HH62/2/LANARK/84

Transcription

[Page] 83

The River Clyde enters the Lower Ward at a point near
Battleburn, previously forming part of the boundary
between the Parishes of Rutherglen in the Lower Ward
and Cambuslang in the Middle Ward, flows in a westerly
direction, marking the boundary between Rutherglen Parish
and the Shettleston portion of the Barony Parish, and
between Rutherglen Parish and the City of Glasgow, until,
at a point a little beyond Dalmarnock Bridge, it enters
within the city limits, emerging at Linthouse to form, for
about one mile and a half, the northern boundary of the
Parish of South Govan, landward.
As in the Middle Ward, the predominating Industries
are associated with coal and iron, especially in the Parishes
of Barony and Rutherglen. In addition, there are valu-
able seams of fireclay in the neighbourhood of Garnkirk
(Cadder Parish), the working and manufacture of which
have led to the establishment of several populous vil-
lages.
The Parishes of Cadder, Carmunnock, and South Govan
are largely agricultural and pastoral, some of the land being
under a high state of cultivation.

Housing of the Working Classes. - A considerable
section of the population live in one and two-roomed houses;
but until the publication of the Census report I am unable
to give the figures.
In the Barony Parish, including mainly the villages of
Shettleston and Tollcross, the majority of the houses are
of the tenement class, and fairly well built. There are,
however, some conspicuous exceptions both in Shettleston
and Tollcross, where the houses are so bad as to be almost
uninhabitable - six of which, indeed, I reported as unfit for
habitation. These were one-roomed houses with low
ceilngs, damp walls, and floors considerably below the
level of the surrounding ground. The windows were of
one sash, and fixed so as to be useless for purposes of
ventilation. There were no rain-water pipes, so that the

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foundations were constantly in a damp state. The privy
and ashpit accommodation was simply disgraceful, and
utterly subversive of either decency or cleanliness.
In the case of the mining villages, the houses, as in the
Middle Ward, are, as a rule, of a very inferior description,
consisting of one or, at most, two apartments, with the
objectionable fixed beds on one side, a cheap fire-place on
the other, a window, and a door.
Even in the more rural districts, such as Carmunnock,
and the greater part of Cadder and South Govan, many of
the houses, though better and more substantially built,
still afford far too limited accommodation.

Water Supply. - The County Sanitary Inspector, in his
annual report, has fully described the water supply of the
Lower Ward, and I will not, therefore, enter into the same
detail.
From the proximity of the district to Glasgow, on the
one hand, and to the Airdrie and Coatbridge Water
District, on the other, there has not been the same general
scarcity of water as was the case in the Middle Ward.
With the exception of Easter and Wester Cardowan,
with a comparatively small population, the whole of the
Barony Parish is supplied by Glasgow.
In Cadder Parish the two Water Districts of Bishopbriggs
and Auchinairn are now under the control of the Glasgow
Water Commissioners; while the South Lenzie Water
District, which is largely residential, is supplied by the
Burgh of Kirkintilloch.
In certain parts of this parish, however, notably Gart-
cosh, Stepps Road, and Garnkirk, the water supply has
been most unsatisfactory, with the result, as will afterwards
be more fully shown, that enteric fever and other diseases
have been prevalent.
These places, as well as others in the parish, are de-
pendent for their supplies on streams, shallow wells, and
pits, all of which are liable to contamination. Analysis has