Halifax Guardian (27/Mar/1852) - Holmfirth

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PUBLIC DOMAIN DEDICATION
This page is part of the Holmfirth Flood Project and its content is believed to be in the Public Domain.
The following is a transcription of a historic newspaper article and may contain occasional errors. If the article was published prior to 1 June 1957, then the text is likely in the Public Domain.

HOLMFIRTH.

Health of the District.

Typhus now reigns paramount here. Not only in the central part of the town, but in the various adjacent hamlets — the filthy locality of Burn Lee being especially under its influence. In this place, during the last week, death revelled triumphantly amongst its victims; and, at the present moment, the number of cases, in some of the houses, are two, three, four, and even five! The fearful result of the flood is indeed beginning to manifest itself in all its coming terror. Considering the baneful effects of inhabiting inundated, and therefore inevitably — damp, houses alone, considerable disease most, as a consequence prevail. But when to this is added the the death-dealing effluvium which, under the influence of the sun’s rays, rises, almost palpably, from the conglomeration of decomposed animal matter, and the various feculent abominations at present composing the contents of the river’s bed, who shall wonder if, ere Midsummer's day, the neighbourhood be decimated by the pestilence. In the districts of Netherthong, Dean House, and thereabouts, too, the scourge — small-pox — is all but universal, and still increasing. The prevalence of this epidemic is, of course, to be traced to the obstinate and criminal neglect of vaccination. It is surely desirable that stringent laws should be adopted to compel parents to submit their offspring to this simple antidotary operation, the omission of which is so disastrous to the community, and fatal to hundreds of innocents thus ruthlessly sacrificed to the destroying agent.

Cheap Trips.

A train, consisting of 14 carriages, containing three or four hundred individuals from Hull, York, and other intermediate places in that locality, arrived here on Monday; their object being to visit the scene of devastation which recently occurred in this valley by the late flood. Bills announcing the event were posted at the station-houses two or three days previous, in consequence of which the confectioners and other eating-house keepers in this village provided largely, expecting, no doubt, they would have plenty of customers, but in this their anticipations were doomed to disappointment, for the tourists were well provided with eatables. They re-assembled at the station-house for departure at six o’clock in the evening, highly delighted with their journey.