BACK YARD FILTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1918, Page 7

BACK YARD FILTH.

A NEW PLYMOUTH CASE, A case which was described as a particularly disgusting instance of allowing refuse to become a nuisance, was ventilated in the Magistrate's Court at New Plymouth yesterday when George Stephen Earlc, butcher, manager of the City Meat .Stores, New Plymouth, pleaded guilty to a charge of allowing a building in his occupation to become a nuisance by reason 'of injurious and offensive smells therein, and the accumulation of offensive matter therein, contrary to the Borough bylaw.

Inspector Day, who laid the information, said he went to defendant's premises in Devon street on the afternoon of February 14. In a cart shod at the rear of the shop he found two bags of bones covered with. other sacks. Hie place literally swarmed with (lies and there was a most offensive smell coming from the bags. There were piles of maggots on the ground round the bags and when the sacks covering the hags were lifted the whole mass was foun to he infested with magots from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in length. He 'went on to the street to get a witness, but the smell of the place was too much, and the witness declined to go near. Inspector Day said he then went and got a policeman who went with him to boe the nuisance complained of. The policeman had remarked about the offensive smell when on the footpath in Devon street in front of the premises. A strong'point in the case was ,that there were several other shops in the locality where food stuffs were sold, and where the proprietors made every endeavor to suppress the fly nuisance. The inspector admitted that the front part of dependant's premises, where the meat was sold, was very clean.

Constable Wroblcnski gave evidence as to going with Inspector Day, at his request, to defendant's promises and seeing the nuisance complained of Ho believed from the appearance of the bones they must, have been there a week. Defendant in his statement said the bones were bagged and put out in the ehed on the Wednesday night, and should have been taken away on the Thursday mornii;j. The hoy who usually took them away was coming in to do so that day, but he had at the same time to take some sheep to the abattoirs. The weather had been hot and some of the sheep had knocked up on the road with the result that the boy was late in getting in, and the bones were not removed till about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He had left his shop at about 12.30 that afternoon and before doing so had put some more bones, which had been cut out during the morning, on to the heap. The fact was that bones haeged in that way in hot weathe" "legari to sweat immediate!' ' "-"jrgots grew very quickly. He had " .i the bones there on Thursday, hut expected the boy would be there any minute to take them anyy. Defendant had had an employee called up for service and< had been unable to replace him and three of them were now Joins; the work of four. He did not believe that either the inspector or (lie constable knew how quickly maggots grew under such circumstances. The bones had been left out there actually about six hours longer than was usual.

Defendant was fined the sum of £2 (costs 9s).