LONDON CONFERENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 167, 16 July 1924, Page 5

LONDON CONFERENCE.

Rations' representatives. j .j-jdjGUISHED "STATESMEN. oNE HUNDRED ARRIVING. %v Pre«s Association.— Copyright.) (Br "ble- 1 (Received 2 p.m.; LONDON, July 35. , t H Thomas. Secretary of the ?__«' called a further meeting of representatives at the Colonial to representation of the 0 • "s at the conference, in connecf"^which over one hundred foreign Sdal visitors will be in London by to"iHsWcted the following will reprct their countries:rreat Britain—Mr. Ramsay MacD„S and Mr. Philip Snowden. Bated States.-Mr. P. Kcllogg and Colonel Logan. Trance.-iD'I- Herriot. elemental and v 3J_nd possibly Field-Marshal Foch. * TlalT _Si<Tior Destefani, Finance Mm Genava, and the Marchese Bellatoretta. Ja pa_.-The Barons Hayashu and S_anin.-MM. Theunis and Hymans. Seal, Rumania, Serbia and Greece are also" represented.-! Renter.) jHE pIAIN PRIME MINISTER. STATEMENT BY MacDONAID. PEACE OR A SWORD ? LONDON*, July 14. -Tvljcn the debate on the Foreign Office Estimates was resumed to-day in the House of Commons, carefully worded speeches were made by the Liberal leader, Jlr. H. H. Asquith, and the leader of the Conservatives, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, xhev showed an evident desire not to embarrass the Government on the ere of the inter-Allied Conference. Mr. Asquith urged that any assurance in regard to security Riven to France ought" to be part of Britain's general undertaking under the League of Nations' covenant. Secondly, he said, similar security should be offered to Germany. Thirdly, Germany must be admitted to membership of the LeagueHe emphasised the desirability of consulting the Empire and carrying it with Britain in order to achieve the object of the League of Nations. Mr. Baldwin expressed his sympathy with Mr, Asquith's arguments. CONSERVATIVE'S ADVICE. 'Mr. Austen Chamberlain, Conservative member for Birmingham West, criticised what he described as the errors of the Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald. He said he did so with a view to their avoidance in future. Mr. Chamberlain outlined a policy which he re- j commended for consideration. The Prime Minister, said Mr. Chamberlain, should frankly accept the upholding of the Versailles Treaty as the onlypossible basis of public law in Europe. Secondly he should make the maintenance of the Entente with France a cardinal object of his policy. Thirdly, he should make .Germany's observance of her obligations no less a cardinal feature and, in return, if Germany accepted and loyally fulfilled the obligations now presented, the Prime Minister should be prepared to respect Germany's integrity and welcome her back to the comity of nations. They should seek to secure association with the United States wherever possible. Mr. Chamberlain suggested that another Dawes Committee should be appointed by the Reparation Commission. That might be a hopeful way of securing the results desired by the Foreign Office. THOSE REPARATIONS. lir. Mac Donald said the question 'blether the' Dawes plan sought to im-. pose on Germany obligations not legally Trithin the interpretation of the Treaty ol Versailles would be reported on by ltgal experts to the conference on Wednesday. France had come to regard the Treaty of Versailles as something akin jto the Ark of the Covenant. Any suggestion to put it aside aroused amazing fears. Similar feeling was enterkined as regards any suggested aodification -of the operations of the Separation Commission. TVemust, however, be most careful," said Mr. Mac Donald, "that France does not extend the legal provisions of the treaty." With reference to the probability of American participation, he said that practical difficulties alone *oul_ prevent an official appointment »t present. The only thing so far clear tfas that if there was going to be an American on the Reparation Commission, France would insist on an extra appointment to it by reason of the fact that the experts* plan could only be put W operation on the floating of a -W.-000,000 loan, the extra representative, duties being confined to safeguardSK the creditors. Wt.fi r-rference to the alternative "nitration proposal, it must be remem«red that the reparation agent-general Wild .have at his command every eonarable particle of information to enS«. to sivo a Judgment as to Wether there had been a wilful default 2 Germany or not. The language of m White Paper was left purposely |pe. The minimum they were seek- '_& was satisfactory security for the The Spa agreement, said the Prime duster, would certainly not be recon"Oered at the London Conference. He m most anxious that these questions would not be quarrelled about prior to Winter-Allied Conference at which the »*es report alone would be considered m* view to putting it into operation, "c Reparation Commission was a polin « rather than a judicial body. Ceriainly as regarded the Ruhr the com"■sion had been scrapped, and subso™nt action bad been taken, not by the Commission, but by the'rfovacting, not together, but on m own initiative. Tho undermining "security by political action was a W t0 be faml ' Position he J °K lip was that a creditor should fal 6 a secu "ity which would be satiswtory to him. The preparation of a J°- Bramme of sanctions would only mean Sing Germany warning as to how, in ggt of her default, she would be Punished. •M that could be honed was that ' c conference would be regarded as a on-recurrent opportunity, not only for 1 c Allies to reunite, but to unite on "ie Work of pacifying Europe. \J_. evotG was agreed to and the debate ggSjated.— (Reuter.)