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| 1870 Ff |
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| Pronounced decline of birthrate and population growth rate. | 1 |
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| 1871, June 29 |
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| The Trade Union Act provided trade unions with legal status before the law, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act attempted to establish clear rules for strikes but disappointed unions with its stringency. In Regina v. Druitt, the court utilized the inherently uneven Master and Servant Act to define intimidation during a strike. This law gave employers a privileged position within the work “contract.” The government eliminated these advantages in the Employers and Workmen Act (1875). | 2 |
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| 1872 |
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| Protection of children. The Infant Life Protection Act provided protection to children in foster care by requiring women who fostered more than one child to register with the local authority. Parliament also introduced stricter requirements for the registration of infant deaths and legislation making it easier for women to collect support from the fathers of their illegitimate children. Poor Law authorities could even start proceedings against the father. Parliament passed the Agricultural Children's Act (1873), which forbade the employment of children under age 8 in agriculture. | 3 |
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| June 18 |
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| The Ballot Act established the secret ballot in British elections. | 4 |
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