the last book I ever read (Herbert Asbury's The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld, excerpt three)

from The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld by Herbert Asbury:

The first article of the original Black Code ordered the expulsion of all Jews from the province; and the succeeding four articles prohibited any form of worship excepting the Roman Catholic, made it imperative upon masters to impart religious instructions to their slaves, and provided for the confiscation of blacks placed under the supervision of a person not a Catholic, or found at work on Sundays or holy days. The remaining forty-nine articles dealt entirely with the conduct and government of the Negroes. In particular, the Code prohibited any mingling of the races. Concubinage with slaves, and marriages of whites and blacks, whether free or slave, was forbidden under penalty of heavy fines and other punishments. Provision was made for the manumission of slaves, which could be granted by masters over twenty-five, either while living or by testamentary act, provided permission was first obtained from the Superior Council. The final article of the Code granted to manumitted slaves “the same rights, privileges, and immunities which are enjoyed by free-born persons. It is our pleasure that their merit in having acquired their freedom shall produce in their favor, not only with regard to their persons, but also to their property, the same effects which our other subjects derive from the happy circumstance of their having been born free.”