THE GERMAN NOTE.

Southland Times, Issue 18963, 9 June 1923, Page 4

THE GERMAN NOTE.

It will be interesting to see what view the French will take of the German Note, which puts before the Allies the most definite proposals that have come out of Berlin for the payment of reparations. These proposals are the outcome of the recent discussions between the German Government and the industrialists, and they owe their origin to the pressure that has been put on German industry by the French. If Paris is disposed to accept them, M. Poincare will say that the German offer would not have been made if the French troops had not marched into the Ruhr and put a grip on the jugular vein of Germany’s industrialism, and to a certain extent this will be true, but the French method has been costly, and it has given rise to emotions which may yet give Europe cause for regret. The German Note opens with a proposal for an international conference to settle the method by which Germany can satisfy her liabilities, the amount of which the Germans set down at 20,000,000,000 gold marks. It is possible that the complete text of the Note will reveal an increase on this sum, but it would seem at this moment that Berlin’s suggestions do not go as far as the amount which the French and the Belgians have set down as the Allies’ dues, and there is no mention in the summary cabled to New Zealand of the sums due for the army of occupation which must be substantial. The first point to be settled, however, is the appeal to an international tribunal. So far the French have opposed any reference of the dispute or any part of it to other than the Allied Powers. We presume that the Germans ask for the intervention of outside Powers, because if they desired to restrict the discussions to the Allies they would have used language to make that point clear. Lately, of course, the French have shown a disposition to work alone, but the unsatisfactory returns from the military occupation of the Ruhr, and Belgium’s more moderate tone, may lead to a more generous consideration of this proposal. The proposal to mortgage revenues from the railways and from Customs, excise and other governmental sources, goes a long way in the direction of French requirements, but it is not yet possible to form a definite idea of the proposals; that must wait the publication of the full text. From the comments we have received so far it would seem that the British and American press regard the Note favourably. It will certainly open the way to a resumption of joint action by the Allies, and will give Mr Baldwin an excellent opportunity for the exploitation of new avenues of thought in connection with the reparations problem. Europe has progressed a long way since the Versailles Treaty was signed, and the attitude of most of the nations has changed so vastly in the last twelve months, that this new German offer stands a chance of receiving better treatment than its predecessors. As a basis for discussion it gives France a means of withdrawing from a position which daily commits the nation to additional expenditure and trouble without hope of full recompense, a fact of which the French financiers are cognisant, whatever may be the opinion of the politicians. The Note is a very hopeful sign, and in the interests of reconstruction France should exploit it fully as a basis for discussion.