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 rule at
all the local elections: our little band of "conspirators" were pretty
sure to return their candidates, or a good majority of them. Eventually
Mr James Leach "put up," and he was elected to nearly every public body
in the town; and this through the agency of the party I have mentioned.
At this time great interest was taken in many of the elections, notably
that of the Local Board.
REMOVAL TO BRADFORD
For a time my connection with Keighley was severed as I went to reside at
Bradford. During my stay I became mixed up with literary characters--Mr
J. O. Mee, editor of the _Bradford Observer_; Mr Joseph White, author of
a volume of poems and several prose works, and others. I made weekly
contributions to the literary column of the _Observer_. I may mention
that many of my best productions date from this period, when I was
occupying a cellar cottage in Croft-street, Bradford. Perhaps the Editor
will pardon me for introducing my verses, entitled "Joe Hobble; or, fra
Howorth to Bradferth":--
Fra Howorth tahn the other day,
Bi t' route o' Thornton height,
Joe Hobble an' his better hawf
Went into Bradferth straight.
Nah Joe i' Bradferth were afore,
But sho hed nivver been;
But hahsumivver they arrived
Safe inta t' Bowling Green.
They gave a lad a parkin pig,
As on the street they went,
Ta point 'em aat St. George's Hall
An' Oastler's Monument.
But t'little jackanape being deep,
An' thinking they'd nivver knaw,
Show'd Joseph Hobble an' his wife
T' first monument he saw.
As sooin as Joe gat up ta t' rail,
His een blazed in his heead,
Exclaimin' they mud just as weel
Ha' goan an' robb'd the deead.
But whoivver's ta'en them childer dahn,
Away fra poor owd Dick,
Desarves his heead weel larapin'
Wi' a dahn gooid hazel stick.
T' lad, seein' Joe froth at t' mouth,
He sooin tuke ta his heels;
For asteead o' Oastler's Monument,
He'd shown 'em Bobby Peel's!
PLAY WRITING
It was while in Bradford that I wrote the drama entitled, "The Wreck of
the Bella; or, the Life and Adventures of Roger Tichborne." The drama,
which was revised by an old Bradford actor, was written for my friend Joe
Gledhill's benefit. Joe and a company which he got together played the
drama at the Drill Hall, Keighley, and the performance turned out a great
success. I had not intended any use for my production beyond for Joe
Gledhill's benefit, but he and his company, finding how it "caught on,"
performed it up and down the district. But its fate was soon sealed, for
while it was being played at Lancaster, I received an edict from the Lord
Chamberlain to withdraw the drama from the boards under pain of a heavy
penalty, as the last trial of the Tichborne case was pending at the time.
AS A COMIC AUTHOR
Returning to Keighley, I turned my pen to writing for a comic annual,
which I had brought out under the title of "The Haworth, Cowenheead, and
Bogthorn Almenak." This I produced for several years, its contents
consisting of rhymes and local dialect sketches. I also started a monthly
paper called, "The Keighley Investigator." After the first issue I
enrolled on my staff Theophilus Hayes, a gentleman well known in the
town, who assumed the editorship of the journal. He wrote the leading
articles, while I supplied the comic matter, satires, dialect letters,
&c. The periodical had enjoyed an eight months' existence when,
unfortunately, my worthy friend, Mr Hayes, was served with a writ for
libel. He was summoned to Leeds Assizes, and although the paper engaged
eminent counsel (Mr Wheelhouse, Q.C., M.P.), we lost our case, and had to
pay a fine of 50 pounds and costs. Mr Hayes underwent a night's
incarceration in Armley Gaol, but next morning I managed to secure his
release by paying the fine and all costs. The libel action was, I must
say, taken with an object by a party of Liberals, through a certain
auctioneer in the town. The fact was that the paper was too "hot" to live
amongst the mighty men of Keighley. These times were very eventful ones
to the town in many ways, particularly in regard to libel actions, for at
each of five or six successive Assizes there was a libel case from
Keighley--a circumstance which caused the Judge to remark on one occasion
that Keighley ought to be called "The City of Libels." I next turned my
attention to writing my celebrated work, "T'History o'th' Haworth
Railway." I say "celebrated" because the pamphlet ran through so many
editions, about 100,000 copies in all, being sold. With the returns I was
placed in clover; and now that I look back to the time, I appeared to
have money for any purpose except saving it. In collaboration with a
young man named Benjamin Hopkinson, son of the late Mr Barber Hopkinson,
surveyor of this town, I subsequently undertook the production of "The
Keighley Spectator." The paper went on nicely for eleven months, its
circulation and our revenue increasing greatly. We had for some time
received articles for insertion from a Nonconformist parson in the town,
the Rev Mr Gray. The contributions, being on subjects foreign to our
non-political and non-sectarian principles, had almost invariably been
rejected, until the writer appealed to the printer, who was the
proprietor of the paper, and happened to be one of the parson's "flock."
The proprietor told Ben and I it was no use--we must insert the Rev Mr
Gray's articles. Now, Ben and I were convinced that to publish that
gentleman's contributions would be to kill the journal, but the
proprietor was firm, and so, as a protest, we resigned our positions as
joint-editors. The parson was put in to edit the paper, and when the next
number, under his hand, was issued, it was seen that the paper had
travelled from Africa to Iceland, as it were--its contents were so cold
and watery. This, the first under the Rev. Mr Gray's editorship, proved
the last issue of the "Spectator."
THE GUARDIANS AND THEIR VISIT TO YORK CASTLE
In the years 1875-6 the town--and, indeed, the whole country--was greatly
interested in the conduct of the Keighley Board of Guardians with respect
to the Vaccination Acts. The Guardians refused to direct their medical
officer to enforce the Acts, and the Local Government Board finally
appealed to the Court of the Queen's Bench for a mandamus against the
Guardians, to compel them to put the Vaccination Acts into force in the
Keighley district. The mandamus was granted, but the Guardians
persistently refused to obey it, and the consequence was that the Local
Government Board applied to the Queen's Bench for a writ of attachment
against the eight members of the Board who had by their open votes defied
the law--Messrs R. A. Milner (chairman), J. B. Sedgwick, Titus Ogden,
John Jeffrey, Hezekiah Tempest, David Normington, James Newbould and
Samuel Johnson. Johnson afterwards promised obedience, and was released
from the attachment, which was granted by the Court of Queen's Bench. I
shall never forget the "rumpus" there was on Friday, the 11th August,
1876, when the High Sheriff and his officers came to Keighley to arrest
the Guardians mentioned. Thousands of people were in the streets. The
Sheriff's officers secured the Guardians, and conveyed them to the
Devonshire Hotel. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Guardians came out
of the Devonshire yard in a conveyance, which, contrary to expectations,
proceed along North-street. It was originally the intention of the driver
to go to Bingley station, but fearing he would not have time for the
journey, he pulled up at Keighley station. Here both platforms were
besieged with demonstrative crowds. The train was missed, and the crowd
unyoked the horses from the conveyance. A number of mechanics seized the
shafts, and wheeled the vehicle with its occupants through the streets of
the town. Indescribable scenes took place. William Smith, an auctioneer,
who was suspected of complicity in the Sheriff's operations, was badly
handled. Finally, the Sheriff hoisted a flag of truce, and the Guardians
announced that they had been granted another night's freedom on condition
that they would leave quietly by train the next day. On Saturday the
seven martyrs proceeded to York Castle.