HELEN Dobby's letter (Times, July 31) illustrates yet again my contention, last expressed as recently as May 29, that West Devon's borough councillors have lost the plot. This is not, I hasten to add, Ms Dobby's fault, though her argument is somewhat quaint. Her letter raises two issues, one constitutional, the other rhetorical. Constitutionally, no well-run council would allow a letter to appear in the public prints above the imprimature of an officer of the paid service. Explications of council policy or intention fall properly to be made by the chairman of the relevant committee or the leader of the council, even if the content be drafted for him by a leading officer. This is no mere constitutional nicety: it goes to the heart of representative democracy; Councillors have no business to skulk behind the rhetorical skirts of paid officials in order to obfuscate their responsibility to the electorate for the council's decisions. As to rhetoric, Ms Dobby's justifications are thin and almost apologetic. First, '...[existing rules] were hard to use'; the implication is that the draft dog orders have been devised for the convenience of those implementing them rather than for the benefit of those affected. Then, 'that does not mean that common sense will fly out of the window'; apart from being non sequitur to its preamble about 'large geographic areas', this smacks of an apologia for having crafted a computer-controlled steam hammer to shell a peanut. Next, 'The orders will generally be enforced where the dog fouling problems are causing concern' implies that implementation will be intentionally arbitrary from the outset — a novel concept in English Law. Finally, '...issues raised around working dogs will be considered...'; why on earth were they not considered before drafting a document that, prima facie, requires, inter alia, farmers to remove the leavings of their dogs from open moorland? Space does not allow me to deal adequately with the substance of the draft orders. I have read them. They are ill-considered, bureaucratic and draconian. West Devon Borough Councillors would do well to refer the whole matter to a task-and-finish group of members for proper consideration and comprehensive redrafting. This is not an issue that can be left to officers without firm, clear political guidance. Roger W Mathew Down Road Tavistock