The departure in October of Michael Hylton, Q.C., as Jamaica's Solicitor General will be a loss to the public Bar. He has served with distinction in the post these past six and half years and, the unquestioned credentials of the recently installed Mrs. Zaila McCalla notwithstanding, would have made a fine Chief Justice.

According to Mr. Hylton, his decision to return to the private Bar was unrelated to his withdrawal in May of his candidacy to replace the then Chief Justice, Lensley Wolfe, who has since retired. When he became Solicitor General, Mr. Hylton said he planned to serve for five years. By the time he leaves, he will have served closer to seven.

Obviously, if Mr. Hylton, having been nominated by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, and been installed as the Chief Justice, he, all things being equal, would have remained on the bench for more than a decade.

In his case, though, one of the things that makes him such an outstanding attorney, came into play. He withdrew himself from contention when he felt, by whatever source or means, that he did not have the support of the Opposition. The Chief Justice's job, as Mr. Hylton argued, is one that should be able to stand above partisan considerations and the persons who hold the post should be beyond suspicion.

It is not frequent that talent such as Mr. Hylton's head to the public sector, where remuneration and overall work environment are notas attractive as in the private sector. However, his skills will not be entirely lost, and will indeed be relatively widely shared, if he is at the bar contending with opposing counsel, reasoning with judges and passing on his knowledge to juniors.

Health scheme contract

In periods such as these, just ahead of elections, governments are understandably wary of upsetting interests whose votes or influence may tell in the ballot box. Conviction tends to go through the window.

Such, therefore, is the context in which we note the latest statement of the Office of the Contractor General on the issue of the contract to provide health insurance to government employees. For a long, time this more than $2 billion-a-year facility was managed by Blue Cross of Jamaica, overseen by a committee of trade unions to which the Government effectively ceded its authority.

This year, after much agitation by the press and others, the contract was put to public tender and Life of Jamaica was declared the winner, to which the trade unions objected, arguing, essentially, that Blue Cross was cheated.

The Government has decided to review the tender process and analysis and involve the trade unions, which want Blue Cross in the exercise. The Contractor General, Greg Christie, who says the rules were followed in the first place, now argues that the involvement of the unions in the review is wrong and in breach of the Government's procurement guidelines and will be in breach of the law.

It is time, we feel, for principle to kick in, elections are not. If Blue Cross and the unions believe that they were unfairly done, they should test their claim in court and the Government shouldn't stand in their way.