The question of the war debts due to United ‘States are again brought prominently forward as a result of the British and 1 French notes on the subject. They come as the direct outcome of tile, Lausanne Agreement,, and they would have been presented at Washington immediately on the conclusion of the conference on reparations had it not been for the fact that a presidential election campaign was in orogress in the United State*s. Lausanne brought- the- end of reparations, but it was agreed by Great Britain, France, Italy and Belgium—the so-called! Gentlemen’s Agreement—“that the ratification of the Lausanne Agreement will not be effected, so far as the creditor Governments initialling the process-verbal are concerned, until a satisfactory settlement has been reached betwee'n them and' their own creditors. ’’When Mr MacDonald was tsked what this meant he replied that, failing a settlement with the United States, there would be no ratification and there must he another conference. “What else could we have done?” he asked. “We would not make la- brass farthing out of reparations but we could not altogether dissociate forgiveness of our debtors from forgiveness of our debts.” Mr Hoover had himself given the nations of Europe a lead on this question, for he had said that the clearing-up cl the European situation, including the armaments problem, was a condition precedent to the discussion of war debts, and the Lausanne Conference took him at his word. The notes to Washington may lrave .appeared to have followed Tuesday’s poll with aimer t indecent haste, but the question has been waiting since July, and 1 tlie moratorium expires next month, so that there was need for haste. Tt was urlerslori that the four nations concerned would raise the debt issue with America: in their own way and their own tune. The texts of the British note has been published, and it sets out. the whole position very fully and illrnninatively showing the iserious position of affairs that need a .speedy solution to enable an ir -~ provement to lie made in tlip world's financial wdtion.
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Hokitika Guardian, 16 November 1932, Page 4
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344Untitled Hokitika Guardian, 16 November 1932, Page 4
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