§ What was that action? There is nobody in the House who will doubt the fact that the German Government have allowed a tremendous inflation to take place, which has had the effect in itseif of making it impossible to meet any claim for reparation. The French go further. I am no quoting anything said by the French Prime Minister or any other Prime Minister. I am going to put what I think to be the general French view. They say that was deliberately done by Germany. Well, honestly, I cannot myself think that true, and I cannot do it for this reason. It is perfectly true that by the method of passive resistance they can avoid for ever paying any indemnity. But they can only avoid it by what is very like suicide for Germany, and I can hardly believe that any sane Government would deliberately adopt that course.
§ There is this to be said for the French view. The effect of the inflation has enabled great industrial groups, who have exercised tremendous power in Germany, to make enormous profits and to put those profits beyond the reach of the German Government, although it was part of the arrangement with the German Government that this should not take place and that the money should be available for reparation. There is a very serious charge and, in my judgment, there is no doubt whatever that, if there had been a Government strong enough in Germany to face the real position, it was their clear duty, not only in their own interest, but in order to fulfil their obligations, to stop that inflation, at whatever cost, and to try and put their finances on a sound footing. They have never tried to.
§ I want to put the case fairly as regards the German Government. It may be it was not their fault and they had not the power, but that is the result. I have put the French case so far, but we come up against something else. They say: "We have made all these accommodations to Germany and the result of every one of 3232 them is that we have got nothing, and we are further off than ever from getting anything. We are tired of it and must take stronger measures."