JOH
WIRE & SONS LTD.
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS,
TEMSELOAF, FEN, LONDON,
TELEPHONE.
MANSION HOUSE 3041.
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Pul with gull's letter.
рель
19.12
92
8, Billiter Square, Londen, 18th December 1939
ECS.
Dear Howe,
(1) Yangtsze_gunboats.
Gull has sent me a copy
I fully support his point
of his letter of December 15. about the symbolic value of the gunboats and so, I am sure,
must everyone interested in the Yangtsze trade. I am
quite willing to admit that the whole flotilla, before
five boats were taken away, could easily have been shot up by the Japanese and was of no fighting value in itself; but it was the White Ensign and in spite of the events of the last two years I feel that it had some restraining influence on the Japanese and might have had more. Anyway from the China point of view their withdrawal will certainly
mean a loss of face with all that that means. On the
other side, although the Navy has had some terrific losses
I cannot see that they are yet so heavy that on balance it
is worth while withdrawing these few men.
I have just been using exactly the same argument about support for that quite inferior paper the "Central China Post", which in spite of its rottenness is a British
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