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136
"With a few exceptions, the several premises were found in a satisfactory
'condition, many of them having recently undergone certain improvements,
with a view to compliance with the requirements of the new byelaws
of the 'Local Authority,' the London County Council. These
bye-laws require, among other things, that the walls of the slaughter
house, including doors and other woodwork, shall be covered,
to the height of at least six feet, with some impermeable material; that
the floor shall be smooth and jointless; that the grating over the trap of
the drain shall be a fixture; that a trough shall be provided for supplying
wholesome water to the animals in the pens or lairs, and (in effect), that
duplicate sets of covered receptacles shall be provided for containing
blood, offal, garbage, filth, &c., as these refuse matters are now required
to be removed from the premises in such receptacles. At some of the
licensed premises these several requirements have been fully complied
with already; at others only partially at present."
The report further dealt with certain defects, observed in
the construction or the management of some of the slaughterhouses,
which were removed prior to the renewal of the
licenses in October: the County Council, moreover, directed
cautionary letters to be sent to the licensees, with a view to
prevent recurrence of the causes of complaint.
It may be mentioned that in 1874, there were some 1,500
slaughter-houses in the Metropolis; in 1892 only 533, and
118 fewer than in 1891. In Kensington 48 were licensed
in 1873, the year before the passing of the Slaughterhouses
(Metropolis) Act; in 1874 only 31. The present
number is 19. No new slaughter-house has been opened
since 1874. The defect of the Act was that it ignored
the Sanitary Authorities, (Vestries and District Boards),
whose Medical Officers of Health and Sanitary Inspectors
should have been made available for the purposes of
inspection and supervision: such inspection and supervision,
however, have been kept up in Kensington, with obvious
advantage, although your Vestry had no statutory authority,
excepting such as was derived from power to oppose the renewal
of the annual license. It is proper that the Council
should be the "Local Authority" for the purpose of making
regulations, so as to secure uniformity for the whole