GENOA CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 11 March 1922, Page 1

GENOA CONFERENCE

ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE. LONDON, January 20. Plans for the Conference at Genoa to discusß the economic reconstruction of Europe move quickly forward. The Italian Government has been entrusted with the plans, and already every nation in Europe except Turkey—twentyfour in all—has been invited to attend. In addition to delegates from European countries there will be representatives of the United States, Japan, and South American States. It is ex-

pected that 45 nations will partid-

pate. Whether the British Dominions will he directly r©presented is still in doubt. The decision rests with the various Governments for the issue of invitations depends on the character of the response to the soundings that have been made It may he pointed out that Ireland now comes within the category of a Dominion for this purpose. The Dail has not yet decided the matter.

Assuming that the delegation and secretariat for each nation will numbe r '4O, it seems probable that the personal gathered in Genoa will comprise 1000 persons. It will be the largest and most important international conference ever held. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Russia will be invited to send delegates. It is rumoured that both Dr. Wirth (German Chancellor) and Herr Rathenau will attend. Turkey, whose position a<fa European Power, is now nearly at vanishing point, is the only nation of importance that will not be there. It is at present a house divided against itself, and the respective positions of the Constantinople and Angora Governments is yet indeterminate. SOVIET REPRESENTATION.

Judging by the hints that are to be found in the latest Soviet papers, Lenin does not intend to be there if it takes place in Genoa, but if the European Powers and Great Britain in particular, accept Cliicherin’s suggestion that the Conference shall take place in London, instead of Genoa, the Soviet ruler may favour this country with his presence. According to the Moscow papers, the Soviet delegation will be quite numerous—not less than 15 del gates—and the following names are mentioned among the candidates: Chicherin, Ilitvinoff, Krassin, Joffre Furstenberfi-Hanetsky, Kutler (an exCzarist Minister of Finance), Rvkoff, Bogoliepoff, Alsky, Schmidt, Colonei Kameneff (the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army), General Skesarev. and Florinsky.

FRANCE’S POSITION. What France will do in the matter is not yet clear. It seems, however, unlikely that the new Ministry, whether or not its Premier pomes in person j would go as far as to detach France from a Conference to which she was pledged in principle from the first day of the Cannes meeting. The principle that a country’s -successive Governments should eadhj respect the publicly-given international engagement of its predecessors is of importfor the conduct of international relations, as France herself has often pointed out. A FURL AGENDA. “Of no less consequence than a full attendance at Genoa is a full agenda,” says the “Daily Mail.” If the Conference were to confine itself narrowly to such purely economic questions, as exchanges, currencies, debts, and trad®, it might possibly have no more definite or siuhst- ntial result than the former Economi c Conference held in Brussels. In the Europe of to-day economic questions are tied up with and dominated by political questions; and but little practical progress can be made with the former, unless the latter are open to frank discussion. Mr Lloyd George put the point plainly in his opening speech at Cannes, and repeated it in his notable Memorandum to M. Briand. If the Genoa Conference is to be of serious value for the revival o fEuropean trade, political questions; must keep their place at it. The basic conditions of such a revival are purely political; they are disarmament, mutual peace agreements, open frontiers and the balancing of budgets by taxation.”