APPRENTICE, signifies a person who is bound by indenture to serve a master for a certain term, and receives, in return for his services, instruction in his master's profes sion, art, or occupation. In addition to this, the master is often bound to provide food and clothing for the apprentice, and sometimes to pay him small wages; but the master often receives a premium.
The system of apprenticeship in modern Europe is said to have grown up with the system of associating and incorporating handicraft trades in the twelfth century. These corporations, it is said, were formed for the purpose of resisting the oppression of the feudal lords, and the union of artisans in various bodies must have enabled them to act with more effect. The restraint of free competition, the maintenance of peculiar pri vileges, and the limitation of the numbers of such as should participate in them, were the main results to which these institutions tended. To exercise a trade, it was necessary to he free of the company or fraternity of that trade ; and as the principal if not the only mode of acquiring this freedom in early times was by serving an apprenticeship to a member of the body, it became easy to limit the numbers admitted to this privilege, either indirectly by the length of apprenticeship re quired, or more immediately by limiting the number of apprentices to be taken by each master. In agriculture, apprenticeship, though in some comparatively later instances encouraged by positive laws, has never pre vailed to any great extent. The tendency to association indeed is not strong among the agricultural population, combination being to the scattered inhabitants of the country in convenient and often impracticable; whereas the inhabitants of towns are by their very position invited to it.
Since twelfth century, apprenticeship has prevailed in almost every part of Europe —in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and probably in other countries. It is asserted by Adam Smith, that seven years seems once to have been all over Europe the usual term for the duration of apprenticeships in most trades. There seems, however, to have been no settled rule on this subject, for there is abun dant evidence that the custom in this respect varied even in different incorporated trades in the same town.
Neither in Ireland nor in Scotland have the laws relating to associated trades or appren tires been very rigorously enforced. In Ire land the same system of guilds and com panies certainly existed; but, as it was the policy of the English government to en courage settlers there, little attention was paid to their exclusive privileges; and in 1672 the lord.lieutenant and council, under authority of an act of parliament, issued a set of rules and regulations for all the walled towns in Ireland, by which any foreigner was allowed to become free of the guilds and fra ternities of tradesmen on payment of a fine of 20s. There is no country in Europe in which corporation. laws have been so little oppressive as in Scotland. Three years are there a common term of apprenticeship, even in the nicer trades ; but the custom is different in different communities.
In England the institution of apprentice ship is of very old date, being probably con temporaneous with the formation of the guilds or companies of tradesmen. The apprentice laws were enacted at a time when the impo hey of such legislation was not perceived. But opinion gradually became opposed to these enactments, and the judges interpreted the law favourably to freedom of trade. Ac. cordingly the decisions of the courts tended rather to confine than to extend the effect of the statute of Elizabeth, and thus the opera tion of it was limited to market towns, and to those crafts, mysteries, and occupations which were in existence at the time it was passed. And although, in consequence of this doc trine, many absurd decisions were made, yet the exclusion of some manufactures, and par ticularly of the principal ones of Manchester and Birmingham, from the operation of the act, had probably a favourable effect in causing it to be less strictly enforced even against those who were held to be liable to it.
Apprenticeship, though no longer legally necessary (except in a few cases), still conti nues to be the usual mode of learning a trade or art, and contracts of apprenticeship are very common. By common law, a person under the age of twenty-one years cannot bind himself apprentice so as to entitle his master to an action of covenant for leaving his service or other breaches of the indenture.
The churchwardens of parishes have long possessed power in respect to apprenticing pauper children ; and overseers of the poor possess similar powers.
An indenture is determinable by the con sent of all the parties to it; it is also deter mined by the death of the master. But if there is any covenant for maintenance the executor is bound to discharge this as far as he has assets. By the custom of London, if the master of an apprentice die, the service must be continued with the widow, if she continue 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.
,A master may moderately chastise his ap prentice for misbehaviour ; but he cannot discharge him. If he has any complaint against him, or the apprentice against his master, a power is given to punish or dis charge the apprentice, and in some cases to fine the master. If any apprentice, whose premium does not exceed 101., run away from his master, he may be compelled to serve beyond his term for the time which he ab sented himself, or make suitable satisfaction, or he 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.
Except in the case of surgeons and apothe caries, proctors, solicitors, attorneys, and nota ries, there is now no apprenticeship required by law in England.
The peculiar transition state, in Germany, between apprenticeship and janrneymanship, is described under ARTIZANS.