THE ABBATOIR QUESTION,

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 6

THE ABBATOIR QUESTION,

At lust week's meeting of the City Council, The Mayor said tbat councillors were aware what was being done in connection with the abattoir question. This matter was being pushed on as fast as popsible. The surveyor bad made a survey of the most ouitable portion of the land, the architect had been comcuunN cated with and asked to place himself in communication with the inspector and city surveyor. These officials wonld go oat and select the best position for building and report to fcht General Committee. The committee would also take an early opportunity of visiting the site, and would be glad to have other members of the, council accompany them. Cr Hardy said as this was probably the last occasion tbere would be an opportunity of doing so he desired to express his great regret that they could not build the abattoirs oa the site originally selected. One result of the change would be that for all time every butcber's cart carrying meat to Dunedin would have erecj journey to the abattoirs to travel from four fco live miles further than would otherwise hava been the case. The railway could not, he believed, bf used, as there would be oncertainty and ' delay, and the meat would have to be carted from the railway station. Then the cafc'le would have to be taken to the yards to be sold, and then Again driven back oves two miles and a-half of the district) roads to the abattoirs. He could not refrain from expressing very emphatically his opinion tbift the oiigihal'site was fa,r preferable. The Mayor thought it would be a pity to allow the statements just made to go ancontradicted. The additional distance to the new site was sot, he thought, anything like so greaft* as that mentioned. Although the original site looked a great deal nearer to Dnnedin than tho new _ona, if they remembered that the cartq would have to go round the main ro*d they wou'd see that the aotusl difference was not sot great as it appeartd to be. It seemed to ba assumed tbat all cattle wen taken to UN

yards and thence immediately to thu slaughterhouses, but many cattle were flftughtered that were ■ not , taken to the , saleyard*, and many that were sold were driven from the yards to other places until the time came for them to be billed. He had been informed by one of the largest bntohers in, Dunedin that it would be convenient and adyan- ' tageous -to him' - to hare ' the meat brought to the city by the railway. Then, it vras probable that . tha advisablenes* of shifting the cattle yards would be considered ; in fact, he had been told the mttter was to ba '"taken into consideration. It should not be forgotten ci her that many of the butchers who ' were iv a large way of business dealt directly with the breeders and feeders of cattle and did not take the stock thus bought to the saleyards. He thought it was a pity that mtacoueeptions should go abroad. He trusted they would accept this explanation, snd that this would be an end of the diecewsion. ,Or Solomon ask«d what were the powers of thf General Committee with reference to the er> otion of abattoirs.

The Mayor said he understood the General Committee had now power to arrange the site, to d«side where the building should be placed upon the site, and the kind of buKding, and when the matter was sufficiently far advanced to report to the council before proceeding with the erection of the abattoirs.