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276 gentlemen, were appointed Commissioners under an Act passed towards the close of "The Long Parliament," to summon and examine any "publique preachers, inefficient ministers, and scandalous schoolmasters who shall be proved guilty of drunkenness, common haunting of taverns or alehouses, dealing with lewd women, frequent quarrelling or fighing, frequent playing at cards or dice, profaning the Sabbath Day, or do incourage or countenance by word or practice any Whitsun ales, wakes, Morris-dances, Maypoles, stage plays, &c.," and to remove the same where needed. A little quarrelling or fighting, or playing at cards, was apparently no offence.

—The first election took place Nov. 28, 1870, there being the following twenty-eight candidates, the first fifteen named being the chosen elected by the number of votes attached to their names, viz., Canon O'Sullivan, 35,120; S. S. Lloyd, 30,799; Dr. Burges, 21.925; Dr. Wilkinson, 19,829; John Gough, 17,481; Rev. F. S. Dale, 17,365; G. Dawson, 17,103; G. Dixon, M.P., 16,897; W. Dale, 16,387; C. Vince, 15,943; J, S. Hopkins, 15,696; W. L. Sargant, 15,683; J. Chamberlain, 15,090; J. S. Wright, 15,007; A.J. Elkington, 14,925; G. Baker, J. A. Cooper, Jesse Collings, Rev. H. W. Crosskey, Dr. Sebastian Evans, Rev. H. W. Holland,—Kirkwood, G. B. Lloyd, Dr. Meison, W. Middlemore, W. Radford,—Raffles, and Archdeacon Sandford. 29,183 voters, out of 52,340, recorded their votes. A considerable amount of party feeling was shown in the contest, the candidates being divided (with one or two exceptions) into two distinct classes, the Liberals who wanted the Bible read la the schools without explanation or comment, and the Churchmen who went in for Scriptural teaching. The latter party obtained the majority by electing the whole of the eight they put in 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 £40,000, received £20,500 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,