LONDON CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20930, 21 July 1931, Page 9

LONDON CONFERENCE.

FINANCES OF GERMANY.

FRANCE NARROWS ISSUE. SCOPE OF DISCUSSIONS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received Jul- 20, 7.45 p.m.) , _ .LONDON, July 20.' The diplomatic correspondent of the Daily Telegraph states that the scope of the Seven Powers Conference in Lon don will include (1) the hnrmonisation of the Hoover moratorium and the Young plan. (2) Ihe granting of long-term credits to Germany, followed by a public loan issue. (3) Financial and economic guarantees by' Germany as security for credits. (4") The granting of credits to the smaller States in Eastern Europe, to help them to. tide over their present difficulties.

At a late hour last night the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. A. Hen derson, returned to London from Paris and proceeded to Downing Street, where he saw the Prime Minister, Mr. MacDonald, rfnd discussed with him the proceedings in Paris. Mr. Henderson travelled to London in company with the American Secretary of State, Mr. IT. L. Stimson, and the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. A. W. Mellon. Speaking to reporters just before he left Paris, Mr. Henderson said he felt very optimistic as to the outcome of the London Conference, whigh' ho expected would last' only a few days. The principal event m Paris yesterday was the meeting of international representatives at the Ministry of the Interior. A communique subsequently issued stated that the French Premier,, M. Laval, who presided, said the conversations in the last few days, and in particular those which had taken place between the French and German Ministers and the German Chancellor, gave a brief outline of the economic and financial crisis in Germany and indicated certain financial remedies.

Mr. Stimson, Mr. Henderson, Signer Grandi, the Italian Foreign Minister, M. Hymans, the Belgian Foreign Minister, and the Japanese Ambassador to France, Mi'. K. Yoshizawa, also spoke reassuringly. All expressed satisfaction at the Franco-German conversations.

It was agreed that the London Confer-, ence would be strictly limited to the question of the economic and financial crisis in Germany.

Mr. Henderson was compelled to concede to the. French insistence that France would not ■ join the conference unless it confined the discussion to Germany's financial position. The only alternative would have been France's withdrawal. The British Government desired the discussions to extend far beyond the immediate German position, and to seize the great opportunity which the conference presented td deal with the world problem instead of only part of it. Although any indications that France is prepared to co-operate in giving financial assistance to Germany in her present crisis are cordially welcomed in Britain, the newspapers continue to. be somewhat dubious as to the efficacy of the French proposal for a guaranteed loan to Germany.-