r any person in his power,
and the residue only is treated as peculium; though sometimes what
a slave owes to a person in his master's power is not deducted, for
instance, where that person is another slave who himself belongs to the
peculium; thus, where a slave owes a debt to his own vicarial slave, its
amount is not deducted from the peculium.

5 There is no doubt that a person with whom a slave enters into a
contract at the bidding of his master, or who can sue by the actions
exercitoria or institoria, may in lieu thereof bring an action in
respect of the peculium and of conversion to uses; but it would be most
foolish of him to relinquish an action by which he may with the greatest
ease recover the whole of what is owing to him under the contract, and
undertake the trouble of proving a conversion to uses, or the existence
of a peculium sufficient in amount to cover the whole of the debt. So
too a plaintiff who can sue by the action called tributoria may sue in
respect of peculium and conversion to uses, and sometimes the one
action is the more advisable, sometimes the other. The former has this
advantage, that in it the master has no priority; there is no deduction
of debts owing to him, but he and the other creditors stand on precisely
the same footing; while in the action in respect of peculium deduction
is first made of debts owing to the master, who is condemned to pay
over to the creditors only what then remains. On the other hand, the
advantage of the action in respect of peculium is that in it the slave's
whole peculium is liable to his creditors, whereas in the action called
tributoria only so much of it is liable as is invested in the trade
or business; and this may be only a third, a fourth, or even a less
fraction, because the slave may have the rest invested in land or
slaves, or out on loan. A creditor ought therefore to select the one
or the other action by considering their respective advantages in each
particular case; though he certainly ought to choose that in respect of
conversion to uses, if he can prove such conversion.

6 What we have said of the liability of a master on the contracts of
his slave is equally applicable where the contract is made by a child or
grandchild in the power of his or her father or grandfather.

7 A special enactment in favour of children in power is found in the
senatusconsult of Macedo, which has prohibited the giving of loans of
money to such persons, and refused