Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

THE TRAIN SERVICE WITH PONTYPOOL. Mr Sandbrook said he wished to call the atten- tion both of the Board and the public to the way in which the Monmouthshire Railway officials had arranged their service of trains in connection with Pontypool. It appeared that the Railway Com- pany considered the interests of the Newport peo- ple, to the injury of Pontypool. The trains were now so placed as to convey people to the former place to the exclusion of the latter. There were large works in the neighbourhood, and very many people would come to Pontypool market if they had railway facilities, but without them they had to go to Newport. The last down train left Ponty- pool a few minutes before 7. There were those who could not transact their marketing and other business in time, and the consequence was that they had to go to Newport, and the Pontypool market suffered. He would suggest that a memo- I rial be sent from the Board to^the officials of the Company, praying for better railway accommoda- tion for every day, not Saturday only. The Com- pany issued market tickets between Cwmbran and Newport, and he thought between Blaenavon and' Pontypool. The latter was a better market than Newport. The Chairman observed that the new line to Talywain had caused the alterations, but they had a right to better accommodation. Mr Jee was of opinion that they ought to have a later train. Mr Jeremiah said commercial gentlemen had to go now to Newport when they would otherwise stay in Pontypool. Mr Eckersley proposed, and it was unanimously agreed to, that the Chairman and the members of the Finance Committee be empowered to commu- nicate with the officials in such way as they may think best for the purpose of securing a better train service. [Mr Sandbrook is not quite correct in what he says respecting market tickets. We believe they are issued as follows:—To Newport-From Blaen- von and all stations below by the three trains on the old level. From Brynmawr and other stations on the new line, 'as far as Talywain, by the first 1 train only. To Pontypool: From Newport and Cwmbran only, by three trains.-

A PUBLIC NUISANCE. Mr Fletcher drew the attention of the Board to the obstruction of certain parts of the public tho- roughfares in Pontypool caused by groups of men standing about. Especially was this noticeable at the Cross, & it had long been a positive nuisance. It was difficult to pass them, and particularly so if one had a friend with him, while at the same time insulting remarks were made. It was high time the nuisance should be put a stop to. (Hear, hear.) He was glad that his opinion was endorsed by every member of the Board. Mr Sandbrook said it was a matter for the police, and he had no doubt that if a requisition went from the Board to the Superintendent it would be taken notice of. The nuisance was greater on the Sunday, and he agreed that it ought to be stopped. The Chairman said that they had power under their own bye-laws to deal with the matter, but he would suggest that the Clerk be instructed to have an interview with the Superintendent of Police, on behalf of the Board, and ask him to take steps to abate what really was a great nui- sance. The Board then resolved itself into committee.

DR. OGLE'S REPORT. PONTYPOOL LOCAL BOARD DISTRICT. The town of Pontypool stands on the steep right bank of the Afon Llwyd, and placed as it is at the very junc- tion of the Old Red Sandstone with the Carboniferous formation serves as the market-town for the populous coal and iron fields behind it. Its population in 1861 was 4,661, and in 1871 had risen to 4,833. It may, therefore, be estimated at the present time as about 5,000. Its average annual death- rate for the past four years has been 23*9, which it need hardly be said is very high for a town of this character and size. Moreover, the death-rate has been higher and higher each successive year, and in 1878 had reached 294. There had been no serious amount of scarlet fever in this town for some years, a single death only having been registered under this heading in each of the years 1874, 1875, 1876, and none in 1877 when in June last it broke out in the low-lying and overcrowded Trosnant Street, doubtless introduced from the Abersychan dis- trict, and spread rapidly through the town, killing in the few following months some 30 persons. The out- break has apparently now come to an end. There does not appear to have been any notable out- break of typhoid fever in the town for some years, that is, any outbreak of wide extent. But on looking through the registers for the last five years, it was plain that there had been many Thaller outbreaks, and that in no year had the town been free from this disease. ScW('VP{/<\—The town was Sewered many years ago, and the old sewer is still in use. It is a brick barrel sewer, and the branches from the main to the houses are also of brick in most cases. The sewer is within reach of most of the houses in the urban district; the excep- tion being the outlying parts called Town Forge and Herbert's Wood, and, in the town itself, parts of Albion Road, of Moreton Street, of North Road, and of High Street, Soivhill.:In all, out of a total of 977 houses,there are some 80 to 90 to which the sewer is not available. There is no plan of the sewer in existence, and its re- lation to the houses is not in all cases known. Thus not very long back, much fever having occurred in Albion Road, an investigation was made into the condi- tion of the sewer in that part. It was found that the houses that were supposed to be in connexion with the sewer discharged not only into this but into an old dis- used feeder to the canal, which was so choked with filth that, as I was informed, some 40 loads of sludge were removed from it. In some parts of the town, when the sewer has been opened on account of a stoppage, it has been found to be very imperfectly laid. The sewer is entirely unventilated; excepting that here and there, as I was informed, a down-pipe from the eaves of a house is connected with it without an inter- vening trap. There is no provision for the systematic flushing of the sewer, excepting in one part, namely, Malthouso Lane, where the sewer was so frequently blocked up that a flushing tank was at last provided. The sewage is discharged directly into the Afon Llwyd at various points. The river, however, has been greatly polluted long before it reaches Pontypool; for, in addition to the washings from the eollienes, it re- ccives the sewage of all the places from Blaenavon down to Pontypool, and by the time it comes to Pontypool is so blackened and fouled that there is no risk of its being carelessly used for drinking purposes. Closet Accommodation.—Excepting in the parts of the town already mentioned as out of reach, the closets are, with very few exceptions, connected with the sewer. They are mostly trapped, but none of them, unless in the houses of the upper classes, have cisterns, or any provision for other flushing than by hand, and the pans were, as might be expected, very generally in a filthy condition. Out of a hundred cottages taken from some of the poorer parts of the town,* but without further selection, 1 found that five had no oloset accommodation at all, while in one instance a single closet served seven houses, in another served six, and in five instances served four. The closets are usually outside the houses but in ten of the hundred were within and in three of these were actually in the bedroom; in the rest being either in the kitchen or the cellar. In one case, at the cottage of a man who sells milk, I saw the milk, await- ing sale, standing in the kitchen, into which opened an entirely unventilated closet. Moreover, I was told that until quite recently the drain in this cottage had been stopped up, and highly ofiensive. It may be mentioned that the first recognized case of scai let fever in the town in the recent outbreak was in the lad who carried out the milk from this house to the customers. Condition of Cottage,v.