In British history, sensational reports in
the national press 1866 exemplifying summary
justice exercised by trade unions to secure
subscriptions and obtain compliance with
rules by threats, removal of tools, sabotage
of equipment at work, and assaults. Dramatic
accounts of action taken against a
strike-breaking worker in the cutlery trade
led to a Royal Commission inquiry into
trade-union activity. This coincided with a
campaign by trade unionists to obtain the
reform of the Master and Servant Act, which
discriminated between employer and employee
in cases of breach of contract. The result
was publication of Majority and Minority
Reports that favoured the legalization of
trade unions, and the repeal of the Master
and Servant Act. This was implemented in the
Trade Union Act 1871 and the Criminal Law
Amendment Act 1871.