On Thursday of last week the Finance Committee met. Mr.
Snowden stated the British case again with unabated vigour, and declared that " we cannot compromise." Thus he seemed to be bringing the Conference a step nearer to an end* and the Belgian Prime Minister, Baron Houtart, wisely adjourned the meeting for two days, in order to allow the air to cool. Friday was, therefore, spent by those who earnestly desired that Europe should not be thrown into chaos in privately mitigating the shock which Mr. Snowden had given. But when the Committee met on Saturday, and the French Minister of Finance attempted to answer the British case by giving the French reading of masses of statistics, which we certainly cannot accept as a fair reading, Mr. Snowden made a short, comprehensive speech of contradiction, in which he used epithets to which international confer- ences are quite unaccustomed ; the Committee wisely adjourned again until Monday, with great fears that Mr. Snowden meant to torpiller the Conference. But on Sunday Baron Houtart and M. Adatchi soothed the bitter feeling, and Mr. Snowden withdrew the words that had given such pain.
