[Distributed to th e C ounc i l

and the Members o f th e League] C. 524 . M. 187. 1924. II.

G eneva , O c to b e r 3 0 th , 1924.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

T HE

SETTLEMENT O F G R E E K R E F U G E E S

SCHEME FOR AN INTERNATIONAL LOAN

P R O T O C O L

Arranged by the League of Nations and signed at Geneva on September 29th , 1 9 2 3 .

Amended by the Additional A c t signed at Geneva on September 19th, 1 9 2 4

W I T H T H E R E L E V A N T D O C U M E N T S

A N D P U B L I C S T A T E M E N T S , I N C L U D I N G T H E S T A T U T E S

O F T H E R E F U G E E S E T T L E M E N T C O M M I S S I O N

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

RRATUM AND ADDENDUM TO DOCUMENT C. 524. M. 187.1924. II

The Settlement of Greek Refugees.

Page 6 . Heading I I I . — The beginning of the second paragraph should read as follows:

"As will be seen from Document X II, the property so transferred, and to be transferred to, (2) and held with a clean title by, the Refugee Settlement Commission", etc.

A note should be added a t the bottom of page 6 as follows :

(2). “The position as to the delivery of land is as follows: In accordance with the terms if the Protocol of Geneva, the Hellenic Government has already transferred to the Refugee iettlement Commission all the cultivable lands left in Greece by Musulmans who have départi from Greece under the Lausanne Convention for the Exchange of Populations between :eece and Turkey. After deducting from this area such portions as are not available for irious reasons for the settlement of refugees, it is estimated th a t a t least 220,000 hectares of iltivable land will remain on which refugees can be established. In addition, the area of the nds already requisitioned with a view to expropriation, and the physical possession of which is already been given to the Commission with an undertaking on the part of the Hellenic ovemment that the lands will be formally transferred later to the Commission, amounts to jproximately 40,000 hectares. In addition to these areas 25,000 hectares of lands belonging > the Greek State have been formally transferred to the Commission. The total of these areas 285,000 hectares. Refugees are, in fact, occupying this area of land. The application of the

Agrarian Law throughout Greece places the Hellenic Government in a position to obtain nd transfer to the Commission the 215,000 hectares necessary to make up the half-million hec- ires which, under the Protocol of Geneva, they have undertaken to provide for the purposes 1 the Commission. Arrangements to secure and transfer to the Commission this balance of ^.ooo hectares are actively in progress.

‘The statements and amounts mentioned under heading I I I above and in Document X II lould by read subject to the fuller statement contained in this note.”

C O N T E N T S

Preface by S ir A r th u r S a l te r ........................................................................................................................... ^

I. E x tr a c ts from th e R e p o r t b y Dr. Nansen, N ovem ber 18th, 1922......................... j

II. R eso lu t ion a d o p te d by the Council of the League of Nations, April 23rd, 1923. . . . 5

I I I . E x tr a c ts from th e R e p o rt of the F inanc ia l Com mittee , Ju n e 25th, 1923................10

IV. L e t te r from the Greek M inister in London to the Secre tary-General , August 16th, 1923 13

V. E x t r a c t from th e M inutes of the T w en ty -s ix th Session of the Council of the Leagueof Nations, S ep te m b er 29th , 1923............................................................................................ 14

VI. R e p o r t of the Refugee S e t t lem en t Commission (August 25th, 1924).........................16

V II . R e p o r t of th e F inanc ia l C om m ittee on the proposed a m en d m e n ts to the Protocoland the S ta t u t e (Sep tem ber 12th, 1 9 2 4 ) ..........................................................................22

V II I . Resolutions a d o p ted by the Council an d th e F if th Assem bly of the League of Nations(Sep tem ber 1924)............................................................................................................................. 28

IX. Protocol and S ta tu te s re la t in g to the s e t t le m e n t of refugees in Greece, signed at G eneva on S ep te m b er 29th , 1923, and am en d e d by add i t iona l ac t on September 19th, 1 9 2 4 .............................................. y

X. D eclara tions signed by th ree G overnm ents concern ing the In ternational FinancialCommission a t A thens (1923 and 1 9 2 4 ) .............................................................................. 33

XI. M em orandum addressed by M. Tsouderos, G reek M iniste r for Finance, to the F inancia l C om m ittee re la t in g to revenues assigned to th e refugees loan (Septe m b er 18 th, 1 9 2 4 ) .........................................................................................................................34

X II . D ec la ra t ion by Mr. M orgen thau an d Mr. Campbell, S ep te m b er n t h . 1924 . . • • 35

P R E F A C E

L E V E N T S F R O M 1922 T O J U L Y 1923.

The late G reco-Turkish W a r involved a v e ry considerable d isp lacem ent of popu la tion . The Treaty of Lausanne requires m em bers of the Greek O rth o d o x C hurch es tab lished in T urkey to emigrate to Greece, and Moslems es tab l ished in Greece to em ig ra te to T u rkey . This p r o vision of the T rea ty h ad a lready, however, been an t ic ip a te d by the f light of a large p roportion of the persons concerned. D u rin g the r e t r e a t of the Greek A rm y and th e ca p tu re of S m yrna and the rest of Asia Minor b y the T u rk ish troops in the la t t e r p a r t of 1922, hundreds of th o u s a n d s — and ultimately more t h a n a million— of in h a b i ta n ts of these regions left the ir homes an d fled to the coast. Some of th e m reached Greece by th e i r ow n efforts; o the rs were collected in concentration cam ps an d t r a n sp o r te d la te r to Greece w i th the assistance of Dr. N a n s e n , ac ting on behalf of the League. Those who rem ained have since been, o r are now in the course of being, transported under the a r ran g e m en ts m ade by th e Mixed E xchange Commission set up by t h e Treaty of Lausanne.

