GERMAN OFFER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18388, 2 May 1923, Page 9

GERMAN OFFER.

DELAY EXPECTED.

CONFERENCES IN BERLIN.

PRESIDENT INTERVENES.

EMISSARIES FROM PARIS.

ORGY OF SPECULATION. By Telegraph—Press Association— t (Received 4.30 p.m.) ■ A: and N.Z. LONDON. April 30. Advices from Berlin state that it. is now considered • doubtful if the-German Government's Note on reparations will be despatched before the week-end. The - deliberations of the Federal States, on , Tuesday may easily extend over two or three days or more. A • significant factor at tho eleventh hour has been the intervention of the President. Herr'/Ebert. After first calling most serious attention to Lord Curzon's speech, Herr Ebert left matters largely with the Chancellor, Herr Cuno, and during his absence from Berlin his communications with Horr Cuno wore made mainly by telephone. Horr Ebert's emergence now is. due to the arrival in Berlin of neutral personalities from Paris who stated that whilo French opinion is desirous of an understanding, and M. Poincaro also is hot disinclined in this direction, ho settlement would be possible which looked like a defeat of France. Herr Ebert is •' believed to >■' bo influencing the Note strongly to the view which, according to these. personalities, Franco would be likely to accept. ;' Communication to America.; Herr Cuno spent a feverishly busy weektad in conference with ambassadors, in- • eluding Mr. Houghton, United Stales Ambassador, who is said to have received I momentous communication for Washinglon, which will be among the recipients of the Note itself. There is reason to believe that Italy, through her Ambassador, has been advised of the omission of the Ruhr evacuation issue from the Note entirely , or a mere allusion to it in terms '-- which would suggest the advisability of Teaching an understanding. ' ' .; Both Berlin and Paris are indulging in ftn orgy of speculation regarding the contents of ■ the Note, but all this is valueless. "Paris opinion, however, is firm nu. one point, that the Note will be unacceptable. Foreign opinion, it is said, iihould. be prepared for. the failure of the ! German proposal and the continuation of ' the present situation for some time to ■ come. 1 _ , ■ An uneasy feeling on the Berlin Bourse is- attributed to the probability of this % Summary rejection. ; Financial circles contemplate another shake-up of the mark", but they cherish the hope that if politicians fail a solution may be found by the French and German industrialists. The uneasiness on the Bourse has been" increased by the Reichsbank's ; ; announcement that more of ■■ its gold is being sent - fcbroad; and that it has already pledged for borrowing purposes a portion of its gold reserve in foreign banks to the value of ;85,000,000 gold marks. A further cause of disquietude is the publication of the fact that new paper money with - a •face value of 258,000 million marks/was ■■>'■ issued' in the third week of April, bnngintr the face value of notes in circulation to 6,096,000 million marks. Jl Back to -.;thevßefgmann: Scheme.:; v:-' i The Berlin- correspondent of the Times, in an earlier message, predicted that -I Germany's f; new j reparation offer would ■'■ •: be ' despatched immediately after a meetfine between the Chancellor and the Premiers of the Federal States 5 on : Tuesday. The offer- is) said to nearly identical with the Bergmann scheme. ; ; The German Government proposes to; pay > 20,000 million gold = marks down, ; to be raised by -means of- an international loan, and two instalments each :of '5000 millions. ,;■■■ •■£.;■; ■■/'■■■ The -proposal involves a .guarantee from German industrialists, and would 1 envisage some; form of mutual; IrancoGerman disarmament. ■ . ■ The industrialists informed the Chancellor : that if the productive capacity of { the country is sharply strained it : jja : iust possible to manage the . burden* imposed on :/ industry , under the Bergmann ? proposals. ; *»_..«, „« ■■- This involves • increasing the Ttours of labour and otherwise lowering tho social standards of workers;; Such an attempt would ~ probably invoke a clash,, coming - at a moment when workmen are, about ;to agitate or Va \ very \ large, increase in wages and demonstrates adherence to the I principle of an eight-hour day. ;.; ■ f •

J" - THE BEHGMANN SCHEME. : 'The Bergmann scheme, referred to in the cable message above, was contained in the Note presented by rpr.-.Bergmann, the Germtfn?fina«cial:- to the Allied conference held in London in December •St M Poincare then - described the scheme as not worthy of discussion. The title of the Note was "Preliminary Note of the German Government for a Provisional Regulation <* the Situation The following is a full summary of its °The German Government considers that a.solution is urgent and desires to collaborate with all its power in seeking for one. It considers that the first thing to do is to bring about the stabilisation of the mark and an arrangement for the reparation indemnities for the coming years. To this end the Government makes the following proposals - rrwr»- ■■ 11) Stabilisation of the mark. The German Government recalls the ■, Note of Chancellor Wirth, which Chancellor Cuno adopted in its general lines in. the speech . made by him on entering on his duties. While awaiting the grant of a. foreign credit for stabilisation, the German Government wishes to begin the stabilisation bv its own efforts; only it cannot contemplate this unless there are suitable arrangements for the payment of the coming reparations and unless it can pursue trade freely. - ~ '~. (2) Reparations. To replace the obligations of the coming years by a gold loan to bo issued in, Germany and abroad. The total of the foreign loan will serve for reparations, and one-half at least of the internal loan will be devoted to the stabilisation of the mark. The Government is ready to enter at once into negotiations to put'its ideas in practice. The Govern- ' ment will grant exemptions of taxes to . those who subscribe to this loan, with the object of bringing about a" return of capital which'has escaped to foreign countries; this loan should be admitted to international - markets; one-half of the loan will be devoted to the Reparation Commission and the other half, e.g., one and a-half • milliards of gold marks [£75,000,000], will employed for stabilisation of the mark. ... At the same tirno that it issued this loan the Government would issued abroad a loan of e.g./three milliard gold marks [£150,000,000], particularly for reparations. , It. undertakes to make the payment of the interest and of the. amortisation of these obligations. By means of the issue r>{ these two Joans the German Government asks to be freed from all payments imposed by the Treaty of Versailles for two years, and also from all th* deliveries in kind which cannot be paid by the surplus if the, Budget. The internal loan would lead to the hope that the Budget might be balanced, and consequently to payment in kind. The German Government would ask for ' each milliard of gold marks paid to that the Reparation Commission on the produce of the internal loan there should be a new year of moratorium. '3) Guarantees: The gold bonds, transmitted to the Reparation.". Commission would be guaranteed by the receipts of the Customs,'and would rank before all the obligations of Germany resulting Irom the Treaty. ~ ■ ■ - -