HH62/1/ABERD/19

Transcription

[Page] 18

converted into a sort of huge cesspit. Some scheme of
sewerage for the place ought certainly to be entered upon
without delay.
There is here very clamant need for scavenging, as soon as
powers for that can be obtained.

COLLIESTON. - A water supply for the higher part of the village
is a desideratum.
A sewer laid down along the line of the road from the higher
part of the village to the lower part, and emptying into the
sea, would certainly be an advantage.
The village was wonderfully clean when I visited it, but I have
no doubt that at the height of the fishing season it would
not be in such a sanitary condition. There is a scavenger in
the village, an old man, who was engaged by the old Local
Authority at a salary of £6 a year.

OLD CASTLE. - Behind the village is a kind of natural amphi-
theatre formed by some low hills. The rainwater gathering
here pours down in a torrent, and floods the houses. Fifty
yards of drainage pipes would carry away the storm water
and entirely remedy the evil.
There is a manure stance here that forms an abominable nuisance.
It will require to be emptied regularly.

WHINNYFOLD. - This village consists of two rows of houses,
situated on ground sloping to the sea. The houses face the
sea. All the slop water from the upper row of cottages is
thrown out on the piece of waste ground behind the lower
row of cottages. As there is no drainage to carry away the
slop and rain water, the ground under the lower row of
houses is excessively damp, as I ascertained by examining
the earth under the flooring of one of the houses. In this
same house one of the sons had died of consumption, a
disease which is now acknowledged to be closely associated
in its causation with dampness of sub-soil.
The condition of matters here is one which ought to receive
the immediate attention of the Local Authority. I found
the ashpits in front of the houses and at the back of the
village in an abominable condition. These ought to be done
away with entirely. Stances should be provided at either
end of the village for the fish offal, which should be removed
every second day.

OLD WHINNYFOLD consists of a congeries of old houses, which
will fall to pieces by a process of natural decay. The place
is not worth the expense of drainage. It might, however, be
cleaned occasionally by a scavenger. The houses are very
poor - some of them hardly fit for human habitation - but
as several of the tenants pay no rent, it is rather a difficult
matter to deal with these cases.

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PORT ERROLL. - Several points demand immediate attention.
(1st) The ashpits were in the worst condition of any I have
as yet seen. This was due mainly to the fact that the drains
for carrying off slop water were entirely blocked with the
drifting sand, and that all the slop water was, accordingly,
thrown into the ashpits, with which the privies were also
directly connected. A condition of things more detrimental
to health, especially for children, or more calculated to origi-
nate or intensify disease, can scarcely be imagined. Dr.
Duguid, of Hatton, informed me that he had repeatedly
called the attention of the old Local Authority to the condi-
tion of matters here, but nothing had ever been done.
(2nd). The water supply for the lower village is very deficient,
especially when the fishermen are all at home. This de-
ficiency has led to water riots. On one occasion the fishermen
cut off the supply to the upper village, being determined
that their neighbours should not enjoy a supply which left
them in scarcity. The supply for the lower village is ap-
parently about 2160 galls. per day, giving to the population,
which is over 300, a supply of about 7 galls. per head.
Probably, at times, the amount is very considerably less than
this. I think the Sanitary Inspector's scheme for increasing
the supply should be considered by the Committee.

BULLERS OF BUCHAN AND NORTH-HAVEN. - These small clusters
of houses will need the occasional services of a scavenger.
The water supply is not very good, but might easily be
improved.
The sewage runs in open drains or gutters, and in summer
time must constitute a nuisance.

HATTON. - Something will require to be done towards improv-
ing the drainage of this village. It is very defective.
Some of the ashpits shown me by the Inspector were in a very
foul condition. The owners of these should, in the mean-
time, be compelled to prevent them from becoming a nuisance.

METHLIC. - Little requires to be said of this place. An in-
creased supply of water may be brought in by-and-bye.
A few nuisances existed requiring to be remedied, and these
will, I have no doubt, ere this time have been removed.

TARVES. - It is greatly to be regretted that the proposal to
procure a fresh and abundant water supply to this village
had to be abandoned through the opposition of the inhabi-
tants. The present supply is of a very unsatisfactory char-
acter. It is certainly open to suspicion of contamination.
One of the pumps is so situated close to a midden, which is
on slightly higher ground, that it could scarcely escape pollu-
tion. A rough analysis, which was all I could make with
the materials at my command, of a sample taken from this