the first attempt to obtain an act of parliament was made in 1740, as a result of a petition by the people of halifax, ripponden and elland. john eyes of liverpool surveyed the route, and presented a scheme for a navigation which would use the river calder from wakefield to its junction with the river hebble, follow the hebble to salterhebble bridge, and then follow the halifax brook to reach halifax. it included the construction of 24 locks, 21 on the calder and three on the hebble, and nearly of cuts, including one of at horbury. the bill was defeated, due to opposition from local landowners who feared that it would cause flooding, from millers, who thought that navigation would disrupt their water supply, and from the promoters of several turnpike bills, who were intending to build roads which would follow a similar route.