CITY ABATTOIR.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18406, 12 June 1925, Page 14

CITY ABATTOIR.

COUNCIL AND BUTCHERS.

A conference was held at the City Council Chambers yesterday between the Abattoir Committee of the Council and master butchers, to discuss matters in connexion with improvements to the abattoir. Cr. "W. E. Le&dley, chairman oi the Abattoir Committee, presided. The chairman said tho last Council had. decided to jp ahead with extensive, alterations and improvements to the present abattoir, a work whioh he was sue the master butchers would agree was a necessary one. A request was received from the Master Butchers' Association that a cooler should bo erected at the abattoir. After dealing with subsequent developments in connexion with the scheme, the chairman said the committee had been surprised to receive a petition from 69 master butchers objecting rto the erection of the cooler. The present conference, he added, had been called to hear what the objections were. , ' -

Mr C. H. Knight said he had objected to the proposal on the ground of expense. He had been told that the coai to each butcher would be over £IOO per annum. He had since been informed that the figure was quite wrong-. ' - . • The chairman:. If that .figure was correct, we would be able to pay for the scheme in one year.; Mr K. S. Draper said he would like to hear why the cooler at the abattnir was required before , he stated his objeotions to the .scheme. He claimed,,that.:thet,ilaster Butchers' Association. did not represent 50 per cent, of the master butchers of Christchurch. . ;! ■'-.'

The chairman said the . committee had already had a. conference with, the Master Butchere' Association, who stated that they wanted the cooler.

Mr.Draper said he owned a cooler of his own, which gave him satisfaction. He considered that there was not enough hanging space at the abattoir, 'which also had a number of other defects. Cr. E. H. Andrews said any meetingat which the commiften had met the Master Butchers' Association had been f open ! to all master butchers. Mr Draper said he had never received any -notification of .such a meeting. He objected to a cooler at th© abattoir, which he considered was not" run on the proper lines. However, he would _ not mind a cooler being erected in the city. Mr Draper "was asked to supply the conference with • the figures -he had quoted to those who had eigned the petition. - Mr Draper said ho had worked out ■ the charges himself, but he had,not quoted any figures. ' • The chairman .said that Messrs Green-; street and- Anderson, architects, estimated the cost of running the refrigerating, machinery at the abattoir, including _ wage*, electric current, oil, etc., at approximately £IOOO per annum. The' interest and sinking fund on a loan of £IO,COO would amount to £S2S per annum, making a total of £1825. This did not incjude the cost of handling the carc*3es in and out of the chilling room.' The average daily KU.ing during- the. year ended March-31st, 1925, taking 365 days in the year, was as follows: — Large cattle 51, sheep and lambs 312, pigs and calves 72. To provide the estimated cost of working, together with interest and sinking fund, the cooler would require to hi tise'd daily as follows: 96 quarters- beef, 6d, *£2 8s; 148 carcases mutton and lamb, 3d £1 17s; 34 carcases pork and „veai, 9d, £1 58 6d; total £5 10s 6d, equal to £2016 12s- 6d per annum. . 'ln reply to a question, the chauman said ■ the butchers could please themselves whether they used the cooler or not. .Mv C. Jones said it was strange that those who - had signed the petition had not attended the meeting. He thought it was a case of a guilty conscience. They were afraid to face the music,' he took it. Mi- Draper said there was no need tor • them to appear when by signing the petition they had sbpwn that'they objected to the proposal. The chairman *aid there was every reason why they should attend if. as was stated, .they had signed the petition owm-/ to misrepresentation as to the probable ccfet ° m\- WSsford, on behalf of the Master Butchers' Association, said he was satisfied that the benefits to be derived from a cooler would more than conijMmsate butchers for any outlay they had to face He maintained that there were distinct advantages to be obtained from having a cooler at the abattoir. He added that his own firm had a Cr E H. Andrews said he had been" surprised at the> emallness of the abattoir at- - Auckland. He had learned, however th»t after the carcases had been placed in the cooler to take out the animal heat it was later placed in butchers' own coo era. Unless this procedure was adopted, the meat would not attain the quality which might reasonably be expected. The architect had recently come back from Auck and and had prepared plans to bring the local abattoir up to date, and he hoped that finality would be reached in the matter without furtheT delav. It was clear that some butchers had heen induced to sign" the petition they were told the cost of the scheme, to them would be from £IOO to £l5O per year, whereas Ibis was not correct. Mr Greenstreet, the Council s architect, said it was essential that an up-to-date abattoir should be erected and that there should be a cooler in. conjunction with it. Ho detailed various points in. connexion with the scheme and stressed the advantages that would accrue from. them. Mr B. Sbaw said it was unfortunately-a fact that the trade was always divided. In connexion with the petition now before the conference he stated that most of those who signed it were butchers who had not been long in*business. He had not heard any solid arguments advanced against the cooler and the absence of those' who had signed the petition showe- that they were not very keen in the matterThe chairman said the differences rcga' ding the cooler were holding up the whole'work of abattoir improvements. /

After further discussion, it was decided on the motion of "Mr "\\'elsferd,- seconded •by Mr C. Jones, that the Abattoir Committee .get out details of the charges to individual butchers per head of cattle killed and that each butcher who had signed the pciiiion be. written to.asking him to state whether in View of the information given respeotinj the cooler his, objection still, stood.