MORE ABOUT MEAT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 134, 7 June 1906, Page 5

MORE ABOUT MEAT.

4 OPINIONS OF CORRESPONDENTS. THE SMALL BUTCHERS. Mr. W. J. Garrett, President of the Master Butchers' Association, was waited upon by a Post reporter this morning, and asked if he had anything to say about the position of those butcherft who killed at private slaughterhouses. Mr. Garrett said a meeting of the master butchers had been called to consider the effect recent allegations would have ou their business, and under the ciroumetances he would prefer to say nothing officially. Personally, ho could say thafc the butchers would welcome rigid Government inspection, of stock killed at' their premises, and, further, -would -welcome the establishment of an abattoir. It was all very well to say that the. private slaughterhouses were old, but every butcher could not be expected to put up a small abattoir on hia own account, and perhaps three months afterwards find that the City Council had> decided to build an abattoir, where no would be compelled to kill Ms meat. If the City Council did not intend to take any steps in the direction indicated, and if it would give butchers an assurance that they would be given somo security of Icnuro if they re-built, work on newpremises would be commenced by many to-morrow. A correspondent -writes : — "The follow* ing is perfectly true — the party from, whom I indirectly got the information la an absolutely honssfc man: — Tho wife of the man in question had occasion to go out to the man in the street to get! gome meat. The butchers, in order ta> give the quantity asked for, had to cut* a pieco, and, in so doing, his knife laid open » large abscess full of matter. Of course the lady refused to take it, and. tho butcher on his part said ho would, not sell it to any one ; but he. excused himself and his employers from aIF blame by turning over the meat and showing, what he called' the 'Government stamp.' Perhaps the butcher cunningly .showed her that Tittle bluemark,' which simply signifies that it hap been killed at a licensed, slaughterhouse —nothing more. The customer in question, like many more, thought it to bo the genuine Government stamp of. inspection which denotes the freedom or the meat from disease." Dropping at random into a butob,er'» shop yesterday, a representative of. the Post heard from the manager a story implicating certain restaurants and. boardinghouses. Some outside slaughtermen, including small squatters, he ai" leged, weie in the habifc of killing stool,: and sending in the meat to Wellingtovt early in the morning. The meat was lit bags, and was taken round to the-backa of restaurants and boardinghouses, which, bought it cheap. He himself hud recently seen one of these- bags going round tci the back of a house, and he declared that Mr. Doyle, the corporation's chiei sanitary inspector, had given a cpupk. of cautions to these purveyors of meat, This declaration was Tbroughtl under tho notice of the City Council's Chief Sam. tary Inspector, Mr. Doyle, who said thai though he had not recently noticed the practice mentioned, he did not doubt that meat/ was brought to town in thft way de> scribed. Dr. Makgill, District Health, Officer, also said he believed that this traffic existed. . Apparently the "small squatters" are entitled to slaughter to n limited extent) and sell meat in the city. The council had a bylaw prohibiting tb« sale of diseased meat and other bad food, but, under the present. system, iti would stem difficult to exercise a check 'on these small purveyors. Over ten years ago a report by Mr. Doyle forcibly drew at ttention to Wellington's meat supply, disclosing the pressing need of improvement. "Horrors" in .plenty were then revealed, and the stir was sufficient to bring in a measure of inspection, but fhe reform still remains to be completed. x "It is simply a question of giving uj butchers abattoirs," said Mr. G. It. Wilton, of Newtown, when asked if ho had anything to say on behalf of butchers who wore in a smaller way of business. "We arc just as anxious *,o have _ inspection of our meat and of our premises as the public can be. Mr. Bryenton and myself have our joint slaughterhouse at Miramar, and the public is at perfect liberty to inspect the premises. Do we exercise any care in the selection of our meat? Of courso we do. We have had several beasts come to the slaughterhouse which we condemned as unfit for the market. We would be only too pleased to hare tho city provide us with abattoirs and such inspection as would satisfy the public. This agitation should give us the abat. toirs.'' A correspondent, whose- veracity ca» not bo doubted, writes : — " Some few years ago I spent eeveral days in a, local slaughterhouse, which still • exists. In connection with tho business was a large tank /into which was led a steampipe for boiling water. The tank liad evidently not been used for some time, as the bottom was thick with rust and slime. .During my visit, I saw the tank half filled with water, which, owing to the dirt, was the consistency of hematite paint, and into this mixture was empti-ad four dirty sacks of "fleshings." Thee© aro pieces of fat which adhere to skins, and aro collected, I understand, from the fellmongers. As the witches' cauldron was being prepared, a large rat covered with meat sores ran along a beam, and by a lucky blow from a festive youth, ' was knocked into tha tank. After boiling for Gome time a yellow fat came to tho surface, which was skimmed off into kerosene tins. On my asking ii this stuff was used for axle grease, 1 was informed that it was bought in Wellington for making pastry, etc." MR. GILRUTH INTERVIEWED. IDV TELEQKAKI— OWN CORXEStONfiKXT.) DUNEDIN, This Day. Mr. Gilruth desciibes Mr. Moore'r charges as utterly reckless, but 6jys ho is inclined to ask for an enquiry concerning tho allegations made. The charge against inspectors of accept : ng bribes to pass diseased cattle he^indig nontlly declares is absolutely wif.houl foundation. No instance lias occinrcd of Mr. Gilruth condemning a carcase whjet the inspector has passed ns sound. With regard tb Mr. Moore's allegation that unborn calves had been used as human food, the regulations proscribed that no calf under six weeks ola and 601 bin weight shall bo ifted;' ancf - cows within two montfhs of calving aic condemned. The inspection of meat in New Zeahnd was the strictest in any part of the world, and he is certain tdiere is no evasion. Mr. Gilruth has repeatedly called attontion to the refusal of tlm Wellington Corporation to erect abattoirs, which leaves uninspected meat to bo largely sold in Wellington, but the bulk of the moat supply comes from the two large freezing works, whero slaughtering is done under proper conditions and "Government inspection. My. Gilruth's opinion that the inspectors value their reputations too highly to permit anything tho least doubtful to go into consumption — even sausages — aud lie hr.s known meat condemned that was perfectly wholesome, but which for somo cause apart altogether from disease was unsightly or did not meet with approval. With regard to tho allegation that fat of! skins and hides was being prepared ,in biscuit-niakinE, Mr.- Gilruth

does not know of -such-a—practice, b"ut even were it indulged in, the fat, being melte't at a high temperature and refined, would -bo- ffeo from disease and quite wholesome.