-Tlie cottages as a rule are stone built, with slated roofs and stone floors, and with some exceptions seemed watertight and in fair state of repair, excepting that the stone floor was often broken up. A large proportion of them, especially in Trosnant and on the Sowhill, were however in a fllthy state; and one very general deficiency, which added much to their unsavouriness, was the want of through ventilation. In the 100 cottagea of which notes were taken, very few had a back door, and in a considerable number there were also no back windows. The conformation of the ground with its steep banks has given rise in some places to a peculiar kind of building, which is common enough for the cottages so erected to have got a special name, and to be called top and bottom" houses. A row of cottages is built against an upright bank, and on the top of this row stands a second row of tenements, with their doors opening on to the terrace formed by the top of the bank, and of course on the opposite side to that on which the lower cottages open. The lower tier of tenements are in my opinion quite unfit for human habitation. There are in all some 30 pairs of these top and bottom" houses in the town. In 36 of the 100 cottages in which notes were obtained there was only one bedroom, which in two of the 36 was also the only sitting-room. It was difficult to obtain trustworthy information from the cottagers as to the presence of lodgers or the existence of overcrowding. In one case, however, there were seven occupants to a bed- room, in four others six, while eight more bedrooms had five occupants apiece. The amount of overcrowding has, I was told by the Inspector of Nuisances, become much less of late, since the depression of business in the sur- roundipg district; and there is no longer what was then a not uncommon arrangement, namely, the occupation of the same bedroom by two shifts of workmen, one sleeping by day the other by night. In about 20 of the 100 cottages the upper sashes of the windows were not made to open. Taking the general result, as regards closet acoom- modation, cleanliness, ventilation, and generally those conditions which affect purity of air, the state of the cottages must be considered very unsatisfactory. Setive)iyi)iy.-The Local Board have a horse and cart which perambulates the town daily. The householders are expected to put their ashes and refuse outside their doors for removal to the ashyard, where it is sold to farmers. Some complaint was made to me that the scavenging was very imperfectly carried out, and that accumulations of filth were allowed to remain for long periods so far, however, as my personal observa tion went, it appeared to me to be done on the whole with fair efficiency. Trades likely to cause Nuisance.—I visited the slaugh- ter houses in the town. The Local Board has a set of byelaws relating to these. The regulations are, how- ever, completely set at nought. In ouly one was a copy of the regulations suspended as required in none was the floor maintained in proper condition; the rule as to whitewashing was almost universally disregarded: and speaking generally, the condition of things was most unsatisfactory, and in some cases abominably filtby. The only other businesses likely to cause nuisance in the town were a fellmongers' yard & a fat-melting and dip-candle establishment. Both were visited by me. A fellmonger's business can, I presume, hardly be car- ried on in a populous town without some nuisance but se far as I could judge there was beyond this no special cause of complaint. Of the tallow-melting business I heard some com- plaint and it appeared to me that the business was certainly capable of being carried on with less chance of offence than at present. In the first place, the ren- dering of the fat is effected by a fire directly under the pan, which, as Dr Ballard has stated (L. G. Board's 6th Ann. Report, Suppl. p. 303), is a far more offensive pro- Namely from Trosnant, Railway Parade and Terrace, Old Japan, George Street, Canal Parade, White Part steps. j sess than rendering by steam, which latter method hould in his judgment alone be permitted in towns. Secondly, the chimney to which the flue conducts the half-burnt vapour seemed to me to be of insufficient height, its opening being only, to judge by the eye, some 41 feet above, and 15 feet away from, the windows of houses in course of erection close by. .fe Disinfection and Isolation of Infectious Cases.-There is no disinfecting oven in the town. nor in any of the neighbouring districts. Neither is there any hospital to which cases of infectious disease can be removed; nor in fact any hospital of any kind whatsoever. TVater Supply.-The town is supplied with water by the Pontypool Gas and Water Company. Of the 979 houses (census 1871) 843 take the Company's water, while the remainder obtain their supply from wells which, sunk in ground not only strewn with the surface filth inseparable from a populous place, but still further contaminated by leakage from old brick sewers, cannot but themselves be liable to dangerous excremental pollution. The water supplied by the company to the town is got from a fissure in the carboniferous limestone at a spot on an uninhabited mountain side, far from any probable source of pollution by human excrement; this supply being supplemented by a small surface spring on the same mountain. This water, which may be called the Nanty-Mailor supply, is passed through filter beds be- fore delivery, and is constantly on the pressure, how. ever, being insufficient to make the supply a constant one for the higher parts of the town, while it is con- stant in the houses on a low elevation. Such an ar- rangement would be highly dangerous were the closet- pan in any of the houses on the higher level in direct communication with the mains. But I was assured by the Inspector of Nuisances that such is not the case in any single instance. The water is usually bright and clear, but after rain is slightly turbid, though it has been filtered. It has been analysed by Dr Frankland, both when clear and when slightly turbid, and on both occasions has been pronounced by him to be pala- table, wholesome, free from all evidence of all sewage or animal contamination," and of good quality both for dietetic purposes and for washing. Besides this filtered water derived from the above- mentioned sources, the company take a further supply from surface springs on the samo mountain side, but at some considerable distance away, at a place called I Gomer's Castle. The Gomer's Castle water passes into the company's main, and is distributed to the con- sumers, entirely without filtration, and after heavy rain is thick and turbid, as I was able to see for myself in the course of my visit. This water was analysed at the beginning of the year and pronounced to be good, and such as might be safely used for dietetic pntcse, Nor I' was any evidence forthcoming that its use, even when muddy, had been the cause of unhcalthiness. Many complaints, however, were made as to its unplea- santness, and it was stated, and I believe correctly stated, that at times worms and other organisms were to be found in the water when delivered. Indeed, as the water is entirely unfiltered, and taken from surface springs, such can hardly but be at any rate occasionally the case. While I entirely repudiate the opinion en. tertained by some that the recent prevalence of scarlet fever has been favoured by, or in any way connected with the character of this water, I feel at the same time obliged to state that in my opinion such water is unfit for delivery by a water company, who are by the terms of their Act (36 Yict. c. lxvii. s. 48), bound under heavy penalties to effectually filter all water supplied by them for domestic use, before the same shall pass into pipes for distribution." So far, however, as con- cerns the town of Pontypool, this question hardly arises for all the water supplied to the town is, I am assured by the company, derived from the first-men- tioned source, and passes through the filter-beds, the Gomer Castle water being distributed only to certain parts of the Abersychan district. There is, however, as I understand, a connexion between the main pipe that conveys the filtered water and the main from Gomer's Castle, so that in case the supply of filtered water should on any occasion fall short, it may be sup- plemented from the other source. If this be so, the Local Board of Pontypool is equally bound with the Local Board of Abersychan to see that the water from Gomer's Castle be properly filtered in accordance with the Act. Moreover, as already has been stated, even the filtered water from Nanty-Mailor is somewhat tur- bid after rain. Prima facie this is evidence that the filtering process is not so efficient as it should be, and as a matter of fact a committee of the Abersychan Local Board, who recently investigated the matter, came to the conclusion that the materials of which the filter-beds were composed were of too coarse a descrip- tion. This, however, was a question which I felt it did not fall within my province to investigate, it being rather a matter of inquiry for an engineer than for a medical inspector. It will be convenient here to make a few remarks on another matter regarding the water supply, although it is one which probably affects other parts of the sub- district more than the town of Pontypool. Complaints reached me that the company had in a large number of cases cut off the water from cottages owing to nonpay- ment of rates by the occupier. A list was given me of the number thus dealt with in 1878, and they were not many. But I believe the list was a much heavier one before this. I confess I cannot see how any blame at- taches to the company, whose business is to sell water not give it away. The fault and the remedy lie with the Sanitary Authorities, who in such a case should call on the owners of the cottages, under section 62 of the Public Health Act, to provide a proper supply.

