REPARATIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 28 December 1931, Page 5

REPARATIONS

GERMANY CANNOT PAY. INCREASE OF ANNUITY BURDENS. [United Press Association —By Electri Telegraph—Copyright.] LONDON, December 23. The Basle Advisory Committee reports) that. Germany' will be unable to resume the payment under the Young Plan of the conditional annuities after the expiry of the Hoover moratorium. ,ir

It point out that the Young Plan envisaged ■ a continental expansion of world trade, within the limits of which reparations would become a factor of diminishing importance. On the contrary, world trade has collapsed, and Germany’s annuity burdens have been increased.

Germany’s problem, which is largely the cause of the world’s increasing financial paralysis, necessitates common action by the governments, and must bo treated as a world problem and not exclusively as a German problem.

The. crisis has now assumed tremendous dimensions, and if it is not counteracted a further catastrophe is likely. •The only permanent hope of restoring. confidefiefe is the adoption of reparations and war debts '.to meet the needs ,of world conditions. Energetic steps must he taken: to support G'er* many’s effort to' .stabilise her currency. The committee appeals to the Governments to reach decisions without delay in order to awaken new hopes of improvement in a crisis which is oppressing all countries equally. THE FRENCH ATTITUDE, AN INSISTENCE ON. PAYMENTS. LONDON, December 24. The Basle report follows the expected lines. Differences of opinion prevented more definite conclusions, the formulation of which-,have been left to the Governments: The French delegation, supported by Jugo-Slavia, -and, to a lesser degree, by Belgium, refused to sign anything in the nature of specific recommendations, arguing that the Experts’■ Committee was concerned only with a statement of the position. ■IV 1 '; A DEADLOCK. It is understood reliably that Germans insisted that Germany £ould not and would not continue to pay reparations. The French insisted that Germany not only could, but must. This left the committee practically helpless. According to the German summary', the report states that .an extension of, the moratorium will he necessary beyond the two years period allowance by the Young Rian. vVv GERMAN VIEWS, .YA"Beili'a'message wtyi: Pl ing stated that Germany can he satisfied, on the whole, with the Basle results, although material parts.of the report fall short of a. large-minded ’solution of the big problems concerning the whole woyld. The Finance Minister, , Herr Dietrich, declares that unless mutual confidence is restored, creating a basis for the orderly exchange of goods, the result for all industrial nations will b*. catastrophic. V COMPLETE MORATORIUM. Mr Stewart, United States representative, regard? the report as practically recommending a complete moratorium for Germany. There is n? reference to the period or to the question private debts. V BRITAIN READY. GOVERNMENTS SHOULD MEET. JiONDON,' -December 24. , (Mr ’MacDonald, after perusing, the expert’s report from Basle, said _ it showed plainly that the governments ought to 'meet without a day’s unnecessary delay. j The British Government was quite ready.'