bargain from a financial point of view, and that the
megat proposed loan
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.
Howard also mentioned the recent telegram
from H.M.
Mr.
advise taking go which showed that he was now more inclined to take a firmeline 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
The recent
had not come before the Cabinet recently.
Foreign Office letter to which 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
wanted