12 MARCH 1927, Page 3

.Tust before the General Strike last May the number of

rsons receiving relief was 9,733. In August it had en to over 49,000. The Guardians instructed the lieving officers not to require applicants to show their operative store pass-books, though these pass-books ere well known to be the principal means of ascertaining tvone.s financial position. The temporary Guardians ipointed by the Ministry of Health last September have Id bare a wide network of corruption, and the only ssible conclusion is that men and women who might T been honest yielded to the invitation of the late tardians to behave dishonestly. The late Guardians ialized members of trade unions who were in arrears th their subscriptions. In other words, they used the epayers' money to influence an industrial dispute.