U.S. DEBT SETTLEMENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17472, 22 January 1931, Page 7

U.S. DEBT SETTLEMENT

MR. EALDWIN DEFENDED ME. BONAR LAW'S PART LONDON, Jan. 21. A stir followed the publication from the Conservative central office of a defence of Mr. Stanley Baldwin's American debt settlement. This provoked an attack from Mr. Lloyd George, followed by Sir Robert Home stating .that he was in the United Stales at the time Lord liurnham and Sir Auckland Geddes signed a cable message to Mr. Hoiiar Lawexpressing the opinion that America could not then be induced to make further concessions.

Now Lord Beaverbrook, a friend of the late Mr. Bonar Law, writes in the Daily Express, saying it is perfectly true that Sir Robert Home urged Mr. Bonar Law's acceptance of a separate settlement of the American debt, but it was equally true that Mr. Bonar Law was not influenced by Sir Robert Home's advice. On the contrary, Mr. Bonar Law always strongly held that Britain ought to have considered nothing but a general settlement of all war debt o . He adds: "When Mr. Baldwin made a premature disclosure of his approval of the settlement, Mr. Bonar Law decided to resign, hut was eventually persuaded not to do so by Mr. Reginald McKenna, who had been also an opponent of the terms of settlement."