Paris, Nov. 10.
Any Frenchman who succeeds in obtaining a clear idea of the financial position of his own country is to be congratulated. Every authority who endeavours to explain the national balance sheet puts a different complexion on it. I have summon: in a previous letter the views of M. Bokanowski, reporter to the Budget Committee of the Chamber—views which, by the bye, served as an excellent bear pointer for the exchange speculators, and started the movement which yesterday brought down the frane tq 31/2d. Now we have another report by a Parliamentary personage, M. Henry Bérenger, who discharges for the Senate a function similar to that of M. Bokanowski in the Chamber. M. Bérenger is even less cheery than his colleague. He draws up the balance sheet as follows:—Total liabilities, 475 milliards (made up off 337 milliards for public debt, 5 milliards for unpaid interest om foreign debt, 132 milliards for reparations debt, and one milliard for special accounts) assets, 13 milliards (including 124 milliards for claims against Ger-claims on foreign Governments). many, and 15 milliards for other
The debit balance is thus 336 milliards of francs. 7 In regard to next year's estimates, or the operations of the nationa} business as: distinct from the balance sheet, M. Bérenger maintains that the real deficit is: not 4 milliards, as estimated by the Government and the Budget Committee of the Chamber, but 7 milliards, to which should be added 10 milliards (theoretically recoverable—from Germany) for the reconstruction of the liberated regions, making a total of 17 milliards excess of outgoings over income. On the assumption that further borrowing will be inevitable, M. Béreager calculates that the public debt will reach 350 milliards in the course of the year 1923. As remedies for this this state of affairs, M. Bérenger proposes stricter control over expenditure, a complete reorganizetion of the machinery for collecting revenue, and changes in the Customs and railway tariffs. He thinks that the only way t get anything out of Germany will be te accept reparations in kind, finance ed by German - Treasury bonds countersigned by nations having a sound currency, the operation to be carried out under the control of the League of Nations.
Aiter reading the reports of M. Rokanowski and M. Béreager, one begins to wonder whether there are influences working to depreciate the frore so as to stimulate the export trade or whether the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.