REPARATIONS CONFERENCE

Evening Star, Issue 20388, 21 January 1930, Page 9

REPARATIONS CONFERENCE

THE YOUNG PUN ITALY NOW ABLE TO SIGN. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. THE HAGUE, January 20. A compromise, by which icaly will receive -10,000,000 gold marks from Czecho-Slovakia in respect to the liberation loans, instead of the 11,000,000 raaitks provided for in the agreement, was only reached after a difficulty had been overcome. It will enable Italy to pay the 9,000,000 marks she guaranteed to Britain during the August conference, so that Italy will sign the Young Plan without reservation.

It is understood that the compromise was due to strongly worded intervention by Mr Philip Snowden, who, it is rumoured, compared the Little Entente with tho man who robbed another of his watches and then offered to lend his victim the money to buy one back. Dr Bennes, the Czecho-Slo-vakian Foreign Minister, was the object of Mr Snowden’s special attack. GERMAN PROPERTY. STATEMENT BY SIR JOSEPH WARD. [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, January 20. With reference to the cablegrams from The Hague in yesterday’s papers announcing that an agreement had been reached between New Zealand and Germany, the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) explained that by the terms of the Young it is recommended that all German confiscated property which is not liquidated or liquid, or finally disposed of, should be handed back. In the recent discussions at Tho Hague some little doubt has arisen as to whether the confiscated German properties in Western Samoa, which had been vested in the Crown some years ago, could be regarded as “ finally disposed of ” by tho agreement between Germany and New, Zealand recently concluded at The Hague. These - properties will not be returned, but are to be regarded as “ finally disposed of,” and on tho other hand; German interests have .been recognised in property of small value in New Zealand.