The dictionary of daily wants / [Robert Kemp Philp].

  • Robert Kemp Philp
Date:
[1861]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The dictionary of daily wants / [Robert Kemp Philp]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    53/1152 page 43
    tilde i'or correspondence, a gentlemanly deportment, and a good address. Books: 7’Uomson on llie Choics of a Profession; The Imperial Calendar (Annual); Mitchell’s Guide to Governmenl Situations. APPKAISElIEIsT.—The valuing of any- tliing. In cases where goods or chattels are distrained for rent the person distraining must cause the distress to be appraised by two sworn appraisers, whom the constable will attend at the time they make their ap- praisement and swear them before they begin, that they will appraise them truly. APPRENTICE signifies a person who is bound by indenture to sei-ve a master for a certain term, and receives in return for his services instruction in his master’s pro- fession, art, or occupation. Apprentices and masters are equally bound to perform their portion of the contract towards each other; and if the master neglect to teach the ap- prentice his business, or the apprentice refuse to obey his master’s instructions, both are liable to be summoned before a magistrate to answer the complaint against them. A master cannot legally compel his apprentice to work an unreasonable length of time. There is no specific duration marked out by law, but doubtless the ha- bitual employment of an apprentice for more than twelve hours daily (e.xclusive of meal times) would be deemed unreasonable. Compelling an apprentice to work on Sun- day is clearly illegal. On these points, how- ever, justices have not the power to interfere where the premium paid exceeds .£25. When an assignment is made of a trader’s effects, the apprentice may form part of the assign- ment, and he is bound to serve him to whom he is transferred in all respects the same as his original master. Bankruptcy, however, is a discharge of the indenture. In cases of dissolution of partnership, the apprentice is bound to serve the remaining members of the firra.justas though the partnership remained intact. When the master dies the appren- ticeship is at an end, lor the contract is held ■ to be a personal one between master and servant. But, by the autom of London, if a master die, the apprentice is bound to con- tinue liis services to the widow, provided she carry on the .same trade. Indentures may be cancelled by mutual consent; the safest and most economical mode in such a case is simply to cut off the names and seals of the parties in the indenture, and endorse thereon a memorandum, sign^ by all par- ties, to the effect that they give their consent to the cancelling of the same. If there be any covenant for maintenance in the inden- tures, the executor of the deceased master is bound to make provision for the same so as the assets will allow. A master may admini.ster reasonable corporal chastise- m^ent to his apprentice, but he cannot dis- charge him. If any apprentice, whose pre- mium docs not e.xceed ,£io, runs away from his master, he may be compelled to serve beyond his term for the time wliich he absentcil himself, or make suitable satis- imprisoned for three months, ft he enters anolher person’s service, his master is entitled to his earnings, and he may bring an action against the persons who enticed him away. An apprentice can- not be compelled to serve in the Militia, nor if impressed in the Royal Navy. Ap- prenticeship indentures need not of neces- sity be legally prepared, but may be di-aivn up on prmted forms designed for that pur- pose, and sold at the various law stationers. ARRRENTICING.—As tliis step has the most important influence upon success in hie, it ought to be e.xercised by parents and guardians with the most scrupulous care and discretion. In apprenticing a youth itis not alone sufficient that he should learn a trade from which good earnings may after- wards be derived, but that the trade selected should be in accordance with his taste, and also conformable to his mental and physical capacity. It may be said that a boy does not know his own mind, and that it is consequently idle to consult him upon a subject when liis seniors are better qualified to judge. But in the majority of cases a boy will be found to give unmistakeable indications of the branch of mechanical em- ployment upon which his mind is most bent, and for which his hands will be consequently most fit. And if this evidence of a distinc- tive perception is disregarded, and the boy is apprenticed to a trade of a totally op- posite nature to that for which he has a predilection, the incessant struggle between natural desire and constrained duty wiU frequently entail failure and disappointment, and irrevocably blight the youth’s prospects in Ufe. Equally necessary is it that the mental and bodily faculties should be con- sidered before apprenticeship. It is, for in- stance, manifestly unjust both to master and apprentice to place a youth of noto- riously dull parts in a situation where a constant demand will be made upon him for mental labour which he is unable to supply. And it is also a species of cruelty to select for a youth of a weak and delicate constitution such a trade as is only adapted i'or the robust and hardy. Obvious as these deductions may appear, yet it is certain that they are continually being disregarded, and youths without number are apprenticed to trades for which they have neither the in- clination, aptitude, or strength, simply be- cause some relation or friend happens to be of a particular trade which seems to offer an excellent opportunity for advancement. 'The moral character of the future master, together with his commercial reputation, should be strictly inquired into; i'or there are some employers whose only anxiety is to secure the premium, and when that is received to allow the apprentice to pursue his oivn undirected course as best he may. The wisest plan, therelore, when the par- ticular trade is determined on is to place the youth with a person who has been esta- bli.shed for some years, and whose reputa- tion and ability can be testified to by former apprentices. The premiums for apprenticeship are go- verned by no stated tariff, but as a general rule they arc proportioned to the wages which the trade affords. For instance, in- struction in an art by which three pounds
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