ERROR IN YOUNG REPORT.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18350, 22 August 1929, Page 9

ERROR IN YOUNG REPORT.

Newspapers Amazing Claim INACCURACY GREATLY FAVOURS FRANCE. (United Press Association—By Electrlo Telegraph—Copyright ) (Received August 21, 8.50 p.m.) LONDON, August 21. The “Daily Telegraph” to-day publishes a remarkable announcement from its diplomatic correspondent that an amazing clerical error was made in the preparation of the Young Plan. The paper says the error arose in this manner. The first 37 annuities allotted to France were added up, and then divided for the purpose of working out the average of the French annuity. The latter, in a table annexed to the Young Report, is given as 1,046,500,000 gold marks. That is £52,325,000, which under-estimates its real value by nearly 100,000,000 gold marks, or nearly £5,000,000. On this basis, France’s share of the Young annuity will be, not her Spa percentage of 52 per cent., or even the 1925 Paris percentage, which was 54 per cent., but a percentage in the neighbourhood of 57. It is not explained how the experts or the calculating machine made such a mistake, but the discovery of the error is of great moment, as the excess of 5 per cent, allotted France, over and above what the Young Committee intended, should enable her to restore something like fair quotas to Britain and some of the smaller powers. The Australian Press Association adds that this is the first public reference to such error; and whether such an extraordinary error could have gone unnoticed until the present is at least doubtful. The full significance of the error—if it is an error—can only be ascertained when the experts’ report comes down. EXPERTS FAIL TO AGREE. MINISTERS MUST FIND BASIS OF SETTLEMENT. (United Pre*a Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (Received August 21, 7.15 p.m.) LONDON, August 21. It is authoritatively announced in British circles at The Hague that the Experts’ report that it is impossible to reply to the question submitted to them, as they found it impossible to agree regarding the value of the concessions offered to Britain by the four Powers, and a hundred and one other factors upon which the allocations are dependent. Consequently the Ministers themselves must grapple with the problem.