punishment_. Every master offending against this regulation was to be
summoned, on complaint by the labourer, before a magistrate or intendant
of police, who was to examine into the case, and to act accordingly.
Conceiving, on the other hand, that a just subordination ought to be
kept up, and that, wherever delinquency occurred, punishment ought to
follow, he ordained, that all labourers offending against the plantation
laws, or not performing their contracts, should be brought before the
same magistrate or intendant of police, who should examine them touching
such delinquency, and decide as in the former case: thus he administered
justice without respect of persons. It must be noticed, that all
punishments were to be executed by a civil officer, a sort of public
executioner, that they might be considered as punishments _by the
state_. Thus he _kept up discipline_ on the plantations, _without
lessening authority_ on the one hand, and _without invading the liberty
of individuals_ on the other.

Among his plantation offences was idleness on the part of the labourer.
A man was not to receive wages from his master, and to do nothing. He
was obliged to perform a reasonable quantity of work, or be punished.
Another offence was absence without leave, which was considered as
desertion.

Toussaint differed from the commissioners, as to the length of time for
which labourers should engage themselves to masters. He thought it
unwise to allow the former, in the infancy of their liberty, to get
notions of change and rambling at the end of every year. He ordained,
therefore, that they should be attached to the plantations, and made,
though free labourers, a sort of _adscripti glebae_ for five years.

He differed again from the commissioners, as to the quantum of