THE REPARATIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 23 August 1929, Page 5

THE REPARATIONS

A PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK. (Umted Press Association.—By Electric Teiegrapn.—Copyright. I THE HAGUE, Aug. 22. Everyone in close touch with the Reparations Conference is pessimistic' ana regard it as practically certain it wi.i end, at least on Saturday, in a publicly acknowledged failure or indeiini.e adjournment. The gravity of the situation was shown on tlie faces of the delegates following the plenary session held this evening, in connection with which the closest secrecy is being observed. It is only known that. Herr' Stresemann detailed at length Germany’s difficulties and demanded she should be told ho--,\ ■ much', when and to whom, she must pay in reparations. He contended that as Germany was in no wise responsible for the creditor nations disagreements she should in .any case be allowed to begin reduced payments under the Young Plan on September Ist. He added that a Budget bad been framed in the expectation of the adoption of the Plan, and if the Government now had to increase payments to ■ the level of the Dawes scheme, the Government would be defeated. Both M. Briand and Mr Snowden, however, expresed the view that the Dawes scheme could not be abolished until the Young Plan was adopted. For the first time, thoughts are now turning to ' arrangements necessary in the event- of a final rupture of the Conference. <

A French correspondent writing to the Daily Telegraph, says the creditor p*>weps are beginning to realise their quarrel over the division of reparations may endanger the very existence of reparation payments. The Daily Telegraph has an unconfirmed report that a revised offer to Britain w'll be submitted to Mr Snowden to-night, hut possibly at a late hour.