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a paper before the Society of Medical Officers of Health (March
21st, 1874), on "Private Slaughter-houses considered with
reference to the Report of the Select Committee on Noxious
Businesses." In this paper, after describing the unsatisfactory
state of the slaughter-houses, and expressing my preference for
the abattoir system, I specified the requirements of a sanitary
slaughter-house; indicated the conditions necessary to be enforced
by bye-laws; foretold that suitable regulations would lead to a
large reduction in the number of slaughter-houses, and insisted on
the necessity for a heavy irreducible penalty for breach of the
regulations. The Act was passed; the Metropolitan Board of
Works was constituted "Local Authority" for carrying it out, and
regulations were framed practically embodying my views. The
regulations, however, made no provision for separation of the
lairage from the slaughter-house, to prevent the living animals
seeing the butcher at his work, nor for an entrance to the
slaughter-house independent of the house or shop. For both of
these points your Yestry, at my instance, contended successfully
before the justices, and the Local Authority subsequently followed
suit. Your Yestry, moreover, insisted upon the provision of a
water supply in the lairs. In 1875 I made proposals for amendment
of the bye-laws, which were approved by the Society of
Medical Officers of Health ; but the bye-laws remain now as they
were originally framed : the London County Council, however, has
prepared improved regulations, which have been before the Local
Government Board for nearly two years awaiting sanction. The
existing bye-laws are serviceable, having led to considerable
improvement of the licensed premises, and to the closing of many
of the worst establishments. In 1874 there were some 1500
slaughter-houses in London; in 1890, 665 only. In Kensington
48 were licensed in 1873, the year before the Act came into
operation ; in 1874, 31 only. The present number is 21, and no
new slaughter-house has been opened since the passing of the Act.
The defect of the Act is that it ignores the Sanitary Authorities
(Vestries and District Boards), whose medical officers of health
and sanitary inspectors should have been made available for the