Den of drunkenness and depravity could not be tamed

For the second half of the 19th Century, when a whiff of whisky was combined with a little free time, Dundee’s Scouringburn district would blaze with riotous disorder.

Police who tried to restore calm were often beaten with merciless savagery. In 1853, this newspaper condemned the Sunday drinking which unleashed “perfect demons” and shattered the sanctity of the Sabbath.

Our editorial writers backed the Forbes Mackenzie Bill, designed to regulate public houses in Scotland.

It became law that same year but Scouringburn still raged during public holidays.

In March 1853 we reported that 2,895 people were arrested for drunkenness in the city the previous year, 1,275 of them women. This was three times the level of Hull which had a population similar to Dundee’s 80,000.

The paper also pointed out that Dundee had 20 pubs for every church and between 1848 and 1853, the number had grown from 500 to 615, one for every 130 people.

The passage of time did nothing to quell Scouringburn. In 1876 the rawest edge of the area’s criminality was seen when a police sergeant was stabbed in the back during New Year celebrations.

Police had been called to deal with tailor James Bennet whose drunken antics had attracted a big crowd.

As officers arrested Bennet he played to the gallery and a mob followed to watch the action.

However, as the party reached Daniel Street, a man strode out of the crowd and stabbed a Sergeant Bertie in the back.

The knife pierced his greatcoat, undercoat, vest and one of his braces.

Dr Campbell, who treated the officer at the police station, said if the wound had been half-an-inch deeper, Sergeant Bertie would have been killed.

To the credit of Scouringburn, witnesses including two young girls came forward and a Michael McClusky was identified as a suspect and arrested later that night.

McClusky, 23, appeared at the High Court later that year and denied the offence.

He was found guilty after trial and Lord Ardmillan said his actions demonstrated McLusky’s deep malice and wickedness of heart. He had previous convictions for violence and was jailed for eight years.

The passage of time did nothing to quell Scouringburn