* * * Mr. Asquith's views on the Russian Treaty
were expressed in a, letter written to a correspondent which was published in the papers of Monday. He said that he associated himself without reserve with the protests already made by his Liberal colleagues. He repudiated the idea that the Liberal attitude was dictated by hos- tility to the present Russian Government or by any indisposition to arrive by negotiation at an adjustment of outstanding claims. He held as strongly as ever that trade with Russia was indispensable. The world was becoming a single unit, with, of course, a multitude of varied and interdependent factors, and Russia could not be left out. The vice of the vital part of the Treaty— the chapter of which the loan is declared to be an integral and inseparable part—was that it left the whole futute to chance and provided no security worthy of the name either for just treatment of British claims or for British credit. On the whole Mr. Asquith, while pretending to agree with Mr. Lloyd George, makes us believe that compromise is not absent from his thoughts. Probably the Treaty could not be amended without Russian consent. If that is so, it is possible that there may be further discussions between Great Britain and Russia before the House of Commons is called upon to reject or accept the Treaty. * * * *
Previous page
