The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1919. THE REPARATION CLAUSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 May 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1919. THE REPARATION CLAUSES.

The reparation clauses are amongst the most important features of the Peace Treaty. They are made elastic to cover a great deal more than the word implies. The term indemnity is not used, advisedly, no doubt, because it is a physical impossibility for the enemy to pay the whole of the Allies' costs as well as make reparation for the tremendous damage he has done in the various countries and in different spheres. The Peace Conference frankly acknowledges this, but it has decided that Germany must compensate all damage to civilians through German aggression by land and sea. An Inter-Allied Commission is to fix the amount of damages for which compensation must be paid, and report the same to Germany two years hence, announcing then the total Germany must meet, and a scheme of payment spread over a period of thirty years thereafter. Before May, 1921, however, Germany has to provide a thousand million sterling in gold, goods, and ships, for which she must issue immediately and hand to the Allies treasury bonds; also a further issue of bonds for another thousand millions, and later an additional two thousand millions, or a total of £4,000,000,000. This is, of course, only on account of the total damages to be claimed. The Allies' experts evidently believe Germany can provide £500,000,000 a year, for it is provided 'i at within two years Germany must find a thousand million sterling in money, goods and ships. The Allies' war costs have been estimated at the enormous figure of £24,680,000,000, so that at five hundred millions a year for thirty or thirty-two years the total amount expected from Germany by way of damages will be something in the neighborhood of fifteen to sixteen thousand millions. The terms mean that for the next fifty years the German nation must work hard to pay off a "dead horse." Its warships and mercantile marine are handed over to the Allies almost holus bolus; its mines must supply France, Italy and Belgium with coal; a large part of its iron ore goes to the same countries; its shipyards must concentrate on building shipping to replace that which its submarines so callously sunk; all its factories must confine their attention to supplying the needs of the Allies. The value of all the products will be taken from the final bill. It is a visitation of Nemesis with .a vengeance. It is little wonder that

the Germans are stunned by the terms. They must realise now that the way of the transgressor, be it individual or nation, is hard, and that war, after all, does not pay. So far as New Zealand is concerned, it would appear that we can only expect compensation for all our ships lost through enemy action, and the repayment of disbursements, past and future, in connection with pensions, separation allowances, etc. The l cost of mobilisation and maintenance in the field of our forces will have to be borne by ourselves. The amount to come is, says Mr. Massey, very hard to estimate, but he thinks it will not be more than 25 per cent, of our total war cost, payments being spread over thirty years. We have already expend ed over three millions on war pensions, and the annual liability will be about one and three-quarters of a million. Separation allowances will no doubt run into three or four millions by the time all the charges are met, so that we shall have a tidy bill to present in respect of reparation, probably between fifteen and eighteen millions altogether, or about a fourth of the total cost of our share in the war. New Zealand never counted the cost, or whether the cost would be recoverable, when she entered the war. She revised tie existence of the whole Empire—and with it civilisation itself—was at stake, and that was sufficient 1o imp<n her to throw all at her command into the scale, so J nat the people will not be altogether disappointed at having to endure the major portion of the war burden themselves. It would, of course, be more gratifying if Germany were made to defray the whole cost, but this appears a physical impossibility. If the enemy is made to provide for the pensions, separation allowances, etc., it will certainly ease the taxpayers' load appreciably.