SAAR TERRITORY

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 52, 25 November 1929, Page 12

SAAR TERRITORY

FRANCO-GERMAN NEGOTIATIONS COMMENCED FUTURE OPERATION OF COALMINES Paris, November 22. The Franco-German delegations have begun negotiations, say the Quai d’Orsay, concerning the Saar. After a speech of welcome, sub-committees were appointed to deal with mines, tariffs, and legal questions. The negotiations are expected to be very protracted. It is recalled that under the Treaty of Versailles the exploitation of the Saar mines was handed over to France as compensation for the German destruction of mines in Northern France. The Germans sa/ that France has already received 26,000 tons of coal more- than she lost through the destruction of her mines in wartime, and has had the economic advantage of including the Saar district in her Customs system for ten years, the profits from which do not figure in any reparations account. It is also recalled that the future of the Saar must be settled by a plebiscite in 1935. It is agreed that this will almost certainly favour Germany, hence the French anxiety for an earlier agreement, which Germany is using as a lever for eaylier restoration. According to the “Morning Post’s” correspondent, France is willing to cede the mines on reasonable terms. She wants an equitable tariff between the Saar and France, which will not hinder the export of coal from the. Saar and needed by French industries, and which on the other hand will not hinder the import of French goods into the Saar. France’s idea is that the mines should be vested in a Franco-German company, virtually representative of the two States.