Whenever a person is committed to jail on an execution issued on a judgment recovered in a civil action, the creditor, his agent or attorney, must advance to the jailer on such commitment, sufficient money for the board of the prisoner, at the rate provided by law, for one (1) week, and must make the like advance for every successive week of his imprisonment; and in case of failure to do so, the jailer must forthwith discharge such prisoner from custody, and such discharge has the same effect as if made by order of the creditor.