REPARATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1922, Page 5

REPARATIONS.

FEELING IN FRANCE. PREMIER SUPPORTED. HIS SPEECH WELCOMED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received Aug. 23, 5.5 p.m. London, August 22. The Daily Telegraph’s Paris correspondent states that only communist and extreme socialist journals in any way oppose M. Poincare’s speech, which is welcomed even by non-admirers. Undoubtedly M. Poincare spoke the mind of France as a whole, for whatever differences Frenchmen have on internal or international affairs they are solidly united regarding reparations for the devastated areas. Paris, August 22. The sessions of the General Council in all the departments opened yesterday. Everywhere these assmblies supported M. Poincare’s energetic policy, and requested him to make France’s rights respected. GERMANY PESSIMISTIC. EFFECT OF M. POINCARE’S SPEECH. Received Aug. 23, 5.5 p.m. London, August 22. The Daily Chronicle’s Berlin correspondent says M. Poincare’s speech created a renewed wave of pessimism, and, combined with the stupid Hindenburg demonstrations in Munich, caused the mark to tumble. Moderate circles are of opinion that M. Poincare showed a lamentable lack of commonsense in making such a speech at the moment when the Reparations Commission was negotiating a most delicate situation here. FRANCE’S VIEW REGRETTED. NECESSITY FOR CO-OPERATION. WORLD STABILITY INVOLVED. Received Aug. 23, 5.5 p.m. London, August 22. Mr. George H. Barnes, a member of the House of Commons, and a former member of Cabinet, interviewed, said he regretted that France had. not seen her i way to co-operate with Britain regarding a settlement of post-war problems in a manner we might have expected. We may not like the Germans—he did not—and he was afraid they had shown little change of heart and had not played fair in peace any more than in war, but we had to live with them. Compulsion was no remedy; we could not take over Germany, but we must somehow bring her to co-operate with us in restoring conditions and enabling countries to produce and exchange goods to the fullest extent. He was glad Britain had taken the lead in that direction. GERMAN TRADE OVERTURES. London, August 22. While the French and German Press reports of German overtures to France with the object of forming a Continental bloc excluding Britain are regarded as much exaggerated, it is stated that German industrialists have privately and unofficially made overtures to French business people, suggesting that French and British interests should be given a share in German industry until a modified amount of reparations, to be agreed on later, has been paid. The Germans hope thus to prevent a French occupation of the Ruhr valley.