The total num ber of refugees so added to the popu la t ion of Greece a m o u n ts to some m il lion and a-half. A b o u t 200,000 or 300,000 of th is n u m b e r were possessed of some means, and a considerable proportion of th e o thers have claims in respect of the p ro p e r ty left beh ind in Asia Minor. The grea t bulk , however, a m o u n t in g ce r ta in ly to over a million, came prac tica lly estitute and in u rgen t need of assis tance ; an d m ost of these found th e ir w ay into Greece in

1922 or early in 1923, before the regu la r m ach ine ry of the Mixed Commission was in opera tion .In the first m onths the s i tu a t io n of the refugees was appa l l ing (see D ocum en t I); e m e r

gency assistance had to be im provised as bes t i t could b y the Greek G overnm ent, assisted by the invaluable work of A m erican and Brit ish ch a r i tab le societies, p a r t icu la r ly the A m erican Red Cross, the Near E a s t Relief and the A ll-British Appeal. T he refugees on the islands were jchiefly fed through the agency of D r Nansen.

In this way the im m ed ia te distress was relieved, an d m a n y hundreds of th o u san d s of lives [saved; but relief of th is k ind was obviously only a te m p o ra ry m easure an d could give no p e r manent solution. As early as the a u tu m n of 1922, rep resen ta t ives of the League, Colonel P r o c t e r and Colonel T r e l o a r , m ade a t t e m p ts to es tab l ish some of the refugees on a se lf-supporting |basis. By the middle of 1923, some 15,000 had been es tab l ished in a colony of fifteen villages.

This experiment d e m o n s tra te d the p rac t icab i l i ty of s e t t lem en t , and showed th a t the refugees Iwere good material and capab le of su p p o r t in g them selves if once g iven a reasonable s t a r t ('). j It was, however, ev id en t th a t p r iv a te relief o rgan isa tions could no t be expected to provide the sums necessary for th e defin ite se t t le m e n t of all su itab le refugees in p roduc t ive work. Nor could the Greek G overnm en t hope to accom plish such an im m ense ta sk w i th o u t the assis tance of a n external loan. T he refugees num bered more t h a n 2 0 per c e n t of the to ta l popu la tion ; and the resources of the c o u n t ry had been s tra in ed b y a period of more th a n twelve years of (intermittent war and continuous m obilisation.

A loan of the dim ension required, however, p resen ted g rea t difficulties, for the financial ■c re d i t of the Governm ent in the m oney m a rk e ts of the world had been necessarily w eakened |b y the recent war.

In February 1923, therefore, the G o v ern m e n t asked the Council (2) for the m oral su p p o r t land technical help of the League of N ations; and the Council t r a n s m i t t e d the req u es t to the Financial Committee for ex am in a t io n and report. On behalf of the Com m ittee , M. P a r m e n t i e r , Imember of the Committee, a n d M. S t o p p a n i , of the S ecre ta r ia t , v isi ted A thens to enquire in to |me situation, particularly as to the securities w hich the G reek G o v ern m e n t could offer and

to the most suitable organ isa tions for the contro l of the securities and the ex p end itu re of | r|!f *0an" Simultaneously, Colonel P ro c te r m ade a full inves t iga t ion as to the needs of the

Meanwhile, the s i tu a t io n becam e m ore a c u te on receip t of a no te d a te d M arch 31st from the I cretary of State of the U n ited S ta te s to the British, F re n ch and I ta l ian G overnm ents to the I .ec, . ° at the American R ed Cross h ad decided to te rm in a te on J u n e 30th, 1923, its em ergency

° n w^*ch more th a n 500,000 refugees were en t ire ly dependen t , an d th a t the N ear L. also desired to d iscon tinue its em ergency relief as soon as possible. T he no te added,|f o r th ̂ ^ a constru c t iv e p lan could be w orked o u t for a n a p p o r t io n m e n t of the ta sk andIco. 8radual so lution of the refugee problem , A m erican relief agencies would be read y to lon°T>erate’ even a t̂e r the te rm in a t io n of the em ergency relief w o rk of th e A m erican R ed Cross IN’ea â c tj c h a r i ta b le assis tance has been con t inued , p a r t icu la r ly th ro u g h theI r,p^aSt though on a reduced scale.■Greek's ges t io n was discussed b y the Council (*), w hich co n s t i tu te d for the purpose a special ■to wh ommittee, com posed of the British, F re n ch an d I ta l ian Members of the Council,

a,™ a representative of the Greek G o v ern m e n t was added (D ocum en t II).|Comm- " the *nvestigations of M. P a rm en t ie r , M. S to p p an i an d Colonel P roc ter , the F inancial ItheSuh r reP.orted on the whole prob lem (D o c u m e n t I I I ) and, a f te r considering th e ir report, l°f a sch t *ttee t *le Council, a t its m eeting of J u ly 9 th , 1923, app roved the m ain lines lindfn«„jme i or ^ e s e t t le m e n t of refugees to be financed by a loan a n d adm in is te red by anI «pendent Settlement Commission.

$S 5^ Document I.m n°' Council Minutes (Official Journal, 4 th year, No. 3, page 234).

°' 96o of Council Minutes {Official Journal, 4th year, No. 6, page 602).

I I . E V E N T S F R O M J U L Y 1923 T O S E P T E M B E R 1924.

