31 AUGUST 1867, Page 3

The new Master and Servant Act came into operation on

Tues- day se'nnight. Under its provisions neither.master nor man can, except in case of aggravated misconduct or premeditated injury, punish breach of contract by criminal process. The remedy is to be civil, but if the servant commits wilful or needless injury, he may still be imprisoned for three months at the discretion of the Bench. The new law is welcome, as abolishing one of the last relics of serfage, and will, moreover, put an end to cases of oppres- nion, which, in remote parts of the country, have not been in- frequent. Employers cannot imprison their men any more for not obeying an order to go to church.