if our stock of gold were to diminish beyond a certain
point--that is a fairly high point--the Banks of France and Russia
should come to our assistance.

We have also made arrangements whereby France should have access to our
markets for Treasury bills issued in francs. We have also initiated
arrangements which we hope will help to restore the exchanges in respect
of bills held in this country against Russian merchants, who, owing to
the present difficulties of exchange, cannot discharge their liabilities
in this country. They are quite ready and eager to pay, they have the
money to pay, but, owing to difficulties of exchange, they cannot pay
bills owing in this country. We therefore propose to accept Russian
Treasury bills against these bills of exchange due from Russian
merchants, Russia collecting the debts in rubles in her own country and
giving us the Treasury bills in exchange. We hope that will assist very
materially in the working of the exchanges. It will be very helpful to
business between the two countries, and incidentally it will be very
helpful to Russia herself in raising money in her own country for the
purpose of financing the war.

We also received an undertaking from the Russian Government in return
for the advances which we were prepared to make, that Russia would
facilitate the export of Russian produce of every kind that may be
required by the allied countries. This, I believe, will be one of the
most fruitful parts of the arrangements entered into. An arrangement has
also been made about the purchases by the allied countries in the
neutral countries. There was a good deal of confusion. We were all
buying in practically the same countries; we were buying against each
other; we were putting up prices; it ended not merely in confusion, but
I am afraid in a good deal of extravagance, because we were increasing
prices against each other. It was very necessary that there should be
some working arrangement that would eliminate this element of
competition and enable us to co-ordinate, as it were, these orders.
There will be less delay, there will be much more efficiency, and we
shall avoid a good deal of the extravagance which was inevitable owing
to the competition between the three countries.

I have done my best to summarize very briefly the arrangements which
have been entered into, and I would only like to say this in conclusion.
After six months of negotiation by the cable and three days of
conf