APPRENTICESHIP, denotes the ser vitude of an apprentice, or die duration of his indenture. The competition in seve ral employments is restrained to a smaller number than would otherwise be disposed to enter into themtpartly by the limitation of the number of' apprentices, which at tends the exclusive privilege of incorpo rated trades; and partly by the long term of apprenticeship, which increasesthe ex pense of education. Seven years seem for. merly to have been, all over Europe, the usual term established for the duration of apprenticeships in the greater number of incorporated trades. Such incorporations were anciently called universities, which is the proper Latin name for any incorpora tion whatever. The university of smiths, the university of tailors, &c. are expres sions commonly occurring in the old char ters of ancient towns. When those particu lar incorporations, which are now peculiar ly called universities, were first establish ed, the term of years during which it was necessary to study, in order to obtain the degree of Master of Arts, appears evi dently to have been copied from the term of apprenticeship in common trades, of which the incorporations were much more ancient. As to have wrought seven years under a master, properly qualified, was necessary to entitle any person to become a master, and to have himself apprentices, in a common trade, so to have studied seven years under a master properly qua lified, was necessary to entitle him to be come a master, teacher, or doctor, (words anciently synonymous,) to study under him. By the Sth of Elizabeth, commonly called the statute of apprenticeship, it was enacted, that no person should, for the fu ture, exercise any trade, craft, or mystery, at that time exercised in England, unless he had previously served to it an appren ticeship of seven years at least ; and thus, what before had been the bye-law of ma ny particular corporations, became in England the general and public law of all trades carried on in market-towns.
To country villages the term of seven years apprenticeship doth not extend; but the limitation of this statute to trades exercised before it was passed has given occasion to several distinctions, which, considered as rules of police, appear as foolish as can well be imagined. A coach maker, for instance, has no right to make, or employ journey-men for making, coach wheels but he must buy them of a mas ter wheel-right, this latter trade having been exercised in England before the 5th of Elizabeth. But a wheel-wright,though he has never served an apprenticeship to a coachmaker, may, by himself or jour neyman, make coaches,beeause this trade, being of a later origin, is not within the statute. Thus also the manufactures of Manchester, Birmingham, and Wolver hampton, are, many of them, upon this account, not within the statute, not having been exercised in England before the 5th of Elizabeth.
The regulations of apprenticeship in Ireland arc upon a different footing, and somewhat less illiberal than in England. Prohibitions, similar to those of the statute of the 5th of Elizabeth, obtain in all cor porate towns, by authority of bye-laws of the several corporations: but these pro hibitions extend only to natives of Ireland; for, by a regulation made by the lord lieu tenant and privy.council, having in this in stance, by 17 and 18 Car. II. the force of a law, all foreigners and aliens, as well per sons of other religious persuasions as Protestants, who are merchants, traders, artificers, &c. shall, upon coming to reside in a city, walled town, or corporation, and paying twenty shillings, by way of fine, to the chief magistrate and common council, or other persons authorised to admit freemen, be admitted to the free dom of that city, &c. and to the freedom of guilds of their respective trades, with the full enjoyment of all privileges of buy ing, selling, working, &c. ; and any ma gistrate refusing to admit foreigners, so applying, shall be disfranchised.