RECOMMENDATIONS. PONTYPOOL URBAN SANITARY DISTRICT. 1.—The Local Board should obtain the aid of a com- petent engineer in order to ascertain in detail the actual state of the sewerage of the town, with a view of remedying such defects as exist in regard to stmr>fnro, ventilation, or flushing; of making such extensions as may be required and of depurating the sewage before it reaches the river, or of diverting it altogether from the river and utilising it. 2.-Houses without any, or with insufficient, closet accommodation should be dealt with under the powers conferred by the Public Health Act (§ 36) and mea- sures should be taken for furnishing waterclosets, now hand-flushed, with proper flushing apparatus, and for giving them a due supply of water. 3.—Houses in which the air is necessarily foul owing to the want of proper means of ventilation should be dealt with as unfit for human habitation, until efficient ventilation has been provided. 4.-More efficient supervision should be exercised over slaughter-houses, and generally over such trades as are likely to cause nuisance and the bye-laws relating to slaughter-houses and to nuisances generally shonld be strictly enforced. 5.—Measures should be taken by the Local Board to ensure the due and efficient filtration of all water de- livered by the water company for domestic use. 6.—It is necessary that hospital accommodation should be provided for the isolation of cases of infec- tious diseases, as also an efficient oven for the disinfec- tion of clothes and bedding; and that the provisions of the Public Health Act against the spreading of in. fection by the exposure of infected persons or things should be enforced.

LLANVRECHVA UPPER LOCAL BOARD. The ordinary monthly meeting of this Board was held on Monday, there being present Charles Conway, Esq. (Chairman), Messrs. H. Griffiths, R. Richards, G. Williams, H. Parfitt, E. Francis, G. Harris, and H. Knipe, tegether with the Clerk and Surveyor, The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. A letter was read from Mr J. Davies stating that he had been instructed to apply for particulars of the proposed scheme for draining Messrs Slade and Sage's houses, and the matter was referred to the Surveyor. With reference to a culvert near Pontrhydyrun Terrace, the Surveyor explained that Dr Brew and Mr A. A. Williams had discussed the matter, and the latter objected to any alteration of the course of the water stream unless the Board would cover in the whole distance.—The matter was deferred until the next meeting. A COMPLAINT. A letter was received from Messrs Conway Bros. calling the attention of the Board to the unsafe condition of the footbridge over the Cwmbran brook, the handrail having disappeared, and the bridge being rotten. Mr Parfitt proposed that the matter be left en- tirely in the hands of the road committee to do what was necessary. Mr Griffiths seconded, and the motion was car. ried. FINANCES. The Clerk reported that the collector had paid into the Bank the sum of .£94 19s. lOd. since the last Board day. MEDICAL OFFICER'S REPORT. The following report was read from the Medical Officer of Health: Gentlemen,—I have to report that the sanitary con. dition of your district during the quarter ending 29th September has been on the whole generally healthy, and free from any zymotic disease. I have ascertained that at the present period there is an outbreak of scar- let fever, which has proved fatal in some cases. Twenty deaths were registered for the above quarter from ordi- nary causes. Six of these occurred at the Union at the advanced ages respectively of 79, 80, 81, 90, 77, and 82 years. The number of births for the same period was 44, being 19 females and 25 males. OLIVER D. THOMAS, M.R.C.S., E. PLAN REJECTED. Mr H. Thomas forwarded a plan of a house pro- posed to be built at Tynewydd, but it was not ap- proved on the ground that no satisfactory scheme of jdrainage was shown thereon. The road committee were requested to inspect and report upon the best means of draining houses on Tynewydd land near Mr Steward's. A POINT OF DOUBT. An"application was received from Mr H. Knipe for permission to build a stable upon his promises, and a discussion took place as to whether it ought to be granted. It was contended that if such per- mission were given to a member of the Board a precedent would be laid down which it was not de- sirable to follow, and other people might claim a similar pri vileg. It was ultimately resolved, on the motion of Mr Griffiths, seconded by Mr Richards, That Messrs Conway, Llewellin, and Parfitt be appointed a committee to decide as to the suitability, or other- wise, of the premises of Mr Knipe for erecting a stable upon." There was no other business.

AN EVENING BEVERAGE—Epps's Cacaoine (Quint- essence of Cacao) is equally liquid and refreshing as tea, affording moreover a sterling support to the system. Unsweetened. Each packet (6d.) is labelled "JAMES Errs.& Co., Homoeopathic Che- mists, London."