I t p roved im prac ticab le , however, to issue a long-te rm loan immediately, principally because poli tical conditions in Greece h ad no t become sufficiently stable. There w a s in the l a t t e r p a r t of 1923 considerable d o u b t as to the fo rm of G o v ern m e n t w hich Greece would adopt — w h e th e r m onarch ica l or rep ub lican— a n d as to w he the r an y fo rm adopted would be perm a n e n t . T he G o v ern m e n t in power a t th e t im e h ad no p a r l ia m e n ta ry mandate; a n d good as th e securities ava ilab le for the loan were in themselves, i t was ev iden t th a t a long-continued political in s ta b i l i ty m ig h t seriously d im in ish th e ir value.

I t was m a in ly on a c c o u n t of th is political u n c e r ta in ty t h a t the F inancia l Committee while recognising t h a t a su itab le refugee scheme needed £10,000,000 and th a t (apa r t from this uncert a in ty ) th e secu r i ty ava ilab le was am p ly sufficient for this sum, h ad recommended that the loan should no t exceed a m a x im u m of £6,000,000. A fte r its report , the increase in the polit ica l tens ion m a d e i t im p ra c t ica b le for the tim e to issue a long - te rm loan even of these dimensions.

F o r tu n a te ly , however, the w ork of s e t t le m e n t was enabled to proceed by an offer bv the B a n k of E n g la n d in co n junc t ion w ith the B a n k of Greece of a provisional advance of £1,000,000 on ce r ta in conditions, of w hich one of th e m os t im p o r ta n t was the establishment of an indep e n d e n t R efugee S e t t le m e n t Commission on lines app roved b y th e League, one-quarter being c o n t r ib u te d by th e N a tiona l B ank of Greece.

W ith th is offer before it, and on the basis of f u r th e r proposals of the Financial Committee, the Council, on S ep te m b er 29th , 1923, app roved (a) a P ro toco l con ta in ing the general conditions of a loan an d th e e s tab l ish m e n t of a Refugee S e t t le m e n t Commission, and (b) the Statutes of th is Com m ission; and b o th docum en ts were signed on th e sam e day by the Hellenic Government

I t w as also p rov ided t h a t ce r ta in functions , described below, should be assigned to the In te rn a t io n a l F inanc ia l Commission, w hich has exis ted a t A thens since 1898 and is composed of rep re se n ta t iv e s of F rance , G rea t B r i ta in and I taly . These th ree countries undertook (Docum e n t X) to give the necessary in s t ruc t ions to the ir rep resen ta tives .

The P ro toco l and the S ta tu te s con ta in the conditions on w hich the loan was to be issued; define the ob jects on which i t was to be ex p e n d ed ; and es tab l ish th e organisation—the Refugee S e t t le m e n t Com mission— th ro u g h w hich th e w ork was to be executed .

The p rovis ions of the scheme are described in more deta i l below, as th e y have been slightly modified by the decisions of the Council in S ep te m b er 1924 (see final tex t , Document IX)(‘

The t a s k of the Commission was confined to es tab l ish ing the refugees in productive work e i th e r upon the land or otherwise, i.e., in in d u s t ry .

T he Com mission has consisted of :

(a) M r . H e n ry M o r g e n t h a u , m e m b er of th e E x ec u t iv e of the American Red Cross and the N ea r E a s t Relief Societies, an d form er U.S. A m bassado r a t Constantinople, C hairm an.

(b) Mr. J o h n C a m p b e l l , of th e In d ia n Civil Service, fo rm er Director of Civil Supplies of th e U n ite d Provinces.

(c) M. E tienne D e l t a , A dviso r to the N a tiona l B a n k of Greece,

' (ci) M. Pericles A r g y r o p o u l o s , fo rm er Greek M inister a t Christiania, now replace! by M. E u s t a t h o p o u l o s .

The w ork of this Com mission du r in g th e la s t y e a r is described in three quarterly report1 the th i rd of w hich (D o c u m e n t VI) sum m arise s all the w ork done.

T he Com mission first m e t a t Salonica on N ovem ber I l t h , 1923, and afte r inspection 01 tit s e t t le m e n t w ork a l re ad y begun by the G reek G o v ern m en t in Macedonia, proceeded to Athens, i ts h ea d q u a r te rs . The Commission found th e w o rk a lready well advanced , though handicap?» by lack of funds. A n o rgan isa tion a l re ad y ex is ted covering n o t only M a c e d o n ia (divio* in to th ree a d m in is t ra t iv e areas, W estern , C en tra l and E astern ) , b u t o the r provinces, especia. W es te rn T h race and the Is lands (for exam ple , Crete) an d the region round Athens, where mw of the refugees des tined for ag r icu ltu ra l s e t t l e m e n t were tem p o rar i ly housed and many otn w ere g radua lly absorbed in to indus t r ia l work.

In th e first seven m o n th s of i ts w ork ( J a n u a ry to J u ly 1924), th e Commission had ac s e t t le d 23,300 families (15,000 in Macedonia, 5,500 in T h race and 2,800 in Old Greece), co n s t ru c te d 8,600 houses an d d is t r ib u ted 15,228 ploughs a n d considerable quantities 0 and forage. In addi t ion , considerable ex p e n d i tu re h ad been engaged in o b t a i n i n g the eq m en t , etc ., required for f u r th e r se t t lem en t . T he overhead ex p e n d itu re was kept within cen tage of 3.2; the average cos t of each house was £48. Over 90 per cen t of the cultiva 0 being se tt led in M acedonia and W este rn Thrace , where the re are large areas of cultivate v a c a te d b y em igran ts to T u rk e y or belonging to large landow ners or the State. The re®a ^ are being p laced in sm aller se t t le m e n ts over a w ide range, ex te n d in g to Crete and certain islands. Assistance has also been given in housing u rb a n refugees, particularly in the n j( bou rhood of A th en s ; and som e a r ran g e m en ts h ave been m ade for the absorption of su refugees in indus tr ia l em p loym en t. o000

In M ay 1924 w hen the first £ 1,ooo,ooo was nea r ex h a u s t io n a second advance of was arranged , on s im ilar lines, b y the B a n k of E ng land ( the B a n k of Greece again ^ a q u a r te r ) ; and, some m on ths la ter , a f u r th e r £1 ,ooo,ooo was secured from the Greek m e n t th ro u g h the B ank of Greece. These resources will be sufficient to enable work to p in the w in ter.

