The Globe. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1071, 3 December 1877, Page 2

The Globe. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1877.

It appears probable that some difficulty will arise &A to the working of the Public Health Act m the Christchurch district. When the Local Board of Health was first constituted, a hitch occurred as to funds, the Board having no rating powers. To remedy this the Board promoted a Bill granting power to levy a rate of lid in the £ for the purposes of the Act. This, from the manner of its introduction, was taken very strong objection to in various quarters. It was urged that some notice should have been given to the ratepayers of an intention to impose yet another burden. The City Council of Christchurch also expressed its opinion that the time had come when the powers .of the Local Board of Health should reveait to the Council. The Bill, owing doubtless to those protests, did not become law in fty .original form, the clauses giving the B<riril power to rate being struck out, and .one substituted making a levy on the rates collected }/’j the Drainag Board for the purposes of ■tine Health Act. In this shape it passed both Houses, and at the last meeting of the Board the ,chairman laid it before the members. Ho ajar as the amount required to he raised for the purposes of tin 1 Ad. we have the assurance of tnt ehrinnau that Jess than lid in the £ would j;-.-. sufficient. At a meeting of the Board on the October he spoke as follows

He desired £o jth/jt the present expenditure of the Board yjf Health amounted to £6OO a year, and a in,the £ would well pay that. If an assistant Inspector were, found necessary the rate would be a fraction f over a halfpenny, but he could not see for tin ' life of him where the necessity would be U levy anything like the 2d. When first the Board received the power of a Local Boani they were not in a position to know wha' amount would be required to carry out tin work, and it was suggested that a l td in the £ might he required," but now that it was

known what the expenses would be, he felt (hat a rate of ojd or Oj'd in the £ would be amply sufficient to cover all requirements. The only reason why it had been thought necessary that the fnll extent should bo 2d was to provide for the contingency of an epidemic occurring of a serious character, which would equally affect the whole of the district.

But now a serious difficulty presents itself to the minds of the members of the Board. Alarmed by some vague rumours of the City Council intending 1 to cast upon them a number of respousibilites, they now come to the conclusion that the funds of the Drainage Board will not lie sufficient to meet the calls of the two bodies. Under these circumstances they ask the Government to make some other provision for the carrying out of the Health Act. What they want done exactly is not very clear. If they mean a return to the old system of the Road Boards, being Local Boards of Health, under which nothing whatever was done, we most strongly protest against that course. It seems plain to us that the Drainage Board say in effect "we will have all the powers or none." Well, having all. supposing the Council to throw these respousibilites on the Board, means that the whole district shall pay for the cost of carrying out the Health Act, That is, the suburban and rural districts are to he rated for the seavengering of Christchurch, from which they receive no direct benefit whatever. This is manifestly unfair. On the other hand, the Drainage Board, having nothing to do with the work, simply means going hack again to the system of the Road Boards being Local Boards of Health, which failed most signally. The solution of the difficulty appears to us to be what we have before advocated —viz., that the City Council should exercise the powers of the Local Board of Health for the city, and the Drainage Board look after the suburbs. In that case the heavier cost of scaveugeriug, Ac., would be met out of the city rates, and the suburbs would only have to pay the small proportion necessary b» ensure the efficient working of the Act amongst them. But if the Drainage Board do not see their way clear to do this, why should things not remain as they are at present. The Drainage Board appear to have somewhat hastily got hold of the notion that the City Council intend relinquishing some of the works now performed by it. So far as any formal resolution is concerned, this is not the case. Until the introduction of the Bill of the Local Board of Health, containing the obnoxious rating clauses, the City Council were quite content to provide for the seavengering of the streets, the sweeping of the side-channels, Ac. Now. however, that these clauses have been struck out, there is no reason why the Council should not continue the old arrangement. If this bo the case there surely could be no difficulty in obtaining the sum required for the working of the Act out of the funds of the Drainage Board. Either of the courses we have suggested would he preferable to a return to the old system.