Sir H. SAMUELasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the liabilities of the British Exchequer in respect to the payment of War debts to other countries, and the anticipated receipts in respect of debts owing to Great Britain?
§ Mr. P. SNOWDENI assume the last part of the question to refer only to War debts owing to Great Britain by other countries, excluding e.g. reparations, and the tables below have been drawn up on this basis. Fuller details may be found in the various Funding Agreements, all of which have been presented to Parliament.
663W(1) The French War Debt Funding Agreement has not yet been ratified by the French Parliament.
(2) The receipts from Italy stated above represent the net amount of the annuities payable after deducting the sums applied to the redemption of the Italian gold deposit. Of these receipts £4,000,000 a year only is strictly speaking, attributable to repayment of War debt proper, the extra £118,000 a year being in respect of a post-War debt for hire of ex-enemy shipping.
(3) The War debt of Belgium to Great Britain forms part of the obligations of Germany under Article 232 of the Treaty of Versailles, and as between Great Britain and Belgium has been cancelled.
(4) No settlement of the War debt of Russia to this country has yet been reached.