Note from E. Tsouderos regarding the settlement of Greece"s war debt to England.

Under these circumstances we are bound to ask our- selves whether the country could withstand any further taxation without kneeling, since hardly two months ago fresh taxes amounting to Drms 1,400,000,000 or £3,500,000 had to be imposed for balancing the Budget of the current year. The figures and observations contained in your Note, which was forwarded to me by your letter of Mr. Leith Ross dated the 22nd instant, do not apparently come up to the real point, in so far as Greece is concerned. Of our popula- tion (totalling 6,300,000) a section numbering 1,500,000 and representing the Refugee masses, is not yet in a position to yield and is still the object of much expense. If our general trade (imports and exports) amounts to the sum of £42,000,000, the fact, however, should be taken under consideration that the imports exceed exports perhaps by more than half. That if taxation has reached the figures recorded, this is a result of the imperative need to meet the refugee obligations, but it represents, in my opinion, the highest limit of our taxative strength and endurance.