20 OCTOBER 1923, Page 2

All parties in Germany, official and private, are con- vinced

of the necessity of dealing with France. It is only a question of who shall be responsible—the Govern- ment or the magnates. The German Charge d'Affaires in Paris made his bid on behalf of his Government on Wednesday. All that we know about his very important interview with M. Poincare is that M. Poincare declared that he could not negotiate till work in the Ruhr was resumed. As the resumption of work depends entirely on the possibility of paying wages, and as that possibility depends in its turn entirely upon a huge reform of the currency, M. Poincare's new non possumus apparently means that he will not help to restore the Ruhr even now that his original conditions have been fulfilled.