LOAN MEASURES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 59, 19 December 1945, Page 4

LOAN MEASURES

HOUSE OF LORDS APPROVES COMMENT BY JUDGE KEYNES (N.Z. Press Association —Copyright.) (Rec. 1.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. IS. The House of Lords approved of the American loan measures by 90 votes to 8, and passed the Bretton Woods Bill through all '‘stages without discussion.

Defending the Britisli-American financial agreement which he helped to negotiate, Lord Keynes declared. “America is not interested in our wounds, but our convalescence. The agreement, though not, perfectly satisfactory to us, does represent a compromise.” Lord Keynes said he was sure that critics of the agreement,were doing a serious injustice to the liberal purpose and intense goodwill of the American people, and to their ardent desire to see Britain a strong and effective party in getting a distressed and confused world into the ways of peace and economic order.” These proposals on top of Tend-lease are an act, of unprecedented liberality as any country ever treated another in time of peace like this for the purpose of rebuilding the other’s strength and restoring its competitive power, but, I shall never, as long as I live, cease to regret that this is not an interestfree loan. The interest charge is, out of tune with the underlying realities. The amount of money at stake cannot be important to the United States, hut what a difference it would have made to our feelings and our response.” Lord Keynes said he could well see that no-one would accept the result of the negotiations unless he could- understand the purposes ajid motives of the other side.