ABSTRACT
If one contemplates dispassionately the situation described in Part II of this book, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that drastic and far-reaching changes are required in the organisation of London government. But however urgent and imperative the need may be, it cannot be assumed that it will be fulfilled by some automatic process of social reform, operating under the influence of unknown forces. There is nothing inevitable in the adjustment of political and administrative institutions to contemporary needs. There are plenty of instances to be found both in the past and in the present where adjustment has not taken place. The price to be paid for such failure is, of course, another question.
