82 On the strength of the above mentioned security, and of the drafts procu red by the Bank, till the armistice, the National Bank had advanced 1.600.000.000 lei (an : 24) with which we carried on the war in our country, as follows. On Oct. 21 st 1916 - . 300.000.000 lei » Apr. 12"' 1917 300.600.000 » » Dec. 20"' 1917 300.000.000 » » May. 16 th 1918 300.000.000 » Examining the form in which England granted the credit mentioned above, at first sight one might say, that when the delay for which the validity of these obligations was stipulated, came to an end, they were to be annuled. In fact this was a typical formula applied to all interallied debts. Now, as they were intended as a security for an issue, the possibility of their being annulled after the end of the war is out of the qufstion, leaving an effective issue with out any security, an issue which served to supplying the troops which were carrying on the war. This clause can only be interpreted to mean that, it could be annulled, if, it is well understood, the enemy being vanquished, would have reimbursed the value of all the advances made to the different allies, for financing the war, and only in this manner can the clause of^innulation, after a year from the end of the war, be interpreted. II THE ISSUE OF ENGLISH, FRENCH AND AMERICAN DRAFTS Besides this assistance given for the security of the National Bank issue of notes, insufficient by reason of the Russian defection, for supplying the needs of the army, and what is more of the population, impoverished by the Russian armies of 1.000.000 men, on Dec. 1 st 1919, the financial delegates of the United States of France and Great Britain, at the conference of the allies held in Paris, decided to advise their governments to grant immediately a temporary help, for continuing the war. This help consisted in a participation, in equal parts, of the United States, France and Great Britain, in a credit which was to be opened to the Roumanian Government in dollars, francs and pounds sterling, for a sum corresponding to 20 million dollars (An : 19). The credits were to be negociated, so as to place at the disposition of the Roumanian Government roubles which were to serve exclusively for purchases in Russia of supplies for maintaining the army and the population. This convention provides under art 7, that the provisional agreement which will last till January 31 st 1918 will form the object of a another subse quent agreement. This proves beyond doubt that th a Allies after the battles of Maresti and Maraserti notwithstanding the Russian defection fully appre dated the sacrifices that a handful of men, retired in a small corner of the country had made. At the same time on the information of their represen tatives, they had arrived at the conviction that even the population was without