MUST BE SOME FINALITY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1933, Page 7

MUST BE SOME FINALITY

OUTSPOKEN VIEW ON DEBTS

BARCLAY’S BANK CHAIRMAN

PAY AFTER AN AGREEMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN CHANCE British Wireless. Rugby, Jan. 19. Outspoken remarks on war debts were made by Mr. F. C. Goodenough, chairman of Barclay’s Bank, at a shareholders’ meeting to-day. He declared there must be some finality on the question, which was so vitally affecting the present and future 'conditions of the whole world. Mr. Goodenough expressed the belief that the City of London would regard as useless the suggestion that, pending a satisfactory settlement to all the debts, the instalments should continue to be paid no matter how long the discussions might be prolonged. Great Britain, he said, should not pay any further instalment until the whole matter had been discussed and an agreement reached. Remarking on Britain’s economic policy, Mr. Goodenough said it had been due to the inability of other countries to arrest the decrease of trade since they were at war that the change in British policy had become necessary, but the fundamental principle that a creditor nation must permit its debtors a reasonable chance to discharge their liabilities remained unchanged. Mr. Goodenough thought Britain’s payment to America of further sums of gold might be dismissed as impracticable. The only alternative was payment in goods. If America desired payment it must take it that way and make payment possible by ■ a readjustment of tariffs. America would sooner or later have to choose between adjusting the economic policy and forgiving the whole or part of the debts due. Britain’s return to the gold standard was impossible until Britain could feel sure the conditions were such that she and other countries would not again be forced to suspend it. Mr. Goodenough suggested that it might be possible to hold an early conference with the Dominions with the object of arriving at a means to alleviate the great evil of unemployment.