CITY ABATTOIRS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9134, 16 August 1888, Page 6

CITY ABATTOIRS.

PUBLIC MEETING AT PONSONBY. A public meeting was held last night in Ponaonby Hall, to consider the question of the location of the city abattoirs at Cox's Creek, and their removal outside the district. There was a large attendance of residents, and the hall was filled to its full capacity. The chair was taken by Mr. T. T. Masefield.

The Chairman opened the proceedings by remarking he did not know what form the proceedings would take, but he would say that unless the stinks were removed from Ponsonby there would have to be some committee appointed, a something done to get them out of the way. He believed that a great deal of the recent sickness in Ponsonby had been caused by the slaughterhouses and like places, and it had become time that something should be done to stop these things before the summer came on. (Cheers.) Mr. Masefield then called upon some one to move a resolution, and put the matter in hand before the meeting. Mr. J. H. Field moved the first resolution, as follows:—"That in view of the great danger to health involved in the continuance of the abattoirs in their present position, and the enormous risk attached to their proximity to the city water supply, this meeting would urge upon the councils of the city of Auckland and the borough of Newton to take immediate steps for their speedy removal." Mr. Field said he moved the resolution with the greatest possible heartiness, and did so first, on the ground that the abattoirs were so situated that they endangered the city water supply. Mr. Field then went on to allude to the recent prosecutions, and the facts that there came out, dwelling on the fact of Messrs. Hellaby top-dressing their paddocks with refuse and offal. He then read from the Herald of 29th March as to an inspection of the suburban abattoirs, and a promised report which Mr. Field said never came out. Subsequently the City Council had held a conference with the medical gentlemen of the city relative to the nuisances, and the testimony of Dr. Hooper that the abattoirs were dangerous to health. He also read from the proceedings of the Newton Borough Council, as reported in the Herald of April 13th, that the present site of the abattoirs was un suitable, and endangered the health of Newton. In the face of this, he thought tho Newton Council could not have the coolness to allow private slaughterhouses to remain in their Borough, and he believed the City Council would be willing to remove the City Abattoirs if the Newton Council would do their part. A further quotation from a lecture of Dr. Girdle'r delivered before the Auckland Athenaeum on the f)th November, 1886, in which that gentleman stated the abattoirs were a danger to the city's health, and also to the purity of the city water, which he thought should be like Caesar's wife, above suspicion. The example of Melbourne in deciding to remove their abattoirs 15 miles from the city should be followed by Auckland. Proceeding, he stated that a short while ago the cemetery had been removed to Waikomiti for the sake of health, and yet Mr. Hellaby had recently admitted in the Police Court that he had 200 tons of foul offal pouring its vapours over the city. These 200 tons were equal to 4000 dead bodies, and this he thought was a strong reason why these places should be removed. Then a minor reason was the nuisance from cattle proceeding to the abattoirs. Mr. Field closed hie remarks by alluding to the late petitions to the City Council and their disposal. Mr. J. H. Upton seconded the resolution. He was certain that a very large majority of the population of Ponsonby felt these nuisances were well-nigh intolerable. He would say that the stinks must be removed, or the residents must take their departure from it. (Loud cheers, and hear, hear.) The smells threatened the lives and health of themselves, their wives and children, and breathing the vitiated atmosphere was too serious a matter to be trifled with. Some had said the stinks were not unhealthy, although unpleasant, but he thought effluvia that caused vomitings were certainly unhealthy, and could not be otherwise, and it was nonsense to pretend they were not. He felt that the people of the district must determine to nave these nuisances removed. He thought it unnecessary to dilate upon the matter. They all knew of them, and felt them, and to pile on facts on facts on this was to waste time. The huge fact itself was all enough, and too much. There was one thing he would like to mention, and that was that Ponsonby was noted for the fact that it was the district where the largest number of persons lived who owned their own houses. These stenches depreciated property as well as affected their health, and they must be removed.

