The Hawera Star. SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1924. BRITAIN AND FRANCE AND REPARATIONS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1924. BRITAIN AND FRANCE AND REPARATIONS.

Delivered every (evening By S o’clock in Hawere, Manaia, Norman by. Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Manutahi, Alton, Rurleyville, Fatea, Waverley, Mokoia, Wbakamara, Obangai,' Mer&raere, Fraser Road. and

TRe visit of Mr. Uamsay MacDonald to Paris has been very successful, judging from the optimistic remarks of the French , Premier published in yesterday’s cable news, and British people everywhere will hope that a definite step forward has been taken on the long road towards a settlement of the problems which both France and Britain are facing. The British Empire desires French friendship and the continuance of the Entente, but that friendship cannot be bought by the sacrifice of sound principles to satisfy the dangerous ambitions of French Nationalism, M. Poincare placed Na>tionalism first and friendship with Britain second. His policy towards Germany was, in the opinion of British statesmen, unwise and could not be supported by them. His successor is not blinded by Nationalism, and from what one can learn of his attitude it seems as if it may be possible for Mr. MacDonald to succeed in the Herculean task of bringing Germany, France and Britain to an .understanding on the basis of the Dawes Report. The joint Note which has been agreed upon by the two Premiers as a result of the conversations is couched in optimistic terms, and should give confidence and encouragement on both sides of the Channel to . their friends. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, with, the various commissions, were drawn up with the idea of enabling the reconstruction of Europe be carried out, but progress has been very slow, and after over five and a half years of peace Europe, remains in a very bad state; in fact, in some ways conditions are worse than they were at the time the Armistice was signed, and with the failures of past conferences to reach a basis of agreement one finds it difficult to hope for great- success from the new attempt which is shortly to be made, French and British Premiers may reach a basis of understanding, and the two nations may restore the unity of spirit which helped the Allies so greatly to w r in the war, but when it comes to solving peace-time problems acceptance by the conquered of the plans of the victors is as necessary as the unity of those who frame the terms. The German elections, if anything, added to the complications, for it is necessary to secure the goodwill of several political groups before the Dawes Report can be accepted. It contains proposals outside of the Versailles Treaty, and both Germany and France may refuse those sections, which may be of the greatest importance to the scheme. If they do refuse the latest attempt to find a settlement may fail, and each failure prqbably makes it more, difficult to bring the nations concerned to a new basis of negotiation. The problem is extremely difficult. Europe will ultimately find some way of settling her numerous problems, but what kind of settlements will they be if the Allied efforts fail to bring results? There is no international law between the Allies and the Central Powers except the treaties signed and ratified, and those treaties have been disregarded in the spirit if not in the letter so often that one doubts if they would prove sufficient to restrain the Central Powers if the management of the countries passed once more into the hands of the war lords, who, we may be isure, are keeping a close watch upon events and are ready to seize upon any favourable opportunity that /nay arise. Divided opinions among the Allies leading to such a position as France has been in during the last Eighteen months are obviously dangerous, and it is to be hoped that Mr. MacDonald and M. Herriot- have already laid the foundations for a stronger friendship between their countries than has existed during the last few years. If their conversations have done nothing more than that we may regard it as a real forward step, but it is to be hoped that their meeting has /lone more than that, and that they have been able to bring about an understanding that will lead to a sound settlement of the reparation problem and open the door to the real reconstruction of Europe, which is long overdue. ' Perhaps it is too much to expect; but we feel sure that on Britain’s part the strongest .support and encouragement will be given to both Premiers by all parties. Let us hope that, in France the majority will be with M. Herriot and that* the leaders of the German Rpublie will also have sufficient’ power to commit' the nation to a reasonable plan for solving the reparations problem and restoring economic health to the sick Continent. Cable news from Franco and Germany which has come to hand this morning indicates that there will be no inconsiderable opposition in both countries to the plans which Mr. MacDonald and M. Herriot have proposed, and the messages may be taken as evidence of the approach of a heavy cloud, threatening to bring dark shadows to replace M. Herriot’s bright day.