ABIRSYCIFAN LOCAL BOARD. 'I The trembers of this Authority held their monthly neeting on Tuesday, at the Board-room in Abersychan. R. Greenway, Esq., the Chair- man, presided, and there were also present Dr Verity, and Messrs H. Lewis, P. Hambleton, Gr. Oliver, D. Davies, G. Griffiths, W. Lewis, J. Daniel, W. L. Pratt, J. G. Dent, J. Price, H. Brain, and W. Prosser. LIGHTING OF THE DISTRICT. In accordance with a notice given at the pre- vious meeting, Mr Hambleton proposed that the public lamps under the jurisdiction of the Board be not lighted during the five or six nights at the time a full moon occurred. Mr Daniel asked if there was not also a re- commendation of the committee on the subject. Mr Pratt said the object was to reduce the cost of lighting the streets, and there were two modes of doing so. In one respect by extin- guishing the lights at 12 o'clock at night, or by the adoption of the motion which Mr Hamble- ton had proposed. The Chairman observed that if they wished to make a change they would adopt the course which was to the ratepayors generally the most economical, and at the same time be the most profitable to all classes. He thought that if they extinguished the lamps at 12 o'clock at night, the time during which light was most needed, they would be placing a premium upon those who were watching places with the design of theft. Dr Verity asserted that there was no use in lighting the lamps at all if they extinguished them at midii 0~| j t • Mr Oliver remarked that in the winter months there was a necessity for the lamps being lighted, ns men were then going to work and required it for their safety. Messrs Jones and Dent each supported the suggestion that the public lamps should be ex- tiugi'ifbt'-J at 19 o'clock. .Mr W. Lewis, in supporting this, said it could 1 Z3 Hot be doubted that tho inner district suffered in consequence of the present system. He maintained that by the present arrangement the outer district was benefited, whilst the inner district had to contribute a greater portion than was equitable or just. He saw no reason why the outside district should benefit at the ex- pense of the inner. The latter had a claim upon the other in regard to the cost of lighting. He took it that the new road was especially re- paired for the benefit of the outside district, while the inside portion received no benefit from that which they had to contribute to. He main- tained that they ought to protect themselves as far as they could, and he should vote in favour of putting out the lamps at midnight. Mr Dent proposed that the lamps be extin- guished at 12 o'clock at night. Mr W. Lewis seconded. Mr Pratt seconded Mr Hambleton's resolution, and would go so far as to say that the lamps should only be lighted nine months in the year. He would suggest that the lamps should only be put out at midnight in the outer district and not in the inner one. The motion originally proposed was then put to the meeting and carried. The Chairman, in answer to Mr W. Lewis, said he assumed that this settled the question. Mr Daniel said the motion just passed did not include the proposal to extinguish the lamps at midnight. Mr Dent submitted a resolution to the effect that the lamps be put out at 12 o'clock each night, believiug that it would effect a saving of 2d in the £ Mr W. Lewis secondod. Mr Davies inquired, if such a resolution were passed, whether it would in any way interfere with the engagement they had with the Gas Company in respect to tho price of gas. A member That is not the question. Dr Verity stated that notice of this motion had not been properly given, and he was of opinion that it ought not to be entertained at that meeting. It was distinctly stated that a month's notice of such a motion should be given. Mr Daniel said the notice was given at a full meeting of the Board. Dr Verity In committee. Mr Daniel: It was a committee of the whole Board, and the notice was given at an adjourn- ed meeting. Dr Verity contended that it was irregular, inasmuch as a month's notice had not been given, as required by the Act. Mr Daniel maintained that notice was given at a meeting of the whole Board, and was therefore perfectly in order, the meeting being an adjourned one. He supported the resolution because he had considered the matter most carefully, and lie felt convinced that the rates were exceedingly heavy in the inner district. Not one point only, but the whole of the ques- tion had he minutely considered. He affirmed that they were entitled to some assistance from the outer district, and they only asked of them two-fifths, which they could justify their claim to. Mr Hambleton observed that there was not a single lamp in the outer district. Mr Daniel replied that there was upon them an additional expenditure in the way of light- ing the outer district, which was directly bene- fited by it. Although they had no additional lamps, they had additional expense to meet in respect of it. Mr Lewis For the benefit of Pontypool ? Dr Verity differed with the arguments ad- duced, and expressed a decided conviction that the Board might as well refuse to light the lamps at all as to extinguish them at twelve I o'clock at night. Mr Daniel remarked that outsiders ought not te interfere (alluding to Dr Verity). Dr Verity retaliated that he was a member of the Board, and had a perfect right to express his opinion. Mr Daniel said he should expect outsiders" to abstain from taking part in the discussion or voting upon it. Mr H. Lewis said he felt very sorry that such a resolution should have been brought forward. To put out the light at midnight would be a mistake. The Chairman expressed an opinion that pub- lic safety greatly depended upon the lamps being lighted in the vicinity of such residences as were to be met with in the district over which the Board had jurisdiction. Mr Griffiths did not think that the lighting of the streets in any way tended to the protection of property. Some years ago a burglary was committed at Abersychan, and there was a lamp directly opposite the property. After further discussion of an uninteresting nature, the motion was put to the meeting, and carried by seven votes to five. Mr W. Lewis thought that one question had been overlooked, aud that was respecting the lighting of the lamps. He bad expressed an opinion that the lamps ought to be lighted with greater regularity, and that could only be done by appointing an assistant, as the only lighter they had was compelled to commence his du- ties at one end of his district earlier than was necessary, while he finished later than was de- sirable at the other. Mr Hambleton moved that an assistant be ap- pointed. Mr W. Lewis seconded, and the motion was carried. RATES. The seal of the Board was ordered to be affix- ed to a rate of Is 2d in the jp for the inner dis- trict, and to one of 9d in the £ for the outer portion. THE NEW ROAD. The attention of the Board was called, by a letter from Mr D. S. Davies, to the neglected condition of the new road, from the Bell to the I Lion Hotel. In reply to a member, The Surveyor said that portion of the road was in a very bad state and he was thereupon requested to attend to it. ANOTHER COMPLAINT. A communication was received