SOUND MEAT TOR ALL MUNICIPAL ABATTOIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1909, Page 9

SOUND MEAT TOR ALL MUNICIPAL ABATTOIRS.

CONGRATULATORY SPEECHES. The Mayor and city councillors drove out to Ngahauranga George yesterday afternoon and officially opened the new municipal abattoirs. Previous to the ceremony the company inspected the buildings and found them excellently ventilated and cool, constructed wholly of concrete and iron, and fitted with all the latest conveniences in electricity and water supply accessories. THE MAYOR'S ADDRESS. Dr. Newman said it gave him great pleasure to open the abattoirs, for they meant a very gieat advance for Wellington. In all centres of the world it was recognised now that if they were to keep people's health good they must keep their food healthy, and the most important supervision that could be undertaken in regard to health was the supervision of meat slaughter. Now that the municipal abattoirs were open the haphazard methods of individual slaughtering would be done away with, and meat would have to be prepared in slaughterhouses where the Government inspectors always had opportunities oi seeing the beats before they were killed, and inspecting carcases afterwards. lie predicted that the day was not far off when they would have municipal inspection of milk in Wellington. The construction of the abattoirs was at least one very important step that the City Council had taken,and he was pleased add that in this work their city engineer, Mr. Morton — all of whose works were good — had excelled himself. THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE. Councillor Shirtcliffe, chairman of the Abattoirs Committee of the council, said that whatever people might think on the broad subject of municipal trading, there could be no doubt that municipal abattoirs were desirable. No one butcher could afford to go to the expense of erecting abattoirs on tho scale and completeness of these, and in constructing them tho council had been carrying out one of the greatest functions which centred in it. It had been said that here there was considerable lagging behind other ceutres, but the fact was there had been considerable difficulty in getting a suitable site in the joint eyes of themselves and the Government; and, | as a result of the delays, they had been able to profit by the experience of other centres. It was a good thing to let other men do the experimenting. In the house they were in they had abattoirs that were second to none in New Zealand. He believed the butchers themselves welcomed the erection of the abattoir*, but, further than that, the abattoirs would give tho people of Wellington full confidence in the quality of the meat they would get. The works wero constructed to deal with fifty cattle, five hundred sheep and fifty pigs per day. They were to be used in conjunction with the establishments of the Wellington Meat Export Company, the Banks Meat Company, and the' Gear Meat Company, all three of which would retain their rights to slaughter meat for local consumption. The capacity of these four would suffice Wellington for many years to come. The municipal abattoirs, nevertheless, had been constructed in a way that would allow of additions being made in future. Councillor Shirtcliffc went on to speak in commendation of tho ' work of tho building contractors (Mace and Nicholson), the ironwork contractors (Hutchison and Campbell). He mentioned that all the work had been done for a sum of about £13,700— we1l inside the City Engineer's estimate (£15,000). The City Council had done a good deal for the public health in erecting the abattoirs, and if only it could convert its friend Mr. Bodley to its way of thinking in regard to the milk supply of the city, ■they v.ould be able to pursue their duties with further pleasure and benefit. (Laughter.) Councillor Shirtcliffe concluded by testifying, to the great assistance given in bygone years to the municipal abattoirs movement by ex-Coun-cillors Evans and Murdoch. GOVERNMENT VETERINARIAN'S TESTIMONIAL. Mr. Reakes, of the Government veterinary staff,.was called on for a few words. He gave -the opinion that the city of Wellington had abattoirs that for all purposes of work, and for sanitary arrangements, could not be bettered ; they were as good as could be found -anywhere. It was not only perfect in every way, but it had been built at such a small cost that the City Engineer should be congratulated. The health of the City Engineer was toasted. In replying, Mr. Morton said he did not want his hearers to think he had done everything in connection with the abattoirs. He had had a loyal and painstaking assistant in Mr. Stone, who watched the works for him and made the drawings, and in Mr. Whitney, the clerk of works. Mr. Morton had done abattoirs work in Victoria, but ho was bound to say that the New Zealand regulations ensured better abattoirs than those of Victoria did; better control, better supervision, and less expense, me abattoirs they were opening that afternoon would kst them well, and at the end of twenty-five years they would bo found not very much the worse for wear, and capable of reoair at small cost. The healths of the contractors were toasted and acknowledged.