The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st, 1922 THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 October 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st, 1922 THE WEEK.

The thought for the times to-day. conveys a very concise idea <>l the war debts burden from the British point of view. The indigent allied nations of Europe which were succoured so indulgently hv Great Britain in war time, owe the Motherland exactly tour times the amount ol the debt, Britain owes the United States. The money borrowed from America was raised specially to assi-t in financing the Allies, so that Britain in addition to direct aid. hacked the hills as it weie of the nations in extremities to help them through the war perio.l. America bus hinted very plainly that Great Britain must pay. and England is hollering the debt. This wee's a very considerable payment has been made to the United States, further proof of the solvency of England and the ratification of her word being her bond. After all the stress and strain of war times and the draining effect of the aftermath, including the tremendous cost in helping the unemployed. and fostering the great industries such as coal mining, ship building, iron working, and other great Allied industries. | Britain remains the one outstanding . solvent nation in Europe of those mixed up in the Great War. It is a position much to be appreciated and is in itself a notable tribute to the statesmanship which has guided the complex government of the country through all the stressful time. And. further, England has offered to write off the debts of the Allies due to her equal to the amount America may forego, as detailed in the Balfour Note. The United States is predisposed to that' end but the Ministry hesitate to take the , actual step in assent. !

The reparations maze is one of the principal harriers to a solution of the Allied debts. If the enemy countries could pay the demands of the Allies under the treaty obligations the situ- i ation would he easy, hut Germany the j principal debtor, is not complying, nor is likely to comply at all readily to the 1 claims put upon her. Franco has taken the most exacting stand of all the Allies, hut the solution of the issue . is not in sight. An English paper states in regard to the reparations are : briefly as follows, so far as affects the ' three countries principally concerned: i France: Has already spent £I.OOO- i 000,000 oil reconstruction in the area. : devastated by Germany, and cannot pay , interest on that amount unless Ger- i many makes the reparation payments. 1 If Germany is “let off’’ France is tliren- j toned with bankruptcy. i Great Britain: Has 1,400,000 people ! out of work ; has been saddled with the j entire burden of her expenditure in a. war which Germany provoked: will have for the next generation to pay . annually to the United States a sum ' of £70.000.000 for interest and sinking . fund on tho sum borrowed from the . United States Government to lend to tho Allies; and will apparently get lit- ' tie of the £1,852.000,000 she'has lent to the Allies. Germany: Has brought down the ' mark from 20 to a £ to .‘1.400 to a £. ; and protests that- she cannot pay the , reparation eharges which she under- ; took, though they have been placed at a figure which is below what she was ready to fix herself. Ts tho most lightly taxed State in Europe and is spending heavily on luxuries, raihvnvs. telephonos; has no unemployed and has all her important assets intact. There are two possible ways out of this economic maze. The first is to reel n ire the German Government to Impound the vast amounts \yhich German

financiers and millionaires have transferred abroad, to France and Gieat Britain, when there would be relief to both Allied nations with no profound disturbance of the exchanges. The second is to adopt the French plan and put in an execution against the German Government. The latest -indication is that there is to bo further time granted to Germany, so that Great Britain will continue to carry the burden.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain is about to be involved in a historymaking general election. The cabled comments of the newspapers and leading political figures at Home indicate that the contest will he a determined one, ill which party rattier than country is to predominate. Those responsible for the smashing of the Coalition are hitter party men who resent the leadership of Mr Lloyd George and who wish to dissociate themselves one way or the other from the component parts of the Coalition. The outstanding figure in the fray despite the reproaches and criticism hulled against him is undoubtedly Mr Lloyd George. He lias a very large following in the country and it depends how his candidates are distributed over the constituencies. The Franco-Turkish coquetting resulted in Britain being left in the lurch in the Near East—this despite the fact i*hat the peace treaty was involved. It may have lieen clever or even diplomatic on the part of France to manoeuvre for the position she did. but it was hardly cricket. Mr Lloyd George lias l>een blamed for rather bluntly criticising France on the subject, but to onlookers at this distance France earned the reprimand. Britain stood alone at a monetary cost of two millions and a half. Again to onlookers this was much cheaper than the war which would have come inevitably if the victorious Turks had been allowed to infest the shores of the ftardanelles. or crossed unchecked iilto the European territory of tire Greeks. Britain did humanity a servi«e by the stand the Government took. Mn Li, ovi) George is very rightly credited with being a resourceful leader Wero lie not so, Great Britain would