from the Rev D. 0. Davies, vicar, calling the attention of the Board to the state of the road in front of St. Luke's Church. Having heard from the surveyor the estima- ted amount which it would take to effect the improvement required, it was resolved that a reply should be sent to Mr Davies, stating that however much the Board desired to comply with the rev. gentleman's wishes, their finances would not at present permit of such an expendi- ture. The matter would, however, be taken up at the earliest opportunity. MEDICAL OFFICER'S REPORT Abersychan, October 21st, 1879. Gentlemen,—There were 15 deaths in the month of September, as follows :—Apoplexy, 2 heart dis- ease, 2 phthisis, 2; inflammation of the lungs, 2; convulsions, 2; inanition, 2 j hereditary syphilis, 1; accident, 1 senile decay, 1. There were 38 births. It is reported that several cases of scarlet fever have occurred in Cwmbran; and as there is frequent inter- communication botween this district and that, I would suggest the re-issuing of notices containing re- commendations of the Local Government Board with regard to infectious diseases, and also informing the managers of schools of the care necessary to be exer- cised in the re-admission of children absent through illness, the present season being usually that in which scarlet fever prevails.-Your obedient servant, J. W. MULLIGAN, M.D. A MEMORIAL. A memorial was received, signed by some of the ratepayers of Pontnewynydd,Cwmffrwdoer, and Cwmnantddu, calling attention to the ne- cessity of erecting gas lamps on the new road from Pontnewynydd to Cwmffrwdoer. It was pointed out that during the long, dark winter nights passenger traffic was inconvenient as well as dangerous. Messrs Morgan and Evans offered a corner of their building as a suitable position for a support for one bracket lamp. The memorialists hoped that their petition would receive a favourable consideration. The Chairman remarked that the memorial- ists were quite justified in their request. They were parties who paid lighting rates, and they had not a single lamp on the road. Mr Lewis admitted that there was a hardship in the case, but they were not in a position to go to such an expense. There were many places in Abersychan which required lighting as much j as the road in question did. The Chairman remarked that when they re- ceived a memorial from the ratepayers, the Board ought to take it into their serious consi- deration. He might suggest that, as it was im- possible for them to have included the probable cost in the estimate then before the Board, the petitioners should be informed of the fact, and told that if they applied again the matter would receive their best attention. He must say for himself that he thought they ought to extend their lighting district as much as possible. Mr Daniel strongly condemned the present system of lighting, and said that every indivi- dual wanted a lamp to light his individual pro- perty. The fact was they were putting up lamps which were of no use, and so were pre- vented from placing lamps where they ought to be. One of the requisitionists (Mr Morgan) was called into the room and informed that when the finances of the Board were in a more healthy condition attention would be paid to the matter. Mr Morgan said he could not think it right that they should have to pay lighting rates and get no light at all. The Chairman replied that the Board were of opinion that they would not at present be justi- fied in going to the expense, and Mr Morgan then withdrew. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Mr H. Lewis formally proposed the re-election of the Medical Officer and the Inspector of Nuisances, which was seconded by Dr Verity, and carried without comment. SURVEYOR'S REPORT. Mr E. Cooke reported that the committee ap- pointed at the last meeting of the Board to deal with the subject of the subsidence of the road- side embankment, at the Rock and Fountain Bridge, Garndiffaith, met at that place on the 23rd ult., and ordered him to divert the course of the river, and to adopt any such other mea- sures as might be deemed necessary to prevent any further damage to the road. This had since been done, and he did not anticipate any further damage from the action of the river, but would suggest that the wall be rebuilt as soon as possible. DR. OGLE'S REPORT. A letter was read from the Local Government Board respecting the report made to that autho- rity by Dr Ogle, on his recent inspection of the district and enquiry into the prevalence of scarlet fever. Copies of the printed report were enclosed, and the attention of the Board was directed to the subject. Mr W. Lewis asked what was the date of the letter. The Chairman replied that it was dated the 30th September. Mr W. Lewis asked why such a letter should have been lying at the offices for three weeks without the members of the Board being ac- quainted with it, and copies of the report for- warded to them. Before they were in possession of it, it had been handed about, and discussed in the local papers. Although that communi- cation was originally intended to come direct to them, it came to them in the way of an inter- cepted letter. He thought it was high time the Board should take into consideration the method of dealing with their documents. It had been discussed by the Gas and Water Company, and became public property before the Board knew anything about it. The Chairman remarked that so far as the Gas and Water Company was concerned, he could assure Mr Lewis that the report had not been discussed by them at all, as there had not I been a meeting of the Company since it had been received. Mr Daniel said he thought that the members of the Board ought to have had the report be- fore it proceeded to other sources. Several ratepayers had asked him about the matter, and he did not, as a member of the Board, like to be placed in the position of knowing less of such a thing than other people. The Chairman saw nothing irregular in the matter at all. This was the first meeting of the Board since the receipt of the reports, and the members were now in possession of them. The Surveyor said the packet containing the reports had only been opened that morning. Mr Lewis still contended that they ought to have been furnished with the report before then, and the matter dropped. On the suggestion of the Chairman, any dis- cussion on the subject matter of the report was adjourned until the next meeting, the members having an opportunity in the interval to fur- ther consider it. ALTERATION OF HOUR. At the suggestion of the Chairman, it was agreed that the hour of meeting should, in the future, be 11 o'clock instead of half-past 10. THE DEPOSIT OF VOUCHERS. Mr Dent complained that he had been six or seven times to see the vouchers and accounts at the Board-room, but had never been able to get at them. He understood they were kept at the Clerk's offices in Pontypool, and it was incon- venient for members to walk over there every time they wished to see the accounts. The Clerk said that with respect to the New Road vouchers he had nothing whatever to do. It was agreed that in future the documents should be accessible at the Board-room. This was the whole of the business.