(1) The Hellenic Parliament ratified the original text on June 7th, 1924, and the a d d i t i o n a l Act on 24th, 1924.

I I I . T H E S C H E M E .

This se ttlement schem e is th e th i rd of th e im p o r ta n t rec o n s tru c t io n ta sks u n d e r ta k e n by , T„ .„ ie As w i th A u s tr ia a n d H u n g ary , th e p rob lem was a com plex one, w i th political, 3 financial a n d legal aspects, a n d the Council used all the ap p ro p r ia te p a r ts of its orga-

t t n to solve i t As s ta te d above, i t a p p o in ted a sub -com m ittee of th ree m em bers of the (the British, F re n ch an d I ta l ian) , w i th the a d d i t io n of a rep re se n ta t iv e of th e Greek

r^Tpmirient E nquir ies were m ade on th e sp o t as to th e h u m a n i ta r i a n a spec t of th e p roblem . ,.1.» Hicrh Com m issaria t and, w ith regard to the financial aspects , b y the F re n ch m em ber fthe Financial Com m ittee , accom panied by a n I ta l ian m e m b er of th e S ecre tar ia t . Assisted

!" L. Hrafting by th e Legal Section, th e F inanc ia l C om m ittee itself u n d e r to o k the m ain ta sk nf drawing up the scheme a n d presc rib ing a t once th e securities of the loan an d the conditions / :tg expenditure. T h e com position of the Commission e n t ru s te d w i th th e execu tion of the

scheme includes, as has been seen, b o th th e necessary qual if ica tions an d experience and a t t e «me time takes in to acco u n t th e L eague’s responsibilit ies and Greece’s in terests .

The problem a n d the so lu t ion a d o p ted are d iffe rent in essential respects b o th from the Austrian and H ungarian . In A ustr ia , th e whole finances of the c o u n t ry had collapsed and were insucha serious cond it ion as to th r e a te n a n im m e d ia te poli t ical and social ca ta s tro p h e . C o n - spnuentlv the League schem e p rov ided n o t on ly for th e ra is ing of the loan an d its ex p end itu re on appropriate purposes, b u t for the con tro l of the whole of the A u s tr ia n b u d g e t ; a n d in a d d i tion the loan itself w as g u a ra n tee d by a n u m b e r of G overnm ents .

In Hungary th e general p rob lem w as th e same, t h a t is to say, th e finances as a whole needed reconstruction b u t th e y were n o t in such a serious cond it ion as to th re a te n poli tical collapse. The League plan, therefore, as in th e case of A ustr ia , inc luded a contro l of the H u n g a r ia n budget, but it did not arrange for th e gu a ra n tee in g of the loan by G overnm ents .

In Greece the p rob lem was a sm alle r one. T he general f inancial posit ion was sound excep for the sudden s tra in th ro w n upon i t b y the necessity for se t t l ing near ly one and a-ha lf million refugees some 20 p e r c e n t of th e to ta l popu la tion . T he problem , therefore , serious as it was, was more restr ic ted in scope, an d th e League schem e is confined in th e m a m to d e te r mining adequate securities for th e loan an d the con tro l of its expend itu re . W hile provid ing certain s a fe g u a rd s for the general financial posit ion , i t does n o t inc lude a general contro l ot the

The loan is to be of a n a m o u n t no t exceeding in n e t yield £10,000,000, o u t of w hich advances already made will b e repayable . T he ex p e n d itu re of th e m oney is un d er th e contro l ot a Refugee Settlement Commission, of w hich the com posit ion is s ta te d above. I t is to be devoted to settlement in p roduc t ive work, mainly , b u t n o t exclusively, u p o n th e land. No p a r t ot it is to be used for relief purposes. T h e necessity for ch a r i tab le aid therefore rem ains. As 'was pointed out in the reso lu t ion ta k e n by th e Council in th e sp r ing of th is y e a r :

"The Greek Refugee S e t t le m e n t Com mission is l im ited b y its S ta tu te s to th e e s tab l ish m en t of refugees in p roductive w o rk an d is exp l ic i t ly p rev e n ted from giving ch a r i tab le assis tance .

“The tem porary relief b y ch a r i ta b le m eans of refugees who ca n n o t be im m ed ia te ly placed in productive work is an essential co m p lem en t of th e scheme of r econstruc tion , w h ich is in ten te to place them u l t im a te ly on a basis of se lf-supporting in d e pendence’ (1).

The full p roper ty in th e land requ ired for s e t t le m e n t is to be transfe rred to th e S e t t lem en t Commission by the Greek G overnm en t, w hich has u n d e r ta k e n to provide n o t less t h a n 500,000 hectares (or about a million an d a q u a r te r acres) for the purpose.

IV. S E C U R I T I E S F O R T H E L O A N .

The securities for th e loan consis t of :

I. A first charge on ce r ta in revenues.

II. An inferio r charge on all o th e r ex is t ing revenues w hich are a l re a d y su b je c t to certain prior charges in respec t of earlier loans.

