GERMAN ITEMS

Hokitika Guardian, 14 June 1923, Page 3

GERMAN ITEMS

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. LLOYD GEORGE ON REPARATIONS. (Received this dav at 11.45 a.m.) LONDON, June 13. Mr Lloyd George, in a letter to the “Times,” denies the prevalent/ impres- . sion that ho concurred, during the early post war conferences, in demanding incalculable sums from Germany. He says that he always resisted with all his power the extravagant demands. Tho first amount from Germany of 2500 millions sterling was a compromise. •C Mr Lloyd George defends tho addition of pensions to tho Reparations bill. The Ilritisli Empire delegate thought that tho claim was considercn

as the only way by which tho Empire could secure anything for its gigantic burdens, which wore the heaviest of all the Allies. If the claim had been abandoned our share of the reparations would have been reduced below the shares of those countries whose sacrifices could not be compared with those of the British Empire. Mr Lloyd George asks what will tho Dominions say to this proposal, and what will the British taxpayers say if they are told that they must pay America’s claim of a thousand millions and must also forego throe-fourths oT Britain’s share of the reparations, plus the sums that she lent other countries which were more lightly taxed and more prosperous.

ITALIAN DEBATE. (Received this dav at 11.45 a.m.) ROME, June 13. There was an acrid debate in the Senate over the personal responsibility for the small quota of ten per cent of tho German reparations assigned to Italy. Signor Sforzn was accused of having weakly accepted such terms. Signor Sforza declared that the suggestion came from President Wilson, who originally proposed only six per cent. The Faseisti Senators were dissatisfied with the explanation, and bitterly blamed S. Sforpa for being too conciliatory, and the Allied statesmen for being too parsimonious towards Italy. They stated that while Italy might have been content with fen per cent of the original 123,000,000 rcpartitions bill, she would never consent to that percentage of the thirty milliards if Germany ever pays that amount.