The New York herald., 1922-04-04

| Judgment upon something which so
vitally affected her existence, vixen
she has her treaty rights In respect to
reparations.
II have dealt with these two prob
lens because l thought IL very i'm
portant to make them very clear at
the outset: and also because they
seemed to me TO be the main subject
Of the Indictment against the pro-
posals which I am submitting on be-
half OF the Government.
Peace the Essential.
Now I come to the main theme OF
the conference.-the establishment of
peace. confidence. credit, currency, ex-
changes, transport, machinery and IN
ternational trade. Many conferences
have been held and have discussed
these questions under the auspices OF
the League of Nations. They accom-
plished a good deal--each OF them.
They advanced matters by each con-
ference, but they did not accomplish
all they sought to achieve. l arm not
criticizing them for that reason.
Some progress was registered by
each. and 1t is mistake TO imagine.
because conference doesn't achieve
everything that it has been summoned
to consider, that the conference has
failed. II we proceed upon that as
sumption. Europe never win be re-
stored 1t must not be too easily cast
down, not too easily disappointed.
There must be patience. There must
be persistence. There must be con-
tinuity, and for any progress made
toward solution by any conference,
that conference is Justified in its eX-
istence.
II don't understand this condemna-
ton of the conference as coming from
the Labor party. They have been
brought up on conferences. tLaugk-
ter, cheers and shouts of Real ones!"l
Yes. very real ones; in fact, they had
their methods of letting Off over
pressure Of steam. Their view has al
ways been that in a multitude OF con-
ferences there is safety. il not wis
DOM and they naturally believe that
a good eruption now against it is bet
ter than bad boil. So therefore
they have been largely concentrated
in one movable crater. Therefore
cannot understand their protest
against conferences. ! would ear
nestly plead with all those who are
rather disposed to criticize confer
ences to hesitate before they tie their
hands in advance.
This Government will not last for
ever. I have been assured we are tie
dying coalition. Well perhaps I may
therefore have the privilege OF dying
Minister to give my last words of ad-
vice. | don't know who will succeed
us. / cannot even predict that the
character should say the COM
plexion--of it will be piebald. Judg-
ing by the criticism Of ttis conference
which appears on paper, / should say
the new Government will have it's
principles enunciated and expounded
by the Morning Post. the Daily Her.
aid. the Westminster Gazette and the
Daily Mail, Comic Cuts. loud laugh
ter I don't mention the Times. be-
cause they will make q careless re-
hash of the Mail.
But ! should like 70 utter one word
OF kindly warning to this grotesque
conglomerate: not to tie .heir hands
in advance about conferences. They
will And it impossible for the state of
Europe to get on without them. The
world is so battered, so bruised, so
crushed and there are SO many In
juries TO its vital organs that its re-
covary will. be slow one and 1t viii
neei many consultations OF Its leading
physicians: and therefore ! entreat
those who look forward to sharing in
party esponsibilities--and there are a
good many of them--not to limit Them
selves in advance as to their impor-
tance when they come to deal with the
state of Europe and the world, by con-
demning the only rational process
short OF force for bringing the world
gradually back to something like nor
NAL conditions. and from normal con-
ditions to something that is better.
Thirty Nations to Gather.
AT Genoa there will be gathered
together the representatives OF thirty
nations. One OF the first problems, one
of the most essential problems we have
to deal with there is to restore the
machinery of international trade.
Those who are engaged in interna-
tional trade know what a complicated
machine and how fragile 1T was, and
how 1t took centuries of constant ef-
fort TO build up and improve. 1t was
working well before the war. but now
It is exactly as IL a bomb had been
thrown into that machine and shat
tered IL.
There have been improvisations.
We have had fall back In some coun-
tries TO primitive methods-methods
OF barter. Commerce between certain
countries is where 1t was thousand
years ago. The effect is that last year
our international trade was only 80
per cent. OF what IL was before the
war: that of Germany only about 25
per cent. and the export trade of
France crumbled down something like
one-half. That necessarily affected
the whole market about 80 per cent.
I'VE are country depending more
upon International trade than any
country in the world. but last year
only % per cent. of our output was
exported. instead of 80 per cent. usu-
ally exported. There Is another aspect
OF this which has 9 very big bearing
upon what we are proposing at Genoa.
World One Trade Union.
I'VE are often asked the question
IL you lose your trace with Europe
1ouldy.t xa1t Y,palxa Ytn with trade iy,