Mundella's principle of conciliation was not entirely original; other such boards of conciliation or arbitration had been set up, mostly successfully, in a very few other trades but none of them had been established, like Mundella's, in an industry as antagonistic and complex with technological change as the hosiery trade in Nottingham. Mundella was the first to prove that the principle worked in an industry of much complexity with the aim of, rather than fighting fires, preventing fires starting in the first place. In this aspect the principle was new, and Mundella owned it. It was hailed as a major success and was adopted not only in other parts of the country, but also in continental Europe and in the United States.