REPARATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 December 1921, Page 5

REPARATIONS.

BELGIAN PRIORITY. LATEST GERMAN MOVE. By Telegraph.—-Press Assn.—Copyright. Paris, Dec. 27. Belgian newspapers accuse France at the recent London Conference of contesting the Belgians’ priority of claim to reparations. The Matin admits that Mr. Lloyd George’s plan calls for a few sacrifice by Belgium in 1922. The Government communicated the plan to Belgium without the slightest wish to arouse dissension. The Berlin correspondent of the Petit Parisian states that the German Government, believing the London Conference has completely modified the situation, will not reply to the Reparation Commission’s note, but will open direct negotiations with France. “PAYMENTS IMPOSSIBLE.” NO UNDERSTANDING REACHED. Received. Dec. 28, 7.25 p.m. Berlin, Dec. 28. Herr Stinnes, interviewed, declared the reports that the Allies were the reparation payments was untrue. “We are a long way from an understanding with the Allies,” he said. “My view that payments are impossible has not changed. Germany has met the Allies’ demands so far, with the inevitable result that the country is financially and economically exhausted.” —Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn. PAYMENTS BY GERMANY. The sums received by Britain up to September 30 under the financial and reparation clauses of the Treaty of Versailles (including cash received from the Reparation Commission, the proceeds of the German Reparation (Recovery) Act, and the proceeds of the sale of ships and dyestuffs) amount to £5,444,000 /in. repayment of the advances under the Spa Coal Deliveries Agreement and £38,704,000 on, account of Britain’s claim of approximately £50,000,000 for cost of occupation. A further sum of £4,368,000 is receivable in respect of ships sold. A considerable part of the sums received from the Reparations Commission are held subject to the final settlement of the questions dealt with in the financial agreement signed at Paris on August 13. Germany has also defrayed the cost of the British section of the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission and part of the local mark expenditure of the army of occupation and the Inter-Allied Commissions of Control. Nothing has yet been received on account of reparation (which ranks after the cost of occupation), but a Royal Commission, under the chairmanship of Lord Sumner, was appointed on August 15 to make recommendations for ex gratia awards to individuals within a total of £5,000,000, to be provided out of the first receipts by the Treasury of the United Kingdom on account of reparation. Two sets of figures of the submarine tonnage, built and building, of the five great Powers, have been cabled. The -first was cabled on December 21, and the second was given in Mr. Hughes’ interpolation in the discussion last week. The two sets of figures are as follow: Dec. 21. Mr. Hughes.

Mr. Hughes, in making his latest proposal for a limitation of submarine fleets; used the larger figure as representing the present tonnage of the United States, and the slightly modified figure in the case of Britain, but apparently he submitted a much reduced figure, namely, 31,391 tons, as representing the present submarine tonnage of France. The special representative of the Australian and New Zealand Press Association at Washington, in an explanatory message on this point, states that the adoption of the figure 31,500 (approximately) for France’s submarine tonnage occasioned some surprise, as it was previously contended that 42,000 tons were nearer actuality. This, however, was the submerged measurement, which is greater than the uniform surface figure now adopted for calculation purposes. Mr. Hughes’ latest proposal may be tabu- |

Tons. Tons. Britain 82,464 95,000 United States 82,015 82,464 France 49,949 42,850 Japan —...... 31,452 31,400 Italy 20,250 20,228

lated as follows: Britain Retain. Tons. .... 60,000 Scrap. Tons. 22,464 United States .. .. 60,000 35,000 France .... 31,391 Nil. Japan .. .31,452 Nil. Italy .... 20,250 Nil.