e no legal claim to any property._

The civil code of Louisiana declares: "_All that a slave possesses
belongs to his master_--he possesses nothing of his own, except his
peculium, that is to say, the sum of money or moveable estate, which
_his master chooses he should possess_."--"Slaves are incapable of
inheriting or transmitting property."--"Slaves cannot dispose of, or
receive, by donation, unless they have been enfranchised conformably
to law, or are expressly enfranchised by the act, by which the donation
is made to them."

In South Carolina "it is not lawful for any slave to buy, sell, trade,
&c., without a license from his owner; nor shall any slave be allowed
to keep any boat or canoe, for his own benefit, or raise any horses,
cattle, sheep, or hogs, under pain of forfeiting all the goods, boats,
canoes, horses, &c., &c.; and it shall be lawful for _any person_ to
seize and take away from any slave all such goods, boats, &c., and to
deliver the same into the hands of the nearest justice of the peace;
and if the said justice be satisfied that such seizure has been made
according to law, he shall order the goods to be sold at public outcry;
one half of the moneys arising from the sale to go to the State, and the
other half to him or them that sue for the same." In North Carolina
there is a similar law; but half of the proceeds of the sale goes to the
county poor, and half to the informer.

In Georgia, a fine of thirty dollars a week is imposed upon any master
who allows his slave to hire himself out for his own benefit. In
Virginia, if a master permit his slave to hire himself out, he is
subject to a fine, from ten to twenty dollars; and it is lawful for any
person, and the _duty_ of the Sheriff, to apprehend the slave. In
Maryland, the master, by a similar offence, except during twenty days
at harvest time, incurs a penalty of twenty dollars per month.

In Mississippi, if a master allow his slave to cultivate cotton for his
own use, he incurs a fine of fifty dollars; and if he license his slave
to trade on his own account, he forfeits fifty dollars for each and
every offence. Any person trading with a slave forfeits four times the
value of the article purchased; and if unable to pay, he receives
thirty-nine lashes, and pays the cost.

Among the Romans, the Grecians, and the ancient Germans, slaves were
permitted to acquire and enjoy property of considerable value, as their
own. This property was called the