By the statute 43 Eliz. c. 2, s. 4, the churchwardens and overseers of a parish, with the assent of two justices of the peace, might bind children of paupers apprentices till the age of twenty-four ; but by 18 Geo. III. c. 47, they could not be retained as apprentices beyond their 21st year. Under other acts, not only persons in husbandry and trade, but gentlemen of fortune and clergymen, may be compelled to take pauper children as apprentices. But if such master is dissatisfied, he may appeal to the sessions. Parish appren tices may also be bound (2 & 3 Anne, c. 6) to the sea service ; and masters and owners of ships are obliged to take one or more according to the tonnage of the vessel. The number of apprenticed sea men who were registered in 1840, pur suant to 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 19, was 24,348. Various regulations have been made by several acts of parliament, ann in particular by 56 Geo. III. c. 139, for ensuring that parish apprentices shall be bound to proper masters, and securing them from ill-treatment. By 4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 76, 5. 61, justices must cer tify that the rules of the Poor Law Com missioners as to the binding of parish apprentices have been complied with, but the Poor Law Commissioners have not yet issued any rules and regulations on this subject. In 7 & 8 Vict. c. 101, for the further amendment of the Poor Law, the Commissioners are invested with the power of carrying out certain matters relating to parish apprentices. There is a clause in the act abolishing compulsory apprenticeship. In 1842 an act was passed which extends the power of magistrates to adjudicate in cases in which no premium has been paid. (5 Vict. c. 7.) A settlement is gained by appren tices in the parish where they last resided forty days in service (13 & 14 Charles II. c. 12). [SETTLEMENT.] By 5 & 6 Vict. c. 99, all indentures whereby fe males are bound to work in mines are void.
An indenture cannot be assigned over. either by common law or equity, but by custom it may. Thus, by the custom of London and other places it may be done by a " turn-over." Parish apprentices may also (32 Geo. III. c. 57, s. 7), with the consent of two justices, be assigned over by indorsement on the indentures.
An indenture is determinable by the consent of all the parties to it ; it is also determined by the death of the master. But it is said that the executor may bind the apprentice to another master for the remainder of his term. And if there is any covenant for maintenance, the exe cutor is bound to discharge this as far as he has assets. In the case of aparish apprentice (32 Geo. III. c. 57, s. 1), this obligation only lasts for three months, where the apprentice-fee is not more than 51., and the indenture is then at an end, unless upon application by the widow or executor, &c. of the master, to two justices, the apprentice is ordered to serve such applicant for the remainder of the term. By the custom of London, if the master of an apprentice die, the service must be continued with the widow, if she con tinue to carry on the trade. In other cases it is incumbent on the executor to put the apprentice to another master of the same trade. By the Bankrupt Act, 6 Geo. IV. c. 16, s. 49, it is enacted, that the issuing of a commission against a master shall be a complete discharge of an indenture of apprenticeship ; and where an apprentice-fee has been paid to the bankrupt, the Commissioners are au thorized to order any sum to be paid out of the estate for the use of the apprentice which they may think reasonable. A duty on apprentices' indentures, varying with the premium, was first imposed by 8 Anne, c. 9.
A master may by law moderately chas tise his apprentice for misbehaviour; but he cannot discharge him. If he has any complaint against him, or the apprentice agairot his master, on application of either party to the sessions, by 5 Eliz. c. 4, or to two justices in the case of a parish ap prentice, by 20 Geo. II. c. 19, and other acts, a power is given to punish or to discharge the apprentice, and in some cases to fine the master. If any appren tice, whose premium does not exceed 101., run away from his master, he may be compelled (6 Geo. III. c. 25) to serve be yond his term for the time which he absented himself, or make suitable satis faction, or be imprisoned for three months. If he enters another person's service, his master is entitled to his earnings, and he may bring an action against any one who has enticed him away.
In London, in case of misconduct by th. master towards the apprentice, or by the apprentice towards the master, either party may summon the other before the chamberlain, who has power to adjudicate between them, and, upon the disobedience or refractory conduct of either party, may commit the offender to Bridewell. The wardens of the different LiveryCompanies had formerly jurisdiction in matters of disputes between the apprentices and mas ters in their respective crafts ; and in Herbert's 'History of the Ttvelve principal Companies' tbere is some curious informa tion respecting regulations for appren tices, their dress, duties, &c.
We cannot fairly judge the institution of Apprenticeship, without an accurate examination of the circumstances under which it arose. That it had its uses can not ‘.:e doubted, and the continuance of the practice in this country, since it has ceased to be required by law, is some evidence in favour of the institution. Except in the case of surgeons and apothecaries, proctors, solicitors, attorneys, and notaries, there is now no apprenticeship required by law in England.
The impolicy of the old apprentice laws as they existed in France and Eng land has been shown by many writers (Droz, Economie Politique, p. 114, &c. ; Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, book i. chap. 10). These laws and regulations were either part of the system of guilds, or were made in conformity to the objects of such system. Adam Smith says that ap prenticeships were "altogether unknown to the ancients ; " and " the Roman law is perfectly silent with regard to them." This may be so : but as the guilds or companies in Rome (collegia) were very numerous, it is possible that they bad for their object to limit the numbers of those who should practise their several arts and mysteries ; and apprenticeships might be one mode of effecting this, though it is true, as Adam Smith observes,that there appears to be "no Greek or Latin word which ex presses the idea we now annex to the word apprentice, a servant bound to work at a particular trade for the benefit of a mas ter, during a term of years, upon condi tion that the master shall teach him that trade." It has been observed on this, that such a word could not have been required, when nearly all who worked for a master were slaves. But if many or most of the workmen were slaves, the masters were not, and the members of the companies could not be slaves. Adam Smith asserts that long apprenticeships are altogether unnecessary ; and he affirms that " the arts which are much superior to common trades, such as those of making clocks and watches, contain no such mystery as to require a long course of instruction." But in this and other passages, he rather underrates the time that is necessary for attaining sufficient expertness in many arts, though he truly observes that agri culture, in which our law never required apprenticeship, and in which apprentice ship is little in use, and " many inferior branches of country labour, requires much more skill and experience than the greater part of mechanic trades." Wherever the law allows the contract of appren ticeship to be unrestrained, its terms will be regulated by custom, which though it may be sometimes unreasonable or ab surd, must finally adapt itself to true principles in a country where industry is free and wealth is consequently accumu lating. Those who have an art, mystery, craft, or trade to teach, and can teach it well, and give a youth every opportu nity of learning it sufficiently, will always be sought after by parents and guardians of children in preference to other masters, and the terms of the contract will be less favourable in a pecuniary point of view to the parent or guardian than in cases where the master cannot offer those advantages. The good master may require a sum of money with the apprentice, and may re quire his services for a longer period than is necessary for him to master the mystery, craft, or trade. In other cases a master may often be glad to get an apprentice, that is, in other words, a servant, for as long a time as he can, and without requiring any money with him. The contract of ap prenticeship in various trades will, as already observed, be regulated by custom, but it cannot remain unaffected by the general principles of the demand and supply of labour.