UNCHANGED.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 197, 21 August 1929, Page 7

UNCHANGED.

HAGUE SITUATION.

Leading Delegates Meet In Friendly Manner. BRITAIN AND EVACUATION. I.British Official Wireless.) (Received 12 noon.) RUGBY, August 20. The situation at The Hague remains substantially unchanged. The financial experts are continuing their examination of the proposals made to the British delegation on Friday with the object of assessing their precise value. The British delegation considered them unlikely at the best to yield more than one-quarter of the annual sum of £2,450.000 required to satisfy the British claim regarding the restoration of the Spa percentages. Last evening the political chiefs met a to continue the Rliineland discussion and, according to correspondents, the British position was restated to the effect that the British troops in any case will begin withdrawal next month. To-dav the heads of the delegations were meeting over the luncheon table as tmesis of Dr. Van Blokland, the Dutch Foreign Minister. A meeting took place to-day between Mr. Philip Snowden, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, and M. Briand, French Prime Minister. An official communique states: '"M. Briand, accompanied by M. Loucheur and Mr. Snowden, with whom was Mr. Leith-Ross, Deputy Controller of Finance, H.M. Treasury, took tea in tlie apartment of Mr. Adatchie, Japanese delegate, and had a general exchange ot views pending the report of the technical experts with a view to bringing their respective standpoints into closer agreement." In acquiescence with the request of Herr Stresemann, German Foreign Minister, a meeting will take place tomorrow between representatives oi France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Japan and Germany. The fatalist will no doubt find peculiar satisfaction in the trend of events at the Hague international conference on German reparation payments, especially in the notable part .being played by one ot the principle delegates, ]Vlr. Philip Snow clen, the so-called Iron Chancellor of the present day. But. for a simple accident, albeit serious enough for the young man concerned, while cycling along an English country road, who can say how* the liistoij of Britain or of the world might have been different from the course it seems now about to take? That everyday occurrence, a cyclist thrown from his push-bike, has, nevertheless, had its sequel in undreamt of directions, including one of the most imomentous conferences of representatives iof the Great Powers of the present age. ' The son of a worsted weaver of iKeighiey, Yorkshire, Philip Snowden gained scholastic honours in youth .that gained him, at the age. of 22, entry into jihe Civil Service in open competition. {Seven years later he met with an accident, and .. was, taken to hospital seriously injured. He entered hospital with Liberal leanings, but he left the institution a concert to Socialism as a resu;t of " books he iiad read during his disablement. Some y ears later that self-same accident brought to the British Treasury Benches its .first, Socialist Chancellor, who, in his initial E udget, by a bold stroke, did much to relieve food prices, remove disqualifications for old age pensions, re-employ principles of Free Trade, and introduced a scheme to relieve unemployment. Though greatly handicapped throughout his life by ijl-health, strength of character has triumphed over the weakness of the flesh, and Philip Snowden has always reanained a genial and kindly soul. The suffering of body with which Fate afflicted him on that English roadside 34 years ago, hajs no doubt steeled the mind and will of .the Iron Chancellor of Britain in his latest and most famous, crusade for right and', justice. A very able speaker, Snowden hag been ever most emphatic in his denunciation of the war debt settlements on the ground that Britain was showing majunanimity towards her foreign allies at the expense of the British taxpayer. Hia determined stand at The Hague stamps the Chancellor as a man with the courage of |his convictions.