MR LLOYD GEORGE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18031, 20 January 1923, Page 9

MR LLOYD GEORGE.

A SEVERE ARTICLE. CRITICISES FRANCE. KICKING FALLEN HUN. ■ (Special Copyright.) (Received 5.5 p.m., January 19.) LONDON, January 18. In another article, Mr Lloyd George said: “France has once more jumped on the prostrate form of Germany, with sabots, and has come down with a thud that sickens the hearts of multitudes oil both sides of the Atlantic, whose friendship for France stood tho losses and griefs of four years of war. Germany having been overthrown and disarmed, and her arms hound with the thongs of a stern Treaty, the process of dancing on her when she is down can at any time ho performed with complete impunity ly any of tho' Powers alone. No doubtthere is some joy for the unsportsmanlike mind in kicking a helpless giant who onco maltreated you, and who, but for tho assistance of powerful neighbours would have done so a second timo. Additional coal and timber that will be wrung out of Germany will barely cover tho direct cost of collection.

Reparations Diminished. These punitive measures must, in tho end, diminish the means of reparation, and therefore fall on tho victor. Existing armies of occupation already have cost Germany over £300,000,000. How much better if this money had gone to rebuilding the devastated areas! Between tho cost of occupation, and tho contribution already made, Germany has already paid three-fold the indemnity Count Bismarck exacted in 1870, and this without making allowance for surrendered colonies. Let, therefore, no one approach this problem as if dealing with a recalcitrant country that was deliberately refusing to acknowledge any of her obligations under the Treaty. Tho indirect cost of these aggressive measures to victor and vanquished alike, will be crushing. Tt is already accumulating. A move threat depreciated the value of the franc. There may he a rally, but I will he surprised if the improvement is more than temporary.

A Ghastly Ru,shi Down. All that is obvious for tho mon&nt to the untrained eye, is the way, the mark is dragging the French and Belgian franc along in its downward course. A policy which demoralises German currency is also fatal to the solvency of French finance. As long as Reparation coal is dug by bayonets, and timber cut down by the sword it is idle to talk of restoring the mark by putting German finance in order. No tariff, however nimble, could keep paco with the runaway mark. If a mere threat of force produced such a panic, what would bo tho effect of actual measures? It is safe to predict that the French advance will not arrest the mark’s flight. The only chance of securing an early instalment of the Reparations, was oy pressing Germany to put her finances in order; and the only chance of a German loan, was by restoring tho stability of German currency. French statesmen have deliberately thrown these chances away. The effect cn their hwn currency must be grave.

Franca Must Pay. Frenchmen will have to pay in tlie increased cost of living for tho venture dictated by short sighted, short tempered, statesmanship. When one thinks of the consequences one is driven to ask whether French politicians arc really seeking reparations, or aro pursuing another purpose quite incompatible with the recovery of money payments under tho Treaty." Feather-headed scribes who advocated this rash policy assume that France will bo helped, because Germany will be reduced to impotence “for how long?” German disintegration is not unlikely in eon sequence of this moye'-. I know that there is the expectation.

Old Hankerings. Frenchmen still hanker for the days when Saxons, Bavarians and A\urtenhurgers were 1 ’ Allies, vassals of France against Prussia, ft was that lure which led Napoleon to his min. It is the attraction which is now drawing France once more to suie doom. Nothing can keep the Germans apart. Thev will re-uni to at a suitable moment under more favouiahle conditions, freed from external as well as internal debt, and France v ill have lost her reparations, only jetaiiiing hatred of an implacable foe. There is no knowing what will happen when brave people numbering 60,000,000 find themselves faced with utter min. The French proclamation, with its threat of severest measures, m the case of recalcitrancy, is ominous of much that may happen.

Endcpendcnce Gone. No people accustomed to natural independence will he long able to tolerate a foreign yoke. Herr Cuno’s action, is the first manifestation of revolt. Jt will grow in its intensity; Germany will inevitably he driven <o desperate courses; a Communist Germany would infect Europe. European vitality is so lowered by exhaustion that it is in no condition to resist the plague. About Russia. Russia, with incalculable resources of men and material, is at hand, needin(r all that Germany can best give and spare. Bolshevik leaders only require what Germany is so well fitted to supple, in order to reorganise their country and convert it into the most formidable slate in Europe or Asia, When French troops marched on Essen they began a movement, tho most far-reaching; probably the most sinister, in its consequences that has

been witnessed in Europe for many centuries, . and those peoplo are \ people who after ■ 50 years of patient laborious waiting, demonstrated to the world in 1918, Germany’s stupidity in abusing the pjelory in 1871. H Nio teacher so soon forgets her own special lesson, the pupil is not. likely to remember when. iury overcomes terror. —A. :uui N.Z. ’Cubic.