Mr. Lloyd George then asked Mr. MacDonald whether Germany was
to be invited to the Conference. Mr. MacDonald practically refused to answer this question, as evidently he did not want to prejudice any future negotiations with France. In this refusal the House, or at any rate the Unionist side of it, supported him. But from what Mr. MacDonald said the impression has become current that Germany will not be asked to join the Conference at first, but that at the final settlement her representatives will be present. This is certainly the impression that the German Press has received. It is reinforced by what is, perhaps, the most important 1036 part of Mr. MacDonald's statement, which has been very widely discussed in France. " It is felt," Mr. MacDonald said, " that certain obligations imposed upon Germany by the Experts' Report are somewhat outside the obliga- tions imposed upon her by the Treaty of Versailles, and the question remains for consultation with Belgium and Italy, in pursuance of the consultation which we have had this week-end, as to how best to bring Germany in to make her a willing partner in sharing these obliga- tions. The exact form is not settled but is under con- sideration."
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