DIRTY DAIRIES.

NZ Truth, Issue 115, 31 August 1907, Page 5

DIRTY DAIRIES.

AND SOME FILTHY FARMS.

ffhe Stock Department on the Job.

Some Jungles That Want Cleaning Badly.

The Bother About Costs.

The Stock Department had a field day at Wellington Magistrate^ Court on Monday, when Inspectors Drummond and Mills put the fear of the law into various dairy farmers, and, generally speaking, took such steps as will insure future sanitary surroundings m these places where farm products are raised for human consumption. There were a number of interesting- features about the prosecutions, for, whereas, an undesirable state of affairs was disclosed m many cases, certain anomalies m the law were also exposed, and general good all round will result from the publicity. It is unpleasant, for instance, to learn that the milk that savors the daily tea and is suckled into the system of the collective city infant, is brought into town m dirty milk cans, and that the same fluid acquired germinous properties from THE ADJACENT .MANURE HEAP. On the other hand, the. average dairy farmer arises at 3.30, gets through his forty or fifty cows, markets his milk, musters the animals m the afternoon again, and retires deadbeat shortly after the sun has disappeared. In the slush of winter the condition of his cow yards isn't nice, hut he makes spasmodic efforts to rectify matters, and acquired wrinkles of anxiety m his daily dread of the inspector. That costly official isn't always perfect, and he lost several cases on Monday through various causes. Take the prosecution of Albert Wardle, an Upper I-lutt dairy farmer, who pleaded guilty, to a charge of failing to clean his milk cans on July § four hours after they had

tfTaranaki. There was a meni'ber named Okey, Whose little brain runs on things pokey;, He's a fat, bald, and hoary i Illogical Tory, And would put land reformers m chokey.

been used. As represented by Mr Dix, for the Department, there was no doubt about the offence. These particulars cans were followed by the inspectors from the time they left the Upper Hutt till they returned from town and remained m the possession of Wardle, and they did not get on speaking terms with either hot or cold water. This innocenoe of water is most desirable while the milk is m the cans, but a good scouring with the element when the receptacles are empty is equally to be commended. But, as shown by Mr Wilford for the defence, although the offence was committed on July 19, the information was not sworn until a month and eleven days later, and as all days are alike to the weary dairyman, he was unable to • produce evidence about the treatment of the cans on one particular occasion m the dim and distant past. "If the object of the delay was to prevent any defence, it succeeded admirably," remarked counsel, who made the most of the circumstance. It is .desirable that the offender should be given notice of the intention to nrosecute to enable him to gather evidence, and he would be able to locate the day BY THE DEATH OF A CALF, or the drowning of his best niilcher m the creek, or a bill that fell due somewhere about the same date. Magistrate Riddell agreed that notice should be served on defendant within reasonable time, to enable him to defend his case, and he took this fact into consideration m imposing a fine of 20s, with costs 7s. At the same time, a person like Wardle, who was m the habit of disposing of milk, should be aware of the regulations. It will be recollected that "Truth" recently directed attention to the extortionate practice which obtained m the Wellington Court of allowing a solicitor's fee of three guineas m undefended cases instituted by the Stock Department. Mr Wilford took advantage of the prosecutions on Monday to protest against this monstrous charge, which had recently been mentioned m the House of Reps. According to counsel, the Minister of Lands had denied that a fee of these dimensions had been awarded m undefended cases taken by his Department, a denial unsupported by the Court records. The fine imposed, by the Court was a mere circumstance beside the solicitor's fee, and m cases where several charges were preferred against one man, the costs amounted up to a prohibitive sum. The S.M. thought that some distinction should be made where a plea of guilty was put m. The fee of £3 3s, he understood, was one which had "been allowed m the Wellington Court, and was m order m defended cases'.

Mr Wilford said that' there were five charges against one of his clients, who might be made liable for the PAYMENT OF FIFTEEN GUINEAS, m addition to the amount of fine and costs of Court. His Worship said he would allow a fee of £1 11s 6d m undefended cases.. Mr Wilford said the practice of charging three guineas was confined to the Wellington Court only. His Worship said he would lay down the rule that m future the fee of £3 3 s would be allowed only m unsuccessful defended cases, excepting where he deemed it necessary to exercise his discretion. Mr Wilford said he had a number of other cases which he desiried to have adjourned pending a settlement of this point by the head of the Department. His Worship asked on what ground counsel based his application. Mr Wilford : I want to save them the payment of 36' guineas. I desire to confer with the Department as to the costs m these cases. Mr Dix suggested that the' cases should go on, and that the subject of costs should be allowed to stand over pending a decision .by the Department. The S.M. did not favor this proposal and adhered to his decision to allow a solicitor's fee of £1 11s 6d m undefended cases. The cases would proceed. A charge against Patrick I-lealy of failing to keep his cow-yard at South Makara m a sanitary condition, served to expose an obvious defect m the law covering the inspection of dairies. Mr Wilforrt stated that some back the Rabbit Act contained a provision penalising a defendant so long as it was shown that the inspector was satisfied that the law had been infringed. That Act had since heen amended, but section 8c of the regulations of the Dairies Inspection Act contained a similar provision, and he asked his Worship to rule if he had power to accept evidence for the defence, when thn regulations stated that it was SUFFICIENT TO SECURE A CONVICTION if an insanitary condition was proved "to the satisfaction of the inspector.", His Worship ruled that the Court had no power to over-ride a statement of the inspector. Pertinacious counsel turned to his client and remarked : "The position is this ; you may bring forty witnesses here, but they will be of no avail against the word of the inspector." Counsel 'informed the Bench that he auite comprehended, but his client did not. "We will take it lying down," ho added. It transpired that the nuisance was created by mud m the yard, and. as Inspector Drummoncl stated, that summer was the time for concreting and metalling, and counsel wrung from him the admission that it would be inconvenient to attempt the job this season. The S.M. took these extenuating circumstances into consideration, and imposed a fine of 10s, with costs 7s ; solicitor £1 11s 6d. If David Matthews were, fined for all of the five offences with which he was charged, he would have to bend ' his back even more abjectly

