The Globe. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 800, 15 January 1877, Page 2

The Globe. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1877.

Our contemporary the Lyttelton Times is somewhat erratic in its utterances of late. Deserting the paths of prophesy and the daily prediction, Cas-sandra-like of the utter ruin of everything if its warnings were disregarded, it has taken up a new role. It has made its appearance with a considerable flourish of self-blown trumpets in a shadow pantomime on the legality of the prorogation, which, however, beyond airing the newly acquired legal knowledge of our contemporary had but limited success. This morning, however, in addition to another dive into the dryasdust and musty traditions of the law in which a Judge and Crown Prosecutor are roundly rated, the Lyttelton Times returns to the realms of sober fact and discourses anent the Local Board of Health. We congratulate it upon once more returning to the discussion of subjects less abstruse than the dissertations on constitutional law to which we have been treated lately. We also feel sure the members of the Drainage Board will feel deeply the sympathy expressed for them in their difficulties, as expressed in the concluding sentence of the article of this morning. But the metaphorical war dance of triumph which is executed over the dilemma in which the Board is supposed to be will somewhat lessen this feeling. The article in question exhibits so much profundity of wisdom, such a thorough knowledge of the facts, that one can afford to pass over the slight exhibition of the “ I told you so” spirit. But, sad to relate, whether the legal flights of our contemporary have so beclouded bis faculties that he is oblivious of passing events, or from some other cause, the fact remains that our contemporary in his article to-day is utterly and entirely wrong. It says:—“ It may turn out that the Municipality and ‘Eoad Boards, however enthusiastically inclined to help the Board, may find

their hands tied. With this and their solicitor’s opinion on one side, and on the other the penalties provided for the punishment of neglect in carrying out its functions, the local Board of Health is in a quandary, a delightful condition of mind not likely to be lessened by the engagements of the salaried officers lately made.” Now, had the attention of the Times been directed to passing events, it would have noticed that at last meeting of the Board of Health it was resolved to abandon the idea of applying to the Municipalities and to the Eoad Boards, and to borrow sufficient funds to carry on from the Drainage Board, recouping the loan when power to rate was granted. The admirable article therefore of this morning is wasted, being founded altogether on false premises. We regret this waste of power, but cannot help remarking that it displays a surprising ignorance of local affairs when a decision arrived at more than a week ago is still unknown to our contemporary. Perhaps, however, emboldened by his success in the matter of “ faking a par,” he has taken a higher flight, and “ faked a leader.” We confess it looks extremely like it.