Meanwhile the air is full of rumours as to how
far the British Government will go in meeting French wishes about security. The Chicago Tribune has pub- lished what purported to be the substance of a British Cabinet memorandum to the effect that " isolation " was out of date ; that air warfare had reduced the Channel to a worthless ditch ; and that a military guarantee of the eastern frontier of France was essential for British safety. We have no means of knowing whether such a matter has been discussed by the Cabinet. All we kriow for certain is that Lord Balfour has joined in the Cabinet discussions, and that whatever schemes were projected none has yet been accepted. For our part we have never been opposed to promising France security, but have always been in favour of doing so. She is a prey to her fears, and we ought to allay those fears so far as we reasonably can ; though we must never cease to remind her that her true security lies in the good will of her friends—a fact which she is in extreme danger of forgetting.
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