LONDON CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19252, 16 August 1924, Page 9

LONDON CONFERENCE

EVACUATION DEADLOCK. SURPRISE FOR THE GERMANS BRITAIN AND AMERICA SUPPORT FRANCE. P»-esi Association— By Telegraph —Copyright. LONDON, August 14. The decision of the British and American representatives to support the 1' rench has caused consternation among the Germans, who feel that the adoption of the proposals will precipitate the fall of the German Government. The issue is regarded as being so momentous that some oi tho delegates may go to Berlin to consult the Cabinet before replying. Ihe Germans have been given two hours to reply to the French evacuation proposals, which the Anglo-American delegates have approved.—Reuter. BERLIN TC DECIDE. CABINET DISCUSSIONS PROCEEDING. DR MARX RECOMMENDS ACCEPTANCE. LONDON, August 15. (Received August 15, at 0 p.m.) After day-long conferences in London the critical problem of tho Ruhr evacuation was transferred at a late hour to Berlin. Dr Marx telegraphed at. length on a private wire from his apartments at the Ritz Hotel, the messages going direct to the Cabinet, which was sitting in Berlin. At 2.30 this morning the following message was received in London; “A meeting of the Cabinet, over which Herr Ebert presided, lasted until after midnight. when in consequence of further telegrams from London it adjourned untd mid-day on Friday. The questioning oi party leaders is finished. The subsequent standpoint of the Ministers and the party leaders will be notified to the delegation in London and an answer to the Allies will follow.”

Dr Marx previously made it plain in London that the. fate of the German Government was in the balance, and it would bp necessary to consult the leaders of all parties before arriving at a decision. It is understood, that the German view is that the Rohr and Cologne zone should be evacuated by January 10. This, M. Herriot firmly negatived, but in the course of the day he intimated that although the evacuation time limit was a year, that period had been fixed without prejudice to earlier evacuation. Moreover, he is understood to have offered the concession that the year will begin when the agreement is signed and immediately the Dawes report is put into operation. The French will then evacuate Mannheim and other towns in the sanctions area and withdraw the FrancoBelgian railwaymen from the Ruhr, only reserving the right to reinforce the railway troops in case of emergency. Mr MacDonald and Mr Kellogg (the American Ambassador) supported the revised plan, the acceptance of which it is believed Dr Marx recommended to Berlin. Under the circumstances an easier tone prevailed late last night. British official circles stated that the worst that could happen would bo delay. Certainly the conference would not break down.

The Morning Post, however, declares that the conference could not last much longer for the chief delegates are approaching , a state of physical exhaustion. Mr MacDonald was talking to the foreign delegates until three o’clock on Thursday morning. He rose again to begin his day’s work at 6.30. While there was much plain speaking yesterday on the part of M. Herriot and Dr Stresemann, tho reports of “scenes’’ are inaccurate, and it is also untrue that Mr MacDonald and Mr Kellogg sent an ultimatum to the Germans demanding the immediate acceptance of M. Herriot’s terms. On the contrary there was the keenest anxiety to reach ah agreement, and the delegates remained out of bed until they received news that the Berlin Cabinet had adjourned.—A. and N.Z. Cable. INTERESTS OF DOMINIONS. ARE THEY BEING SACRIEICED? NOTE OF WARNING SOUNDED. LONDON, August 14. An authority who is acquainted with’ the inner history of the London Conference asKs the dominions to consider whether or not Mr Ramsay MacDonald is consciously or unconsciously sacrificing their interests to secure a European settlement at any price. He asserts that the King’s name was excluded from the Provisional AngloSoviet Agreement because the Soviet refused to make an agreement with the monarchy, and he suggests that the dominions should insist on information concerning the status of their nationals in Russia in the event of tho ratification of the agreement with them. Regarding the Inter-Allied Conference, he asks whether tho Dominion Governments were fully acquainted with the secret clauses in the proposed treaty. He declares that America is endeavouring to exercise a dominant influence to secure her own terms. Aiperican bankers think that a loan guaranteed under the Dawes scheme would be reasonably good, but they want the British Government to guarantee American investors a portion of it in the event of German default. They also want provision for wiping out a portion of the Inter-Allied debts.

Tho authority referred to asks: “Are the dominions content to sacrifice any part of the reparations from Germany, or to see the French or other Allied debts partly or wholly wiped out. Both issues are possible under the agreement reached at the London Conference. Such a settlement might bo disastrous to the Empire’s producing industries, because the -industries of Great Britain and the dominions and cdlonicsi continues to be caddied with a gigantic debt, while Germany, France, and Russia have almost no debt. “America is anxious for a settlement because she fears that an economic crisis might cause the collapse of her export trade, owing to tho inflation of credits and prices from the excessive accumulation of gold. The proposed agreement would avert an economic crisis, and enable America to develop her exports and exploit Europe by financing German industrial enterprises and flooding Freetrade Britain and the dominions with cheap goods, and undercutting the Era pire’s industries.

“It is reported that the Bank of England and the American Federal Reserve Bank have already agreed to terms for the world-wide restoration of the gold standard. After the treaty is signed America will not export gold, but will use British gold for the payment of war debts and to establish credits for financing European industries.”—Sydney Sun Cable.

GERMAN IMPORTS TO BRITAIN. FULL LEVY RESTORED. LONDON, August 14. The Government has decided permanently to restore the 26 per cent, levy on German imports under the Reparations Recovery Act. The Government on taking office reduced the percentage to 5.—A. and N.Z. Cable. MR HUGHES OPTLMISTIC. NEW YORK, August 14. (Received August 15, at 9.00 p.m.) Mr C. E. Hughes (Secretary of State) on his return from Europe, expressed the belief that the Dawes report would be accepted by all the Powers and would bo effective very goon. He did not believe that the acceptance of the plan hinged upon the date of the Ruhr evacuation.— Reuter.