View report page

35
come up to the standard. We did this, but the justices overruled
our objection in every case, on the ground that the premises,
however faulty, had been licensed in former years, and time
must be allowed to put them in proper order. At the same time,
the justices gave the assembled licensees notice that at the next
licensing day (in October of the current year, namely) they would
not renew the license in any case that was not up to the standard.
With reference to the decision of the magistrates, and the ground
on which it was based, it is, perhaps, hardly necessary for me to state
the fact, so well known already, that the existing slaughter-houses,
were, without exception, licensed before I entered upon the duties of
my appointment, and that the reason your Vestry did not oppose
the renewal of the licenses in either of the subsequent years was
that, in common with myself, you believed that the private
slaughter-houses would be finally closed in 1874, under the
operation of the Building Act, 1844. It only remains to add
that the slaughter-houses will now have to be judged by the
standard of the bye-laws; and it may therefore be useful
to state in what respect the bye-laws differ—either in excess
or defect—from the standard adopted by your Vestry in
1874. As regards new slaughter-houses, the requirements
of the " local authority " are fully up to that standard; and,
as regards existing slaughter-houses, the only material differences
between the bye-laws and the standard relate to the points
dealt with in clauses 1 and 6 (supra). The bye-laws do not require
that a slaughter-house shall have an independent entrance, or
be at all removed from other buildings; and they do not require
provision to be made for housing cattle previous to slaughtering;
but it is enacted that no animal shall be detained on the
"premises" for a longer time than "absolutely necessary"
previous to slaughtering, and that the " slaughter-house " (which
is only a part of the " premises") shall not be used for " any
other purpose than that for which it is licensed," viz., killing. It
follows, then, that the slaughter-house itself may not be used as a
lair, and the question arises—Where shall the animals be kept, if
there be no lairage ? It appears to me that the existence of lairage
is assumed, and that the absence of this necessary accommodation
would form a reasonable cause for opposition even under
the bye-laws. But whether this is so or not, I venture to think
that your Vestry would be fairly entitled to oppose the renewal of
a license in the case of premises so obviously defective, and that
you would be fully justified in taking the opinion of the justices
as to the suitability of premises for a slaughter-house to which
there is no access save througn a butcher's shop or dwellinghouse.
(The Vestry subsequently adopted these views. I here subjoin
a synopsis of the bye-laws, which I have prepared for the
guidance of the Sanitary Inspectors.)
Objects of the Bye Laws :—To regulate the conduct of the