DEBTS AND REPARATIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 711, 10 July 1929, Page 9

DEBTS AND REPARATIONS

BRITAIN’S POSITION STATED CONFERENCE OF POWERS British Official Wireless Reed. 11.45 a.m. RUGBY, Wednesday. j Replying to questions in the House of Commons today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Philip Snowden, said the proposals for the final settlement of the reparations question, recently submitted to British and other i Governments by a committee of experts, was being considered by the Government with a view to a conference with other Powers concerned. The House would realise that this country was in no way committed to the acceptance of the recommendations of the Young Committee. Replying to another question. Mr. Snowden said that from the outset of negotiations for the funding of the French war debt, the late Government laid it down as a fundamental principle that any payment that France might make to the United States Government should be accompanied simultaneously, pari passu, by a proportionate payment to Great Britain, and a reminder that this principle still holds good was sent to the French Minister of Finance by Mr. : Churchill last Mai'. Questioned regarding the loss that : would be entailed by Britain by reason ( of the departure from the Spa per-! centages recommended in the Young report, Mr. Snowden said they i amounted to approximately £2.400,000 j yearly. The capital value of this ! annual loss would depend on the in-! : terest tables selected, but applying the i 55 per cent, table, which experts them- j j selves had utilised for their calcula- j | tions, it may be estimated at j j £37,500,000. The great bulk of the ; 1 loss would, however, only begin to be j | incurred after 10 years. The report! j recommended that the French Gov- j j eminent should receive the prepon- j derating share of the unconditional ; part of the German annuities, and j that they should provide a guarantee ; fund amounting to £25,000,000, which' j would be drawn upon to make good to other creditor Powers any loss arising out of the postponement of the rest of the annuities. Provided this guarantee fund was effectively put into force, the security of the British share, as compared with the French, should not be appreciably impaired, so long as any postponement of the German payments was limited to two years, as contemplated in the plan; hut, of course, the guarantee fund afforded no security against a cessation or longer postponement of additional annuities. To the extent that these were regarded as possibilities, it might be said that the effect of the Young plan was to concede priority to France and Italy. The President of the Board of Trade, Mr. William Graham, said that regarding the report of the safeguarding committee on the woollen and worsted industry, published yesterday, the Government did not consider it called for any action by them. If tii» House desired, opportunity would be provided for discussing the report. He added that it would be very easy to prove that the great majority of members of trade unions in the area concerned were against the proposal.

DOMINIONS INVITED

REPRESENTATIVES AT CONFERENCE (United Service) LONDON, July 9. Britain has invited the Dominions to have full representation on the Reparations Conference, and last week Mr. MacDonald sent out invitations to the Dominions to appoint representatives at the forthcoming conference to discuss the Young report. In official circles today it was said that the Dominions will undoubtedly be represented as at the Peace and Dawes Conferences.