CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 785, 17 November 1922, Page 8

CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND.

LITTLE SIGN OP PRIVAjTE ECONOMY. REPARATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL DEBT'S. A rather joyous, care free, spendthrift Britain, recking fittle of the war's legacy of debt and trouble, was pictured by Mr Harold' Beauchamp in an interview given on his return to Wellington after a visit to the Old Country, Mr Beauchamp left London on September 15th, and the interval, between that and the present date has not been void oi important events or notable changes. This, however, is what Mr Beauchamp found dm mg a stay of about three months rn England : “Record attendances a't the Derby, Ascot. Goodwood, Henley regatta and Cowes ; trains crowded with passentrexs* though rates are 75 per cent, higher than those ruling in pre-war days ; 'theatres crammed—the oest seats selling readily at 13s Gdi each , fashionable' hotels and restaurants full; to overflowing ; motor charbancs running from John o" Groats to Land’s End carrying thousands of passengers daily. . ’‘Retailers in London, ’ continued Mr Beauchamp, “are, on the whole,/ doing excellent business at prices, in many cases, 100 per cent, over those rul,ing before the war, Manufacturers of popular motor cars —one of the geatest of luxuries—are full of or. tiers and can rarely undertake delivery for three months from dale of order. There is not the slightest attempt at economy in dress either on the part of women or men, and it seemed to me there was less evidence of poverty and distress i-t)an I have ever noticed in England/"' This, no doubt, is due t.o all classes of the community still drawing such high wages, and to the financial assistance a flo idled to unemployed by the Government ‘in the shape of weekly doles.” Mr Beauchamp had something to say about an example of Government interfeience with private enterprise : “I heard a good deal of adverse , riticisim” he stated), “against the Lent Restriction Act, which deterred so many people from erecting houses to meet the great demand. As a consequence the Govei nment came to the rescue and have built thousands of houses in all parts of the Kingdom. These have been built under the most, adverse conditions ; high wages, neak prices for materials, etc., with the result thaSj few tenants could be found to occupy these houses at a rental to give the Government anything like an adequate return on its expenditure. (To meet the position, rents had to be lowered, and the Government will he faced with a huge annual loss in the shape of interest, This, to my mind;, is another illustration of the folly of a Government interfering with private ente-.p*lse, and confirms President Hardings )e----mark, ‘that if there were less Government in business and moie business in Government it would bo ini the interest of ail cone erned.” The question which overshadowed all others while Mr Beauchamp was in England was that of Germany s ability or inability to pay the reparations imposed on ' her under me Treaty of Versailles. “International finance,” said Mr Beauchamp, “is unquestionably a most complex problem at the moment,, and those competent to express an opinion are almost unanimous in concluding that tnere will have to be a wiping off or stupendous liabilities incurred. 1 nations engaged in the . Great v\ ai, save perhaps Great Britain, befoie the equilibrium can be restored to anything approaching pre-war level. Great Britain is quite willing T o forgive the .debts of France, Russia, Italy and Belgium (amounting roughly to £]> 700,000,000) provided the 1 Unite:!, States of America would do the same, merely stipulating that America should give England time in which to .discharge hei _obligations to that country, totalling 11850,000,000 odd' It has also been suggested that more nbeiai terms should be granted to Germany, huL Id l.li a! proposal France, fearing the rapid rocrudescense of Germany —her ancient and implacable foe—lias not lent a sympathetic ear? Is Ibal lo be wondered ai ? “On many occasions, bolli in New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain, I have expressed the opinion that if Great Britain undertake to wipe out fields due to her l»y France, Russia, Italy and Belgium tii United Stales should accept., in payment of Great Britain's liability to her of £.850,000,000, bonds or debentures to be created by Germany for a sum to be agreed upon by (lie parlies concerned. If necessary, lhe.se bonds or debentures could be' guaranteed by Great Brilain and her European Allies, who. so substantially, would benefil b,v Great Britain’s generosity. It is is obvious that America, supported lnforce ma.jeure if necessary, would be in a much belter . position to colled moneys payable under I hose bonds or debentures Ilian European Powers, individually or collectively. Cola va sans dire. “Speaking a I one or two public gatherings just prior lo my sailing from England. Hie Governor of Ohio, Mr Cox, said he fully recognised how important it was for the Stales to come to Hie rescue of Europe. Failing llial, nothing bul bankruptcy stares several European rial ions in Ihe face. Austria, for example, is now standing on the brink of a financial abyss.”