16 FEBRUARY 1924, Page 3

No doubt there has been some misunderstanding, but it has

been a misunderstanding about which or what rules Mr. Wheatley is altering and not about his general intentions, which still seem to us most ominous. Poplar, as an outrageous example of municipal reckless- ness, was made subject to a special Order, and - Mr. Wheatley is technically able to argue that in giving Poplar the same powers of discretion that belong to other Unions he is not altering Poor Law policy in general. It is also true that the Mond scale had in some sense been rendered obsolete, because it was nominally super- seded by the Act passed last year. Unfortunately for Mr. Wheatley, his explanation leaves untouched the fact that he is remitting surcharges which were properly imposed and have never been met by the Guardians.