ALLIED CONFERENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3673, 5 August 1924, Page 18

ALLIED CONFERENCE

THIRD PLENARY SESSION. LONDON, July 28. A meeting of the British Empire Delejation to the Inter-Allied Conference was held, following a conference of the heads vf the Allied delegations, in preparation tor this afternoon’s plenary session. It has been gathered so far that the xisition has not materially changed since Friday. There is no official cognisance ot any solution. The questions of the bankers’ security will come within sight, while the position regarding the railways in the occupied territory remains the same. The Plenary Conference sat for an hour arid a-half. It is understood that it was decided to defer the question of inviting the German representatives to meet the heads of the five Allied delegations. There was a certain amount of disagreement over the report of the First Committee on the question of German default, and it was decided to call a. further meeting of the committee on Wednesday' morning. It is understood that a distinctive feature of the third Plenary Conference was a promise from the French delegation that it would submit to the conference on Wednesday a scheme by which the objections of tlie Anglo-American bankers would be met. A compromise regarding the Franco-Belgian railwaymen is also probable.

The conference has decided to invite all the members of the reparations commission to come to London. EVACUATION OF THE RUHR. PARIS, July 29. Several of the newspapers angrily comment on the way in which Mr MacDonald brought forward the question ot the evacuation of the Ruhr. The Intransigeant understands that General Nollet (Minister of War) owing to the trend of things, twice last week offered his resignation, which M. Herriot did not accept. The Temps understands that England is determined to evacuate the Cologne zone in January. THE £40,000,009 LOAN. LONDON, July 29. The National Union of Manufacturers have petitioned the House of Commons and the House of Lords protesting against the proposed loan of £40,000,000 to Germany on the ground that it would help the dumping of German manufactures in Britain and would make for increased German competition with the dominions, colonies, and India, entailing lower wages and increased unemployment. AN AMERICAN WARNING. LONDON, July 28. The Daily Telegraph’s diplomatic correspondent states that the situation ol the First Committee of the conference was to-day again threatened with complete deadlock when Mr Logan, an Ameri-

can, made an unexpected and dramatic move. Speaking very deliberately, Mr Logan declared that the United States Government regarded the putting of the Dawes report into operation as a matter of the greatest concern. Indeed, it was the only practical way out of the European difficulties. He repudiated the suggestion that the American bankers were in any way animated by .a desire to meddle in politics.—A .and N.Z. Cable, Continuing, Mr Logan suggested that it ■was useless for the committee to try and fix the basis of seurity for the loan until Germany, as the borrower, the bankers as the lenders, and the Reparations Commission had arrived at an agreement. Then only need the committee consider the arrangements. FRANCE SEEKING SAFEGUARDS. LONDON, July 29. A new French formula was submitted to the conference to-day. It proposes recourse to arbitration should the Reparation Commission fail to agree on the question of German default, one of the three arbitrators to be an American. There was a new tone in the French' press to-day in consequence of despatches from the French correspondents at London stating that negotiations were about to begin as regards the evacuation of the Ruhr, and suggesting a likelihood of a satisfactory result if France is adequately compensated from the economic viewpoint. The Ere Nouvelle says: “By giving the world a striking proof of her loyalty in evacuating the Ruhr, France would be

entitled to ask the Allies to make sacrifice regarding the war debts and guarantees of security.” PARIS, July 29. Parliament has reassembled. A telegram from M. Herriot was read in the Chamber and in the Senate defining the point reached at the London Conference, and declaring that, despite constant efforts, several more days would be necessary to bring the negotiations to a conclusion, owing to numerous technical difficulties encountered. M. Herriot added that the French Government was firmly resolved to assure the rights of France and to bring about the re-establishment of the. Inter-Allied Entente. THE NEW FRENCH FORMULA. PARIS, July 30. The Reparations Commission, after a lengthy deliberation yesterday, decided to go to London. The new French formula is commented upon from different points of view. It is approved by the Matin and L’CEuvre’ as likely to solve all the questions at the conference, and it is denounced by Le Journal, which declares that the conference is drifting towards wreck, and by the Echo de Paris, which predicts its rejection of the formula by Anglo-Saxon financiers. THE FRENCH FORMULA. LONDON, July 61. The first part of the French formula regarding arbitration was adopted by the First Committee of the conference. The second part, dealing with a plan for the military evacuation of the Rnhr proportionately as Germany pays her debts, nas not yet been considered. The British amendment was withdrawn. THE GERMAN RAILWAYS. LONDON, July 31. The Berlin correspondent of The Times says: “A conference which may vitally endanger the experts’ report has begun .n Berlin, where negotiations have been opened between the Central and Bavarian Governments in regard to the future of the Bavarian and Palatinate railways. The Bavarian Government demands that these shall he placed under strictly Bavarian control, and claims the right to formulate its own scale of freights quite independently of the remainder of the German railways. These claims are absolutely contrary to the experts’ report, which assume that the German railways are to be placed under unified control, wiht a united tariff policy.” THE THIRD COMMITTEE. LONDON, July 31. An official communique states that rhe Reparations Commission will henceforth officially sit in London to deal with questions arising out of the Dawes report. Another communique announcing an agreement by the First Committee declares that the effectiveness of the agreement depends on the successful conclusion of the work of the Third Committee, which is considering the other parts of the French proposal. It adds that the prospects of the Third Committee reaching an agreement appear hopeful. It should be noted that the Third Committee is not dealing with the evacuation of the Ruhr, which is outside the scope of the present conference, and will be discussed jointly with the Germans; DRAMATIC DEVELOPMENT. LONDON, August i. A dramatic stage of the Reparations Conference was reached last night when the Third Committee dealing with deliveries in kind and cash transfers decided at a late hour to sit all night if necessary in order to arrive at an agreement to enable the conference to summon the Germans to London for the week-end. By two o’clock this morning one section had reached an agreement regarding deliveries, by which the Organising Committee will be composed of Allies and Germans equally, with a neutral arbitrator in case of 'disagreement. The other section discussed transfers till 2.30 a.m., when it adjourned, having reached a partial agreement. The principle of arbitration was conceded in limited cases. AN AGREEMENT REACHED. A plenary session of the Inter-Allied Conference reached an agreement on all points. The terms of the invitation to Germany were considered, and Germany was invited to join. FINANCIAL BAROMETER, NEW YORK, August 2. Sterling, responding to the news that Germany had been invited to the Confer ence, reached 4.43|d01., the highestlevel in 1924. This represents an overnight gain of nearly three cents. The franc reached 5 5-10 cents, gaining 1/ points overnight. The other exchanges gained fractionally and stocks likewise reflected strong optimism because of the belief that the stabilisation of Germany’s purchasing power will decidedly stimulate trade. This has caused sharp gains in industrial stocks. BAVARIAN RAILWAYS. LONDON, August 1. The Berlin correspondent of The Times says:—“The negotiations regarding the Bavarian railways have been broken off without result.”