GOOD BUSINESS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 January 1933, Page 8

GOOD BUSINESS

TO- CANCEL WAR DEBTS,

LONDON, January 20,

“The caneellliatioii' of war debts would be a better piece of business', both for Hue creditors and for the debtors, than any other step they could take,” said the Hon. Alexander Shaw, in Lis first address as chairman of the annual meeting of the P. and 0. Company. “So far as Europe is concerned, the only continuing victims of the war are the victors. Is theirs to be the task, during this and the next generation, of trying to. force into America by way of the repayment of war debt (in the O'.;ily form in which ultimately it can he paid) goods and services which Amecim doa* heir level best to shut out?”

Mr 'Shaw gave reasons- why the only allter natives—gold or further loans from America to Europe—were useicis or imipr'a-rtienble-. “We- are therefore thrown back on goods apd services, he continued. “The position next your, so far as Great Britain is concerned, is that, unless agreement to the contrary is arrived at, we shall have, to remit to the United 'States a.s the ordinary instalment of war debt payment no less than about £60,000,000 sterling —at present rates of exchange a. sum which is more than three times our present total annual exports to

that country. Further, out imports from America are severnli times larger than our exports to her, and on trade account alone we ha.ve an adverse balance. . . As regards payment of war debts by services, the whole position. is much aggravated by the unwillingness of America, to he paid in such services, among the chief of which are those rendered by British shipping. The United States lias now a policy of high subsidies to American-owned ships.

This is indeed a fiscal curiosity. for :t means that the American -taxpayer is being mulcted in order to close yet another avenue by which war debts can be repaid to him—namely, the avenue of British shipping services. In every possible way the payment of de its due to America is blocked by American action. When then will that enormous sum he paid off? Under any conditions conceivable at present the inevitable-answer j?,-short—‘Never.’ ft is not a matter of willingness to pay, but of the possibility of paying.”