DR. OGLE'S REPORT. ABERSYCHAN LOCAL BOARD DISTRICT. This district includes that part of the upper valley of the Afon Llwydd that lies between Pontypool and Elaenavon, and the smaller tributary valleys and moun- tains on the West side of this. In the main valley are the large populous places, Abersychan and Pontnewynydd, as also the small ham- let of Cwmavon, while the tributary combes and the mountain ridges that divide these from each other, are dotted over with the scattered villages that have grown up round the numerous coal-pits and ironworks. The district is under a Local Board, constituted in June, 1864, when the population was 13,116. In 1871 the population had increased to 14,569, and it is be- lieved to stand at much the same Egure at the present time. Adopting this estimate, the annual death-rate for the last three years has averaged 20-5, while the in- fantile death-rate (proportion of infant deaths to 1,QOO births) has been 118. A considerable part of the population, which is al- most enthely composed of pitmen and puddlers, live in bleak and exposed positions on the mountain side. The cold to which they are just subjected is somewhat miti, gated by the comparative cheapness of fuel; still it is snch as to cause the predominant diseases of the eleva- ted parts to be, according to the information given me by the resident medical men, affections of the respira- tory organs. Heart disease is said to be more common than elsewhere, and is attributed to the heavy strains which the men's work involves. The towns or villages, especially the pit villages, have to unaccustomed eyes a somewhat dismal aspect, sur- rounded as they are by the refuse of furnaces and the general griminess of pits and works but on closer exa- mination they do not provo so bad as a hasty glance might indicate. The houses, as a rule, are substantially built and weather-tight, with stone walls, stone floors, and not rarely stone roofs, though more frequently they are slated. One defect is very general in them, namely, the absence of eaves-troughing, so that in many rows I noticed pools of water lying in hollows against the walls. In some parts, where the cottages front the main street, and water is wanted for the sewer, the Board have insisted upon eaves-troughing, but else- where there is none. Seeiug how heavy are the rains in this district, and how cold is the situation, this deficiency is a serious one. It is, moreover, in vio- lation of one of the Local Board's own bye-laws, which orders that all rainwater shall be so drained or con- veyed from the roofs of buildings as to prevent its drip- ping on to the ground and causing dampness in the walls." I could gain very little information as to over-crowd- ing. Some undoubtedly overcrowded cottages came under my notice, but to what extent this nuisance may prevail I could not judge. I was informed, however, by the Inspector of Nuisances that, since the stagnation of trade, there is no great amount of it. Most of the villages, with the exceptions to be given presently, are sewered more or less completely, the sewers being in all cases made of sanitary pipes. The closets, when in reach of the sewer, are usually, though by no means invariably, connected with it, and have tropped pansjeither of earthenware or of iron. These are only flushed by hand, and are often filthy. In those places or parts of places where there is no sewer, the closet accommodation is usually extremely bad, and very often there is no closet at all. In no single case is the sewer properly ventilated. The importance of such ventilation appears to have been quite overlooked. For in numerous cases, where there was no sewer, owners of houses have been called on by the Local Board to make "air-tight," that is, unventilated, cesspools; some of which came under notice during my visits. Yet among the bye-laws of the Local Board are clauses insisting on the proper ventilation both of cesspools and house drains. The bye-laws, as in very many other places, appear to be rather for show than for use, Luckily the closets are always outside the dwellings. The Local Board keep a cart, horse, and man, for scavengering purposes. Of the six working days, three are given to Abersychan, one to Pontnewynydd, one to Garndiffaitb, one to Talywain. The more remote parts, as the Tranch and Varteg, are not served. Seeing how large the district is and how difficult are the hilly roads, one cart and horse cannot of course do very much; still I do not think much complaint can fairly be made under this head. The dirtiness which prevailed in many of the cottages seemed rather due to the unclean habits of the occupiers, than to neglect of scavengering on the part of the Board. In the reports made from time to time concerning this district and other neighbouring ones, much stress has been laid on the nuisances connected with pig- keeping; and as some persons have, rightly or wrongly, supposed that pig nuisances are especially favourable to scarlet fever, I was anxious to see to what extent this evil prevailed. I was surprised to find that scarcely any pigs at all were to be seen. This I was told is due partly to the warfare carrie on against them by the In- spector of Nuisances, and partly to the great distress and poverty that prevails in the district at the present time. The cottagers are too poor to have a pig. There are, as I was told, only two regular slaughter- houses in the district. These were visited by me. They are not registered but were in cleanly condition. The general impression left on me after my inspec- tion, which included, I believe, all the villages in the district, was more favourable than I had anticipated. It appeared to me that there had been very considerable efforts made a little time back to improve the sanitary condition of the district, especially in the matter of sewerage that these efforts, however, had not em- braced the whole district, some parts being left out in the cold; and that even in those parts where improve- ments had been begun, the effort had subsided before they bad been fully carried out. And this I believe was really the truth. In the prosperous times, some few years back, much was done and more begun but with the depression in trade came suspension of all works that involved outlay. Having given this general account of the district, I proceed to supplement it by a few remarks ou its sepa- rate parts: Garndiffaith, standing on the mountain to the right as you ascend the little lateral valley of the Ffrwd, is a populous place of some 3,000 inhabitants, with houses aggregated at one high point into a large village, but otherwise scattered in isolated groups over the moun- tain side. The houses are of the usual type as described above. Many of them are far from clean. This is doubtless due in part to the dirty habits of the occu- piers, but also in part to the absence in a very consi- derable proportion of the cottages of the appliances by which alone cleanliness is made possible, namely, water and means for the avoidance of excremental pollution. As regards water, the whole place, with the excep- tion of some 20 houses low enough down to be supplied by the Water Company, is dependent upon two springs, one of which-the Six Bells spring—supplies the scat- tered cottages down the mountain side; while the other —Ffynnon-y-Aver—is for the use of the main village. These springs at the time of my visit, after prolonged wet, gave abundance of water but they are at a very great distance from a large part of the houses. In sum- mer, moreover, as I was assured by many persons of whom I made careful inquiry, though they are not ac- tually dry, they dwindle in such a degree that, consi- dering how large is the population, what may be called a water famine ensues. As regards excremental pollution, there is a pipe sewer running down the main street and discharging into the Ffrwd. The only ventilation for this is an opening at its very top, where a small current of water passes into it and serves to flush it. Most of the houses in the main village are connected with this; but not all. Of the cottages not in connection, many have no privies at all. I counted myself 29 such in a very small area. The filth from such cottages is of necessity cast out anywhere. In 1877 an outbreak of typhoid fever occurre4 in some of the cottages without privy, and was attributed by the medical man to the collection of filth thus formed at their doors. Single fatal cases of typhoid fever were also registered here in 1874 and 1876 and several deaths from diphtheria in 1875. 