Playing the Loan Hand.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 1797, 18 May 1912, Page 2

Playing the Loan Hand.

| A few words over the cables every . now and then gives the merest kinds I 'of hints that the greatest problem • ' facing the new Republic of China , ' is that of funds to financo the move- ' , ment. The new Government apj pealeel to the Powers which have \ consulates at Pekin to render monetary aid, and the Powers pushed ■ forward the bankers, who started in to organise a sort of international fund to back up tlie Republic. On tho Bth-' inst. the Chinese Minister of Finance was called into consultation with this group of international bankers, anel was askcel how Chinaproposed to spend the big loan for which negotiations were in progress. Tho Minister at first was inclined to ask "Whaffor?" and to say "No savvey!" But when told plainly that it was a case of no explanation, no money, he laid the proposals on the table. The bankers explained •the conditions on which they were prepared to aclvanco the loan, and the Cabinet is now supposed to be discussing the terms. So much for the situation in Pekin; but things aro not going so smoothly down in. the capital of Japan. It appears it has heen with Japan's Cabinet "all the same big fellow Power," and when the other five leading Powers represented in Pekin under- ■ took to put £10,000,000 each into the pool to help China out of its difficulties, Japan had to "chip in" too. "Wo hael to do it to protect pur own interests against the other fellows," says tho Government. Anel | ever since the Opposition newspapers lof Tokio, .plus a great many of , | Japan's business men and politicians, have been roasting the Government for having entered into the six-Power syndicate that is going to finance the new Chinese Republic. 1 The Government's critics want to know whore the money is coming from? For tho Japanese nation is already taxed to tho oxtreme limit of endurance, and it is utterly imi possible for the Government to raise even a small fraction of the money in the home market. Count Okuma, founder anel ex-leader of tho Progressive Party, and formerly Pret mier, says that the Government will have to borrow the money abroad. , China will have to pay a high rate of interest, and Japan is 'so deeply in debt that her credit is not very gOocT, and she, too, would have to pay big interest for any loan money. Cheerful for John and Jap; but it is real 'cute of the European Powers to thus take the opportunity of subjugating the Mongol with money, j instead of men-at-arms.