For six weeks in 1903 I again occupied the civic chair. In January of that year the Lord Mayor, Mr. Watson Rutherford, was anxious to become a candidate for Parliament, a vacancy having arisen in the West Derby Ward. As Lord Mayor he could not act as his own returning officer, and it became necessary that he should resign his office for a time. Both political parties in the Council were good enough to invite me to accept the position, and thus I became Lord Mayor for the brief period I have mentioned. Mr. Rutherford, on retiring, informed me that he had already spent all the allowance, and all he could offer me were a few cigars. The duration of my reign was too short to admit of much entertaining, but I welcomed the opportunity of showing hospitality to many of my old colleagues and friends. CHAPTER VI. THE FENIAN TROUBLES. My year of office as Mayor was made very anxious by the aggressive tactics of the Fenian agitators. A bomb was placed at the side door of the Town Hall, and exploded, breaking in the door, destroying the ceiling and window of the mayor's dressing-room and doing considerable damage to the furniture. The bomb consisted of a piece of iron gas piping about 3 inches in diameter and 18 inches long, filled with explosives and iron nails. The miscreants, after lighting the fuse, ran away; but the Town Hall was watched by a double cordon of police; the first took up the chase, the second joined in, and the two men eventually jumped into a canal boat filled with manure, and were then secured. They were tried, and sentenced to fourteen years' penal servitude. They were two Irish stokers, mere tools in the hands of an Irish-American, who had planned the blowing up of all our public buildings, but managed to get away. An attempt was also made on the Custom House, but failed.