WAR DEBTS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 June 1933, Page 5

WAR DEBTS

ANGLO-U.S.A: NOTE STATEMENT BY CHANCELLOR. -’••• rj * * (United Association—By Electric Teiegra-pn (jopyngtiu/;. LONDON, Juno 14. - The British American notes on the dfeot‘instuimcnt have been.)issued in a White Paper. ■: In the <Jou„mons, Mr Chamberlain, speaking on the motion. for-the adjournment, explained it had been impossible hitherto to aiTange for a simf"' ultaneous announcement in London and Washington. He said that when the December payment was made, Britain had sought an early exchange of views, witn a view to the conclusion of the discussion before the June instalment. If Britain had paid the full June instalment, she felt it would appear there was no reason why she should':not pay indefinitely. This seemed impossible in view of the Lausanne provisional agreement suspending' the debts due to Britain. Further payments 1 would therefore be necessitated ending' the Lausanne agreements, the re-opening of vexed questions of reparations and war debts, and plunging the world again, into the certainty of despair, from which it was feecured by Lausanne. These considerations seemed to outweigh all others,.. On the one hand the British j Government . felt the strongest ob- : jection to any pourse placing it in a position, hf having bo repudiate ob- I ligdtions.j “Its view of the proper I way to treat the June instalment was to consider it merged in the body of <jebf.whereupon the Government was j prepared to enter formal ngotiations as "soon as can be arranged^ ;‘We, therefore decided to make it clear that the suspension of the June instalment did not,, and was .not, intended to prejudice the ultimate settlement. We proposed to make a payment of ten million dollars in silver, which the United States informed us they would accept at the rate of fifty cellts per fine ounce. We acquired this 6jiver front' the Government, of India. , I' am sure Mi- Roosevelts statement appreciating the spirit in. which our proposal was ijiade will give general satisfaction. This •settlement, of -a ; difficult and delicate problem is a good augury "for the .success of the World Qonfere'ndd and may prove tße, first step towards a complete final' settleMioiit of 1 ■ the wliol-ef pfwar debts'. ... . -Sir Stafford Criops, on behalf of the

Labour,Party, congratulated Mi’ Rboseon ,_tbe , realiep ..with. \yhich lie faqecf'.thV situation, and also congratulated' the Government on the satlsf .fctoiry' agreement/ Sif Herbert Samuel said the Liberals joined in the '‘congratulations. It would have boon' lamentable if Brita.n r%d toon forced into the position o! repudiation., . ' r \ Sir Robert Horne said the settlement represented a considerable alleviation of the country s burden, ae he was sure Mr Chamberlain bad acquired the silver below the price which America, was allowing. Mr , Churchill expressed admiration for Mr Roosevelt’s \Vise aiid generous words, which would give a -me-eage of hope to the whole world. ’Mr James Maxton (Labour) declared that things must be. put in a proper prospective. We had simply induced'our creditor to take something on, account, and had obtained six months’ time in which the debt cou-d bO - fully discussed. He hoped a real settlement would be found in that peijiod.

•Jh the supplement to the British note to,America it is not stated that “treatment of inter-Gcvernmenal obligaiops must closely affect the solution of problems with which the World Confbfence has to deal, because they cannet be separated from the influences which have brought the world to its present plight. Rot instance, it is geixerally agreed that one of the first and mpst essential aims should be to increase the ' general ■ level of com- "•> modity prices. It may be recalled that after the, Lausanne Conference, there was a marked tendency for prices to rise; but • this tendency was reversed when the. prospects of a final • settlement of inter-Governmental obligations receded, while the December payment Was accompanied by a sharp fall ip. prices, which was felt in America at .least as much as in Europe. The eminence therefore appears to show that the effect of these payment upon priors is very direct. The United Kingdom Government had hoped that the United States Government would have boon able to accede to the request to postpone payi ment of the June instalment, pending the discussion of war debts as a whole. Since this does not appear to have i been possible His Majesty’s Governi ment is' obliged to decide its course of action,'and such decision must in any '"case be’ of an extremely difficult' character Irt considering it'His Majesty s Government has felt its deep responeibility not only to its own peop’e, but to the whole world, which is waiting the deliberations ®nd recommendations of the Conference with the utmost anxiety. '■ ~ The concli'sion at which His -Ma- ( jestv’s Government has arrived is that payment of the Juno instalment could not be made *.t this juncture, without grnvclv imp- riWi’-US the success of Hie Conference m ( l i-vrVi-g widespread consequences of a most serious character. In its view the instalment should bo considered and discussed as part

of the general subject of the war debts, upon which they are anxious to ■ resum, o conversations as soon as can be arranged, in order to make it per- I fectly clear that it did not regard the : suspension as prejudicing the ultimate settlement. ; The Gove rumen then submitted the proposal, which Mr Rocsevelt accept- , cd. |