It was a Liberal member of parliament, Samuel van Houten, who in 1874 initiated legislation to stop children under twelve being employed in factories. This was the first step on the road to reform. Yet abuses continued: inspections to ensure the law was obeyed were sporadic and child labour remained on farms and in cottage industries. Van Houten’s law was the first piece of social legislation in the Netherlands. Later, the Labour Law of 1889 and its updated version in 1911 regulated the hours that women and children could work, as well as men. A major contribution to the prevention of child labour was the introduction of compulsory schooling in 1901.