WAR DEBTS

Hokitika Guardian, 24 December 1931, Page 5

WAR DEBTS

BRITISH PROPOSAL. THREE YEARS' MORATORIUM. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 22. A sub-committee, consisting of Signor Beneduce, Sir Walter Layton, •Melchoir, and M. Rist, who are drafting the report of the Special Advisory (Committee of the Bank lor International -Settlements, 011 Germany’s ability to pay reparations laid down in the Young Plan, have made such marked progress during, the last few days, that their report is expected to be ready for presentation ,to the full Committee tomoriow. The report- is awaited with great interest here. Its contents have vital importance in relation to the International Financial Conference - to be held next month. Lausanne is now mentioned as a possible and convenient place of meeting for the conference which will probably begin on January 18. LONDON, December 22. There was a new -development at the Advisory Committee at Basle, when Great Britain introduced a proposal that the Hoover moratorium be prolonged by three, or even five years. The French opposed ‘ the suggestion. It is understood that all the experts are agreed as to the necessity for a ten years’ moratorium for conditional pay-, inerts.- Naturally, the proposal can' only be n recommendation to the conference fit Governments, which will probably open on January 15, Sir J. Simon and Mr Neville Chamberlain will lead the British delegation. SERIOUS DISPUTE. , AMONG GERMANY’S CREDITORS. BASEL, December 23. There hare been serious divergencies at the Advisory Committee under the Young Plan which is examining the reparation and German iTebts. These resorted in the French, Belgian and Jugo-Slav delegations threatening to retire.' Eventually the sitting was suspended while the delegates hurried to their hotels and telephoned to their Governments. The point -at issue was whether the report of the Committee should specifically declare that Germany’s reparations payments were the chief cause of the crisis. Despite the disagreements, efforts are being made to complete the report on Wednesday evening. U.iS.A. RATIFIES MORATORIUM. December 22. The Senate to-day approved of one year inter-governmental debt- moratorium after rejecting an amendment .requiring Vt|he- revision of f-he Versailles Treaty as part of , the debt holiday. -Several other amendments were defeated. The house resolution of ratification was adopted without Mari at ion ‘by 69 votes to 12, thus completing the formal congressional approval. POSITION IN HUNGARY. “MORATORIUM” DECLARED. LONDON, December 22. Hungary, whose foreign indebtedness is about one hundred and sixty millions sterling, has declared a moratorium for one year on. foreign debt transfers, and also a standstill on all private short-term debts for six months. Exceptions to former are the League of Nations loan of 1924, and the recent loan of five millions supplied to Hungary almost entiiely by the French banks. s LONDON’S SHARE. LONDON, December 22. The bankers in London were prepared for Hungary’s partial moratorium. The short term Hungarian indebtedness held here totals about thirty-six million. BRITAIN’S UNEMPLOYED. RUGBY, December 22. According .to figures issued by the Ministry ol' Labour to-night, the number of unemployed in Britain on December lUh was nearly fifty-five thousand less than ft week before. The total on December 15th, was 2,572,602. ______