3 OCTOBER 1925, Page 2

The American and French Commissions, the latter headed by M.

Caillaux, have been considering proposals and counter-proposals at Washington for the payment of the French debt. It is said that M. Caillaux's first offer was to pay £5,000,000 a year at first and to rise by gradual increases to a payment of £18,000,000 a year. These payments would cover the War Supply debt as well as the cash advances which America had made. Whether or not this is the exact truth about M. Caillaux's first proposal, the American Commission rejected it. On Monday, M. Caillaux made a second offer, which drew from Mr. Mellon, the Secretary of the American Treasury, the admission that "a basis of negotiation" had been established.