Br 0. of.
(Batitor, "North-china Daily News & Herald," 1911-1090)
London, May 26, The keynote of the Chinese visit has been its prevailing jolliness, 1 have been at several functions given in honour of the delegates, at some of which guns of the largest calibre were present, and one and all were notable for a pleasant sense of easy Mriendliness—may 1 say opium cunt aignitete?—very unusual on such occasions. On the last afternoon of their slay the Ambassador gave on enormous tea party (I decline to call it by that chilling word "reception") for the Delegates, at which there must have been 600 or 700. peuple. Among them I saw Lord and Lady Willingdon, Lord and Lady Lytton, Viscount Cecil, Admiral" Sir Frederick and Lady Dreyer, High Commis sioners and diplomatic bodies by the score. Such functions are usually just_a duty. This one was enjoyable—and the Iced coffee was a dream.
Looking to more serious aspects of the visit, it is certainly true, as Sir Frederick Maze ald to me, that China's reputation never stood higher in London than it does to-day, If she wants to raise a loan (no official statement has yet been or can be made on this subject) she will at least find people very ready to talk Dusiness. On the other hand it would be wrong to raise exaggerated hopes. No country can expect to borrow at better terms than its {sting loans offer. While the 1925, Gold Loan is above par, and "Reorgs" practically at par, so good a security 26 the 1912 loan is still round about 90-81. Hence the idea of borrowing at 4 per eent—say, to consolidate the internal losns—would inevitably be disappointed. "Business are business' as the Frenchmen said, and businessmen are the same in any country.
On the other hand, the general opinion in the City is that a reasonopesal by China, having regard the facts of the situation, would meet with @ ready hearing.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.