The chief punitive measure that the French have applied has
been the arrest of the great Ruhr industrial magnates such as Herr Thyssen, who has been tried for disobedience to military orders and fined large amounts—in Herr Thyssen's case 500,000 francs. This policy of arrest has brought up the delicate problem of Franco-British relations in the British zone of occu- pation. On Monday night an important German official was arrested by the French in Cologne. In this instance the British authorities were present at the arrest, but took no part in it. Here, then, was raised the whole problem whether the new sanctions imposed without our consent by the Rhineland Commission should be effective in the British area, and, if so, whether our position there would not become impossible. As we write on Thursday, however, this aspect of the situation is said to be easier. The British have intimated, according to the Times, that they will not apply the new sanctions in their zone, and the French are not disposed to press the point. Lord Crewe, our Ambassador, visited M. Poincare on Tuesday evening and, it is understood, defined the British attitude, but no announcement has been made. The whole question of the possibility of a British with- drawal from Germany is a most involved one, on which it would be rash for a newspaper, necessarily not in possession of all the facts, to express an opinion.
