THE BOROUGH ABATTOIRS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2505, 19 May 1909, Page 2

THE BOROUGH ABATTOIRS.

REORGANISATION! SCHEME.

i ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL.

At last night’s meeting of the Borough Council the Abattoirs Committee reported as follows: “Your committee have to report that they have met on several occasions, and after careful consideration decided to recommend : (1) That the erection of cooling chambers cannot be advised, as butchers deem it unnecessary. (2) That the present pithing pen be discarded, and an up-to-date one, say suitable for three head, be installed; also that pig killing arrangements be brought more up-to-date by one of the pens being raised for killing pigs, so that they will gravitate into the scalding tub, and that the necessary scalding tub be procured; also that a second gate at main entrance for cattle be put in. (3) That the committee not feel justified in recommending killing by contract, but would suggest thaf with a view of reducing the cost of running the establishment that the Government Inspector be appointed manager at £SO per annum and free house, his duties being as follows: The whole abattoir to be under the control of the manager; book to be kept in which a description of all cattle brought to the abattoirs is to. be entered as required by section 34 of the Slaughtering Act. All books, including day book and ledger, to bo properly kept and attended to. AH accounts to be made out and delivered to butchers prior to 4th of each month. To furnish monthly reports to the Council on the general affairs of the abattoirs. To attend to the- carrying out of all by-laws relating to the abattoirs, and take charge of and manage steam boiler. To take delivery of all cattle brought to the abattoirs, and attend to the delivery of carcases to butchers. To inspect all premises used as butchers’ shops, and report annually thereon to the Council. Generally to act as manager and to conform to the instructions given from time to time by the Council. “That work be done by three slaughtermen—x r iz., A. Kinnimont, W. Davidson, and J. Kennedy, at a salary of £3 5s each per week (this being an increase of £l3 per annum each), men to clean yards, etc., and a rouseabout to be employed at £2 10s weekly. This will necessitate Kinnimont moving into one of the other cottages, and the services of J. Kinnimont being dispensed “(4) Your committee also suggest that killing charges be reduced as ytndor: Sheep and lambs by 3d, making charge Is; cattle by 6d, making charge 6s; calves by Is,- making charge -s; pigs by Is, making charge 2s; and that no charge be male for cattle staus. This would leave a surplus of about £2.50 on the year’s working. _ “(5) That the butchers either pay cash at time of killing or run monthly deposit accounts. . “(6) The committee cannot at present see its way to recommend the extension of the town water supply to the abattoirs.” • , , The Mayor said that the matter had < been given full consideration. The new < alteration would make the new manager £ do all that the present manager was c doing except cleaning the yards, «nd occasionally help to slaughter* - present Government Inspector had pas- i sed the necessary examination < or an t abattoir manager, aird no difficulty w as - anticipated in this direction. The men t would have to do a little more eiean- t ino- but would be receiving ail incr-.as l etf salary. The present manager wou.d . be still able.to remain at a rodilicd t wave but with less work and less ie c sponsibility. There would he saving c in administration expenses of £9l per c annum. In every way he thou it t 1 proposed new arrangement vould be y most satisfactor3 r . c rn :»T 1 <- The Mayor moved, and Cr. bmitii t seconded, the adoption of the report, t Cr Darton moved as an amendment t that consideration of the question shovul » be deferred for a fortnight, as t «» SniX'S 4 «£ « i j Cr. Collins said he had tak a trouble to go into the matter, . . 1 *' r °'Councillor knew what was coming s on C f a ßarS” g amendment lapsed for f SUimXn moved.as an amend- t . “Tl>nt in the opinion of m e BS&S S XXTtoX l pr f thXtXSts accruing therefrom v “ experfefpn the arterial roads lead- j iU^r th Somervell seconded the amend- J ment, pro form^ were * 'Xg/StSthy. the preyed ™,uc- | < proht CX ?T„ a sliockino condition. He , which was in a shoc ctamgo c administration, but not of the proposed t rC X£fl-'.f Cr. rettie the May- ' orXtailed 'tho present admmistra-ion t ovfienses of the abattoirs. c Cv •Collins wished to speak to his a l - , s endment .when the Mayor ruled « t l,ad already spoken to Ins arneuu v ment and could not speak any more. J amendment i ‘"TOe Mayor’said’*that as it was a mis- J take he would put it to the Council that Cr. Collins be allowed to speak. t The suggestion was agreed to. i Cr. Collins then proceeded to addres v the Council. Ho stated that last , war’s profit was shown to e oresent £465. This was swamped into ( general revenue thus depriving the v Uu+r-liM-s of the benefits or tins sum, , which belongs to them, and leaves them , jj voar would have been £909 instead oi | £l9lß and as working expenses xx etc t £1453 it would have meant a loss to the borough of- £494. . Reduction on the basis or last yeais expenditure is as follows: Reduction by h jn al J e<:S n U ir g means gain to Borough - Reduction by i m all kes . means gain to Borough ~ Reduction by 1-12 mall fees means gain to Borough £2Bo d / Reduction of fees means we do awav with profits (a fallacy), in *>« tax we must make allowance for degree a- + i'nn naiutin <r , roads, etc.., , thexetoxe reduction of fees by l-12th iis Hie only XrS) sssMi X ™l.Xd “ S He SmdhTX'iLrolits should “h oremm Ho <• aimed that no boneIt coald bo cl.tnincjl by them from the \ :

