19 DECEMBER 1941, Page 12

BRITISH AND CHINESE

StR,—In Mr. Harold Nicolson's Marginal Comment last week, his ex- planation of ow. affinity with the Chinese omits one characteristic—their commercial integrity. As a member of a mercantile family which did much trade with the Far East, I gathered in my ong-ago child- hood that the Chinese were a people to be liked and respected— much more than the Japs—not only because of the supreme originality of their Art, but because their word was as good as their bond. If you made a bargain with a reputable Chinese firm, even verbally without witnesses, that bargain would be kept, however unprofitable it proved to the Chinaman. That sort of reputation counts for much with our " nation of shopkeepers."—Yours faithfully,