These revenues, b o th I and II , will all be p laced u n d e r th e contro l of the In te r national F inancia l Commission, the m em bers of w hich will receive in s t ru c t io n s from the ir respective G overnm en ts (see D o cu m e n t X) to “d ischarge the du ties which the P ro tocol contemplates shall be p e r fo rm ed ” b y them .

III . L an d assigned for s e t t l e m e n t and th e bu ild ings erected on it.

IV. R e p a y m e n t by refugees an d taxes p ay a b le b y them .

These securities are, of course, to be considered cum ula t ive ly .

■ I and II. — A s s i g n e d R e v e n u e s . — (Full p a r t icu la rs a re given in D o cu m e n t X I below, Cert'fied by M. T s o u d e r o s . T he following re's urn é is for convenience only.)

(T) Official Journal, July 1924, Annex 639.

1. Revenue: not h itierto controlled by the In ternational F inanc ia l Commission.These revenues are th e following : drati®*

(a) Monopolies in the new provinces (salt , matches, p laying-cards, c igarettepaper) . . . . ........................ ............................; • • .................................. 55,ooo,« J

(b) New Customs d u ties (Canea, Candia, Samos, Chios, Mitylene, Syra). . 55 , 727 ccol(c) Tobacco m onopoly in the new p rov inces ..................................................... 240,000’ocol(d) S tam p duties in the new prov inces .................................................. 50 , 600 cool(e) Alcohol in the whole of Greece......................................................................... 170,ooo'oool

T o t a l ............................................................................. ■ • • • 5 7 1 , 3 27 T Ô Ô ô |

All these public revenues are free of all charges, except the receipts of the tobacco mono-1 poly in the new provinces, w hich is sub jec t to a lien in favour of the 5 1/2 per cent loan oil1922. This lien is es t im a ted a t 29,070,000 drachmae. After deduc ting this amount from the I above figure, the re remains a to ta l sum of free revenues am o u n tin g to 542,257,000 drachmz. I

The above figures are th e es tim ates of the Greek F inance Minister for the yield of the year I 1925-26. As will be seen, these es tim ates correspond very closely in the aggregate with the I repor ted results of the la s t q u a r te r for w hich re tu rns are available (viz., May to July 1924).

2. A considerable am o u n t of revenue is a lready sub jec t to the contro l of the International IF inancial Commission. The receipts are es t im ated for the yea r 1925 a t over 1,200,000 oco Idrachmae.

These revenues (Customs duties, monopoly receipts and s ta m p duties in the old provinces)are a l ready sub jec t to two liens, of which one has p r io r i ty over the other. They form a guaran tee , in the first instance, for a series of loans m anaged by the In terna t ional Financial Commission and, af te r the service of these loans has been deducted, leave free a sum estimated a t 858 million drachmae. This excess serves as secur i ty for a second series of loans which absorb |186,640,000 drachmae.

T he th ird mortgage, therefore, covers a sum of.................................. 858,357,9361l e s s ........................................................... 186,640,000

leav ing . ........................................................ 671,717,936 [A dding up the value of all the securities m entioned u n d e r I and I I :

1. The revenues no t y e t u n d e r the con tro l of the In te rn a t io n a l F inancia lC o m m iss io n ..................................................................................................... 542,257,0001

2. The revenues w hich are a lready u n d e r its c o n t r o l .......................... 671,717,936

reach a to ta l o f ..............................................................1,213,974,9361which represen ts five tim es the am o u n t necessary for th e service of a loan of £10,000,000.

I I I . The land itself affords a separa te an d ad d i t iona l security . As full p ro p e r ty is transferred to the Refugee S e t t le m e n t Commission, i t could if necessary be realised to supplement revenues for the purpose of m eeting the service of the loan.

As will be seen from D o cum en t X I I , the p ro p e r ty so t ransfe rred with a clean title to the Refugee S e t t lem en t Commission is e s t im a te d by the C ha irm an and Vice - Chairman ot the Commission as w o r th not less th a n £10,400,000, exclusive of any value added by ex p end itu re of the loan itself . T hey add t h a t this is a v e ry conservative estimate, the Bar.k of Greece es t im a t in g the value of th e la n d as being a t least £6,000,000 higher.

IV. Moreover, g ran ts of land b e in g m ade on a basis of p a y m e n t in respect of purchase an d /o r re n t by settlers, m oney so received is ava ilab le as a f u r th e r source from which the service of the loan could be met. I t should also be no ted (see D ocum en t VI, R eport of the Refugee S e t t le m e n t Commission) t h a t the financial responsibili ty for the supp ly of tools, cattle and ag ricu ltu ra l im plem ents is borne co-opera tive ly by the settlers. A no ther source of income for the Commission will be the taxes paid by the refugees, as these taxes w i l l be handed over by the G o v ern m e n t to the S e t t le m e n t Commission.

Incidenta lly , i t should be rem arked t h a t te s t im o n y is unan im ous as to the good quality of the average refugee. Once supplied w ith land and a m odest equipm ent , he ‘‘makes | in m os t cases w ith rem a rk a b le rap id i ty .

These securities should, of course, be considered cum ula t ive ly . They clearly offer a very considerable m arg in over the service of the loan in the absence of an y danger arising from eitM political or general financial difficulty in Greece. I t is in view m ain ly of the f i r s t possibi 1 > t h a t th e issue of the loan has been deferred fo r a year. By the te s t im ony of all observers, inc lud ing in pa r t icu la r th e C hairm an and V ice-Chairm an of the Refugee Sett lem ent Commission, the political s i tu a t io n has enorm ously im proved in th is period and has steadily dev

During the period of w ar an d unse t t le m e n t , as well as a t o th e r times, Greece has of course c o n s is te n t ly m ain ta ined p ay m en ts due u n d e r th e obligations of her ex te rna l debt.

