The Bee-Hive (journal)
Encyclopedia
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist journal
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published weekly in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
between 1861 and 1878.
The Bee-Hive was established in 1861 by George Potter
George Potter
George Potter was a prominent British trade unionist.-Biography:George Potter was born in Kenilworth, where his father worked as a carpenter. He was educated for a short time at a local dame school, but left to work at a young age to supplement his father's income of three shillings a day...
, with professional journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
George Troup as editor and Robert Hartwell as the main contributor. It advocated strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
and supported the New Model Trade Unions of the 1860s and had been set up to support the builders' struggle which had started in 1858. It was swiftly adopted as the official journal of the London Trades Council
London Trades Council
The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades Councils...
(LTC), but by 1862 only had a circulation of 2700, and had led to Potter accumulating debts of £827.
Some members of the LTC complained that the Bee-Hive gave its support too unreservedly to strike action, with Robert Applegarth
Robert Applegarth
Robert Applegarth was a prominent British trade unionist and proponent of working class causes.-Biography:Robert Applegarth was born in Hull in the United Kingdom. His father was the captain of a whaling brig. He spent a brief period in a dame school but had no other formal education and began...
accusing Potter of being a "manufacturer of strikes". Potter defended the policy by arguing that each strike had been judged as necessary by a trade union, and therefore deserved the full support of the Bee-Hive.
The support of London labour groups was split between the Junta and Potter's supporters who feuded furiously. In particular there was great animosity between George Howell and Potter which resulted in the exclusion of supporters of the Bee-Hive from the early meetings of the Reform League
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the successful Reform Act 1867...
and frequent outbursts in the Bee-Hive against the Reform League
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the successful Reform Act 1867...
and Howell. Howell wrote about Potter and Hartwell in a letter to Edmond Beales
Edmond Beales
Edmond Beales was the President of the Reform League and was a central figure in the 19th century British reform movement.-Biography:...
:-
"They live on slander and falsehood. They slandered good Mr. Lincoln. They slandered Mr. Gladstone. They have inserted the Trade slanders against Mr. Bright. In fact, who have they not slandered? I leave them in contempt and disgust."
Beales became exasperated by the disruptive effect the scurrilous attacks were having on the Reform movement and resented the need to refute Hartwell's misrepresentation of the facts. Applegarth lead an investigation into the Bee-Hive's reporting in 1865, and accused Potter of personal dishonesty and maladministration regarding the journal's coverage of an industrial dispute in North Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. As a result, the Bee-Hive ceased to be the LTC's official journal and Potter lost his seat on the executive board.
Potter went on to establish the London Working Men's Association (LWMA), with the Bee-Hive as its official journal. The journal continued to advocate rights for trade unions and supported the more radical members of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. Potter took up editing of the Bee-Hive, but it sold poorly and was only saved from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
when Samuel Morley
Samuel Morley (MP)
Samuel Morley , was an English woollen manufacturer, philanthropist, dissenter , abolitionist, political radical, and statesman.-Introduction:...
(a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
) and Daniel Platt bought up shares in the newspaper in June 1868.
During 1870 Rev. Henry Solly, the veteran founder of working men's clubs and institutes, took over as editor and introduced a less radical tone. Articles such as "Men who have Risen", "The Origin of Prussian Greatness" and the ultra-submissive "Letters to Statesman" were typical of this time. In early 1871 Platt ran into financial difficulties and Solly departed as editor. Potter returned, albeit in a more sober guise.
A thawing between Potter and Howell took place and from 1871 Howell became a frequent contributor to the Bee-Hive. In 1877 the Bee-Hive changed its name to the "Industrial Review".
In late 1878 it was on the verge of collapse and Potter offered Howell co-partnership and full editorial control if he could raise £150. The Bee-Hive had been a losing proposition for nearly a decade so no-one could be found who was willing to put up the money. It was subsequently declared bankrupt, with debts of over £2000.
Potter attempted to continue his business by publishing political pamphlets and biographies but this too ended in failure.
The natural successor to the Bee-Hive was the Labour Standard which was published from 1881 to 1885.