BY HON. W. F. TAYLOR, M.D., M.L.C., D.P.H. 97 



This Act is a most useful one, and while giving power on 

 the one hand for full inspection of meat and slaughter houses, 

 prevents on the other hand any harsh or arbitrary action on the 

 part of the inspector, and provides the means whereby butchers 

 and others may carry on slaughtering in premises peculiarly 

 adapted for the purpose. So far as I am aware, however, the 

 provisions of this Act have not yet come into operation ; at all 

 events no public abattoirs have been erected, so that Ave are, so 

 far as the slaughtering and inspection of meat for home con- 

 sumption are concerned, very much in the same position as 

 before the passing of this Act. There is one obstacle which no 

 doubt has influenced or prevented the Minister charged with the 

 administration of this Act from putting its provisions into 

 operation, and that is the difficulty in obtaining the services of 

 a staft" of qualified inspectors. When this Bill was before the 

 Legislative Council it was insisted on by some Honourable 

 Menjbers that the inspectors, having such extensive powers 

 conferred upon them, should be Veterinary Surgeons. This no 

 doubt would be very desirable if a sufficient number of duly 

 qualified Veterinary Surgeons could be obtained at a reasonable 

 salary ; but here was an obvious difficulty which could not be 

 very easily overcome— for granting that a sufficient number of 

 duly qualified Veterinary Surgeons could be obtained — the salary 

 required by each would render their employment prohibitive. 

 However, the assurance! was given that a number of intellicrent 

 fairly qualified inspectors were being educated locally, and that 

 in process of time a sufficient number of individuals would be 

 available as inspectors at a reasonable salary, and the difficulty 

 foreshadowed at the discussion on the Bill in the Legislative 

 Council would rapidly be removed and a staff of qualilied 

 inspectors soon be obtainable. I have thought it advisable to 

 go into this matter of the " Slaughtering Act of 1898 " to show 

 that ample power exists in this colony to carry out the erection 

 of public abattoirs, and to insure the efficient inspection of 

 meat ; it now remains to show in what way, if any, the 

 erection of public abattoirs would prevent the spread of 

 tubercular diseases. The effects of the tubercle bacillus may 

 become manifest in different parts of the human body, the 

 lungs, glands, brain, serous membranes, and bones being all 

 liable to its ravages, the part afiected depending to a great 

 extent on the mode of entrance of the bacillus. The larynx 



