THE ABATTOIR.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11555, 16 February 1906, Page 2

THE ABATTOIR.

j DISPOSAL OF OFFAL. A conference took place last night between members of the Abattoir Committee of the city Council and butchers relative to the disposal of offal at the Abattoir. Owing to the absence of the Mayor, Who had been called to Takaka owing to the illness of a brother, Cr Harrison tddk the chair, and thgft wore Alsd present Srs Waßl&y, Gfcse and Atmbr^ with r Barnes. V. S. . the tnsipector of the. Abattoir, ape} jylr. H.e£dpr£on; C.E. ., The butchers \7ere represented by Messrs b. Bird, C. Bird, junr., E. Trask, F. W. Fairey, K. Fairey, T. Mason, and C. Cook (Wilkie and Co.) Atfer a deal of preliminary dis- 1 cussion. in ,the course- of, which it transpired.. that 1 the Uonipittee ,pf the Gounpil hU p'&vlou&y niet Mr Barnes, V.S., who had expressed the opinion that though the boiling of the offal would, be adrflntflgSOOß, provided it was immediately fed to pigs, the fact of boiling wou'd increase putridity if the boiled offal were allowed to remain for twentyfour hours. This view Was Subsequently bofne oitt by the butchers. Mr F. Fairey expressed the doinion that it would be wise ridt tq.-aftempt to. boil. .the : oMi, as b'y ddiii£ so itiey wdiild spoil the purity or the surroundings, and Mr Barnes said that was the important point. Mr Bird said the butchers had not come prepared with any scheme, and he thought it would be best that they should appoint a committee of tho butchers, and subsequently meet the Abattoir Committee and talk over matters. Cr Grace said that Wag what thßv wanted, and dr Atrrior'e 1 ssid they wduld lij£e t6 know iroiu the butchers whether they >vere prepared to l'etithe Council take the offal,, „ Mr said that, for one. he wpjuld, agree. < v ■ Mr Tfitefc tftouglifc it was premature to aiiwser that till tho butchers had met. Mr Fairey said he came there with an open mind, but he had three proposals in his mind, but ho thought the proper people to make them were the butchers. At the game time, ifthe Abattoir Committee was prepared to make proposals they were ready to consider theni. There was an Opportunity ribw of getting ri,d of ancJE), n^d, ha considered it d disgracfe tMt •' Condemned animals and offal fchdiild go to waste— these should be utilised, either by the butchers, the Council, or a company. He thought they should hear Mr Barnes' views. Mr Barnes said he had already expressed his views. There were difficulties, but he was willing to assist them in every way, and to advise them at any time. He would meet . the butchers any evening. Cr Atmore said that after hearing Mr Barnes, the only way of dealing with the offal was to convert it into manure, utilising the sausage skins, etc*, and making glue. He was convinced that the present methods were against the beat interests of the butchers, arid that the whole* trouble; would be got over When the butchers handed the offal to the Council, receiving a fair value. Mr F. Fairey said his firm was prepared id hand over the offal at a nominal figure if the Council knew what to do with it. Cr Grace said that if the butchers would let them dispose of the offal they could do so, and make a small profit. They would need to go to some expense to get sufficient water, but he would be willing that some of the profits, after meeting expenses, should go to the butchers, as the municipality would be well paid by securing the disposal of the offal in a sanitary way. Mr C. Bird said that some hundreds of pounds had been thrown away since the Abattoir was opened. They did not wjint much water", for the boiling would be done by steam; they would only want water for sanitary purposed and the boiler. The bones alone were worth a lot of money, and fat would be a source of profit. He knew one man had offered £2i) a week for what was being thrown aWay. Mr Barnes said that from his expreience of meat works they could not treat the by products without a smell, and that was why he said they should have a thoroughly good water supply. Cr Webley and tho Chairman having spoken with the view of eliciting further information, Mr Fairey said he was prepared to submit his three proposals to the butchers. He was as keen as a razor on getting rid of the offal, and said they wanted it settled. Not a particle of the offal was used by his firm. He was ready to help the Council in any way he could, and he said, if you erect a plant we will give you the offal if you divide the profits between the butchers. If the Committee -would meet the butchers after they had conferred they could put the business in a practical shape. The offal from each head of cattle was worth 2s lid, and from each sheep 4d. The value of the offal at the Abattoir ran to about £500 a year, find with fat, bone, and blood to about £1000 a year. The butchers were as willing to help the Council as they could be, and they would not mind giving the offal for twelve months if they would divide the profits, while if there were no profits they would have to stind down. The best thing to do was for the butchers to meet, form a committee, and then hold a conference with the Committee of the Council. In justice to the country butchers, he said they were willing to fall in with whatever the city butchers did. Cr Atmore said this was very satisfactory ; the proposal was the most reasonable that could be made. Mr E. Trask said that what Mr Fairey had said sounded very well, but they should not take that as a final decision till after the butchers had met. Cr Atmore moved that the butcher 3 be thanked, and asked to form a committee to meet this Committee in a fortnight. Cr Grace, who expressed himself well pleased with the advance made| in the interests of all, seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. The Charman thanked the butchers present for their attendance, and the assistance they had given. The Councilors appreciated they were busy men, and were grateful to them for having attended that night. He hoped their conferences would lead to good results. The meeting then ended.