THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1881. THE DRAINAGE BOARD ELECTION.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2412, 28 December 1881, Page 2

THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1881. THE DRAINAGE BOARD ELECTION.

As might have been anticipated, the fixing of the Drainage Board nominations on a holiday has resulted in a partial fiasco and increased expense to the ratepayers by the holding of a second election. This is not all, because, without for one moment wishing to disparage those gentlemen who have been elected, the ratepayers in several parts of the district have not had the opportunity of selecting. These [seats have been filled without a contest, and by gentlemen, except one, who are untried and entirely new to the work. This is exactly what we predicted in a former article on the subject, and now, so far as the Board is at present constituted, we shall have members who, though estimable enough in their private life, are yetjentirely inexperienced in the very important work of carrying out a large scheme of drainage. There was no reason whatever why the Returning Officer should have selected this particular day of all days in the year. Had it been on any other the chances are that in the whole of the sub-districts there would have been two or'more candidates, which at least would have given the ratepayers the opportunity of considering the respective qualifications of the men they wera asked to return. As it is now, with the exception of Mr. White, the public are profoundly ignorant of the special knowledge or fitness of the members that havo been elected. With regard to the one exception—Mr. White, junior—we have some knowledge, but we cannot regard what we do know of this gentleman in his capacity as a member of the Drainage Board as at all satisfactory. From first to last he has played the role of a mild obstructionist with considerable success. Could he have got his way—judging from what he has said and done—the scheme would absolutely have stopped, and the money already spent would have been rendered useless. It is therefore with feelings the reverse of satisfaction that we find Mr. White once more on the Board, and with his power considerably increased, because, being the only old member returned, hia opinions will have very great weight with his inexperienced colleagues. We trust, however, that having secured his election, both for the Assembly and the Drainage Board, on the rigid economy and care for the interests of the working man ticket, Mr. White will see how necessary it is to carry on to completion the present system of drainage. Mainly owing to his opposition the drainage of Sydenham has not been made so perfect as it should be in so rapidly increasing a suburb, and the day will yet come when Mr. White and his constituents, who now plnme themselves on having saved a few pence on their rates, will bitterly regret that they did not avail themselves of the advantages of the system to the fullest extent. They consider that their health will be amply conserved by side-channel drainage. It may be so for a little while, but this will soon be found inadequate for the wants of so rapidly increasing & population. We hope that the ratepayers of the portions of the district who have yet to elect their representatives, will carefully weigh the respective qualifications of the candidates nominated, and select those only who can in some degree at least show that they have a slight knowledge of the subject with which they will have to deal. la conclusion, a word to the newly elected members. Cheeseparing economy in carrying out a work of such magnitude and importance as affecting the public health is a dire mistake. It is no economy, but quite the reverse, and therefore prejudicial to the true interests of the ratepayers.

INSPECTION OF DAIRIES.

It must, we think, be very satisfactory to the public generally that the Government have at last taken active steps in the matter of authorising the Local Boards of Health to inspect dairies and milk supplied. Milk enters so Lrgely into household consumption, and is in many instances the sole food of young children, that too much care cannot be exercised to ensure its absolute purity. We are not now going to revive the discussion as to whether or not typhoid fever is communicated by the milk sold in the city and suburbs, hut there is no question that milk is peculiarly sensitive in tho matter of absorption of tho germs of disease. This fact will at once ho admitted by all, and is alone sufficient to warrant the most stringent supervision, by the local authorities. There is only one point in which wo think tho regulations gazetted go too far. That is tho compelling the Local Boards to employ a medical man as inspector of dairies. The main cause of infected milk is the want of cleanliness, which an ordinary inspector of nuisances could discover just as well as tho whole College of Surgeons. Of course, upon the report of the inspector of nuisances that the premises of any dairy were in a bad state, the medical officer could then examine and report whether, in hio opinion, the state of the dairy was such as to warrant tho extrema step of prohibition of rule being taken. Bat it seems to us a waste of valuable time and incurring a large expense to keep a medical man going round these dairies to see that they were kept clean. If tho supervision is to be worth anything at all, it must be done rigidly and systematically. To carry this out properly would take the whole time of one man, Kow Just let

oar readers consider the amount of salary which would require to be paid tor the whole services of any medical gentleman. It is not as if hy the employment of tests the medical inspector could say that such and such milk was infected and likely to communicate disease. We believe we are correct in saying that it is absolutely impossible to detect the presence in milk of the germs of typhoid or •any other disease. Wo quite agree with the necessity of having a medical officer who can bettor than a layman say whether in his opinion such a state of things is likely to produce infection ; but, as wo have pointed out, if the Local Board of Health is to keep a medical gentleman constantly on the move inspecting dairies and seeing that the regulations are carried out tho cost will be enormous. This is well within the scope of an ordinarily intelligent Inspector of Nuisances, with, of course, professional advice to refer to.

THE PROPOSED EXHIBITION. The amalgamation of the two committees into one for the purpose of ensuring a good representation of New Zoa- • land in the approaching Exhibition is a step in the right direction. It is only right to say that this committee is not in any way connected with tho promoters. Tho Exhibition is a purely private speculation, and all that the committee have to do with it i° to see that the interests of tho New Zealand exhibitors are conserved, and that a fairly good representation of our products is obtained. Wo should like to direct the attention of the committee to a matter which should at once be attended to. That is the appointment of subcommittees in other parts of the colony —viz , Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, &c. —so as to ensure tho representation of the whole colony. This is a matter which admits of no delay, as the time is now getting very short. If exhibitors come forward as they have done on former occasions. New Zealand will have no cause to bo ashamed of the show we shall make, albeit in competition with the productions of the older countries of Europe.