The Galloway News of 10th September 1920 carried the following article.

Castle Douglas Nearly a Century Ago.

From the bye-laws of the Council of Castle Douglas which came into force in 1828, a fairly good idea of burghal life can be gleaned, and some idea gained of the progress in this respect of nearly a century. The bye-laws were:-

The Bailie and Council of the Burgh of Castle Douglas, having taken into consideration various complaints as to abuses within the Burgh, resolve that the following regulations shall, in future be strictly enforced, so as the Police and Administration of the Burgh may be rendered more efficient for the Common Good.

1. Every person who shall ride upon cart, car, or wagon, when driving the same along any street within the Burgh, without having double reins, that is a rein on either side, or shall allow any such vehicle, belonging to him, or in his custody at the time, to be driven by, or entrusted to any person not competent to command the horse or horses, a fine not exceeding 7s 6d.
2. Every person who shall furiously ride or drive any horse or horses, alongst any of the streets in the said Burgh, or shall attempt to break in any young horse to harness on the said street, or shall allow any horse or horses to be at large when going to or coming from being yoked in their carriage, without leading the same in their hand, or shall allow any horse or horses, when yoked, to stand on any street within the Burgh without a person holding the same without a bridle, or so near as to take proper charge of the same, a fine not exceeding 10s.
3. Every person having a horse or horses tied to a door, wall, or other place on the streets of this Burgh for more than 20 minutes, or for any period, however short, from a hour after sunset, or who shall wilfully lead or drive any horse, or other quadruped, on the footways within the Burgh, a fine not exceeding 7s 6d.
4. Every person who shall allow cart, wheelbarrow, chaise, gig, or other carriage to stand upon any of the footpaths of the Burgh at any time, or who shall on any pretence, allow his cart, wheelbarrow, chaise, gig or other carriage to stand on the street at night, or later than an hour after sunset, or on the streets longer than is necessary to load or unload the same, and such carriage shall stand along the streets and on no account across it, a fine not exceeding 7s 6d.
5. Every person who shall suffer swine and cows belonging to them to stray loose within the Burgh, a fine not exceeding 5s.
6. Every person found driving cattle within the Burgh on Sunday, for the purpose of being slaughtered, or going to or from market, a fine not exceeding 10s.
7. Every person setting fire to his or her chimney, or having the same on fire within the Burgh, a fine not exceeding 5s.
8. Every person having dung or other nuisance remaining on any of the streets or footpaths within the Burgh besides being fined in a sum not exceeding 5s, shall forfeit the same
9. Every person who shall kill, slaughter, scald, singe, dress or cut up any animal on the streets or foot-pavements within the Burgh, or shall shoe, bleed or farry any horse or other beast (unless in case of sudden accident), or clean, dress, drive or turn loose any horse on any of the said streets, when going to, or coming from water or pasture, or having their horses loose on the street, on any occasion whatever, a fine not exceeding 7s 6d.
10. Every person who shall, make, or assist in causing, or shall wantonly discharge or fire off any gun, pistol or blunderbuss, or other fire-arms, or let off, set fire to, or throw any cracker, squib, rocket or other fireworks within the Burgh, or shall play at any game to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers, a fine not exceeding 10s.
11. Every person who shall riddle lime on any of the streets within the Burgh, or who shall have stones, wood, lime or sand for the erection of new houses, or repairing of old ones, beyond 16 feet from the front of the houses, and the same not properly enclosed and fenced in by paling on each end not less than four feet high, or who shall not keep a lamp burning in the front thereof, when necessary, a fine not exceeding 10s.
12. Every person shoeing cart or other wheels on any of the streets within the Burgh, or who shall hoop or fire any cask, or who shall hew, cut or saw any timber, except for the purpose of getting it more readily removed, or bore any timber, or have timber of any kind lying on the streets for a longer time than is indispensably necessary for having it removed; or any person who shall allow any timber to remain on any of the streets for any period from an hour after sunset, a fine not exceeding 5s.
13. Every person who shall lay on, set up, erect or place any stall, table, booth, caravan, platform or structure for the exposure of ware or merchandise to sale, or for the exhibition of shows, without the permission of the Magistrates, to be fined 5s.
14. Every person whose cart shall be found within the Burgh without a ticket on the far side of the cart, with the name of the owner of the cart, and every person having charge of two carts, and not having a horse of the hinder card attached by a rein to the end of the foremost, such horse not to be further from the foremost cart than four feet, a fine not exceeding 5s.
15. Every person throwing water out of their door or windows, across the foot pavement, in place of carrying same to the water-table and disposing it therein, a fine not exceeding 2s 6d.
16. All dung or other manure brought out by any person from their dunghills for the purpose of being carried away shall not be allowed to remain for more than two days on the street nor shall such dung occupy more than six feet of the street, from the water table, under a fine not exceeding 5s.
17. Every person having a bull dog or other ferocious dog going at large, without being muzzled or chained to the axle tree of a cart with a chain not exceeding three feet, s fine not exceeding 5s.
18. Every person showing stallions on the streets of the burgh, in place of exhibiting them on the Market Place, as formerly directed by the Magistrates, a fine not exceeding 5s.
19. Every person throwing stones on the streets, breaking lamps, injuring or breaking down fences or paling, and carrying way the same, within the Burgh roads, a fine not exceeding 10s, besides paying the damages.
20. Every person leaving potatoes within the reach of cattle passing on the streets especially after being mashed, a fine not exceeding 5s.
21. Every person selling, handling, or in any way exposing gun-powder at night, excepting in sealed packets, a fine not exceeding 10s.

Nothing in the above preceding articles will apply to carriers or other disloaders.