REPARATIONS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 17 July 1924, Page 9

REPARATIONS

EXTRA EDITION.

CONFERENCE BEGINS. EXPRESSIONS OF GOODWILL. MR. MACDONALD CHAIRMAN. BY CABLE-PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT Received July 17. 11.20 a.m. LONDON, July 16. Public interest in the opening of the Allied Conference was shown by the large crowd in. Downing Street an hour before the commencement, including the Dominion Boy Scouts, many journalists and photographers. There was a constant procession of motor cars and taxis from 10.35 onward. The Japanese delegates were the first to arrive, and then came M. Caclamarios (Greece), General Borton de Mattos (Portugal), and M. Tituleseo (R'oumania), followed by the Serbians, Belgians and M. Herriot, who had a particularly hearty welcome. Finally came the Italians. All proceeded to the Foreign Secretary’s room, where they took places at the horseshoe table.. The first meeting ended at one o’clock, resuming at five in the evening. Mr. MacDonald, in a speech, welcomed the delegates and urged the importance of enforcing the recommendations of the Dawes Committee as a whole unaltered.. It would be the business of the 'conference to create conditions under which the Dawes plan would be likely to work. The Premier hoped the conference would follow the good example of the Dawes Report, approaching the problem as a business proposition rather than from a political .standpoint. The conference should deal solely with the Dawes plan.* Mr. MacDonald specially welcomed the , 4 American representatives as bearing evidence of the co-operation and goodwill of the United States. M. Herriot thanked Mr. MacDonald for his noble words, and dwelt on the difficulty of the conference’s task of conciliation in. the interests of the people concerned and of taking steps to restore and maintain peace. He emphasised that everybody in France most sincerely desired peace. He proposed Mr. MacDonald for the chairmanship of the conference.

Mr. Ivellog thanked Mr. MacDonald for his welcome to the United States delegates, who had come in the spirit of helpfulness. He paid a warm tribute to the Dawes Committee, and. isaid the Americans believed the adoption of the Dawes Report would he- the firstbig step in the 'reconstruction of Europe. Signor Stefani seconded M. Herriot's pioposal that Mr. MacDonald be chairman, and promised Italian co-operation in the work of the conference. The Japanese Ambassador promised similar co-operation. M. THeunis expressed confidence that the conference would succeed in its work for justice and peace. Mr.' MacDonald accepted the chairmanship, and hoped the conference would succeed. Sii Maurice Hankey was elected secretary. t At the general conference three technical cominitiees were appointed Reuter. ' Fhe Dominions were not represented at the morning’s meeting, but it is undei stood that they will be represented at future meetings. * Mr Thomas and Sir Eyre Crow, in addition to Mr MacDonald and Mr Snowden, composed the British delegation. M r MacDonald, in the course of a.jueech, emphasised that the business of the conference was to create conditions under which the Dawes report would work; He said that two conditions seemed to -be absolutely essential, namely, the economic *nd‘ fiscal unity ot Germany and adequate security for investors in tha proposed loan. " T PARIS, July 16. in response to the Anglo-French refor suggestions regarding the drawing up of a plan -for the re-estab-lishment of Germany’s economic and fiscal unity, the Reparations Commission decided that the following conditions would determine whether the Dawes report should be put into execution : —Firstly, the complete handing over to a trustee of the securities provided for in the report; secondly, the completion, of the gold bank issue; thirdly, the formation of a company to work the railways; fourthly, complete subscription of the first loan of eight hundred million gold marks. The Petit Parisien says the lastnamed point was only decided after a heated discussion, the British delegate declaring that subscription would be difficult, and perhaps impossible, if the economic unity of Germany was not restored.—Reuter. ,