...that the pressgang laws have never been repealed and are still part of the British legal system. The pressgang acted by sanction of both custom and the law: as far back as the days of King Edward I legal sanction for it exists. Men liable were "eligible men of seafaring habits between the ages of 18 and 55 years" with a few exceptions, but these restrictions were often ignored, with disastrous results. The last law on the subject was passed in 1835 and restricted the length of naval service of a pressed man to five years with the additional proviso that he could not be impressed a second time. Soon after this date the pressgang died a natural death but the various laws authorising it have not in fact been repealed.