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white man, by reducing to the certainty of writing the contracts between the two, and so evidencing the contract that misunderstanding or imposition is next to impossible.

Secondly, as to masters and apprentics, it is enacted as follows:

"The writing by which any minor is bound an apprentice, shall specify his age, and what art, trade, or business he is to be taught. The master, whether it is expressly provided therein or not, shall be bound to teach the same, and shall also be bound to teach him reading, writing and common arithmetic, including the rule of three."

By the Code of '60, in force at the opening of the Rebellion, and at its close, the foregoing provision applied to whites only. Now, it is extended to colored persons. The former laws relating to the apprenticing of negro children are repealed by bill No 37: (hereafter to be mentioned) so that from this time henceforward negro apprentices are to be taught, at the expense of the master, "reading, writing, and common arithmetic,
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