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91. How far from the borough is your slaughterhouse ?—lt is two miles from the boundary of the borough to my slaughterhouse. 92. Where do you feed your pigs with the offal ? —About half a mile away from my slaughterhouse. My slaughterhouse is as clean as this room—no smell whatever. The offal is carted away at once every day. 93. Does that not involve so much expense as to prevent your selling your meat at as low a price as if you had the best appliances in the place for disposing of the offal, such as some of the largest freezing companies have ? —Well, I was giving myself credit for having the very best of appliances. At any rate, to give you an i ea of how Ido my business, lam getting for my sheepskins this month 4s. sd. ; I am getting or my cow-hides 14s. ; for ox-hides 215., put into the trucks; and £15 per ton for my tallow, ptit into the trucks, casks returned. It would be extremely inconvenient to slaughter our cattle in an abattoir. I want to do my business in my own way. 94. Mr. Symes.] In connection with this subclause (2) of clause 3, I suppose you know that in the back districts, where there are no butchers, that farmers often have to kill to supply bushmen or contractors, and if it were not so these could not get their meat. Do not you think it would be a very great hardship if these people were debarred by Act of Parliament from killing and the men from getting their meat, because, as you may know, it is absolutely impossible for butchers to send meat back there and get their price ? I understand you to wish to have this clause altered —for farmers to be allowed to kill one head of cattle and five head of sheep a week ?—For myself I have no objection. I look upon the killing far back in the bush as a necessity. 95. You would only allow this to apply to back districts?— Yes. 96. Is it not your opinion that a farmer should be liable himself for his own diseased stuff?— Yes. I think it would be hard on the butchers who have to buy from a yard that they should have to pay for the loss. In my own case I graze the cattle myself, and I consider that I should be responsible for the grazing of those cattle. 97. Of course, in New Plymouth it is easy enough for an Inspector to inspect all the meat ? — Yes ; in the three slaughterhouses he can do it all in an hour.

Friday, 30th September, 1898. James Forrester, of Christchurch and Sydenham : My evidence will be quite on a par with that of Mr. Hanson's which was given yesterday. We take exception to clause 3, subclause (2) ; clause 15, subclause (1) (we ask that that subclause be struck out). We also take exception to clause 16, subclause (1), and ask that the whole of the first line and up to the word "it" in the second line be struck out, and that the word "local" be inserted for the word " human " in the fifth line, and the words "or for export" be erased. In clause 18, we object to the last part—namely, "and by the licensee thereof or his workmen." In clause 26 we desire the words " for human consumption throughout the colony "to be taken out. In clause 56, with reference to the compensation for buildings, there is no provision whatever in this clause, and I think there ought to be up to a certain extent. For instance, my premises are leasehold, and I should have to leave everything on the ground all in thorough working-order, and it cost me several hundreds, and, of course, it is pretty hard to be wiped out and get no compensation whatever. We feel we should be dealt with in a reasonable manner. That is all I have to say so far as the Slaughtering Bill is concerned. I would also say something about compensation in the Bill for diseased stock. There is nothing whatever in the Bill to provide for compensation. It is simply a question, I suppose, of having to take proceedings in a law-court to get redress for anything of that sort. I think provision should be made in a Bill of this kind so as to save a great deal of trouble and expense on every occasion that one may have to take steps through having anything condemned. I think the proper thing to do is to have a clause dealing with that. 1. Hon. the Chairman.] Have you come to any conclusion as to how the loss is to be proportioned?— Well, there are different ways. 2. I mean, have you an idea of your own?—l believe I gave evidence last December on the lines that it should be met jointly by the butchers, the producers, and the Government; but since that I think it would be a very good way when an abattoir is erected that the fees should be so arranged that the local body would have a balance in hand, after defraying ordinary workingexpenses, and that balance should be supplemented from the Consolidated Fund, which would simply mean the public were paying half the cost of all condemned stock. The butchers themselves, through the fees they pay would be paying the half to the local body; the Government would be paying the other half from the Consolidated Fund, which, I think, would be a very fair way to meet the case. 3. The producer in that case would not suffer at all ?—The public would pay half, and the butchers, through their fees paid to the local body, would be paying the other half. 4. Would you now tell the Committee whether the abattoir arrangements in Canterbury and Christchurch are satisfactory ? —We have none ; it is all done by private slaughterhouses. 5. Have there been any complaints as to these places?—Oh, no ! with the exception of letters appearing in our local papers, and these more especially since the Dunedin folks had their place erected. . , 6. How far is the inspection of meat carried on in Christchurch ?—Properly speaking, we have no inspection. The Inspectors are entitled to go over the live-stock, but not the dead meat. Of course, the Sanitary Inspectors in the city and the surrounding boroughs are authorised to inspect at any time, but, of course, it is not generally carried out. I understand that the Christchurch Meat Company or the Islington Company have made application for an Inspector for the works. They have lately gone into the retail trade on a very large scale in Christchurch—that is, the 2—l. 88.