the others cannot for the moment make a similar contribution. But it is
equally true that the same principle applies to the country with the
larger navy or the country with the greater resources in capital and
credit. They must be made available to the utmost for the purpose of the
alliance, whether the other countries make a similar contribution or
not. That is the principle upon which the conference determined to
recommend to their respective Governments a mobilization of our
financial resources for the war.

The first practical suggestion we had to consider was the suggestion
that has been debated very considerably in the press--the suggestion of
a joint loan. We discussed that very fully and we came to the conclusion
that it was the very worst way of utilizing our resources. It would have
frightened every Bourse and attracted none. It would have made the worst
of every national credit and the best of none. Would the interest paid
have been the interest upon which we could raise money, the rate at
which France could have raised money, or the rate at which Russia could
raise money? If we paid a high rate of interest we could never raise
more money at low rates. If instead of raising L350,000,000 a few weeks
ago for our own purposes we had floated a great joint loan of
L1,000,000,000, the House can very well imagine what the result would
have been. We decided after a good deal of discussion and reflection
that each country should raise money for its own needs within its own
markets in so far as their conditions allowed, but that if help were
needed by any country for outside purchases then those who could best
afford to render assistance for the time being should do so.

There was only one exception which we decided to recommend, and that was
in the case of borrowings by small States. We decided that each of the
great allied countries should contribute a portion of every loan made to
the small States who were either in with us now or prepared to come in
later on, that the responsibility should be divided between the three
countries, and that at an opportune moment a joint loan should be
floated to cover the advances either already made, or to be made, to
these countries outside the three great allied countries. That was the
only exception we made in respect of joint loans. Up to the present very
considerable advances have been made by Russia, by France, and by
ourselves to other countries. It is proposed that, if the