News 100 years ago

The lake - a serious menace to health

The authorities are fighting hard to keep the Nuwara Eliya lake in good shape.

E.M. de C. Short, Assistant Government Agent who is also the Secretary to the Nuwara Eliya Board of Improvement says that the conservation of the lake is a problem of no little difficulty, not only is it being encroached upon to an alarming extent by silt and weeds but it is also the receptacle for the whole town drainage and as such cannot but in course of time become a serious menace to the health and wellbeing of the town.

He adds that the state of the lake has been given a serious consideration of the Board which has appealed to the government for assistance on the matter. The town undoubtedly requires a comprehensive sewerage scheme avoiding the lake altogether, he insists.

Wellawatte Mills

Since the change of management of the Wellawatte Spinning & Weaving Mills about a year ago, work is steadily increasing. A steady progress is being recorded. A great deal of success is due to D.J. Rose who continues to act as manager.

The management has decided to improve the yarns substituting the Egyptian for Indian production. It's a finer texture and more durable. The yarn is to be dyed in England. This has been hitherto done locally and there had been complaints that colours do not last.

The cloth in chief demand is that produced for the natives, particularly of the cooly class, the Ceylon Independent reports.

A perfect muddle

In a hard-hitting editorial titled 'The Post Office', the Independent writes:

We suppose no officer has ever demonstrated so signally and in so short a time, his unfitness to occupy the post of such importance as the Post Master Generalship as Mr Moysey.

Ever since this gentleman who has never had anything to do with postal matters before, was appointed to the office, the department has degenerated into a perfect muddle. Complaints about postal irregularities were never so ripe as they have been during the last four months. First it was the systematic purchasing of illustrated papers containing pictures of the war (Boer War), then letters containing cheques, postal and money orders commenced to go astray, and now we have the intelligence that the GPO is all sixes and sevens; that authority is divided and that the recent decision to enlist a number of postal employees to an education test has created a little furore.

Top of the list

S.M. Burrows, Director of Public Instruction announces the list, in order of merit, of the successful candidates in Cambridge Local Examination held in December 1899. The senior boys' list is headed by J.S. Jayawardene (Royal College), G.E.H. Arndt (St. Thomas' College), E.W. Ekeynayake (St. Thomas' College), S. Rodrigo (St. John's Panadura) and V. Joseph (St. Thomas' College).

Spread of malaria

The time will come when a man with malaria parasites in his blood will be looked upon as a distinct source of danger to the community. A committee which sat recently was able, in several cases, to prove almost conclusively that fresh outbursts of fever proceeded not from certain 'unhealthy' localities but from certain groups of fever-stricken persons living in localities comparatively healthy. This very interesting research is to be continued by Italian doctors.

Filthy premises

Several occupants of houses at Deans Road, Darley Road and Forbes Road, Maradana were prosecuted in the Municipal Courts for allowing their premises to be in a filthy state. The accused were found guilty and fined Rs 5 downwards.

Obstructing highway

A large number of rickshaw wallahs were prosecuted by the Police for obstructing the public highway in various streets.

They were found guilty and fined - fines ranging from Rs 2 downwards. Three Tamils prosecuted for molesting passengers were fined Rs 2 each.

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