THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1883.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1832, 6 January 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1883.

Once more, and, if possible, with greater force than on former occasions, his Honor Mr. Justice Johnson has drawn attention to the prevalence amongst us of tho crime of forgery. His Honor has found it necessary more than once, not only to comment upon this, but to go further and point out that the trading community, to a great extent, are aiders and abettors in the existing state of things by the facility with which they receive and cash cheques. It might be said that in a community like this where cheques are so much used in monetary transactions some excuse might be made for traders. So there might be if the consequences of recklessness were not so apparent. But for many sessions past the calendar Las contained two, throe, or even more cases of forgery induced by fatal laxness on the part of traders. In nearly all of these cases it has been proved that tho forged cheque or cheques have been accepted with hut superficial inquiry and without, in the majority of cases, the presenter of the cheque being known to the person who cashed it. The temptation afforded to the weak and criminal from tho ease with which money can thus be raised is patent. And apart from the fact that criminals are created, as it were, by this wretched practice, it must ho remembered, that the industrious and honest taxpayors are unduly hurthened by tho thoughtlessness of a certain class of the community. To arrest, convict, and punish these criminals entails considerable expenditure upon tho State, an expenditure which under ordinary circumstances of precaution in conducting business would not be incurred. ' It, therefore, becomes matter for consideration whether the existing state of the law should not he in some way altered to meet the exigences of a situation hardly contemplated when onr laws were adopted. His Honor put this somewhat pointedly in his charge to tho Grand Jury yesterday. New medicines are constantly being found to cure new diseases. But in whatever light the Legislature may finally decide to look at the matter, we do trust that in future tradesmen will exercise a wholesome caution in taking cheques from strangers, either by refusing to do so absolutely, or by taking such a precaution as that of sending to the Bank to ascertain the genuineness or otherwise of tho cheques tendered.

At the meeting of the City Council last night, the old subject of the south drain cropped up. The residents on the South belt forwarded a petition pointing out that the remaining portion of this drain being left open was causing disease amongst them. Indeed one fatal ease of typhoid fever, traceable to the existence of the nuisance, had already occurred. For many months past the advisabloness of the immediate closing of this drain has been advocated, and it is difficult to see why, in view of the danger to the public health the present state of affairs entails, this has not been attended to long ago. That the matter is a case of urgent necessity is proved by the confirmatory report of the city Inspector of Nuisances, who- says that the drain is injurious to the public health For what reason this part of the drain has been allowed to remain open it is difficult to discover. Every medical man knows that the drain when open was a most fertile source of typhoid, and, therefore, the closing of the greater portion and the leaving of a small part of it open merely reduced the danger, but did not remove it entirely. The matter has been referred to the Local Board of Health, but, in view of the urgency of the case, we hope the chairman of that body will not wait for the usual meeting of the Board but will take steps under the Act to at once close up the drain. It has been proved to be dangerous to the public, and therefore any delay is fraught with evil.