§ 60. Colonel MORDENasked the Prime Minister whether the failure of the Senate of the United States of America to ratify the Peace Treaty will delay the setting up of the Reparations Commission; when is it anticipated that this Commission will commence its labours of adjudicating upon claims against the German Government, and in what order will they he dealt with; and whether it is proposed to issue any general instructions as to the principles upon which claims are to be formulated?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and I understand that the Commission is prepared to set to work as soon as ratifications are deposited. Much preliminary work has, I understand, already been done. The order in which the Commission will deal with claims is a matter to be determined by the Commission itself. The British Government Departments concerned are engaged in consultation with the Governments of the Dominions and India in considering the principles on which the British Empire claims should be made up, and in preparing such claims for presentation to the Reparations Commission through the British delegate.