(Mianawatu.) Poor old honest John You have represented long The wild and woolly country of the flax, ' Where the hobo from the bush And all the 'bally flaxey push Set the swanky ibowl a-flowinig, And when they're really good and going Fairly lift the country copmum off his tracks.

under Madame Cow than has hitherto been his custom. Firstly, he was asked to explain why he had kept swine within 50 yards of his cow shed. Mr Wilford :• The whole question is, if "a" pig is swine. If so, we will 'plead guilty] His Worship : Yes, I consider it comes under that heading, although it may be an anomaly. A plea of guilty was also entered up on the charge of failing to remove the manure from a cow shed after milking. Ditto on a charge of permitting THE CARCASE OF A PIG to lie half a mile from a public road. Matthews pleaded not guilty to the next charge of "failing to remove, or causing to be removed, from his slaughterhouse meat for human' consumption." His Worship remarked that obviously the word "unfit" (for human consumption) had been omitted from tlie information, which was, therefore, faulty, and the charge would ' be dismissed.

Mr Wilford asked for costs. His Worship said it was unusual to grant costs against a public department. Mr Wilford insisted that he had been awarded costs against the department m the case Drummond v. : Welsh. The S.M.. adhered to his decision not to allow costs. A department seems to be able to do what it dashed well pleases, and its officials are not penalised for mistakes. The final charge against Matthews was that of permitting swine to be fed on offal that had not been first boiled. It appeared from the evidence of the prosecution that a solitary pig had broken out of the enclosure and worried some raw offal that had been placed m a garden for burial. As this happening looked more like an accident than anything else, and as Matthews produced evidence to show— that he was m the habit Of BOILING SUCH OFFAL as was given to the pics, this case was dismissed also. Again the demand for costs was refused with asperity. In. two of the cases where guilt was admitted a fine of 5s and costs

(Avon. ) This is good old Tanner, Who behind tiie Liberal banner Has fought like crimson Hades For protection for the babies, And won the admiration of the ladies By his sanctimonious manner. He ence was a "snobi," This half of a "bob," But he chucked up that« mob For a Parliamentary job, And now he'll hob-nob With a different snob, Not the "snob" who buys stuff from the tanner.

7s, solicitor £1 Us 6d were imposed, and defendant Was convicted and ordered to pay 9s costs and witness 10s m the third case. Mr O' Regan, for the Department, said he had no desire to "rub it m," and did not claim the full amount of witnesses' expenses tv which he considered the Department was entitled. Richard Jno. Tarr, who has beer dairy farming for upwards of thirty years at Karori, and expressed loud indignation at being prosecuted by the inspector, relieved Mr Wilford oi much of the work of defending, by volunteering agitated statements at various stages of the proceedings. A charge of. failing to remove manure from a cow-shed was not sustained. On the showing of the inspector, a youth was removing manure when the* official arrived. Also, the regulations provide that manure should bie removed immediately after milking, a manifest impossibility while the animals remain m the sheds to be fed. This case was dismissed, as also was one of failimg,.to limewash the cowshed. A third! information of keeping an insanitary yard was sustained, alsh'ougtt it was shown that the yard was m a kind of a . hollow, and would be a very greasy place to play football m. With fine and costs this indiscretion cost Tarr £2 3s 6d. . It is a remarkable fact that any sort of an old yard is a dairy, if there happens to be a cow m it. Mrs Hannah Watson, who keeps a •boarding-house m the city, invested m a cow, but had no knowledge that she would require to register as a dairy; a penalty which MAKES A COW A LUXURY for the poor. It is doubtful if the good lady ever saw the cow or the y.ard where it is kept. Magistrate Riddell doubted if a stock-yard with one cow m it could be classed as n dairy, but Mr Dix pointed out that it was a "place" within the meaning of the Act. Fined Is, costs 7s, witness 8s 6d. On© witness, by the way is a Government officer, who came all the way from Masterton, and he was putting m a claim for £2 16s expenses. Earlier m the day Mr Wilford pointed out that the witnesses were Government officers, their pay went op whether they attended the Court or not, and they might just as well (some of them) be m the Court as anywhere else. It was probably due to this protest, and the appalling accumulation of guineas m solicitors' expenses paid by victims, that induced the S.M. to grant the train fare only of . the Masterton official ; and this was cut up between two of the defendants. There were a number of other cases, principally against dairymen, which goes to show that the DEPARTMENT IS DOING ITS DUTY m enforcing some ol^scrvance of the sanitary laws by peisons who handle "roduce for human consumption. The alarming increase m cancer and tuberculosis m the colony, as revealed by late statistics, makes rigid inspection imperative, but, ol course, an endeavor should be made to avoid idiotic mistakes, and officers are expected to use discretion, and drop anything that mi.s'ht be construed into persecution of the country's backbone.