1 was told that there had been several cases of scarlet here in the late outbreak but none of them terminated in death. Varteg stands still higher than the Garn, in a cold bleak position. It has no sewer and of the cottages, about 140 in number, at least 100 are without any kind of privy accommodation whatever. Some of the rows consist of back-to-back houses, without therefore any through ventilation. Possibly at this elevation such a deficiency is less important than below. This place was equally fortunate with the Garn in the late out- break. The water-supply is from two springs, which are said to give but a scanty supply in very dry sum- mers. The evidence, however, on this point was very contradiatory. Talywain consists of a main street running along the high ridge that separates Cwm Ffrwd from Cwm Sych- nant, and of a number of smaller streets or irregular rows dropping down from the main street above upon the steep sloping side of Cwm Ffrwd. The village is supplied with water from the Gomer Castle source by the Water Company, of which an ac- count has been given in that part of this report which relates to Pontypool. It was contemplated some years ago to sewer the whole place, but only one segment of the sewer was actually constructed. This sewer serves the central third of the main street, and discharges, as do all the sewers in the district, into the river. The other two parts of the main street, and the rest of the village are unsewered. Of the houses in these parts some 30 or more have no closets of any kind. Some others have closets that drain to U air-tight" cess- pools. In the unsewered parts much filth and slops are thrown into the road. In Pisgah-road, in Waterloo- road, and in Waterloo-place 1 noticed foul and stinking ditches or streamlets that have thus originated. Talywain did not suffer in the recent octbreak-at least no deaths were registered as due to scarlet fever during the year. It is probable that the elevated posi- tion on the mountain, which this village, together with the Varteg and Garndiffaith, enjoys, with fresh air blowing freely about it, may have contributed to this result. One death from typhoid fever was registered here in 1875 but no other in the last five years. Cwmavon, a small hamlet at the mouth of the Ffrwd Valley, on the Afon Llwyd. The houses on the right bank of the river are supplied by the Water Company, those on the opposite bank by a spring. There is a small sewer, which carries the slops from the houses on the right, and one closet is in connexion with it. Some of the other cottages are without privies. .A bersyelmn. -This, which is the chief place in the district, has a lower part in the valley of the Afon and a higher part running from this at right angles up the steep little valley of the Sycbnant to the Ebbw Vale Works. The population consists of colliers and pud- dlers, and a large proportion of it is Irish, There is a pipe sewer that serves all the lower and most of the upper parts also. One place in the upper part, to which the advantages of a sewer should be, but are not, extended, is the Waterloo-road. The sewer is unventilated, and only flushed by some eaves-troughs from roofs in the main street. The fall, however, is so rapid that this flushing is said to be found sufficient. Most of the houses within reach of the sewer have pan- closets connected with it, but not all. The closets are hand-flushed only. The town is supplied with water by the Company; but a good many do not take the water, or have had it cut off for nonpayment of rates such, for instance, as the dirty set of houses known as Henshaw's Row. Here the water-supply is from a spring, which is said to pass under the burial ground. In the recent outbreak, Abersychan lost five inhabi- tants from scarlet fever. Probably many of the young were protected by a previous attack for it appears by the register that this place, in common with the rest of the upper valleys, suffered much in an outbreak at the end of 187^. There does not appear to have been much typhoid fever at Abersychan of late. I find on the register three deaths attributed to this disease in 1875, and one in. 1876, but none since. Pontnewynydd.—A large populous place, chiefly inhabited by men employed in ironworks, stands in the Afon Valley, and is connected with the lower part of Abersychan by Snatchwood. It is sewered through- out, the sewer being, as usual, unventilated and un- flushed. Most of the closets, but not all, are con- nected with the sewer, and are trapped. In one row visited by me (The Mile Row) I found the closets inside the houses, in the back kitchen or bakehouse, and unventilated. Eleven deaths from scarlet fever occurred here last year. I find one death from typhoid fever. registered in 1874 and one each in 1876 and 1877, but none siupe. Cwmffrwdoer and Cwmnantddu.—A lateral valley runs up from Pontnewynydd to the coal measures, and bifurcating takes these names. In it are a num- ber of small villages, of which the largest is Nightin- gale Village. There is a sewer, but only some of the houses are connected with it, and some have no closets at all. The Company's mains reach this place, but few houses take the water. The rest use a spring, which issues out not far below a burial ground. This same spring serves the needs of Ebenezer, a hamlet of some 25 houses, higher up. This also is sewered, and the cottages, with a few exceptions, have earthenware pan-closets connected with the sewer. Another small village is Pentrepeod, which is un- sewered, the cottages having common privies. The water is from a well at some little distance. The water has been analysed, and pronounced chemically satisfactory. The remaining village in this valley is called Cwm- ffrwdore, with 25-30 houses. Here again there is a sewer; but I noticed four cottages with no closet, and one with a privy connected with the sewer, but untrapped. Its water-supply is from a first-rate spring 10 at some little distance. These villages, and especially Pentrepeod, seem to have suffered more from fever than in due proportion to their size. I find six deaths registered from ty- phoid fever in them in the last four years, namely three at Pentrepeod, two at Nightingale Village, and one simply as in Cwmnantddu, without the village being specified. Of the incidents connected with these fevers I could get no account. I am told that the condition of the villages, was, until recently, much worse than it now is. The valley has also twice of late years suffered from scarlet fever, namely, in 1875-6, when nine deaths occurred, and again in 1878, when four died. The Tranch is a scattered village of 800—1,000 in- habitants, on the high ridge continuous with the upper part of Pontypool town, with which place, ra- ther than with Abersychan, it is naturally though not officially connected. Being so far from Abersychan its wants do not seem to have met with their due share of attention. It has neither sewerage norwater. The privies are of a very filthy kind, and often one serves many houses, while in other cases there is none at all. Very much filth is thrown on to the roads in front of the cottages, and the Local Board's cart does not visit this distant place. The most urgent want, however, is water. The place depends upon two springs, which yield so little in summer that several persons told me that they got up at three in the morning to secure a little, and then at most could bail it up with a tea-cup. Four persons died here in the outbreak of scarlet fever in 1878, and three in that of 1875. There were also two deaths ascribed to typhoid fever in 1877. I have thought it incumbent on me, notwithstand- ing the lengthiness which such a method involves, to describe separately each town, village, or large ham- let that came under my inspection for with many points in common, they yet present, as will have been seen, notable differences in regard to their sewerage, their closet accommodation, their water-supply, and their sanitary arrangements in general. In conclusion, I must express my thanks to the several Medical Officers of Health and Inspectors of Nuisances for the assistance given me in the tedious inspection of these numerous places.

