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TIIE NATUIIE AND CAUSES OE

the usual term established for the duration of apprenticeshipsin the greater part of incorporated trades. All such incor-porations were anciently called universities; which indeedis the proper Latin name for any incorporation whatever.The university of smiths, the university of tailors, See. areexpressions which we commonly meet with in the old chartersof ancient towns. When those particular incorporationswhich are now peculiarly called universities were first esta-blished, the term of years which it was necessary to study, inorder to obtain the degree of master of arts, appears evidentlyto have been copied from the term of apprenticeship in com-mon trades, of which the incorporations were much moreancient. As to have wrought seven years under a masterproperly qualified, was necessary in order to entitle any per-son to become a master, and to have himself apprentices ina common trade; so to have studied seven years under amaster properly qualified, was necessary to entitle him tobecome a master, teacher, or doctor (words anciently syno-nymous) in the liberal arts, and to have scholars or ap-prentices (words likewise originally synonymous) to studyunder him.

By the 5th of Elizabeth, commonly called the Statute ofApprenticeship, it was enacted, that no person should for thefuture exercise any trade, craft, or mystery at that time ex-ercised in England, unless he had previously served to it anapprenticeship of seven years at least; and what before hadbeen the by-law of many particular corporations, becamein England the general and public law of all trades carriedon in market towns. For though the words of the statuteare very general, and seem plainly to include the whole king-dom, by interpretation its operation has been limited to mar-ket towns, it having been held that in country villages aperson may exercise several different trades, though he hasnot served a seven years’ apprenticeship to each, they being-necessary for the eonveniency of the inhabitants, and thenumber of people frequently not being sufficient to supplyeach with a particular set of hands.

By a strict interpretation of the words too the operation ofthis statute has been limited to those trades which were es-tablished in England before the 5th of Elizabeth, and hasnever been extended to such as have been introduced sincethat time. This limitation has given occasion to severaldistinctions which, considered as rules of police, appear as