Palmerston Abattoir Site.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7916, 23 September 1904, Page 2

Palmerston Abattoir Site.

Court Proceedings.'

At the Courthouse after we went to' press yesterday afternoon the following; evidence was taken hi reference to the; refusal of the Kair&nga County Council to consent to the erection by the Borough. Council of ah abattoir on Fox-

ton li^ne : —

S. TV, Lusford,. continuing said the proposed site was the mosc inconvenient place that could have been picked in the County. ■■..■;•'■.

Mr Loughuau asked the witness if he knew Greenhow's site. ■••i

Mr Fitzherbert objected te the question, which he thought was beyond the scope of the enquiry. It put His 'Worship in the position of being judge as to which was the best site, and would necessitate calling evidence as to each of the other sites mentioned.

Hi- Worship said he thought the Couucu was entitled to put forward ail their objections.

The witness [.aiA in iiis opinion GießUhow's site was a far more advantageous one. There was only one house near it. The site was bounded on one side by the racecourse and on the other by the river, so that there could be no habitations npar the abattoir.

To the Court: Stock for an abattoir on Grienhow's site would be detrained at Palmerdtoo or Longburn. The Magistrate observed that oattla detrained ai Palmerston would still haye to be driven through the populous p irte of the borough. The witness, continuing, said there was the Lohgburn Freezing Works, at which moat was insiocted by the Government. The County Coupoil could not sco why the worka should" not bo used by the Borough. Cross examined: Witness 3aid he had ofiered a site to the Borough Conncii for an abattoir, but withdiew it when he found the depreciating effect it would have on the rest of his land. Witness waa examined at length as to the signatures to the petition against the abattoir. He thought the Courcil was justified in refusing consent even though there were only five bona fide settlers of the E.airarigß County who lived in the vicinity and had any objections. Charles Coilis, butcher, Longburn, did not consider the preseut site was a suitable one. His objection was the railway and the dram, which would make driving cattle dangerous. He did not think a worse site could be got in the oolony for driving cattle, which would go over the culvers across the drain and break away on both sides up the old road. Ifcere were twelve engines going up and down daily, and more on Thursdays and Saturdays. The traffic had increased a hundred-fold during the past few years, and ha considered it would continue to do bo. He pointed out there were eight or nine butchers in Palmerston, and they killed between 40 and 50 bullocks a week. The result would be that oattle would be crossing the oulvert from daylight to dark. As to the railway being convenient, his experience' was that the local butchers bought theie bullocks in the Kairanga and would not nead the rail, way. All the freezing worka he had ever been in had an offensive smell: John Anderson.inansger o£ Longburn Freezing Worka^ i?&id the Palmerßton butchers had been killiog at Longburn for some timo past. They had never once used the train to bring stock to the works. He knew the proposed site. If there were none better he would say it would do. But he considered there were si^s more suitable. There would be difficulty in getting cattle into the site unless the present conditions were altored. If they could not fence across the old road it was a most unsatisfactory place to take cattle into. The sm6ll from the abattoir would bo very I slight if the yards wore concreted, and the roads were kept in order. Sis acres was not a sufficient area of land unless the butohere drove their oattle there every day.

Dr Mason, Chief Health Officer for the colony, was called by Mr Fitzherbert, and said be had visited the site that more ing. It was a suitable site so far as sanitary matters went. He thought this because the regulation's required the yardß to bo concreted. The offal oould be converted into' manure. The only objection to that was that it was rather unprofitable for small abattoirs to undertake manure manufacturing. This could be overcome by handing over the offal to tha: Longburn Company. There would be no danger to health if the off.*! were carted away to Longburn in covered carts, Bay twice a day. The Health Department would Eoe to this a3 soon aa the offal oaao on to the publio street. Dr Mason said that on the Continent the abattoirs were almost always in the centre of towns, with populations varying from to 70,000 people. He understood that the abattoir would be connected with tlia server, and that the pens in which, the bsasts stood would be covered in and concreted. Under these circumstances there was absolutely no objection to: the abattoir. The Melbourne abattoir was in a more thickly populated locality thanthe Fozton Line site was. In most cases in wew Zealand however, there were fewer houses round an abattoir than in the present case. At .Dunedin there were more houses round about than there would be 'here. He had inspected breenbow's site about 18 months or two years ago, and came to the conclusion that it was an excellent site, but would choose the Poxton Line site in preference to it because of the. railway, drainage, and water supply: It -was* better for the meat that beasts should be brought to the slaughtering place m the evening and left till morning before killing. The Poxfcon Line site was large enough for this, but not for three or' jcour day's supplies being kept there. . At 5:30 the Court adjourned till Octoberloth, at 11 o'clock, this being thenrst day Mr Thomson .would be free.