HH62/2/ROXBUR/27

Transcription

[Page] 26

YETHOLM. - A scavenger had formerly been paid by the
Parochial Board, and on the District Committee assuming the
functions of that Board, the payment was continued at the
expense of the whole District. This was naturally objected
to by members from parishes distant from Yetholm, and a
report was ordered to assist the Committee in considering
the matter. Any one acquainted with the unsatisfactory
state of the law under which sanitary authorities have to
endeavour to secure the cleanliness of villages will not be
surprised to learn that the report failed in its object. Much
useful information was, however, obtained, so that the Sanitary
Inspector and I were able to make ourselves familiar with
the conditions of village life. The following is a summary of
the report:-
The village consists of two parts - Kirk and Town Yetholm
(population 238 and 379 respectively) - and is situated on
either side of the river Bowmont. Every house was in-
spected, and information obtained in each instance as to the
size of the dwelling, ventilation, condition of walls, floors and
roofs, water and milk supply, state of drainage and number
and kind of sinks, privy accommodation, etc. Only four
houses were found to be too small for the number of persons
occupying them, each having less than 300 cubic feet air-
space per head.
The water supply in Town Yetholm is fairly satisfactory,
although some shallow wells are still used, owing to the
ignorance of the householders. In Kirk Yetholm good water
can be obtained at one spout, but the water of a burn is also
generally used; in spite of the fact that much house refuse,
ashes, etc., is thrown into it. It is however, under the
heading of privy accommodation, ashpits, and drainage that
the most serious nuisances are to be classed. In one village
there is only one ashpit, 88 houses of the other village are
unprovided with them. Eighty-nine houses have no privy
accommodation, and all the existing water-closets are defective
in some respects, many of them being in a most dangerous state.

[Page] 27

With the exception of one short length, the drains are only
rubble, and many houses have no drain near, so that slop
water has to be thrown on the surface of the ground.
In addition to the above insanitary conditions, there are
several large and offensive middens, and since the scavenger
was paid off there has been no street cleaning.
Under these circumstances, I recommended the District
Committee to instruct the Sanitary Inspector, to issue notices
to the authors of many private nuisances, to provide a better
water supply for Kirk Yetholm, to insist on the erection of a
privy for each house, to cause owners to construct ashpits or
to arrange for the daily removal of house refuse, to order
existing drains to be repaired, where necessary to be extended,
and to be provided with ventilating grates and surface gullies.
My recommendations were given effect to in so far that the
Inspector was directed to issue notices to the authors of a
few of the worst nuisances, and one of the members of the
District Committee undertook to induce the villagers to assess
themselves in order to provide a scavenger.* It appears to
be customary in this neighbourhood for the scavengers merely
to attend to street sweeping; and, tips or tooms not being
provided, the scavenger increases the size of the middens
already existing in the village. The Committee has not yet
taken action to secure an improved water supply for Kirk
Yetholm, to prevent pollution of the burn, to coerce owners
into providing privy accommodation or ashpits, or to improve
the drainage. Even if the committee went so far as to order
notices to be served on every person contributing to nuisances
of any kind, matters would not be much improved. Difficul-
ties would constantly arise; for instance, where tenants have
no land attached to their houses, the street is the only place
in which they can throw their house refuse. Notices would
also have to be served on the owners or occupiers of almost
every house, and much irritation caused. If the Committee
cannot by private arrangement with the proprietors secure

* The proposed arrangement is now almost completed.