REPARATIONS.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 January 1923, Page 2

REPARATIONS.

AUSTRALIAN AND CABLE ASSOCIATION. LLOYD GEOIKJK’S VIEWS. LONDON. January ~• The Australian Press Association has received a Coleright despatch from Lloyd George at Algeeiras endorsing Mr Bnnar Law's action at Paris. The ox-Prcmior -ays-- “I congratulate Air Bonar Law on having the courage to face the failure of the conference rather than agree to a policy which would, in the end. prove disappointing, and probably disastrous. An agreement among the Allies is a desirable objective but an accord to commit their Governments to foolishness is worse than disagreement. Franco and Britain must not quarrel, hut if France persists in M. Poincare's policy, the companionship of Britain and France will lie on parallel lines which will never meet. No financier of repute in the world agrees that these methods will bring the Allies any contributions towards impoverished resources. While these methods will produce no cash. thev will unmistakably produce a crash, ft is common ground among all the Allies that Germany cannot undo present conditions, pay her instalments and must be pressed to put her finances into order and restore the efficiency ,1 the currency yet M. Poincare in-ast oil as a condition of a moratorium up. on the seizure of German territory. Such pledges would bring in nothing comparable to the c-o s i of collection. They arc untiling hut paper and provocation. A customs harrier on the Rhine lias been tried and was a complete failure. As ,1 means of collecting money it was a ludicrous fiasco.

There are at the present moment one hundred millions ol paper marks, collected at those toll houses, still looked in the sail' of the Reparations Commission. Tin' tolls interfered with business and laid a heavy hand on all useful commodities necessary to industry and to the life of (lit* German people. They ultimately were withdrawn by consent. Any seizure of German forests and mines will inevitably lead to even more serious consequences. Allied control, it established far in the interior, must mean military occupation in some shape. Hence the reluctance of the British Government, of which 1 was the head, to concur in this dangerous policy. There are two alternatives. Either Germany cannot juiy. or she is shamming insolvency. J fail to comprehend any reason for a proposal which grants a moratorium on the ground that Germany cannot pay, and yet applies the thumb-screw until she does pay. I am glad the British Prime Minister luid the wisdom not to associate himself witli a proposal " hit'll will inevitably bring discredit upon those who share till, responsibility ol enforcing it. Meanwhile, the prospects of Europe's recovery arc once more retarded by the vain stubbornness oi some of her rulers.

ADVANCE OK FRENCH FORCES PARIS. Jan 8.

I here are increasing indications that M. Poincare is adopting a more eaii(huts attitude regarding tile taking oi new atvti-iGennan action since the breakdown of the Conference. The papers, including foreign ones, have published details of various fo nns of an immediate advance, which they declared to be contemplated in regard to lessen .Bochum, and other sanctions. I be result lias been tlmt. investors and bond-lmlders. especially British ones, are nervous .and have displayed a most marked tendency to realise their scrip, thus menacing the stability of many classes of securities.

M. Poincare has caused the issue of a ,semi-official statement. declaring that whatever military measures are intended are the secret of France and her Allies, and that the newspaper versions ant simply hypotheses, which it would he idle to deny or correct by the publication of the actual plans until the time arrives.

Notwithstanding this semi-official denial, however, impending moves of French troops arc reoortod in various garrisons. From Epinal. a regiment each of infantry and of nrtillen are proceeding towards the ithinc on Wednesday. Parties of engineers have already left Paris, whence they arc proceeding to the Ruhr mines.

r.S. All MV OX RHINE. NEW YORK, .fan 7

The “New Vork Times’’ Washington correspondent states: A former Rhine land Commission, who was the Unik'd States official representative a l Coblenz has sent on open letter to Senator Borah, urging the immediate recall of the American Army from Germany, un-lo-s the United States is willing to go to Europe officially, and add its initiative to the settlement of Europe’s problems in the interests of the world peace.

The correspondent adds: A new sourc.i of anxiety has arisen from the fact that the commander of the American troo[)H on the Bliine has under him a considerable number of French troops. Should these he called into active occupation of the Ruhr, it i.s

(on: nd.id that the United States would he nlac, I in th 1 position of being a party to the French policy, which, ; a limiter of fact, it -in ugly deprecates. A further embarrassment also is llu' fact that tlic I'nited States now controls tin bridgehead over which the French would march. Satisfaction is felt over the Senate’s withdrawal resolution .which .strengthens President Harding's hand, though the administration has not vet indicated what action it will take.

ST 1 NXES’ ATTITUDE. LONDON, .km 8. The “Morning Post’s” Berlin correspondent states: Hugo Stinnes, in the “Deutsche Allegameine,” violently attacks both France and England. He attributes the failure of the Paris Conference to the deception of the French people by the press, which, he says, is notoriously and utterly corrupt. It led the people to believe that the fall of Mr Lloyd George meant that his successor would sit devotedly nt M. Poincare’s feet, and blindly support the French reparation scheme. Stinnes also emphasises that England's plan would make the German Government a mere sweating master for foreign capital, so it is just as dangerous a plan as the French one. England, he says, thinks that Germany could pay between fifty and .sixty-seven milliards of gold marks. Germany is able, at the most, to pay only onotciith of the amount originally fixed by the London ultimatum, and that is 13.2 milliards.