Mr. Lloyd George spoke with animation and merriment, evidently feeling
very sure of his position, when he explained to the House of Commons on Tuesday the trade agreement with Russia. The agreement was purely a trade arrangement with a de facto Government. It was not a Treaty of Peace. The right to recover debts from Russia, whether public or private, had not been waived. Mr. Lloyd George ridiculed the idea that British traders were opposed to the agreement. " You cannot," he said, " rule out half of Europe and vast territories of Asia by simply saying ' Ring down the fire curtain and let the fire burn itself out.' " As for the position of the Russian Bolsheviks, there was no doubt that Bolshevism was still main- taining itself and that there was at present no alternative government. Nevertheless, information had reached him which showed that there was a change from the extravagant Com- munism of even a few months ago.
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