W. Sedgwick Saunders

“ Drain pipes laid on soft subsoil materials frequently break asunder from the subsidence of such a matrix, or from heavy weights falling suddenly upon them, from above, and our daily sanitary work furnishes abundant evidence of the danger to health arising from the fracture of drain pipes, where originally placed upon improper ground, and especially when under such circumstances they are subjected to violent blows. ”

“ That every person occupying a Slaughter-house shall cause the works needful for complying with these Bye-laws to be forthwith executed, and when completed shall not permit any alteration to be made in them without the sanction of the Commissioners of Sewers of the City of London, and that the whole of the works and regulations be carried out to the approval of the Medical Officer of Health. ”

“ It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of excluding blood, offal or dung, &c., from the sewers at all times, but especially in seasons of epidemic zymotic diseases, and it would be an inestimable boon, and one by no means difficult of accomplishment, if the Scotch system could be imitated at Aldgate. ”

“ It is no argument against these measures to urge that their necessity has not yet been recognised by the unlearned, or to assert that no practical difficulty has arisen in the direction just mentioned, for it must be remembered that the great aim of all modern Sanitary legislation is to discover disease in its germinal condition, and apply such preventive agents as will combat the extension of the mischief when once discovered. ”

“ That each Slaughter-house be drained by a glazed pipe drain, not less than six inches in diameter, set in concrete and jointed in cement, or otherwise made impermeable, and communicating directly with the public sewer. That the gully at the inlet to the drain be trapped with a stoneware syphon-trap, or other trap of approved material and construction, and be covered with a grating, the bars of which shall not be more than three-eighths of an inch apart; the grating to be fastened with a lock and key, and kept at all times locked, unless opened for cleansing or repair. ”

“ It being a well-ascertained fact that myriads of germs or disease-spreading organisms may be given off in the cutaneous exhalations, the excreta, and, possibly, the very breath of infected animals, it is no [Pg 31] exaggeration to affirm that one such beast might decimate its neighbourhood, affecting alike the living cattle in the Pounds and Lairs waiting for slaughter, and the dead meat hanging up to cool in the Slaughter-house before it was carried away by the retail butchers. ”

“ In conclusion, I will only add that, having given my best attention to the whole subject, and carefully considered the not very formidable “objections” raised by the butchers, I have arrived at the honest conviction that no substantial grounds are therein advanced which would justify you, as the Sanitary Authority in the City of London, in varying the requirements of the Bye-laws submitted for approval to the Local Government Board, beyond the concessions herein described. ”

“ In order to perfect your powers, and establish a wholesome check upon the slaughterers, a short Act might be obtained, giving the Commissioners of Sewers authority to issue fresh licences, without which no Slaughter-houses should be allowed to exist. ”

“ The contention here is that the separation of the Slaughter-houses from the Pound will impede ventilation, and that a partition six feet high is sufficient for the purpose, the Butchers denying that any “offensive effluvia arise from a live animal.” It is assumed that the reason for this Bye-law is based primarily upon the idea that the animals are distressed by seeing the process of slaughtering whilst waiting their turn for the pole-axe. It is further objected that the spring hinges are likely to lead to accidents to men and beasts. ”

“ The advantage of placing the gully outside the Slaughter-houses, is that it prevents the admission of solid matters into the drains, and provided the floor be laid at a proper inclination towards the door, all fluid materials can be readily conducted thence by gravitation into the drain beyond, by means of sunken stone channels, or cast-iron boxes having hinges, without the creation of unavoidable nuisance. ”

“ The Board should also be informed that the slaughtering effected in these places extends far beyond the requirements of the neighbourhood, and that the plea of the Butchers that they provide marketable commodities suitable to the necessities of the poor of their locality is essentially unsound, from an economical point of view, it having been found in places where Abattoirs obtain, that the poor readily follow any market which offers them pecuniary advantages. ”

“ That in all cases where from the present plan of the premises a door is needed between the Lair or Pound and the slaughtering [Pg 37] space, such door be provided with spring hinges, and be kept closed when not open for the passage of cattle, but that where other means exist of taking cattle from the Lair or Pound into the Slaughter-house, without passing through shops, or over important public ways, no door shall exist between the Lair or Pound and the Slaughter-house. ”

“ Second only in importance to the closure of these side openings, is the provision that the internal facing of all the walls in the Slaughter-house should be of a non-absorbing nature, and I am still of the opinion, which I ventured to urge unsuccessfully when the Bye-laws were framed in November, 1874, viz., that the height mentioned in Bye-law VI. is insufficient for the purpose, and that the whole wall-surface should be coated with a “hard, smooth, and impervious material,” such as is now used in the wards of our best Metropolitan hospitals. ”

“ Moreover, it is a truism, established by recent researches in vital statistics, that slaughterers and butchers should be regarded as an unhealthy class of men, since they present a much higher rate of mortality than is observed in other trades. ”

“ The Butchers say, “It is a useless expense to extend the smooth, impervious material beyond four feet,” and that “there is no practical advantage in cementing the whole of the upper part of the walls of the Slaughter-house; on the contrary, the hard bricks are superior to cement, which will break off.” ”

“ The joints in stone pavements, however well laid, cannot be made durable, owing to the frequent concussions produced by the animals falling heavily [Pg 17] and suddenly when pole-axed, and the joints being once cracked or broken readily admit through their interstices every kind of liquid filth, which accumulates in the subsoil and decomposes there. ”

“ Lastly, a hard, smooth wall prevents the ingress and lodgment of vermin. The question of expense raised by the Butchers is hardly worthy of prosperous and wealthy tradesmen, and the objection that the cement would “break off” is too frivolous to answer.
Bye-law VII.
That each Slaughter-house be provided with adequate lairage or poundage, separated from the slaughtering space by a closed partition, extending from the floor to the roof, formed of brick, stone, slate, or other similar material, having a smooth impervious surface, to a height of at least 7 feet 6 inches from the floor. ”

“ Further, the Society inform the Local Government Board, that disease germs have never been known to rise to a height of six feet, and that therefore the side walls separating adjoining Slaughter-houses need not be [Pg 53] built as high as the Bye-laws require! ”