SLAUGHTER-HOUSE ORDINANCE. (Passed the second day of September, 1847.)

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 138, 25 September 1847, Page 1 (Supplement)

SLAUGHTER-HOUSE ORDINANCE. (Passed the second day of September, 1847.)

Power to Governor to proclaim Districts. 1. For the purpose of regulating the slaughtering of Cattle in certain places:-Be it enacted, by the Lieu-tenant-Governor of New Zealand, with the advice i\nd consent of the Legislative Council thereof, that it shall be lawful for His Excellency the Governor, by proclamation, from time to time, to constitute and define certain districts for the purpose aforesaid, and the limits of such districts from time to time to alter, as occasion may require, and also, if he shall see fit, to revoke the Proclamation by which any such district shall have been constituted. Within such Districts Cattle not to be slaughtered without License. 2. Within any such district, and after a day to be prescribed by any such Proclamation, no person shall keep a slaughter-house or place for slauhtering cattle intended for sale, barter, shipping, or exportation, except such house or place be duly licensed for that purpose, in manner hereinafter provided. Penalty, 3. If any person shall slaughter, or cause to be slaughtered, any cattle as aforesaid, in any house, or place, within such district, which shall not be duly licensed as aforesaid, he shall foifeit and pay the sum of j£s, for every head of cattle so slaughtered. Power to Governor to appoint certain places in towns for the slaughtering 1 of Cattle, 4. It shall be lawful for His Excellency the Governor, when, and as he shall see fit, by Proclamation, to direct and appoint that one or more slaughter bouse, or houses, within or near any town within the Colony, shall be a public slaughter-house or houses, for such period as he shall in that behalf appoint. And by any such Proclamation to direct, tbatall cattle slaughtered in any such town, or within three miles from the outer boundary thereof, for sale, barter, shipping, or exportation, shall be slaughtered at such slaughter-house, or houses, only. Provided, always, that until sucb Proclamation shall be made, slaugh-ter-houses in or near any such town may be licensed, as hereinbefore provided. Penalty. 5. Every person who shall slaughter, or cause to be slaughtered, any cattle as aforesaid, in any house or place, within, o* near, any such town as aforesaid, contrary to the provisions of such Proclamation, shall forfeit and pay the sum of £5, for every bead of cattle so slaughtered. ■ Powtr to Justices to grant Licenses. 6. Every person desirous of obtaining a L'cense for a slaughter-house, or place lor slaughtering cattle, shall, ten days before any annual, quarterly, or special meeting of the Bench of Magistrates, nearest to such intended slaughter-house, or place, give to the Clerk of the Bench, .a notice, in writing, of his intention to apply for such license, and shall describe, in the said notice, the house, or place, intended to he licensed, and the Bench of Magistrates (two or. more being present,) shall consider such application : and if they consider that the applicant is a person of unexceptionable character, and that the place proposed to be licensed as a slaughter-house, is in a convenient and desirable situation,' they shall grant to such person a license, under the hands of any two of them, in the manner and form hereinafter set forth. .. Licences to be in force for one year, 7. Every such license shall be in force for one year from the date thereof, and the person to whom the same shall be granted, shall pay to the Clerk of the Bench, the sum of 2s. 6d. for every such license. Power to Justices to enter and direct the cleansing of Slaughter-houses* 8. For the purpose of preserving cleanliness in towns, and the health of persons residing therein, it shall be lawful for auy Justice of the Peace, and for any Coustable, authorized by writing under his hand, from time to time as any such Justice shall see occasion, to visit and inspect any slaughter-house, or placet which may be situated withiu the boundaries of any town, and to give such directions concerning the cleansing of any such slaughter-house or place, both within and without, as to him shall seem needful.. Penally for Neglect. 9. If any butcher, or the owner or occupier of any such slaughter-house or place, shall obstruct or molest such Justice or Constable in the inspection thereof, or shall refuse or neglect to comply with sucH directions within a reasonable time, every such k. person shall, on conviction, upon the information of V any such Justice or Constable, forfeit and pay for every such offence or neglect, any sum not exceeding £10, nor less than £5. Power to Justice, fyc, to enter to search. 1,0. It shall also be lawful for any Justice of the Peace or Inspector of Police, or Inspector of slaugh-ter-liousesj or Constable duly authorised in that behalf, to cuter at any time, of the day or night, any slaughter-house, or place, so licensed, as aforesaid, wherever the same may be situated, and where there may be* good cause to suspect that stolen cattle have beeu slaughtered, and to make such search and en- I quiry theiein, as shall seem necessary for the discovery of the offence aud of the offender. j

