share of debt as was incumbent on countries detached from the Empire at various dates, but had not yet been assumed by them; in this way a general liquidation of these debts could be effected.

2. Reparation for all damage and devastation caused by the Greeks.

The Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey recognised its due share in the debt of the former Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, it claimed reparation for damage of every kind done by the Greeks, who had reduced the provinces occupied by them to a mass of ruins.

The economic and financial development of Turkey depended on its full and complete independence. That was the essential condition of Turkey's existence. Like every independent nation, the Turkish nation must be released from all restrictions which interfered with its full economic liberty. The Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey took the opportunity of declaring that in its international economic relations, and in the conventions and treaties which it would have to conclude in order to regulate those regulations, it would conform its conduct to the requirements of its sovereignty and independence. That principle was one of the factors in the development of every nation, and would also serve as the basis for Turkey's national economy.

Like all other independent States, Turkey fervently desired to maintain economic relations with other countries on the basis of reciprocity and international law. Durable economic relations could only be established between Turkey and other countries in so far as those relations were governed by the principles of modern law. The Turkish delegation hoped that this legitimate demand would not meet with any opposition.

The questions indicated above could be divided into two groups, and it would be well to set up two sub-commissions to examine them. One would deal with juridico-economic questions, and the other, or others, with financial questions.

Ismet Pasha proposed that the sub-commission to deal with juridico-economic questions should meet first.

M. BARRÈRE took note of Ismet Pasha's observations, and said that the plan of work which he had proposed was adopted. He thought it desirable to set up the sub-commissions at once. In order that all members of the delegations might participate in the work of all the sub-commissions, he thought that the latter should not sit simultaneously. As regards two of the sub-commissions-those on the customs régime and on economic questions -the discussion of the questions allotted to them could begin forthwith, and they should be set up without delay.

M. VENISELOS reserved the right to state the views of the Greek Government on each occasion when a question was brought up before the commission or the sub-commissions.

M. BARRÈRE invited general discussion on the questions enumerated by him at the beginning of the meeting, which were not to be referred immediately to sub-commissions.

LORD CURZON wished to say a few words on the procedure suggested. The president had divided up the subjects within the scope of the commission into five heads, and had proposed that the greater part of them should be dealt with by sub-commissions. With this he (Lord Curzon) was in agreement, and thought it the most businesslike way of proceeding. The president had proposed that two of the sub-commissions should be set up at once and begin their sittings with the least possible delay; and had also made a very wise and necessary reservation in regard to the subjects under the first heading. He had begun by inviting observations of a general character; to this Ismet Pasha had responded with a brief declaration of his point of view, which was entirely appropriate to the occasion and delivered with his customary lucidity and conciseness.

The subjects under the first heading, which the president proposed to reserve for discussion in the full commission in the first instance, were obviously questions of capital importance, namely, those of the Ottoman Public Debt, expenses of military occupation and reparation of damage. As he would not be able to join in the discussions of the sub-commissions, he would very much like to hear in the full commission statements of the views held by the various parties, and particularly by the Turkish delegation. The president had invited immediate discussion on the subjects in the first heading, but, as his draft scheme had only just been circulated, it seemed doubtful whether the delegates could be ready to speak at once. In any case, whether the discussion took place forthwith or on the next day, he (Lord Curzon) begged the delegations, and especially the Turkish dele gation, to give their views on the questions under the first heading to the full commission. Ismet Pasha had alluded to the fact that Turkey had great claims which he proposed to put forward, and the newspapers had published figures of the claims which the Turkish delegation proposed to make, mainly against Greece. There would also be claims to be made on behalf of the Allies. These matters ought to be discussed before the main commission. The details might have to be examined by sub-commissions, whether on the economic or juridical side, but he hoped to hear himself from the Turkish delegation a formal statement with details and figures of the case which they proposed to present under heading No. 1, and he also hoped that the president would in full commission invite the opinion of the other delegations on the matters contained under this heading. Then, if further examination were required after discussion in the full commission, these questions could be referred to sub-commissions.

As none of the delegations were in a position to state their views immediately,

M. BARRÈRE proposed to postpone the continuation of the discussion until the following day. (Approved.) It was understood that the commission reserved to itself the general discussion on financial questions, the necessity of which had been pointed out by Lord Curzon.

ISMET PASHA replied that as he had not had previous notice of the proposed dividing up of economic and financial subjects, which included the questions of public debt and reparations, he had only been able to state his views on these two points in summary fashion. He therefore reserved the right to approach these questions again as a whole, and to set forth the general view of the Turkish delegation in regard to them.

(The commission rose at 4:45 P.M.)

No. 35.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMISSION.

Minutes of the Second Meeting, November 28, 1922, at 4 P.M., under the presidency of M. Barrère.

M. Massigli, Secretary-General of the Conference.

M. BARRÈRE believed that Ismet Pasha wished to amplify his previous statement of the views of his Government on the financial questions with which the commission was to deal, and invited him to speak.

ISMET PASHA said that one of the questions classified among financial problems by the Third Commission was the distribution of the Ottoman Debt. As the Ottoman Empire had ceased to exist, it was natural that these debts should be distributed among all the countries to whom territory formerly belonging to that Empire had been assigned. In accordance with the same principle of justice the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, being a Government constituted on the territory of the former Empire within the limits of its national frontiers, was ready to accept liability for its due share of the debt and was anxious to see the amount of that share fixed as soon as possible. In that connection it must be noted that there were some States which, although they had in the past annexed territory formerly included in the Ottoman Empire, had not yet accepted liability for their portion of the debt; it was therefore necessary to assign their due share to them. Thus the task before the commission was to undertake a general liquidation of the debt of the former Ottoman Empire.

The Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey accepted liability for part portion of the debt which would fall to its share on the basis which he had just defined. It also considered that it was no longer concerned in any way with the amount of the debt to be assigned either to the States formed out of the Ottoman Empire in consequence of the great war, or to those which had previously acquired Turkish territory.

As the method to be adopted for the distribution of the debt was a technical question, he thought it could with advantage be examined by a special sub-commission of experts.

As regards the repayment of expenses incurred for military occupation, which was included in the programme of the commission, the Turkish delegation thought it necessary to make the following remarks:

They knew nothing of the reasons which led to the inclusion of this item, and could not refrain from expressing their surprise at its inclusion. However, as the question had been raised, they felt bound to express their opinion.

As would be remembered, an armistice putting a stop to hostilities between the former Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers was concluded at Mudros; but the peace proposals which the Turkish nation expected to follow this armistice were not made to it; on the contrary coercive measures began, such as the occupation of Adana and Constantinople.

The Turkish delegation considered that these occupations did not take place in virtue of the terms of the armistice, but were undertaken as coercive measures with the object of compelling the Ottoman Empire to accept and carry out the conditions which the Allied Powers intended to impose upon it.