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By the 5th of Elizabeth, commonly called the Statute of

Apprenticeship, it was enacted, that no person should, for the

future, exercise any trade, craft, or mystery, at that time

exercised in England, unless he had previously served to it an

apprenticeship of seven years at least; and what before had been

the bye-law of many particular corporations, became in England

the general and public law of all trades carried on in market

towns. For though the words of the statute are very general, and

seem plainly to include the whole kingdom, by interpretation its

operation has been limited to market towns; it having been held

that, in country villages, a person may exercise several

different trades, though he has not served a seven years

apprenticeship to each, they being necessary for the conveniency

of the inhabitants, and the number of people frequently not being

sufficient to supply each with a particular set of hands.