reduction of the killing charges, and certainly tho butchers did not xvant any reduction. The Mayor askod that Cr. Colilns should confine himself to the question of the reduction of charges at the abattoirs, and not the profits of the local butchers. Cr. Collins said that he was only wishing to show why killing charges should not ho reduced. Proceeding, Cr Collins, instanced that the profits of oixe butcher in town had been £222 per month, and the net profit for all the butchers lvas £1450 per month. , Cr. Kirk : Am I to understaixd that each butcher therefore makes over £I3OO per year? Cr. Collins: , Yes. Ur. Maynard: Rot; perfect rot ! Cr. Collins said that the figures' had been supplied to him, and agreed to by an auctioneer in the town. At present there were five nxen employed-at the abattoirs at a total of £756 per annum. The manager amongst other duties had to help to kill in order to keep the men from grumbling, as they were working under an award. He then proceeded to deal with the working of the abattoirs at length, claiming that during a month the men had been doing over £5 16s worth of work more than they were entitled to. Cr. Collins proceeded to refer at length to the duties of the men at the abattoirs, and referred to the killing charges on pigs. He claimed that the present cost of killing a pig is 2s each pig, made up as follows: Is slaughter charge, 6d inspector’s fees, 6d steam and coal, at the present rate 3s, xve therefore make a shilling profit on each pig, if we reduce charge to 50 per,, cent or Is 6d we shall have a direct loss of 6d a pig. He then quoted the folloxving:— If pigs are killed from Okitix they will probably kill 50 pigs a week, our present average weekly kill is 28 pigs, making a probable kill x\*cekly of 78

pigs. Contrasting the present price with reduction on this kill the annual return xvould be:

78 pigs at 3s xveekly with £7 16s expenditure gi\ r es annual profit of £202 16s. 7S pigs at 2s 6d xveekly with £7 16s expenditure gives annual profit £lOl Ss. 78 pigs at 2s xveekly xvitlx £7 16s expenditure gix r es annual profit nil. Therefore tho reduction below 2s 6d a pig is impossible. In conclusion, Cr. Colliixs stated he would ixot he in favor of reducing the charges until the roads were in good order. , . Cr. Maynard said that aix 8001 b imlock xvould cost at least 18s per 1001 b, but put of that- SOOlb beast there was 200 waste hone. . , Cr Colliixs: I have allowed that. The Mayor again ruled that the question of butchers’ profits xvas not m Pettie said that he xvould like to congratulate the Abattoir Committee for the trouble they had taken, but he was sorry that he could not support tile report. ‘He xvould have to support the amendment in the hope that some other amendment would be moved to perhaps slightly reduce the killing charges. He did not believe that the public xxould benefit a half-penny by the reduced charges, and he would be sorry to see them carried into effect. He regal ded the proposed change in management as absolutely disastrous. The whole matter had been, thrashed out betoie, and they did not know how long the present inspector xvould he here, and then they might have a totally unsuitable man foisted on them. Everything had been noiug on smoothly; and to make a change xvould be to take a responsibility on their shoulders that they, did not know where it xvould end. It was preposterous to expect four men to do the work of five, and he hoped the Council xvould pause before they made the proposed change. He did not think that from any point of view any change should be made in the management The Mayor said that Cr. Icttie had misconstrued the intention of the amoudmnent. There were txvo matters raised; one was that the profits should co to the roads. He held that this was very wrong to impose an exorbitant charge on butchers for that purpose, and lie would never vote for any motion that would penalise any special section of the community for a road. They now had a butcher that could not pay' his fees, and this xvas all lie desired to say regarding 1 the great mouthful that "had been made regarding the enormous profits made by the butchers. The abattoirs xvere constructed to ensure that householders would get clean, wholesome - meat, and xvhon that xvas fulfilled he did not think they should go any further. Butchers were keeping up the price of meat oxving to the high charges at the abattoirs, and the stronger they made the butchers the better it would be for themselves and for the borough. The present manager only helped to kill on a Friday, and in exchange for his belli the men helped him to clean up the yard. They xvould only be paying £SO per annum towards the'new manager’s salary, not his xvhole srtl jiry m Cr." * Darton, said that he regretted that the amendment intended to xvipe out the. report altogether, as there xve.io some recommendations' in it (such as those relating to cattle and pig pens) which xvould be unanimously adopted. The txvo big questions wore of course the change of management and the reduction of the killing charges. He claimed that they must make over a profit of £250 to lie considered solvent, and xvhere, if they made no profit, xvere they going to" get the money to carry out suggested improvements? They xvere being asked to substitute for a working manager a Government inspector xvbo xvould not be under their control. It had been tried previously, and the scheme xvas a doxvnright failure, as the Government manager xvas never there when he xvas xvanted. At present the report suggested that they should dismiss a man xvithout a complaint, hut rea-llv because he had succeeded hi doubling the profits. They had received no complaint from either the butchers or tho public, and proposed to dismiss tlieir manager for no reason. They would have to make arrangements for Sunday killing, as they xvere note