It will be observed, too, t h a t while the League does not, in v iew of the co m p ara t iv e ly s tab le financial and b u dge t posit ion of Greece, co n tem p la te an y general con tro l of the G reek budget, the Protocol includes a n u n d e r ta k in g (Article VI) by the G reek G overnm en t " im m e d ia te ly to make and to persis t in m ak ing every effort to secure as soon as possible a com plete equilib rium between the o rd inary receipts an d the expenses of the S ta te " .

It also provides, as s ta te d above, fo r defin ite an d effective contro l b y th e In te rn a t io n a l Financial Commission of the revenues assigned to the loan, an d th e special sa feguard th a t the Government m ay n o t pledge for the purpose of a n o th e r loan new taxes no t assigned to this loan unless the In te rn a t io n a l F inanc ia l Commission certifies t h a t the c h a rac te r of those new taxes is not such as to im p a ir the yield of the assigned revenues.

V. C O N C L U S I O N .

In concluding i t m a y be conven ien t to call a t te n t io n to the following aspec ts of the scheme to which reference is m ade above :

(a) While the scheme does n o t aim, as the A u s tr ia n and H u n g ar ia n schemes did, a t d irec tly reconstructing the whole of the Greek finances and for this purpose contro lling the budget , i t provides for the one abno rm a l b u rd en upon the Greek finances, a p a r t from w hich Greece herself shows every sign of being able to m a in ta in a s tab le financial position.

(b) Relief w ork is no p a r t of th e p resen t scheme, which is specifically l im ited to es tab l ish ment in productive em p loym en t. C hari tab le ass is tance rem ains necessary, b u t as a com ple ment to, and not a p a r t of, th is scheme.

(e) Both the political posit ion and the financial posit ion have since the w ork was first u n d e r taken greatly im proved in s tab il i ty , p a r t icu la r ly since the plebiscite of April 1924. In the e x p e rience of com petent observers, this is v e ry la rge ly the resu lt of the m oral and m ater ia l assistance already given b y the scheme itself.

[dj The risk dur ing th is earlie r period has been ta k en by those who m ade the advances; lenders to the long-term loan w hich is now proposed have the a d v a n ta g e b o th of the definite improvement and s ta b i l i ty t h a t has been realised du r in g this period and of the experience of the actual working of the scheme u n d e r the contro l of the Refugee S e t t le m e n t Commission.

(Signed) J . A. S A L T E R .

October 15th, 1924.

E X T R A C T S FR O M A- R E P O R T BY D r . NANSEN

I

Geneva, Novem ber 18th, 1922.

[C. 736 (a). 1921]

P a r t I I . — T h e Q u e s t i o n o f R e f u g e e s i n G r e e c e a n d A s i a M in o r .

1. I m m e d i a t e l y a f te r t h e close of t h e sess ion of t h e A sse m b ly of the League of N a t io n s , I p ro c e e d e d to C o n s ta n t in o p le to c a r r y o u t t h e en q u i r ie s in to the problem of t h e re fu g ee s in t h e N e a r E a s t w i t h w h ic h t h e A s s e m b ly h ad c h a rg ed me.

F r o m C o n s ta n t in o p le I p ro ce ed e d o n a j o u r n e y of in s p e c t io n th r o u g h Eastern Thrace a n d f r o m th e r e to A th e n s .

I n C o n s ta n t in o p le , S a lo n ic a a n d A th e n s I h a d th e a d v a n t a g e of establishing close c o n t a c t o n th e p r o b le m of re fugees w i th all th e c o m p e te n t a u th o r i t ie s of the Turkish a n d G re e k G o v e r n m e n ts a n d w i t h t h e le a d e rs of t h e re l ie f o rg an isa t io n s which have a l r e a d y b e g u n to b r in g a s s i s ta n c e to t h e re fugees . T h e conc lus ions which I venture to p r e s e n t to t h e C ouncil o f th e L e a g u e of N a t io n s in th i s r e p o r t a r e therefore based on a close s t u d y of t h e a c tu a l s i t u a t io n , a n d a re a r r iv e d a t a f te r ca re fu l consideration of the p r o b le m s w h ic h i t r a ised .

2. A l th o u g h I w a s p r e p a re d to m a k e a j o u r n e y in A s ia M inor, I was unfortunately n o t ab le t o c a r r y th i s i n t e n t i o n in to effect. I h a v e h a d th e re fo r e t o r e ly for m y information c o n c e rn in g t h e s i t u a t i o n in A sia M inor u p o n w h a t I h a v e b e e n ab le to learn from official sou rces a n d f ro m relie f w o rk e rs o n t h e sp o t . I a m sa t is f ied , how ever, from what they h a v e to ld m e, t h a t th e r e h a s b e e n rea l d i s t re s s on a la rg e scale a m o n g a great number of t h e p o p u la t i o n in h a b i t i n g t h e a re a in w h ic h th e m i l i t a r y o p e ra t io n s of September l a s t w’ere ca r r ie d o u t , a n d I e n d e a v o u r e d to do w h a t I could to assis t the authorities of t h e T u r k i s h R e d C re s c e n t in a l le v ia t in g th i s d is tre ss . I d e s p a tc h e d 200 tons of flour, b o u g h t w i t h t h e fu n d s p la ce d a t m y d isp o s a l b y t h e A s s e m b ly of th e League, to Smyrna. I a lso p ro v id e d t r a n s p o r t fo r a n u m b e r of T u r k i s h re fu g ee s f ro m C ons tan t inop le to reach th e i r h o m e s on t h e sh o res of A sia M inor in t i m e to c a r r y t h r o u g h th e a u tu m n cultivation of t h e i r fields. Colonel G a u th ie r , t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e L e a g u e of Nations Epidemic C o m m iss io n , w a s ab le to c o m e to t h e a id of t h e T u r k i s h R e d C rescen t with medical su p p lie s , e s p e c ia l ly v a c c in e a n d se ru m . T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e d Cross has also brought a c e r t a in a m o u n t of relief a n d a n u m b e r of b l a n k e t s to S m y r n a , a n d th e American Red Cross a n d t h e N e a r E a s t R e l ie f a r e c a r ry in g o u t w o rk of a s s i s ta n c e o n a generous scale.

