The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1873-01-18

RNHW ~ HAHt ~ NNfH AHA NAHIf.
- ths eyHhify There s = barge
das a rsells she don't rssHzs he
iact thai iho Ioaiilsa 1T fsaf former
fayss Ia las has l-~n msds eqla
- Tint u themselves, aBl aisi con
'ssei, H.sds SHh aeffo ar based
tTo0 precisely tie anr rgul ard
equitable grouuis - With white
woh % afcosnt II d.s vaut e
aTrtestso- n legsl FiAts, ihers
has gro~n ~ ye1y masy serious
orror p 'he mad n oue people o
respect - eon'faeis 'gE II these
errors "a, that negroes necessarily
~ accoetd OF thes ipesious condi
ton, m's occupy the position Of
lab,rors 10 all ceuirars made Eith
white land owners, IN tic cultiv lti1t
Of crop', aud tha, no partusrshl - or
joint tensncy can'czrss between the
parties. These csc variety Of rcla
tion~hips TINT mas o. created by
contact between competent parties,
and among ihcm'is that Of par,ners,
point tenants, uaster aud scrvant.
employer aud tshoreT, etc. Con.
tracts IN the formation Of these re-.
latIonships mayOs crcaied either by
'psr0l or n~fttu agreements. But
mo parol Or verbal contract is bind.
ing, eKeepttts be executed within a
year frpn' Gate Of making the con,
tract.
Thoiprsctiee has grown upon in
This ecuutry. in the last three years,
OF not making any written contracts
with farm hands, aud in many cases
very little is said about the terms of
7he contract, except to fix the
amount to be paid tor the labor,
each party relying upon the honesty
OF the other to carry out the terms
ofthe contract upon q common &C.
eepted basis throughout the country.
Should any conflict come up on one
o tL.eso contracts, the parties would
find that they could not take mat
tiers for granted in the legal con
struction of the contract, but would
be bound by what was Il G actual
contract. There being three rela-
tons that most commonly exist in
our planting interest between the
owners OF the soil and the labor
dcne IN making crops, Of special ins
tercst at this time. These are that of
landlord aud tenant partners and mas
Ter and servant, or, as termed in our
statute, employer and laborcr. And
there is under each relation certain
fixed rules Of law laid down in gov
erning the construction of the cons
tracts, differing from each other,
The present importance of under
standing these relationships, to our
planters and merchants is due to the
lien laws for collection Of rent, part
the Gro" aud supplies furnished.
We have fully explained the rela-
tlonship If landlord and tenant in
our former article, and to a great
extent that of employer aud laborer.
Tho terms employer and laborcr is
an innovation upon that of master
and servant, and in many respects
analogous to 1t. We referred to this
important relationship in our first
article, and gave the full text Of the
Act OF the Legislature of April 5,
1872, in reference TO this subject.
1t Is only necessary to add, to have
a proper understanding OF this rela,
tionship, that the great majority of
contracts in this country, we be-
lieye, are intended to be of this class.
That the land owner intends in the
making OF the contracts to own the
entire crop, paying a certain per
centage of the crop as wages for tho
labor donein "making, saving, hand
ling and transportation" Of the crop,
and that there is 30 intention to
create a partnership between the
parties. Yet in many contracts
there Is no definite understanding as
to the relationship existing, and a
court of law would have to determine
the nature Of the contract from the
language Of the contract and from
the acts OF the Parties IN carrying i,
out.
There are some nice distinctions
of law between the terms master
and servant, and employer and la.
lorer, which ar, by no means well
settled and defined. IL may well be
said that the relationship of employ.
er and laborer may exist in all con.
tracts for hire OF personal service,
bnt not that Of master and servant,
and 1t is exceedingly difficult to
draw the line of distinction. How
evea, this does not matter ia refer
ence 70 our late lien law, for the