1 86 ENFORCEMENT OF THE STATUTES OF LABOURERS 



brought against a child of five for departure and a master 

 for its retention, judgment is given for the defendants, on 

 the ground that since the child is too young to make a con- 

 tract, no action lies against him for departure; and since 

 none lies against the principal, there can, therefore, be none 

 against the accessory, the master, for retention. In other 

 words, the contract clause does not apply to minors al- 

 though it appears that there is a remedy at common law 

 for the actual " taking " of a child out of service. Some- 

 where between thirteen and either fifteen or sixteen, depend- 

 ing on whether one takes the evidence of the report or of 

 the record of the same case, is the age at which for the 

 purpose of contracting, a child ceases to be a minor. ^ 



Above the, class of manual labourers. Except in the case 

 of chaplains which I shall discuss at length, there is no evi- 

 dence that issue was taken during Edward's reign on the 

 applicability of the contract clause to men employed for 

 salaries in occupations that cannot be described as merely 

 manual. The records show actions for departure or reten- 

 tion involving the following: armiger et camerarius,^ five 

 balliui,^ two camerarii et sagittarii* two clcrici,^ one of 



taken, but as it seems to me Finchden there takes a good Diversity, if 

 the Servant departs first (where he was never lawfully retained) there 

 an Action does not lie against him who shall afterwards retain him: 

 contra if he be taken with Force, etc., Action lies, tho" he found the 

 Infant Vagrant and retained him." See also p. 195 and note 4. 



'Case 26, list in app.; but Fitzherbert and Hale both put the limit a 

 little earlier, i. e., at twelve for a covenant in husbandry; see supra, 

 p. 179, note 4. 



-Coram Rege, 48, Mich., Cavendissh, 18, Lond. 



^De Banco, 33, Mich., 250, Hunts.; 39, Pasch., 287 d. Dorset; 50, 

 Hill., 487 d, Norfolk; record of case 33 and case 34, list in app. An 

 analysis of the last is given infra, p. 188, note 2. 



*Coram Rege, 48, Mich., Cavendissh, 18 d, Lond.; De Banco, 47, 

 Hill., 79, Camb. 



^Ibid., 46, Pasch., 350 d, York; 47, Hill., ^77 d, York. In the latter 



