(30
"amendment)
making a bad bargain from a financial point of view, and
that the proposed loan might not be sufficient to maintain
the Chinese currency for more than a comparatively short
period.
Mr. Cowell pointed out that the latter
considerations did not arise in the present case, and he
asked whether there had been any recent changes in the
Cabinet policy. In this connection he referred to the
recent Foreign Office letter regarding the policy of
"pin pricking" the Japanese throughout the Empire. Mr.
Howard also mentioned the recent telegrams from H.M.
Ambassador at Tokyo which showed that he was now more
inclined to advise taking a firmer line with the
Japanese owing to the lack of success of a conciliatory
policy. Sir John Brenan replied that, as far as he was
aware, this question had not come before the Cabinet
recently.
The recent Foreign Office letter to which [arette as the result by any mestructions by (written
Mr. Cowell referred had not been submitted to the Cabinet.
Mr. Wardley suggested that the present proposal
should be discussed as a commercial proposition. He said
that, as such, he doubted whether it was worth our while
to pay any sum which will be likely to interest the
Chinese Government. Sir John Brenan asked whether it
might not be worth our while to pay such a sum as a means
of giving assistance to China against Japan. Mr. Compton
replied that he thought that in such a matter we were
bound by the recent Cabinet decision.
In reply to a question by Mr. Wardley, Mr.
Cowell replied that the Colonial Office did not wish to
put forward any proposals in this matter, they merely
6=
wanted
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