It was quite on a par with the quixotic idea in certain quarters that in a hundred million years the coal seam of the sister island would be played out and if , as time went on , that turned out to be how the cat jumped all he could personally say on the matter was that as a host of contingencies , equally relevant to the issue , might occur ere then it was highly advisable in the interim to try to make the most of both countries , even though poles apart 这种见解就跟一部分人所持的那种再过一亿年，爱尔兰岛的姊妹岛不列颠岛的煤层就将被挖掘一空这一堂吉诃德式的看法如出一辙。随着时间的推移，即便形势的发展果如所料，关于这个问题他个人至多也只能说：在这之前会接连发生无数偶然事件，对于引发这一结局将同样有着关连尽管两国之间的分歧大得简直是南辕北辙，眼下总还是以竭力相互利用为宜。
