idemic of
small-pox broke out in the town and the show had to be abandoned.
Unfortunately that proved the deathblow of the old Agricultural Society.

CHAPTER XVI

KEIGHLEY'S FIRST SCHOOL BOARD

The agitation for a School Board for Keighley in 1875 was strongly
opposed by many of the ratepayers. Both Liberals and Tories were seeking
office, and there was a third party which entered into the fray. The Tory
party said they would run seven of the nine candidates; the Liberals
claimed to run the whole nine; so this third party came up to the scratch
and said they would run three candidates for the sole purpose of
splitting the votes. The names of those who composed this little party
were Joseph Fieldhouse, Bill Spink, "Little" Barnes, Adam Moore, James
Leach, Dick Royston and myself. Our meetings were held in Bill Spink's
little cobbler's shop. There was no very great interest taken in the
election by the public until a certain incident happened. Mr Walter
McLaren (M.P. for Crewe) and I often met together at Mr Amos Appleyard's
printer's shop in Church Green on business connected with election
literature. On one occasion I went to the printer's, and during the few
minutes' waiting before I received attention, I had an opportunity of
perusing the "copy" for a bill which Mr McLaren had just previously
brought in to print. The bill was to call a _private_ meeting of Liberals
at the Albion Hall to select candidates. Seeing a chance for a good,
though, perhaps, unwarrantable "lark," I altered the word "private" to
_public_ and, when Mr Appleyard came to attend to me, handed the bill to
him and asked him to print it as a poster. He had delivered the bills to
me the same night, and I had them posted, with the result that, instead
of a hole-and-corner meeting, there was a crowded audience of mixed
political opinions. The Liberal leaders were completely non-plussed. The
people were asked what business they had in the hall, and were ordered to
leave. But they said they had attended by public request, and refused to
budge. The proceedings relapsed into a state of confusion, and no
business whatever could be done. However this meeting served one good
purpose, for it enlisted the interest of the public in the election. The
election day at last arrived--March 31st. 1875--and it was found that two
of our three candidates (Joseph Fieldhouse and Adam Moore) had been
returned; Dick Royston being just thrown. This was the general r