Abstract
‘Master and servant’ law defined the terms of employment contracts, and enforced them with criminal penalties, to 1875. The origins of an important statute enacted in 1823 have been obscure. A manuscript correspondence shows that it was written by a few Staffordshire Justices of the Peace, one of them a Member of Parliament with large investments in coal mines, in order to derail a reform bill much more favourable to workers. The resulting 1823 statute, 4 Geo. 4 c. 34, Enlarging the Powers of Justices Act, contributed to the increasing unfairness of employment law, which for decades had been increasingly favouring employers over workers.
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