386 INTERNATIONAL LAWS FOR THE 



Act, when an order is made directing an apprentice to 

 perform his duties under the apprenticeship, the Court 

 may, if satisfied that the apprentice has failed to comply 

 therewith, order him to be imprisoned for a period not 

 exceeding fourteen days. It must further be noted that 

 subsections 4 and 5 of section 243 of the Merchant 

 Shipping Act, 1854, remain unaffected, and by these two 

 subsections apprentices are still liable to imprisonment for 

 wilful disobedience ' to any lawful command ' or for ' con- 

 tinued wilful neglect of duty.' 



" 3. Although an apprentice, by giving 48 hours' notice 

 under section 10 of the Merchant Seamen's Act, 1880, can 

 protect himself from liability to be summarily sent on board 

 by order of a magistrate, it may be contended that the very 

 fact of his giving such notice constitutes primd facie a viola- 

 tion of the indenture of apprenticeship, and exposes him- 

 to be at once taken before a magistrate in order that 

 his case may be dealt with according to circumstances either 

 under section 243 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, or 

 under the provisions of the Employers and Workmen's 

 Act, 1875." 



This is dated 3rd September, 1880. 



Now the Act of 1880 distinctly abolishes imprisonment 

 for desertion, and that this was fully intended cannot be 

 gainsaid, and was mainly caused by the pressure of trades 

 unions, as has since been admitted. Section 2 of the notice 

 given above cleverly points out the way to evade this by 

 showing that, notwithstanding the abolition of imprison- 

 ment for desertion, the apprentice is liable to not exceeding 

 14 days' imprisonment under the 6th section of the 

 Employers and Workmen's Act for neglecting to perform 

 his duties under the apprenticeship. Clearly deserting 



