ADJUSTMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 569, 28 June 1933, Page 5

ADJUSTMENT

(British Official Wireless)

r; 6 i'SF V'i.AN A BRITISH PLAN chamberlain ' suggests adyisory r body on debts AMERICAN PROPOSAL

Rugby, Junef 26. At a pubiic meeting of th'e subcommission set up by the Economic Conference to deal'iwith immediate monetary • [and iinjancial 'measures, Mr. Neville Chiamberlain (Britain), referred to the need for jadequate safeguards in addition to the reestablishment of confidence in internal stability \{of Europe before normal international lending could be resumed. The immediate problem, the British Minister declared, was not fresh lending, but the repayment of existing loans. A genera.1 rise in world prices might materially improve the situaJtion to the advantage of the debtor but there were some cases where temporafy adjustments might be necessary to assist debtors t0 fulfil their external eilgagements as far as possible in existing circumstances. No universal rule could be applied. Negotiation Wise The natural method of procedure was negotiation between debtors, wbo knew their own difficulties, and creditorsy whose assent was required to any derogation of their righ't. Here difficulty frequently arose, becau'se there was no one who could speak with authority in negotiating with creditors. In Britain since 1868 they had such an organisation in the Council of foreign hondholders, which had successfully dealt with' dehts amounting to many millions. Mr. Chamberlain urged that the Governments of vfarious countries should encourage the creUtion of such organisations where they did not iexist, but conditiohs varied so much as between the different debtor countries iand as between the different classes of creditors that he would depreciate any attempt to lay down too rigid procedure. ! An authoritative and i'mpartial body which could give advice was wanted. He moved that the matter be referred for eareful detailed consideration by the drafting comniittee. A Leiad Warited Mr. J. Couzens (Ameriea), said he did not believe that prices could be raised by monetary means alone, nor did he believe that prices could, or should, be raised sufficiently to effect equilibrium with the structure of debts now existing. Prices must he raised, and the United States was acting on that conviction through measures to increase purchasing power. Enterprise would not recovef courage until given a lead from the Government. The United States was undertaking the largest programme of pubiic works in history and this would energise production and consumption everywhere. The adoption of such a policy by other countries in concert with Ameriea would exert a steadying influence on foreign exchanges. At the same time the burden,' of debts •must be lightened. Organising Creditors This was not an invitation to those able to pay to scale down their obligations; still less was it an invitation to defauliy but it emphasised the necessity for organising creditors throughout the world and establishing some permanent body to act in an advisory capacity hetween organised creditors and organised debtors, and to study by what means necessary adjustments might be effected with a minimum of delay and injustice. It is symptomatic of the American desire to get things moving that Mr. Cox, (United States), following Mr. Chamberlain, agreed that the time had come to terminate the debates, and get down to drafting.