N e v e r th e le s s , i t is c lear, f ro m t h e e v id e n c e w h ic h I h a v e rece ived , t h a t the situation of t h e p o p u la t i o n in th i s a r e a of A s ia M inor , a l t h o u g h u n d o u b t e d l y serious, is one with w h ic h t h e T u rk i s h a u th o r i t i e s a r e in a p o s i t io n to dea l w i t h o u t g r e a t assistance from o u ts id e , a n d I d o n o t t h i n k t h a t t h e p r o b le m th e r e is c o m p a r a b le in g rav ity to that of t h e re fu g ee s in G reece.

3. T h e r e a r e a l re a d y , w i th i n t h e f r o n t i e r s of G reece, re fu g ee s of Greek and Armen ia n r a c e a m o u n t in g , ac c o rd in g to in f o r m a t i o n rec e iv e d , to n o t less than g00-000. T h e co l lec t ion of e x a c t s ta t i s t i c s is s t i l l a m a t t e r o f g r e a t d ifficulty , b u t i t appear.- that a t l e a s t 5 0 , 000, a n d p r o b a b l y a g r e a t e r n u m b e r , of th e s e re fugees a re A r m e n i a n s . To th e s e A r m e n ia n s th e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t is, w i th g r e a t g en e ro s i ty , ex tending hospitali t y a n d relief.

I t is c a lc u la te d t h a t , of t h e 9 00 ,000 re fugees , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 300,000 are fro® E a s t e r n T h r a c e a n d t h e r e m a in d e r f r o m A sia M inor. T h o se f r o m E a s te r n T h r a c e who le f t th e i r h o m e s a f te r th e co n c lu s io n of t h e A rm is t i c e of M u d a n ia ~re in c o m p a r a t i v e ly good c o n d i t io n s . T h e y w ere ab le to b r in g a w a y w i th t h e m a t le a s t some of their m o v a b le possessions, in c lu d in g fo r t h e m o s t p a r t th e i r c a t t l e , w agons , clothing and in s o m e cases t h e i r a g r ic u l tu r a l im p le m e n ts . A l th o u g h t h e y w ere ob liged to leave behind t h e a b u n d a n t c rops w h ic h t h e y h a d r e a p e d th i s y ea r , t h e y h a v e nevertheless, genera ) s p e a k in g , a c e r t a in a m o u n t of m o n e y .

T h e re fu g ee s f ro m A sia M inor, on t h e o th e r h a n d , h a v e le f t th e i r homes with such p r e c ip i t a t i o n t h a t t h e y h a v e no o th e r possess ions of a n y k in d t h a n th e light sum®eg c lo th es w h ic h t h e y w ea r . T h e y u r g e n t l y r e q u i r e n o t o n ly s h e l te r b u t a l s o w i n t e r clot a n d b l a n k e t s to e n a b le t h e m to fac e t h e s e v e r i ty of th e co m in g w in te r ; they afe a " w i t h o u t a n y m o n e y w i t h w h ic h to s u p p ly th e m s e lv e s w i t h food.

The Greek G o v e r n m e n t has m a d e g r e a t effo rts t o d i s t r i b u t e th e s e re fu g ee s th r o u g h - tthe country in s u c h a w a y a s t o p e r m i t of th e i r a b s o r p t i o n b y t h e local p o p u la t io n .

For the refugees f r o m E a s t e r n T h r a c e w h o a re a g r i c u l tu r i s t s , th i s a b s o r p t i o n is less "cult and a c e r t a in m e a s u r e of success h a s a l r e a d y b e e n a c h ie v e d in p la c in g t h e m

t h e v a c a n t la n d s i n M a c e d o n ia a n d W e s te r n T h r a c e , w h e r e t h e y w ill b e ab le t o g row next year t h e c ro p s w h ic h t h e y w ill r e q u i r e to e n a b le t h e m t o l ive . F o r t h e w h o le the refugees f ro m A s ia M inor , h o w ev e r , a n d fo r t h e to w n p o p u l a t i o n f r o m E a s t e r n ace, the difficulties a r e f a r g r e a te r . I n s p i t e o f t h e g r e a t effo rts w h ic h h a v e b e e n e by the G reek G o v e r n m e n t a n d peop le , a n d b y t h e v a r io u s re l ie f ag e n c ies , t h e s i tu a -

n of these re fugees is v e r y g ra v e .4. It id n o t poss ib le t o g iv e in t h i s r e p o r t a d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t o f t h e w o r k w h ic h

being done a n d t h e p r o b le m s t h a t a r e b e in g d e a l t w i t h b y t h e re l ie f agenc ies . I will a a later occasion g iv e a d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t t o t h e C ounc il of t h e use w h ic h I h a v e m a d e the funds p laced a t m y d isp o sa l . I su c ce ed e d in a c q u i r in g a c o n s id e ra b le q u a n t i t y flour with th e l e a s t poss ib le d e la y , w h ic h w a s u se d to m e e t a d if f icu l t s i t u a t i o n o n th e

lands of Samos a n d Chios. L e a g u e r e p r e s e n ta t i v e s a r e n o w c a r r y in g o u t d i r e c t relief Western Thrace . I v e n t u r e t o a p p e a l u r g e n t l y a n d in s i s t e n t ly t o t h e G o v e r n m e n ts the Members of t h e L e a g u e t o p r o v id e t h e f u r t h e r c o n t r i b u t io n s w h ic h a re r e q u i r e d enable me to a c q u i r e t h e w h o le of t h e £5 0 ,0 0 0 p r o m is e d b y t h e B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n t en a similar s u m h a s b e e n c o n t r i b u t e d b y t h e o th e r M e m b e rs of t h e L e a g u e . . . .

