and credibility.
S 5. Be it. further enacted, That
every freedmen, free negro and mu.
latto, shall, on the second Monday OF
January, one thousand eight hun
dred and sixtE-six, and annually
thereafter, have lawful home or
employment, and shall have written
evidence thereof, as follows, to-wit :
if living in any incorporated city,
town or village, license from the
Mayor thereof and if living outside
of any incorporated city, town Or
village, from the member of the
Board of Police of his beat, author
izing him or her to do irregular and
job work, or a written contract, as
provided in section sixth of this act,
which license may be revoked for
cause, at any time, by the authority
IdHllllS IuO SdLuc.
s 6. Be it further enacted, That
all contracts for labor made with
freedmen, free negroes and mulat.
toes, for longer period than one
month, shall be in writing and in
duplicate, attested and read to said
freedman, free negro or mulatto by
beat, city, or county officer, or two
disinterested white persons of the
county in which the labor is to be
performed, of which each party shall
have one; and said contracts shall
be taken and held as entire contracts,
and if the laborer shall quit the ser.
vice of the employer, before expira-
ton of his term of service, without
good cause, he shall forfeit his wa
ges for the year, up to the time Of
quitting.
S I. Be it further enacted, That
every civil officer shall, and every
person may arrest and carry back to
his or her legal employer any freed
man, free negro or mulatto, who shall
have quit the service of his or her
employer before the expiration of his
or her term of service without good
cause, and said officer and person
shall be entitled to receive for ares
ting and carrying back every deser-
ting employee aforesaid, the sum Of
FIVE dollars, and ten cents per mile
from the place of arrest to the place
Of delivery, and the same shall be
paid by the employer, and held as a
set of tor SO much against the wa
ges of said deserving employee
Provided, that said arresting party
after being so returned may appeal
to a Justice of the Peace or member
of the Board of Police of the county
who, on notice to the alleged employ
er, shall try summarily whether said
appellant is legally employed by the
alleged employer and has good cause
to quit said employer; either party
shall have the right to appeal to the
County Court, pending which the al