Mr. A. Boardmax said that he had read in that morning's Herald that a reporter had been to the abattoirs, and had reported that there was little nuisance. He thought that the people who lived in the district ought to know better as to the stenches than some gentleman who made a special visit on a fine day to look for what was not likely to be specially provided for him. (Cheers and laughter.) Solomon, or some other man, had said what had been would be, and he thought what they had had was likely to be repented. The reporter also stated that when some door was opened there was a smell, but when the door was closed there was none. Mr. Boardman wa? afraid that little door would often be left open and the cat get out, and that was what they wanted to prevent. He then went on to quote from a paper of Sir James Paget's, read before a learned society, as to the effect of bad smells, and their being the cause of the scourge typhoid as well as other fevers. It was the duty of every working man to say that these smells should be stopped, as they were unnecessary and injurious to health. He then proceeded to give a few more statistics as to typhoid in a number of villages, all of which had been caused by dirt, filth, and stinks which were avoidable. The district of Ponsonby is twice the size of the old city, and Newton was as large as Ponsonby, and ifc was imperative they should take care of the health of the people there. As to health, Ponsonby was one of the healthiest places in the world naturally, and if man would only take care that others did not contaminate its atmosphere, it would be so now. It was pretty, as pretty as anywhere in the world, if its beauty was not spoilt by these places. He also considered that the Council had no business to go into the abattoirs business, which should be left to private enterprise. He also urged that the Freeman's Bay nuisance should be removed. Mr. D. F. Evans being called upon, addressed the meeting. He said he was heartily with them in the matter they were met to urge forward. There were, however, many difficulties in the way, one of them being the Newton slaughterhouses, and he believed if these slaughterhouses were removed, the city abattoirs would uot remain another minute. Mr. Devore, the Mayor, he knew was heartily in favour of the resolution, and had he not had another meeting on, would have been present. Mr. Devore had told himself (Mr. Evans) that if no one else would move to shift the abattoirs he himself would do so. Mr. Evans repeated that he was with them and would do all he could to help them. But they must have Newton with them and they must have these slaughterhouses removed. Mr. Evans then alluded to the Freeman's Bay nuisance. This, he said, was not a Council work but a Harbour Board one, and thanks to Mr. Dovore and others lie believed that at last this nuisance* was to be removed. , The Rev. Mr. Runciman said he felt strongly ou the matter, and he wished to say that they should not wait for Newton, but set Newton a good example by removing the abattoirs, and leave Newton to follow. Mr. E. Cooper, being called on, said he agreed entirely with what Mr. Runciman had said, that whatever Newton might do, he thought it was the duty of the City Council to remove the abattoirs. If they were to discuss a place for a site for the abattoirs, there was not one single person in the whole of the 60,000 inhabitants would vote for the present site, and if they would not pub them there now, they should not be allowed to stay. He had been to the abattoirs, and had seen a stream of filth rolling down from the abattoirs, and this filth made feed for hogs and, perhaps, at times became feed for man ; at any rate, after his visit there he had determined to never more eafc pork. He believed that no man could say where this filth went, or assert that some of .t did not percolate into the ponds which

formed the city water supply, and therefore, he thought, from the standpoint of the city as a municipal matter, the abattoirs should be removed. Why they had ever been placed there he could not understand, unless it was that, having an abundant water supply at hand, they could get rid of the blood and offal; but he thought that was a reason against it to-day. Mr. Cooper here rlso said when any official visited the places, and the managers when they got wind of it—and they usually seemed fco do so in some unaccountable way—closed the door of the digester, and thus kept the stink in to a great extent. Hβ, however, had visited the place, and he could tell them he was compelled to breathe through his nose instead of in the natural way (great laughter), he was so afraid he would have to eat it. He would do his utmost to get the abattoirs removed first, and then to compel Newton to remove their slaughterhouses also. Mr. Swales had visited the abattoirs and the other places, and did not want to go there again. He was thoroughly satisfied, and his mind was made up. They must have the whole lot of them removed,—abattoirs, boiling-down places, and Newton slaughterhouses. He was compelled to believe that the water in the Western Springs ponds was contaminated by these nuisances, and he wanted it to be distinctly understood that he was heartily in favour of removing not only the abattoirs but the other nuisances at whatever cost, and so make this place, what it used to be, one of the healthiest places in the city. The resolution was then put, when there were some dozen hands held up against it. A number of voices called out that those against the motion were butchers who had uo interest in Ponsonby. The Chairman said he did not think such persons should vote, but anyway the meeting was unanimous with the exception of about a dozen hands. (Cheers.) Mr. J. Elkin moved, "That the following gentlemen be a committee to look after the interests of the district: Messrs. Dacre, Masefield, Buchanan, Gittos, Courtney, Field, Smith, Ambury, Jones, Billington, Hughes, Rountree, Furbey, and Jenkins. He said that these gentlemen should look after nuisances of all sorts, abattoirs, boil-ing-down places, slaughter-houses, drains, and everything else of the sort. The Rev. J. Campbell seconded the resolution in a few appropriate words. The resolution was then put and carried almost unanimously. The meeting concluded with the usual vote of thanks to the chairman.