Editing Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare (section)

==Industrialist and politician, 1852–1868==
[[File:1stLordAberdare.jpg|thumb|left|Lord Aberdare, portrait after [[Henry Tanworth Wells]].]]
Bruce was returned unopposed as MP for Merthyr Tydfil in December 1852, following the death of Sir John Guest.<ref name="CMG 18-12-52 Merthyr el">{{cite news|title=Election of Henry Austin Bruce Esq. at Merthyr|url=http://newspapers.library.wales/view/3090420/3090423/30/|access-date=27 January 2016|newspaper=Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian|date=18 December 1852|page=3}}</ref> He did so with the enthusiastic support of the late member's political allies, notably the iron masters of Dowlais, and he was thereafter regarded by his political opponents, most notably in the Aberdare Valley, as their nominee.{{sfn|Jones|1965|pp=253–4}} Even so, Bruce's parliamentary record demonstrated support for liberal policies, with the exception of the ballot.{{sfn|Jones|1965|p=254}} The electorate in the constituency at this time remained relatively small, excluding the vast majority of the working classes.

Significantly, however, Bruce's relationship with the miners of the Aberdare Valley, in particular, deteriorated as a result of the [[Aberdare strike 1857–1858|Aberdare Strike of 1857–58]].{{sfn|Jones|1964|pp=166–9}} In a speech to a large audience of miners at the Aberdare Market Hall, Bruce sought to strike a conciliatory tone in persuading the miners to return to work. In a second speech, however, he delivered a broadside against the trade union movement generally, referring to the violence engendered elsewhere as a result of strikes and to alleged examples of intimidation and violence in the immediate locality.<ref name="CMG 18571212">{{cite news|title=The Great Strike and the Colliers|url=http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3294344/ART30|access-date=1 December 2013|newspaper=Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian|page=6|date=12 December 1857}}</ref> The strike damaged his reputation and may well have contributed to his eventual election defeat ten years later. In 1855, Bruce was appointed a trustee of the [[GKN plc|Dowlais Iron Company]] and played a role in the further development of the iron industry.<ref name="WBO"/>

In November 1862, after nearly ten years in Parliament, he became [[Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department]], and held that office until April 1864.<ref name="WBO" /> He became a [[Privy Councillor]] and a Charity Commissioner for England and Wales in 1864, when he was moved to be vice-president of the Council of Education.<ref name=bp2003>Burke's Peerage, 107th edn. (2003), vol. I, pp. 9–10.</ref>