not have attained the outstanding position in Europe she does to-day. The critics of the Prime Minister "ho has retired from office after magnificent service to his country, to the Empire, and to the world at large, is still very full of fight. .As a contemporary has remarked he is capable of upsetting the calculations of all parties and achieving popularity even he has not previously enjoyed. There are not very certain ideas as to the methods he will 1 use to turn tile tables on those who have taken full advantage of what is claimed to have been an indiscretion on bis part. He will bide his opportunity, and if the Coalitionists cannot lie whipped into line he will ensure that they shall he involved in any destruction that comes to himself. It is natural that the French Press should be unsympathetic ns the question of reparations is uppermost in the minds of our chief allies. They emphasise the failure of successive conferences, and it is conceivable that the delay in bringing Germany to terms may influence the electors in the coining campaign. Added to this there is a general consensus of opinion that Britain hacked the wrong horse in the GreecoTurkisli war, though explanation for this may lie perfectly satisfactory. It is an open secret that for a long time a conspiracy to oust the Radical leader of the Conservative Administration has been afoot, and Air Lloyd George may tackle iust those measures which will confound his opponents and turn the incident to his own advantage. If Mr Bonar Law takes up the office of Premier. doubtless it will he but temporarily till the elections clear the air. When in double harness Mr Lloyd George and Mr Bonar Law were on the best of terms, working for tlieir country’s cause and the present arrangement is probably advised by Air Lloyd George to same end. - Tim prospects of an autumn election at Home have long been discussed. No doubt much political intrigue has been afoot, for in August last, according to late English files, the Conservative leaders were in close conference. At the close of Parliament the new political event —a general election- because uppermost in the minds of those engaged in the ordering of the political parties. One report said that there was a meeting of the Unionist leaders ■ and principal organisers in a private | room at the House ot Lords to con- : sider the growing desire for independ-

once in the party and its future attitude tow ii I'(Ik the Coalition. Mr Austen Chamberlain presided, and nearly all the men who formulate the Conservative Party policy or manage its machine were present, and a long discussion took place. It was understood that no decision was arrived at which would lie brought into effect immediately, but certain plans with regard tu the future wore made, and in this oon--1 neetion it is significant (says the paper) flint there was a sudden revival ; of the rumour of an autumn general : election, or at least of a, change in the ! composition of the Government. These ■ cannot be traced to any definite source : ‘beyond the general belief that Mr I Lloyd George is contemplating a now j move either to consolidate the Oon’i tion into one party or to resign. Mr Lloyd George’s recent remark to a dcj potation of Coalition Liberals that the I allegiance of Conservatives had been 1 strained becomes increasingly significant. The meeting decided to press energetically for Mr Lloytl Geer,go’s j acceptance of a more pronounced Coni servativo policy. All this lias no doubt 1 helped to contribute towards tlie defi- * nito situation which has now arisen in ; regard to the state of British polities, and the ultimate issue of the position : will be awaited with very wide general interest. The enterprise shown by Clements Motors Ltd., in expanding the fleet of cars for service in regard to Westland traffic is apparently in keeping with the prospects ahead. The Company lias a fine range of cars, the latest addition being some indication of tile class of car which will he most serviceable in meeting the touring traffic. The enterprise is of great value to South Westland in particular for there is at, the disposal of the residents an excellent service which for despatch

could hardly be excelled. Commencing on the first of next morth, the twiceweekly mail service to Wniho Gorge will be inaugurated and seeing that the Little Wanganui river is now ■bridged and that the Waitangi river is about to be bridged, there is no reason why the regular twice weekly service should not obtain all the year round. If the Tourist Department is bent on assisting this district' at all, it should cultivate the more frequent service, for there is not a more notable holiday resort offering than that to be found in South “Westland. Clements Motors Ltd. is so organising its plant that at nny time cars will be available to go anywhere. This will be a great convenience to flic travelling Jniblic and will be the means of bringing many hundreds of extra people to tlio Coast and seeing that the facilities nr© here to take them to all parts of the district-. A well-equipped service capable of that task is certainly ail asset to to the place, and its success will reflect all round. The large touring car just added to the local fleet, was specially designed and built for the South Westland run, a fact which further indicates the enterprise of the firm and the realisation of- the development in traffic which is ahead