A.—2a

$1,866 millions (say, £466,000,000 sterling) is thus shown as available for UNRHA's relief purposes. Not all of the $1,866,116,000 is currently available to finance the Administration's operations, however, Contributions of $597,366,000 were not available to the Administration on 15th September, 1945, for several reasons. The largest portion consists of $550,000,000 of the total contribution of $1,350,000,000 authorized by the United States, which requires appropriation by Congress before it becomes available. The President in his annual message to Congress on 6th September, and again in a more recent statement, has made a strong plea for granting UNRRA the financial aid it must have in order that it may carry out its programme. Nevertheless, it is fully expected that a further appropriation will meet with a certain amount of opposition in Congress and will undoubtedly be the occasion for some rather caustic criticism of UNRRA's past performance. The Administration, however, is confident that the balance of the first 1 per cent, contribution will be forthcoming and will be available for UNRRA operations before the end of 1945. In addition to the $550,000,000 still to be appropriated by the United States, some $10,328,000 of other contributions have received only preliminary approval by the executive branch of the Governments concerned. It is expected that perhaps as much as half of this amount will be available for expenditure in 1945. In the case of a number of other countries, contributions amounting in all to $37,038,000 have been appropriated, but are not yet available to UNRRA. Most of this $37,000,000 will not become available until 1946 and 1947. A considerable proportion of the South African contribution, however, will probably be expended before the end of 1945. The administration is authorized to incur obligations only to the extent of appropriations made and resources actually received from other sources. Accordingly, deducting the sum not currently available, the resources against which the Administration is authorized to incur obligations for its operations as of 15th September, 1945,- totalled $1,268,750,000. If to this amount is added the balance of the American contribution and other contributions which there is reason to believe will become available within the next three months, the Administration will have at its disposal for operations by the end of 1945 resources totalling between $1,830,000,000 and $1,835,000,000. Contributions in kind have also been made, mainly clothing from the United States and other countries, estimated by the end of 1945 to total £170,000,000. In this connection a paragraph in the Director-General's report to the Committee for the Far East noted with appreciation the good efforts in New Zealand to find clothing for relief purposes. A substantial contribution from a non-member country is 150,000 tons of wheat received from the Argentine. As a general comment on the question of contributions, while it is, of course, plainly equitable that all should contribute in proportion to their ability, two observations may perhaps be made— first, that the difference between the sums actually received and those estimated at Atlantic City is not really great enough to warrant alarm ; and when it is agreed that " estimated national income " is the appropriate first criterion of ability to contribute it must be added that in the nature of things an authoritative estimate of national incomes is impossible. Requirements. —Czechoslovakia, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Poland submitted estimates of required supplies, for a period of six months, that totalled about $2,800,000,000. The Council at its second, Montreal, session adopted bases for calculating import requirements ; and by the application of these, taking account of the estimates of local supplies and production, the estimates for these four countries for the six-months' period were reduced to approximately $1,558,000,000. This figure allowed nothing for the Administration's operations in the Far East, nor in Russia. In the Far East, the Chinese Government requested UNRRA's aid for a part of its estimated total relief and rehabilitation requirements, the requested UNRRA part amounting to an estimated $865,200,000 in the first twelve months and $1,228,000,000 in eighteen months (the latter figure including the former). The U.S.S.R.'s estimate of relief requirements, as originally submitted, totalled $700,000,000. At the London session, however, the U.S.S.R.'s request was withdrawn on the understanding that the two Soviet Republics of Byelorussia and the Ukraine would each submit a new programme of requirements totalling approximately $250,000,000. Nor is this the whole story of requirements. For Italy a special programme to cost $50,000,000 was authorized at the second session of the Council, but this amount was being supplemented by substantial aid in Italy through military channels, provided by the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, and a good deal of emphasis was put upon the necessity of meeting such relief costs through UNRRA. Indeed, before the Council sessions were through, $450,000,000 was the authoritative estimate of required expenditure in Italy to provide the necessary relief until the harvest of August or September, 1946. The Administration was also authorized at London to undertake relief operations in Austria, Korea, and Formosa, the total cost of which is estimated at $100,000,000,000. A programme for Ethiopia -is still to be budgeted for. UNRRA, however, has been relieved of the financial burden of providing supplies for displaced persons and for refugee camps in areas other than the countries above named. $180,000,000 of UNRRA's funds had originally been budgeted for this purpose, but responsibility for these supplies has now been assumed by the military and will not, therefore, be taken into account in UNRRA's budget. Another presentation of procurement obligations is given on the basis of commodities, estimated to 31st December, 1945 : — $ Food .. .. ... .. .. .. .. 450 millions Clothing, textiles, and footwear .. .. .. .. 400 ~ Medical and sanitation .. .. .. .. .. 55 ~ Agricultural rehabilitation .. .. .. .. .. 110 ~ Industrial rehabilitation .. .. .. .. .. 318 ~ Shipping and related obligations ..' .. .. .. 267 ~ Total .. .. .. .. .. 1,600

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