considering cooling chambers. This xvould mean extra expense in wages, and the proposed profit under the nexv arrangement xvould be swamped. The charges had not been excessive, taken all rpund, as compared with other centres, xvhere tho fees in some cases were more than tho local fees. lie did not thjnk a single Councillor would object to a special loan for forming the Abattoir Road, and the property should bear a certain amount of expense toxvards the interest on such a loan. It

xvould pay the butchers, but it was not fair to ask the public to pay for that road ■ from which the butchers alone would derive the benefit. The xvork at the abattoirs xvas gradually increasing, and they xvould not require to increases' their hands. No case had been made out for the change in management, and a very small one for the reduction in killing foes. Cr. Kirk pointed out that under the new arrangement they would have a profit of £265, a profit of £IOO more than the previous Council had suggested. A great deal, he said, had been made about the higher charges in other places, and he proceeded to quote extensively from a document relating to the killing, charges in other portions of the Dominion, claiming that the figures snowed a fair comparison of 1 the txvo Islands. A sinking fund had been provided for, and the profit of £265 xvould cover all improvments, which would amount to £9O. The remainder would be clear profit under the proposed alteration.

Cr. Pettie explained that the old Cr. Clayton said that it was desirable that reports should be in the hands of Councillors before the meetings. He could not see much advantage to be gained by the proposed alteration. Looking into the matter, he did not, think there was any possibility of any reduction in charges being feasible. It was absurd to say that two slaughtermen could do' the work. No injustice was being done to the butchers of the town. At the present time the butchers were getting a certain price for meat, and they had nearly all tendered to supply the hospital at 3*d. Therclore at the price they were retailing meat it could not be reasonably claimed that the butchers were losing money. Although they did not paddock their cattle, they penned them, and provided them with hay and water. Another argument was that the road between I the abattoirs and the saleyards was unrivalled for its bad state. Cr. Clayton | proceeded to instance charges in other places, and asked whether, if reduction in charges were made they would he accompanied by a corresponding reduction in tie price of meat. He would noint out tJ iat a sinking fund was a totally different thing to depreciation, and they had to consider the question of depreciation, aad run the abattoirs to sec that at least there was no loss. There was also the question of the roads, and lie said that it was a .fair thing to the butchers and consumers that the £7OO odd profit made in the past two years should be expended on the road. He thought it was a shame to put that nrofit into the general revenue. He could sco no argument to support the alteration in the existing state of affairs. Their manager was satisfactory, and had increased ihe profits' of the abattoirs by more economy in the conduct of affairs. He went in and helped the men, and they helped him,, but they worked on a weekly wage, and the question of Sunday work would have to be faced. The men were really receiving a lower wage than the award, and were deprived of any of the ordinary holidays observed by other tradesmen. He thought that if they looked at the matter as a pure business proposition in the' interests of the ratepayers there was no reasonable maud)lit must say that the proposed reduction of the charges was not in the best interests of the borough. The amendment on being put to the meeting was lost on tho casting vote of the Mayor.

Cr. Darton moved as a furtlier amendment, and Cr. Pettie seconded, that report bo taken clause by clause This was carried on the voices, Clauseo Nos. 1 and 2 were unanimously carried.

Clause 3 was carried by G to 4. Clause 4 was carried on the Mayor’s casting vote, an amendment by Cr. Pettie being lost. Clauses 5 and 6 were carried, the latter on the casting vote of the Mayor.