OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 October 1940, Page 6

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

ABATTOIR CHARGES (To the Editor.) Sir, —Re the letter of your correspondent, J. A. Betts, in today’s “TimesAge” re abattoir charges, to my mind your correspondent is rather hiding the truth. The following leads up to the matter in question. Towards the end of last year, owing to the poor dressing of the meat, etc, by the then butchers at the Abattoirs, it was unanimously decided by the butchering firms concerned to apply to the Abattoir Committee for contract killing. This was agreed to, but owing to the lowest contract working out at a higher price than had been paid under the old system a new schedule of killing charges inevitably had to come. Under the old schedule J. A. Betts, Ltd., had been getting their cattle killed at 6s per head when over 90 per cent of their killing was for consumption out of the Masterton Borough, that is, in Wellington. Yet the local butchers, supplying the borough, had to pay 7s per head of cattle. Under the new schedule of charges this iniquitous charge was corrected and the new charge was for the local butchers and J. A. Betts had to pay the same new charge, that is, 8s 3d per cattle beast. By the above, Mr Editor, one can see that the Abattoir Committee have done their best in this matter and they have certainly not attempted to hide the truth. —I am, etc., MASTERTON BUTCHER. Masterton, October 24. Mr J. A. Betts, to whom the above letter was referred, said that a hanging fee of 2s per head of cattle and 4Jd per head of sheep was imposed by the Wellington City Council on all meat killed in Masterton or Levin. Under the old schedule, when 7s per head of cattle was charged for killings at Masterton Abattoir, he had approached the Masterton Abattoir Committee and pointed out that in addition to this charge, he had to pay 2s in Wellington and if this continued he would not be able to kill in Masterton. The committee met him to the extent of Is and reduced his charge to 6s, making a total charge of Bs. Under the new schedule. the Masterton killing charge of 8s 3d, plus the Wellington hanging fee of 2s, made his total charge 10s 3d. The concession previously granted to him to enable his firm to kill in Masterton had been discontinued and the charges had been put up. For stock killed for Wairarapa consumption the same fees were paid by his firm as by local butchers. Owing to the increased killing of his firm at the Masterton Abattoir the charges during the currency of the old schedule were reduced generally.