16 DECEMBER 1938, Page 1

Dr. Schacht's Mission It is believed that Dr. Schacht, on

his visit to London, will produce some ingenious plan by which this can be achieved. Two suggestions have been made, Firstly, Jews will be able to take with them some of their property, in the form of bills which will be payable out of the proceeds of an increase in German exports which other countries will agree to accept. Secondly, it is proposed that the funds raised for Jewish relief should be used to pay for the transfer of the Jews. Thus Germany will obtain an increase both in her trade and in her scanty foreign exchange reserves. It is hardly necessary to say that the relief funds were not meant for this purpose ; and Germany's ideas of alleviating the misery she has caused have not been well received. It is possible, however, that pressure could be put on Dr. Schacht to produce some more just and reasonable solution ; for the most important object of his visit is to avoid the Anglo-German trade war threatened as a result of the measures the British Government is taking to protect British trade in the Balkans against the competition of subsidised German exports. Germany, with some reason, professes to be surprised by these measures, for it has always been implicit in Mr. Chamberlain's policy that Germany should have a free hand in Central and South East Europe. The Diplomatische Correspondenz asserts that in Anglo- German trade conversations which continued from July to November it has been recognised "that there should be a division of world markets," and that the industrial groups on both sides !lave entered into direct contact so as to make this programme concrete. This is a reasonable version of the economic, and for Germany the most valuable, aspect of the policy of appeasement.