THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1880.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 184, 20 January 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1880.

The proposition to establish in the adjoining Borough of Sydenham the ward system, which has been so successful in the city, is one which we hope to see carried to a practical issue. It will be in the recollection of our readers that when the system was first proposed in Christchurch an outcry was raised against it. The experiment has, however, keen tried, and it is a perfect success. The same may be hoped for in Sydenham. By returning members from wards each portion of the borough is ensured representation. It has in the Council a member charged generally with the affairs of the whole but more particularly with those of the ward he represents. The ratepayers have therefore a more direct hold over their representative than under the system now obtaining in Sydenham. Now a Councillor can say when taxed with lack of zeal on some particular point, " Oh well, th« others are equally responsible with myself." But when each ward sends its representative, the ratepayers of that ward can fix the responsibility directly on the person who has the right to be called to account. The individual members being thus kept up to their work makes it all the better for the borough genorally, as it re-acts on the whole Council. The system has, so far as it has been tried in the city, worked admirably, and no doubt when the Sydenham people introduce it there, as we hope they will, it will do the same there. With regard to financial matters, things, of course, would remain as they are. It would naturally be fatal to the interests of the borough at largo if no general works wore to be undertaken because the representatives of one ward were unwilling that more money should be spent in one ward than in another. Such pettifogging ideas would at once prove the ward system to be inapplicable. But, judging from experience, thero appears to be no danger of such a state of affairs obtaining. The advantages of the ward system lie in the fact that the city officers are supervised by gentlemen more specially iuterested in local matters, and also in the fact that the residents in the different wards are able to " bring the right man to book" when things go wrong in their particular ward. " What is everybody's business is nobody's business has been proved to be the case as much at least in municipal affairs as in others. The ward system has worksl so well in Christchurch that wo trust the people of Sydenham will aid in the efforts mado to introduce it, as it will materially assist in the proper Government of the borougk.

The Sydenham Borough Council havo been for some little time past in considerable trouble as to the naming of their streets. One or two committees have spent hours of labor ou this important subject, but no practical rosult was arrived at until last night. So far as can be learned, the old councillors, despairing of getting a list of names which would moot with general approval, determined to hand their own names down to posterity by attaching them to the streots of the model borough. Unfortunately for them, however, they went out of office

before this could be carried into effect, and their successors carefully revised all that had been done, and, to use their own words, " started afresh." This time it appears the committee have hit upon an original method. They propose to call the streets after approved modern authors. So far so good; but we would desire to point out to the committee that they might unwittingly give offence to ratepayers of pronounced literary proclivities. For instance they might name a street after tbo Poet Laureate the majority of residents in which were anti-Tenny-sonian to a man. Conceive the refined cruelty of forcing any one who bated the very name of Tennyson to continually use it in his correspondence and daily life. Besides this it will be a most difficult task for the committee to make the selection. Where will they draw the line? Will they admit Swinburno or Miss BraddonP We regret that the list as selected was not published,because it would be instructive as affording us an insight into the literary tastes of the councillors of Svdenham. Perhaps, on the whole, it would be safest to take the lightest of authors, as there certainly would be found less bias in their writings than in more serious works. Messrs Burnand, Mark Twain, and Co. might be fixed on, for instance. With regard to the Olliver Cromwell that one Councillor appears to have alluded to, there should be caution used. Even if he is a writer of popular farces or of street songs, it would perhaps be as well not to use bis name, as it might be mistaken for that of another celebrated gentleman who was less noted as an author than as a good all-round man in camp and council.