ESTABLISHED 1875. The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning. MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 1903. As You Were.

Manawatu Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 7826, 28 September 1903, Page 2

ESTABLISHED 1875. The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning. MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 1903. As You Were.

Tpp rejection of the Hokowhitu abattoir site by the Borough. Council has, of course, been favourably received by the majority of ratepayers, The agitation which led up to the deputation to the Council on Friday night, had peculiar value for two reasons. In the first place it showed that interest in municipal matters is not absolutely dead, and in the second it furnished a considerable section of the ratepayers with an eloquent object lesson in regard to the manner in which the body controlling Palmerston's municipal affairs habitually conducts its business. It may be regarded as singular that so great an agitation should be aroused by a comparatively insignificant proposal such as that relating to the abattoirs, and that the ratepayers should seem apathetic in regard to the manner in which the Council is playing with the sewerage problem involving an expenditure of £38,000; but in the one case self-interest is immediately touched'; in the other nobody's corns are particularly trodden on, and it is a case of everybody's business being nobody's business as far as the ratepayers as a body are concerned. It will be quite fair, we think, to regard the Council's attitude as- to the abattoirs' site as typical. The ]

Mayor and City Fathers were quite helpless in face of the deputation— they hal not got a feather to fly with. The Mayor showed bad tactics to interrapt the presentation of the deputation's case by Mr Park with an explanation neither very lucid nor very informing, and the Councillors behaved neither very wisely nor very decorously while under the public eye. It might have been supposed that the Mayor, as chief citizen, would have been armed with facts and figures to support the position which his Council had originally taken up; but, if appearances go for anything, the Council has not armed itself with any contemporary information for guidance, and is not concerned to refute or endorse assei> tions that are made in reference to the cost of running abattoirs m other centres. On the other hand so utterly unbusinesslike and eqnivocal are their methods that though they have obtained the advice of experts to guide them in the matter, they have not one tittle of positive evidence to show what the views of these experts are. The evidence of Dr Wilson, who presumably is on confidential relations with Mr Gilruth and Dr. Valentine, is that they favor Longburn. The reason these experts favor Longbum is because of its contiguity to Palmer3ton and a railway line; because of the facilities it presents for the inspection of meat and the disposal of offal; and because it is all-round the most eligible and appropriate site. There is no evidence that the members of the Borough Council have ever asked these officials for a definite opinion in regard to Longburn. On the contrary, there is every evidence that they have sedulously avoided obtaining their direct advice on this point. The Council has now decided to call for fresh tenders for sites. This, to. our mind, is merely prolonging the agony. Objections will naturally arise to every place chosen. Nobody wants an abattoirs at his back door, and there is no reason why he should have one with such a wide stretch of country available. But over and above every other consideration is this: Will Municipal Abattoirs Pay? The evidence submitted by Mr Loughnan, on behalf of the deputation, is that comparatively speaking, they will not. That evidence is that at Nelson and *ChristGhurch, where municipal abattoirs have been erected, the cost of killing sheep and cattle is very much greater than it would have been at Longburn if the National Mortgage Company's first offer had been accepted. Presumably the Company is still open to negotiation, and though the Municipality has let one golden opportunity slip, it is fair to _assume that the matter could still be arranged with advantage to the ratepayers. , Undoubtedly an arrangement with the Company—if only a temporary one tp enable the Council to gain experience^—is the prpper way out of the present dilemma. It is all very well to talk about " municipalising the abattoirs " —with some people the blessed word " municipalisation " is like the equally blessed word " Mesopotamia " —but the real question is how is it going to come out in cold cash. Business people, intent on a venture, invariably get exact information and weigh the pros and cons before starting, but here is • our Borough Council blundering in, sans information, sans statistics, sa.ns everything. But this much is certain, if the Council has to erect abattoirs, digesters, manure-making apparatus and all the equipments of an up-to-date establishment it will cpsj; them considerably over the premeditated £6000. If they don't get these appliances they will make' foolishness of the whole thing. It may cost £10,000 or £12,000, and then they will have to go into the manure selling in competition with the large firms with. |heir travellers and advertising facilities tp get rid .of their by products. This would, of course, "come put of the pockets of the butchers," but whose pockets will the butchers take it out of 9 That is the whole thing in a nutshell. If the Councillors displayed collective competency and hard-headedness we might be prepared to "go nap" on them to an extent, but on their showing they don't know the first thing about abattoirs and they haven't put themselves in the way of knowing,

The only sane and the only safe thing under these circumstances is for the Council to perform a graceful volte face and go back to Longburn. The amendment which the Mayor put to the meeting the other night was quite informal. Therefore the vote anti-Longburn is in no way binding. In any case if the Council can contrive for once to be unanimous the whole thing can be arranged in a very short time. Any other method will be a waste of time and probably lead to a grievous waste of money.