The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is in-Corporate the west coast Times.) MONDAY, JULY 23th. 1923 ECONOMIC POSITION OF FRANCE

Hokitika Guardian, 23 July 1923, Page 2

The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is inCorporate the west coast Times.) MONDAY, JULY 23th. 1923 ECONOMIC POSITION OF FRANCE

J Actohding to Air J. R. Cahill, H.M. Commercial Counsellor in Paris, tho economic position of Franco is strong. Reporting on the conditions existing in that country as tit March 1923, Mr Cahill stales that the industiial population is fully employed and the outof Franco in most fields of pro- | duction is limited only hy tho dearth of man power. The industrial reconstruction in devastated areas is fnst I approaching completion, tho damaged I works, provided with the most modern machinery and accessories, have been occupied to the fullest extent of the labour at their disposal, especially in the woollen and cotton branches; and work has been brisk iri the reconstructed undertakings of the chemical and engineering trades in the same areas. Agricultural reconstruction have kept pace with that in other industries, and 90 per cent, of the devastated area has hcoti cleared of projectiles, trench works and barbed wire, while more than three-quarters of the farm land that was ravished has again been brought under the plough. France has also acquired new powers in the organisation and direction of the forces at her disposal. Her i>ort.s, waterways, railways and roads have been and are being improved; the water-power is being systematically turned to account. ; She has brought within her own area I largo new resources in ores, coal, poti ash and oil, as well as highly-develop-ed metallurgical, engineering and textile industries; and not only in the devastated areas, but in many other parts of France, new and modern factories for the principal branches of industry have sprung tip. In the great basic industries of tho country, particularly in the metallurgical, engineering, electrical, chemical and aluminium industries, there has been a movement for consolidation both on regional and national lines. It is also interesting! to note that- French foreign trade lias already surpassed its pre-war figures as regards weight, while trade with her own possessions is gaining ill importance and that with British markets shows signs of development. British trade with France, despite high rates of duty, about which Biuish exporters have constantly complained, and the still greater obstacle, created by the. serious depreciation of the franc, has shown signs of improvement, the imports during the first ten months of last year having exceeded those of the -ame period in 1921 hy 262 million francs. In regard to the state of French public finances, which require urgent treatment, Mr Cahill, in view of the determination recently evinced by Parliament to take every possible means to secure the better ordering of

these finances, expresses the probability that this weak point in tho economic condition of Franco will bo removed at no distant date.