STABILISATION OF THE FRANC

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20451, 4 July 1928, Page 6

STABILISATION OF THE FRANC

VIEWS OF NOTED FINANCIER. (Special to Daily Tiues.) WELLINGTON, July 3. Among the passengers by the Marama to-day from Sydney was Sir Basil Phillott Blackett, K.C.8., K.C.5.1., C. 8., who has just retired from the position of Finance Member of the Executive Council of the Governor-general of India, and is taking a long route home to see as much as possible of the Empire. During the years immediately after the outbreak of war, Sir Basil was connected with important missions to the United States related to exchange problems arising out of the war, and was a member of the French Mission to the United States which raised the Anglo-French loan of 500,000,000 dollars in 1015. While reluctant to speak freely on international financial questions’ he was much impressed with the successful stabilisation of the French franc as a step towards the stabilisation of the whole of Europe. “ It is a great achievement,” he said. “It brings speculation in the franc to an end, which means that any money that has been in France on speculation of a rise will very likely go; but the stabilisation seems to have been done very well and at the right time. As an important step in the stabilisaton of Europe it has a great interest for the British Empire, because sure foundations of this kind make for peace all round.” A slightly lower rate of exchange with America, he said, was due to the free lending and free spending which American prosperity and accumulations of gold had encouraged. It was quite possible that America had, in effect, lent a little more than it had actually saved. With the high protective American tariff it was essential for the States to. lend to foreign countries to foster trade.