RECOMMENDATIONS. ABERSYCHAN URBAN SANITARY DISTRICT. 1.—It is desirable that the progressive sanitary work, which appears to have been lately interrupted in this district, should be again entered upon with as little delay as practicable, and systematically pursued throughout the different villages and hamlets. 2.—The Local Board should obtain the advice of a competent engineer as to the works of sewerage, both as regards the necessary extension, the general ar- rangements for flushing and ventilation, and the dis- posal of the sewage without fouling the water-courses. 3.—Houses with deficient closet accomodation should be dealt with under clause 36 of the Public Health Act; and where it is impracticable to supply such houses with properly constructed waterclosets a dry system of excrement disposal, founded on the principles set forth iin the Local Government Board's Report on the means of preventing excrement nui- sances in towns and villages, shouid be adopted. This recommendation especially applies to such places as Varteg and the Tranch. 4.—The Local Board should adopt measures for ensuring that all water supplied by the company is efficiently filtered before delivery. 5.-Steps should be taken without delay to provide Garndiffaith and the Tranch with an adequate water supply. 6.—The byelaws relating to the ventilation of house- drains and cesspools, & to the prevention of dampness by eavestroughing, etc. should be enforced. 7.—The recommendation made in the case of Pon- typool (6) applies equally in this case. Amongst the matters with which the above recom- mendations are concerned, aie some which could pro- bably be dealt with more efficiently and more econo- mically by the combined action of various sanitary authorities in the Afon Llwyd Valley, than by each acting separately. Such for instance is the provision of hospitals and disinfecting apparatus; such also the adoption of which measures of supervision may ensure the efficient filtration and purity of the public water supply and such especially the disposal of the sewage in such way, whether by purification or diversion, as may put an end to the present wholesale pollution of the river.

DRINK FOR LABOURERS. When you have any heavy work to do, do not take either beer, cider, or spirits. By far the best drink is thin oatmeal and water, with a little sugar. The proportions are a quarter of a poubl- of oatmeal • to two or three quarts of water, according to the hlat of the day and your work and thirst; it should be well boiled, and then an ounce or an ounce and a half of brown sugar added. If you find it thicker than you like, add three quarts of water. Before you drink it, shake up the oatmeal well through the liquid.^ In summer drink this cold; in winter, hot. You will find it not only quenches thirst but will give you more strength and endurance than any other drink. If you cannot boil it, you can take a little oatmeal mixed with cold water and sugar, but this is not so good. Always boil it if you can. If at any time you have to make a long day, as in harvest, and cannot stop for meals, increase the oatmeal to half a pound, or even three-quarters, and the water to three quarts if you are likely to be very thirsty. If you cannot get oatmeal, wheat flour will do, but not quite so well. For quenching thirst, few things are better than weak coffee and a little sugar. One ounce of coffee and half an ounce of sugar, boiled in two quarts of water and cooled, is a very thirst- quenching drink. Cold tea has the same effect, but neither is so supporting as oatmeal. Thin cocoa is also very refreshing and supporting likewise, but is more expensive than oatmeal. i t (

SOME FACTS ABOUT SHARKS- "j The size of the shark has been immensely exag- gerated, but as to the dangerous nature of the creature there can be no manner of doubt. The white shark, the most dangerous of its kind, is seldom more than ten or twelve feet from head to tail. No shark that ever yet swam could bite a man in two, or cut off his leg. The teeth of the shark, no doubt, are very terrible. They are arranged row behind row, and the muscles of its jaws are of enormous strength. But they are fitted for rending and lacer- ating rather than for cutting or severing. A shark of ten feet, or even eight, will seize a man by the thigh and strip the flesh from off his leg down to the heel, or, with a firm grasp of the limb and a power- ful twist of its body in the water, it may possibly tear the leg out of the socket. Such an injury, of course, is as instantly fatal as if the assailant had cut its victim in half. There is, indeed, no need to ex- aggerate the size of the shark; for a small shark, if hungry, is practically as dangerous as a large one. The old story of the pilot-fish which always accom- pany the shark and guide him to his prey, is still gravely repeated, and as gravely believed. It is also an article of nautical faith that the shark knows when there is a dying man on board ship and will follow the vessel for miles, guided by some sinister and almost demoniacal instinct. As a matter of fact, there are always pilot-fish to be seen in the wake of a vessel, only that they are, not noticed unless a shark in their company calls attentiolfto them; while a shark will, for reasons of his own, invariably follow a vessel, whether there be a sick man on ft or not.

RUBBER GATHERING IN BRAZDJ r V, In the early morning, men and women come with. baskets of clay cups on their backs, and little hatchets to gash the trees. Where the white milk drips down from the gash they stick their cups on the trunk with daubs of clay, moulded so as to catch the whole flow. If the tree is a large one, four or fivo gashes may be cut in a circle around the trunk, Qn the next day other gashes are made a little below these, and so on until the rows reach the ground. liy eleven o'clock the flow of milk has ceased, and the seringueiros come to colleot the contents of the cups in calabash jugs. A gill or so is the utmost yield from each tree, and a single gatherer may attend to a hundred and twenty trees or more, wading always through these dark marshes, ana paying dearly for his profit in fever and weakness. Our mameluca hostess has brought in her day's gathering-a calabash full of the white liquid, in appearance like miik. If left in this condition it coagulates after awhile and forms an inferior whitish o"m. To make the black rubber of commerce the milk must go through a peculiar process of manu- facture, for which our guide has been preparing. Over a smoldering fire, fed with the hard nuts of the 'ucutna palm, he places a kind of clay chimney, like a wide mouthed, bottomless jug through the boi ao the thick smoke pours in a constant stream. Now he takes his mould,in this case a wooden one, like a r unded-bladed paddle,-washes it with the milk, :md holds.it over the smoke until the liquid coagu- lates. Then another coat is added, only now, as the wood is heated, the milk coagulates faster. It may take the gatherings of two or three days to cover the mould thickly enough. Then the rubber is still dull white, but in a short time it turns brown and finally almost black, as it is sent to the market. The Ilnss is cut from the paddle and sold to traders in the village. Bottles are sometimes made by moulding the rubber over a clay ball, which is then brokeji qp ;ti i (I removed. Our old-fashioned rubber ahoes uaeq to be made in this way. ).e> PONTYPOOL Printed by HUGHES & SON, at their General Printing Offices, for the Proprietor and Publisher, HENRY HUGHES, Junior, of Penygaru, in the parish of Trevethin, and published at the Fitu PRESS Office, Market St.—October 25,1879