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58
slaughterer of cattle anew," since the passing of the Act in 1874.
On the whole the slaughter houses are better kept than formerly,
but considerable diligence in supervision is still necessary.
In accordance with the recommendation of the Select Committee of
1873, and under the powers of the Act, they have been made " subject
to regulations " that are "uniform," "precise," and (on paper)
"stringent." The difficulty, however, is to get the magistrates to
see the necessity of enforcing the regulations in the strict sense intended
by Parliament, and contemplated by the framers of the byelaws.
The penalties originally proposed for breaches of the byelaws
were reduced by the Metropolitan Board of Works at the
instance of the Local Government Board, acting on the advice
of the Law Officers of the Crown that, whatever the amount, they
could not be mitigated by the Justices ; but in no case has the full
penalty been imposed for any offence arising within this parish,
and generally the fine has been reduced to an extent calculated to
bring the bye-laws into disrepute, and to defeat the object of
special legislation. Not long since a case of an aggravated character
was taken before the Court, and notwithstanding that the
offender pleaded guilty, the magistrate on his own view that
the summons was not drawn in exact accordance with the terms
of the infringed bye-law (it was in his power to make any necessary
correction) dismissed the summons, at the same time expressing his
sense of the character of the offence, by administering a sharp
warning to the defendant! The summons had been drawn out
in your Vestry's offices as usual; the customary fee for this
service being, as a matter of course, paid into the exchequer
of che Court. Proceedings in another case were directed by
your Vestry to be taken against the licensees of a slaughterhouse
for having on their premises the carcase of a diseased
sheep dressed as for "food of man." The magistrate dismissed
the summons on the statement of the defendants that they
intended and had arranged to send the carcase away; but the
statement made to your Sanitary Committee, on whose advice the
proceedings were instituted, was to the effect that the sheep had
been brought in from the park dead, on the morning of the day it
was seen by the Committee, and that it was " going away." Notice
of the diseased carcase being on the premises, had not been given
to the 'local authority,' (i.e., Metropolitan Board of Works) or to
the 'cattle inspector of the district,' as required by the 11th
bye-law. In a similar case sometime ago, the same magistrate
held that the presence of a carcase of a cow which had been taken after
death to a slaughter house and there dressed as for food for
man, was evidence of intention, and the butcher was fined ten
pounds. It may be mentioned that the Metropolitan Board of
Works (the "Local Authority,") has not taken any proceedings
for offences under the bye-laws in this parish.