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to the state of friction which minor differences provoke, and, having made a public declaration of the will of all the great Nations for peace,to leave it to each Nation to make such reductions as their circumstances demand and their need for self-defence will admit?",
The Cabinet felt great difficulty in taking a decision on a subject of such grave import in the absence of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In any event they decided that they could not usefully continue the discus- sion until they knew with greater precision exactly what the French Government intended by the proposal for a formula which would determine relative cruiser strength according to length of lines of communication",
The Cabinet agreed
(NOTE.
That Lord Cushendun should send
a telegram to the above effect to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A copy of the telegram sent by Lord Cushendun is attached in Appendix II.)
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