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0913 2 and are as really and fully wages as the money contracted to be paid, and are always taken into the account in fixing the amount of money wages to be paid. VIII. The Sabbath Day being set apart for the worship of God, no laborer will be required to perform any work on that day, except works of necessity or mercy. IX. The ration furnished to laborers shall be as follows: One peck of corn meal and five pounds of pork or bacon per week, and the money value of this ration will be taken into account in fixing the rate of wages to be paid. X. The allowance of clothing will be, two summer and one winter suit for each laborer or member of the family, or clothing may be commuted at the rate of three dollars per month for the first class hands, two and one-half dollars per month for second and third class hands, and one and one half dollars per month for children- at the option of the laborer. XI. Quarters shall be such as to protect the laborer and his family from the inclemency of the weather, and must contain accommodations for cooking, and, in addition, one-half acre of land contiguous to the houses, will be set apart for each family for garden purposes. XII. Should the contracting parties prefer it, the laborers can engage to furnish their own food and clothing, their wages to be regulated accordingly. These supplies may be purchased from the employer, who must, if he undertakes to supply his hands, in all cases keep a regular book account for each hand, and sell at usual market rates, which accounts must be open at all times to the inspection of the agents of this Bureau; this mode of contract is recommended to the freedmen. Should they desire to contract for a certain portion of the crop, they can do so, and the employer, in all contracts of this kind, will be required to comply with Section XVII of this circular, and also to pay over to the agent of this Bureau one-twentieth of the value of the laborer's share of said crop monthly, or whenever demanded, for school purposes; this estimate to be based on the average production of the land under cultivation. XIII. Five per cent. of the monthly wages of the laborers will be retained in the hands of the employer, and paid over when demanded, to the agent authorized to receive it, to be used for the purpose of sustaining schools for the education of the children of the freedmen and for no other purpose; and if not demanded for the purpose designated, during the year, the amount so retained will be paid over to the laborer at the settlement of his account. One-half of the balance of the monthly wages will be paid to the laborer on the last day of each month, and the remaining one-half will be retained by the employer until the contract is fulfilled, when it will be paid over to the laborer. XIV. Should the laborer refuse to do the work contracted for, or should he leave the plantation or place on which, or employer for whom, he has engaged to work for the purpose of avoiding labor, without just cause or provocation, which will be determined by the agent of the bureau for the parish in which he resides, upon application- and failure to make application for redress by the laborer will be
