GERMANY'S CRUSHING WAR DEBT.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1918, Page 5

GERMANY'S CRUSHING WAR DEBT.

A. SOMBRE PICTURE. Amsterdam, April 12. Saturday's sitting of the Upper Chamber of the Bavarian Diet was marked by a speech by Count von Preysing, who, according to Monday's Vcrwartv drew a sombre picture of Germany's present financial situation and of the probable consequences in the event of a war indemnity not being forthcoming from the enemy at the conclusion of the war. In the course of his speech the Count said: —"Germany's war costs up to the present amount to £6,500,000, while the yearly interest charges thereon amount to £980,000,000 (?). If no war indemnity proves to be obtainable the confiscation of wealth up to 40 or 50 milliards of marks (£2,000,000,000 to £i>500,000) will then be-unavoidable.' The depletion on behalf of the empire of the taxation resources of the individual Federal States would threaten the political independence of the individual States, and "Bavaria would furthermore cease to be any longer independent."

The Bavarian Finance Minister, Herr von Breunig, declared that lie was unable for the present to deal in detail with the results of the recent Berlin Conference of Finance Miniaters. Dismissing the ways and means of meeting the deficiency on the 1918 Budget, the Minister stated that the present current yearly expenditure of £300,000,000 would rise to £700,000,000 if war continued, and, to cover this, an extension of the War Taxation Law of 1917 as well as additional taxation would he rendered necessary. "It is self-evident/'The Minister continued, "that in such circumstances a corresponding contribution must, if possible, be demanded from the enemy. This naturally depends on the furt'ier military and politial development of the entire situation."—Renter.