§ Mr. A. T. DAVIESasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the attention of His Majesty's Government has been directed to advances by loans made by France to Poland, Rumania and other Central European countries ostensibly for military purposes; what is the present amount owed by France to Great Britain for loans during the War; for what specific reasons is France declining to pay any part of the debts to Great Britain which she so contracted; what action has His Majesty's Government taken in this matter, if any; and what further steps are contemplated?
§ Mr. NEVILLE CHAMBERLAINThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and His Majesty's Government have called the attention of the Polish, Rumanian and Serbian Governments to their obligations to Great Britain. The total of the French Government Treasury Bills held by His Majesty's Government is £613,330,000. The Notes addressed by the British Government to the French Government on this matter have been published in full (Command Paper 1943). The French Government stated in their Note of the 20th August last: "We can therefore only repeat that we shall only be able to repay our debt to England, or even to pay interest thereon, when payments from Germany shall have placed us in a position to complete the reparation of damages caused to our country by invasion and the shock of war." His Majesty's Government do not accept this proposition.