In the House of Commons on. Thursday, December 14th, the
Prime Minister made an important speech on Reparations. He first explained the French point of view. The French still had great hopes about the amount of money that might be obtained from Germany, although Great Britain had abandoned such hopes. The present financial system of France was actually based on the assumption that large sums would be paid by Germany. So far the French had received hardly anything, and they believed that what had happened was largely due to the deliberate action of Germany. Mr. Bonar Law declared frankly that he could not accept that view. It was quite true that Germany, by a kind of passive resistance, could indefinitely avoid paying any indemnity, but after all this policy meant something like suicide for Germany. In these circumstances he had made it clear at the recent Conference that any concessions which we might make would be dependent upon a final financial settlement being obtained. He stated the situation in that way because he could not agree with the suggestion that this country had " no interest in Reparations." " It cannot be right that we alone should make payment."
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