The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1871 ( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 32) was an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

passed by

W. E. Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Government. It was passed on the same day as the

Trade Union Act 1871 The Trade Union Act 1871 ( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 31) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which greatly expanded the rights of trade unions in the United Kingdom, notably giving them the right to strike. This was one of the founding p ...

( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 31).

William Edward Hartpole Lecky William Edward Hartpole Lecky, (26 March 1838 – 22 October 1903) was an Irish historian, essayist, and political theorist with Whiggism, Whig proclivities. His major work was an eight-volume ''History of England during the Eighteenth Century ...

described the act's implications:

...
he act He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
inflicted a punishment of three months' imprisonment, with
hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...
, on any one who attempts to coerce another for trade purposes by the use of personal violence; by such threats as would justify a magistrate in binding a man to keep the peace; or by persistently following a person about from place to place, hiding his tools, clothes, or other property, watching and besetting his house, or following him along any street or road with two or more other persons in a disorderly manner. These last clauses were directed against the practice of picketing...

Passage

Leave to bring in the Trade Unions Bill to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

was granted to the

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

, Henry Bruce , the

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, Sir George Jessel and

George Shaw Lefevre George John Shaw Lefevre, 1st Baron Eversley (12 June 1831 – 19 April 1928) was a British Liberal Party politician. In a ministerial career that spanned thirty years, he was twice First Commissioner of Works and also served as Postmaster Ge ...

14 February 1871. The bill had its

first reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

in the

on 14 February 1871, presented by George Glyn . The bill had its

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

in the

on 14 March 1871 and was committed to a

committee of the whole house A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) c ...

, which met on 28 March 1871 and 30 March 1871 and reported on 30 March 1871, with amendments, which included dividing the bill into two bills — the Trades Unions Bill and the Criminal Law Amendment (Masters and Workmen) Bill. The Criminal Law Amendment (Masters and Workmen) Bill had its

third reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

in the

on 18 June 1871 and passed, with amendments. The bill had its

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on 20 April 1871. The bill had its

in the

on 2 May 1871 and was committed to a

, which met and reported on 16 May 1871, with amendments. The amended bill had its

in the

on 19 May 1871 and passed, with amendments. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the

on 19 June 1871. The bill was granted

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 29 June 1871.

Provisions

Repealed enactments

Section 7 of the act repealed 3 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act.

Legacy

The whole act was repealed by section 17 of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 86), which was passed by

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government in 1875, to legalise picketing through the

Employers and Workmen Act 1875 The Employers and Workmen Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 90) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relating to labour relations, which together with the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 86), fully ...

( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 90).

Notes

References

United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1871 Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament United Kingdom labour law British trade unions history Criminal law of the United Kingdom 1871 in labor relations {{UK-trade-union-stub