Penalty for obstructing: 11. Every person who shall, by any pbstruction or hinderauce, prevent any such Justice or Inspector of Police, Inspector of slaughter-houses or Constable, from entering any such licensed premises, for the purpose of such search and enquiry, shall he deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be dealt with accordingly, as in cases of misdemeanour at Common. Law. Power to Governor to appoint Inspectors of Slaugh-ter-houses, who shall keep a Register of Cattle slaughtered, and make returns. 12. It shall be lawful for His Excellency the Governor to appoint, within such towns or districts as he shall from time to time direct, by a notice to be published in the Government Gazette, fit persons to be called Inspectors of Slaughter-houses, and of cattle intended for slaughter, and every person who shall be so appointed, shall, and he is hereby required and directed to repair, without delay, to the place orj places within his district in which he shall have information of any horned or neat cattle having been slaughtered, or of any such cattle intended to be slaughtered, and also in all cases in which notice shall have been given to him, or left at his place of residence, of the intention to slaughter any cattle, and every such Inspector shall examine the said cattle slaughtered, or so intended to be slaughtered in his district, and shall take a particular description thereof, with the color, mark or marks, brand or brands, sex, and apparent age, together with, the time and place, of slaughter, which particulars he shall carefully enli'r, or cause to be entered, in a hook, to be kept by him for that purpose, and which book such Inspector shall produce for examination, before any annual, quarterly or special meeting of the Bench of Magistrates within, or nearest to, the district for which he shall be appointed, and for the information of any Justice or Justices, whenever he shall be so required, and such Inspector shall also make a weekly return to the Bench of Justices within, or nearest to, the district, of the number of cattle so slaughtered, as aforesaid. Persons intending to slaughter cattle, to give notice to Inspector, under a penalty of £5, except under unforeseen circtfiHsfan'ces. '" 13. That every person intending to slaughter any such horned or neat cattle, within any town or district in which an Inspector shall be appointed as aforesaid, shall first give six hours notice, in writing, to such Inspector, of the cattle intended to be slaughtered, specifying the place and time, under tbe penalty of £5, for each and every head of such cattle which shall be so slaughtered, without such notice having been given thereof as last mentioned, unless it shall be made to appear to the Justice, before whom such fine shall be sought to be recovered, that such i notice could not have heen given, and that owing to some unforeseen accident, it was necessary that sue!} cattle should have been immediately slaughtered, and in all cases in which any such cattle shall have l been slaughtered witln'n any such town or district, without having been previously inspected, as aforesaid, notice thereof shall be immediately given to the said Inspector, and the skins of such cattle shall be kept or preserved for three days, and be produced on demand, at the place of slaughter, to the Inspector for the town or district wherein such cattle should have been slaughtered, under the penalty of £5, for every ekiu so neglected to be preserved and produced. Keepers of Slaughter-houses, where no Inspector appointed, to keep Register of cattle slaughtered, and to make returns. 14. That every keeper of a licensed house, or place, for slaughtering cattle, excepting in any town or district for which an Inspector shall be appointed, as aforesaid, shall keep a book, in which he shall enter a particular account and description of all such horned or, neat cattle slaughtered in such house, or place, specifying the color, mark or marks, sex, and apparent age of such cattle, and if purchased, the name of the person for whom the same shall have been slaughtered, and the time of slaughter, and shall transmit, monthly, to the Bench' of Justices in or nearest to the district wherein such slaughter* house, or place for slaughtering cattle, shall be situated, a report in writing, under the hand of such keeper, containing the particulars above-stated, and shall produce such book, for the information of any Justice, whenever he shall be so required. And if any h'uch keeper of a licensed slaughter-house, or place for slaughtering cattle, shall neglect to keep such book, or record, or shall wilfully make a false entry therein, or shall fail, or refuse, to make such monthly report, as aforesaid, or shall refuse to produce such book, or record, to any Justice, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit a sum not exceeding £5. Not to extend to persons slaughtering cattle for their own consumption. t} 15. That nothing hereinbefore-contained, shall extend to any person or persous slaughtering at his or | her or their own residences, or farms, cattle for his, her, or their own use. Power to Justice to demand production of skins. Penalty for refusing. • 16. That it shall and may be lawful for any Just- | ice of the Peace, to demand the skin of any horned

or neat cattle whatsoever, that may have been slaughr tered within one month previous to the date of such f demand, or a full and satisfactory account, to whom t such skin has been sold, or in what manner disposed > of, and any person who, upon such demand, shall re- \ fuse or neglect to produce the skins of any such cat i tie that have been slaughtered, or in case the same . cannot be produced, to s?ive a full and satisfactory i account of how, and in what manner the same have been disposed of, shall, on conviction, forfeit and , pay for every such offence, a sum not exceeding £\O. Persons destroying brand, liable to penalty. I 17. And if any person shall cutout, burn, or, . otherwise destroy or deface any brand which shall . have been on any skin, or shall be in possession of, , or shall purchase any such skin, from which the : brand shall have been cut or burnt, nr otherwise desi troyed or defaced, without being able to give a satis* factory account thereof, every such person shall upon conviction, of every suck offence, forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding- £10. Fees— Governor to fix scale of. 18. It shall be lawful for His Excellency the Governor, from time to time, as occasion may require, to fix a scale of fees, to be levied, collected, and received, from every party who shall bring any cattle to be slaughtered at any public slaughter-house or place for slaughtering cattle, and such scale of fees from time to time to alter, vary and modify, and such fees shall be recoverable in a summary manner, by the party to whom the same shall be payable: provided, always, that the amount of the fees, so to be fixed as aforesaid, shall, in no case, exceed the sums mentioned in the schedule to this Ordinance annexed, and marked B. and shall upon every alteration, be forthwith published in the Government Gazette. Hours of slaughter, 19. It shall be lawful for the bench, of Magistrates of any such disti ict , if they shall see occasion so to do, to prescribe the hours within which any such cattle shall be slaughtered. And to enforce any regulations, so to be made in that behalf, by a penalty uot exceeding £5. Fees—how to be accounted for. 20. All fees received by the keeper of any public slaughter-house, under the authority of this Ordinance, shall be accounted for, and paid over to the Colonial Treasurer, or the Treasurer of the district, as the case may be, for the public uses of the Colony, and for the support of the Government thereof. Penalties, fyc, recoverable in a summary way. 21. All fines and penalties imposed under the authority of this Ordinance shall be recoverable in a summary I way. Interpretation. 22. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the word " Cattle", unless otherwise expressly stated, shall be taken to include Horned or Ne at Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Swine : and the word " Governor" shall be taken to include the Lieutenant Governor, or the Officer administering the Government of the colony for the time being. (Signed) GEORGE GREY, Lieutenant-Governor, and Commander-in-Chief.