nomination, the
Liberals, who thought they could run the whole fifteen, find that by
grasping at too much they had lost all the power they had fondly hoped
to acquire. The first meeting of the Board was held Dec. 15, Mr. Sargant
being elected chairman and Mr. S.S. Lloyd vice-chairman. During the
three years' reign of this Board the religious question was a continual
bone of contention, the payment of school fees for the teaching of the
Bible in denominational schools being denounced in the strongest of
terms in and out of the Board-room by the "Irreconcileables," as the
Nonconforming minority were termed. The practical results of the Board's
proceedings may be summed up thus: The Education Department decided that
school accommodation was required for 15,000 children; the School Board
borrowed L40,000, received L20,500 from the rates, built five schools
(in Lingard-street, Jenkins-street, Farm-street, Garrison-lane, and
Steward-street), which would hold about 6,000 children, boys, girls, and
infants, and engaged fifteen teachers, 52 pupil teachers, and two
assistants. They also allowed the sum of 1s. per week for every child
detained in a certified industrial school, committed by the borough
magistrates, enforced in some measure the compulsory clauses of the
Education Act, entered into negotiations for the building of four other
schools, quarrelled with the Town Council, and dissolved without
thanking their chairman.--The second election of the School Board took
place Nov. 17, 1873, when eighteen persons were nominated, as follow
(the three last being the unsuccessful candidates):--G. Dixon, M.P.,
39,447 votes; J. Chamberlain, 38,901; Miss Sturge, 37,260; C. Vince,
36,505; J.S. Wright, 36,417; R.W. Dale, 34,986; G. Dawson, 34,301; Jesse
Collings, 33,877; Canon O'Sullivan, 32,087; S.S. Lloyd, 29,783; Dr.
Burges, 24,582; A.J. Elkington, 24,213; W.L. Sargant, 24,207; Rev. F.S.
Dale, 23,864; Dr. Wilkinson, 23,157; G. Heaton, 23,140; W.H. Greening,
22,881; and W. Warlow, 19,193. This election was fought with all the
rancour of a political contest, Tory and Liberal being pitted against
one another in the name of religion, the Book of Books being dragged
through the mire of party warfare in the most outrageous manner,
discreditable to both sides, and especially so to those teachers of the
Gospel, who delighted in the almost blasphemous alliterations of "Bible
and beer," "gin and Jesus," &c., so freely bandied about. The Liberal