FRANCE & GERMANY

Hokitika Guardian, 23 March 1923, Page 2

FRANCE & GERMANY

AUSTRALIAN ANll N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. THE RUHR SITUATION. PARIS, March 22 _ While French official quarters issue a warning against excessive optimism, there is undoubtedly a better feeling between the occupying forces and the population of the Ruhr. The railwavs are now running under French control. The canal traffic is also assured in the Ruhr. , THE financial barometer. j LONDON, March 22. The papers give great, prominence to the uplift of the French, Belgian and I Italian currencies on exchange, hut they decline to believe that there is I sufficient ground at present to justify a belief in a really progressive re- ! covery. The ‘‘Morning Post’’ fears ' that permanent improvement in 1 French franc will he impossible unless; there is a radical improvement 'in the reparations crisis; and also in the . French budgetary position. There is a. poor wheat crop, which is also held to , lie a grave factor against a continued | improvement. ' FRENCH STRENGTHEN POSITION. i LONDON, March 22 ' The ‘‘Daily Express’s” Cologne cor* . respondent says:—The French are building large barracks on the eastern . boundary of the Ruhr, and are taking I over more mines. They are also importing more troops, and installing larger guns. ’ The miners’ unions at Hamm declinj ed to work mines seized by the French, [ threatening to allow the pits to flood unless tliev are restored. ; BERLIN, March 22 I When the In ter-A Hied Commission visited ail aerodrome l»ere, they were I refused admission, because one member J was a Belgian. I AMERICAN ATTITUDE. WASHINGTON, March 22. ! The U.S.A. Secretary of State, Mr i Hughes lias declared that the report from abroad is unfounded to the effect J that the United States had not reI plied to certain British inquiries reJ ganling intervention in regard to the I Ruhr stuation. This report, he said, I was based on an alleged statement by ! Sir Ronald McNeill in the British j House of Commons on March 13. j Sir Auckland Geddes to-day issued a statement giving a. stenographic report Jof Sir R. McNeill’s words. The lat- ; tor had said: ‘‘Tile honourable member knows of the intimation which has come from America—that, if their as- | sislanco in this matter would lie use- . ‘ fol. they were willing to oiler it. That ' * sort of offer, coming from America, iias met with no response whatever.” | Lord Strathspey, speaking in the House of Lords, asked the Government I to take steps to consult the Dominions ! for the purpose of shaping definite proposals for Empire consolidation. He said the Empire offered an unrivalled | opportunity for trade avid commerce, I hut the successive Governments had ! not taken advantage of the opportuniI ties. The reason was that they did not | sufficiently trust the Dominions. Ajm, I present the Dominions were simply told j that a war had broken out, and were ! expected to contribute their blood and treasure. He advocated reciprocal trading. He suggested that the Dominions’ High Commissioners should occupy scats in the House of Lords With Dominion titles. If matters were allowed to continue as at present, it was an open question, whether, in two generations, there would be any Empire left. What the clans had been to Scotland, so file Dominions were to England. If Britain mixed itself up with “the negroes, dagoes and riff-raff of the world, instead of their own class” the latter would look elsewhepp. Lord Devonshire said the present Parlaiment contained a stronger representation than any previous one of those who had been privileged to pnrI tieipnte in the affairs of the great Dominions. The Government was con- • sidering far-reaching proposals for an ! improvement of trade, which, he believed. would load to a great development of the Empire’s resources. He , lioped, within a few months, to be privileged to welcome the Dominions’ representatives to England, when a comprehensive programme would bo placed before them.