I am very h a p p y to b e a b le to s a y t h a t t h e A m e r ic a n R e d Cross, u n d e r t h e ab le dership of Dr. R o ss H ill , has c o m e i n t o t h e field a n d is n o w b r in g in g h e lp in t h e f o rm

ffood and o th e r d i r e c t r e l ie f w h ic h will go f a r t o so lv e t h e m o s t im m e d i a t e p ro b le m s , e American people, t h r o u g h t h e a g e n c y of t h e A m e r ic a n R e d Cross, a r e t h u s a b o u t add another c h a p te r t o t h e i r a l r e a d y lo n g r e c o rd of g r e a t a c t s of c h a r i ty . I t m a y hoped tha t, if t h e r e sp o n se to t h e a p p e a l fo r c h a r i t y f r o m o th e r q u a r t e r s of t h e w orld equally generous, a n d if th e r e is no f u r t h e r in f lu x of re fu g ee s in to G reece , th e p r o b le m

(feeding the re fugees d u r in g t h e n e x t few m o n t h s m a y b e s a t i s f a c to r i l y so lv e d . T h is ult can only be a c h ie v e d , h o w ev e r , if t h e c h a r i t a b l e o r g a n i s a t io n s of o th e r c o u n t r i e s ke a response c o r re s p o n d in g in d e g re e to t h a t of t h e A m e r ic a n R e d Cross. . . .

7. I need n o t d r a w t h e a t t e n t i o n of t h e C o u n c i l of t h e L e a g u e in a n y d e ta i l t o th e ious results w h ic h t h e s i t u a t i o n I h a v e d e s c r ib e d m u s t e n t a i l fo r t h e G re e k S ta te , inevitably im poses a te r r ib le s t r a i n u p o n i t s f in an c ia l , e c o n o m ic a n d m o r a l r e so u rce s , thafood su p p ly fo r th i s v a s t in f lu x of re fu g ee s w e re t o b r e a k d o w n , i t m i g h t t h r e a t e n e whole social a n d ec o n o m ic s t a b i l i t y n o t o n ly of G reece i t se lf b u t e v e n of n e ig h b o u r -

countries in t h e N e a r E a s t . . . .In my opinion, t h e o n ly w a y in w h ic h t h e n e c e s s a r y c a p i t a l c a n b e f o u n d is b y

me form of i n t e r n a t i o n a l lo a n . I b e l ie v e i t is in t h e in t e r e s t s of t h e o th e r M e m b e rs f the League t h a t s u c h a n in t e r n a t i o n a l l o a n s h o u ld b e g r a n t e d t o t h e G re e k p eo p le

enable them to r e - e s t a b l i s h o n a f i rm f o o t in g t h e i r n a t io n a l e c o n o m y . I v e n t u r e hope tha t th i s is a q u e s t io n w h ic h th e G o v e r n m e n t s co n c e rn e d , a c t in g th r o u g h th e until of the L e a g u e of N a t i o n s or o th e rw is e as t h e y m a y t h i n k fit, m a y find i t p o s

tale to study a t t h e e a r l ie s t p o ss ib le m o m e n t . T h e r e is no n ee d to a d d t h a t t h e eek Government w o u ld b e p r e p a r e d to a l lo c a te r e v e n u e s fo r t h e p a y m e n t of t h e

Merest and th e a m o r t i s a t i o n o f t h e c a p i t a l of s u c h a lo a n . . . •

I I

r e s o l u t i o n a d o p t e d b y t h e c o u n c i l o f t h e l e a g u e

O F N A T IO N S O N APRIL 23rd, 1923

[Fourteenth Meeting, Twenty-Fourth Session).

The Council, h a v in g h e a r d D r. N a n s e n ’s s t a t e m e n t as to t h e p o s i t io n of t h e re fu g ee Nblem in Greece;I , ^ d p rs tan d in g t h a t t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t is n o w e n g a g e d in c o l lec t in g t h e es sen t ia l J f ° n w hich t h e F in a n c ia l C o m m i t t e e r e q u i r e s in o rd e r to e x a m in e , in a c c o r d a n c e

the au thorisa tion a l r e a d y g iv e n b y t h e C ouncil , t h e p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f t h e f l o ta t io n a oanon th e b as is of s e c u r i t ie s w h ic h G reece co u ld offer :

Now requests t h e H ig h C o m m is s a r ia t , in c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t ,gkeek REF.

— I O -

to co n s id e r w h e th e r , if a lo a n s h o u ld p ro v e p r a c t ic a b le , i t w o u ld be possible to replu t h e t e m p o r a r y re l ie f m e a s u r e s w h ich , e x c e p t in a p a r t o f W e s te r n Thrace , have hither a lo n e b e e n u n d e r t a k e n , b y a g e n e ra l p la n e n a b l in g re fu g ee s in o th e r parts of Gret to b e s e t t l e d o n th e l a n d or o th e rw is e e s ta b l i s h e d o n a se lf - su p p o r t in g basis, and ifs to p r e p a r e a s c h e m e fo r t h e p u rp o se ;

A n d h e r e b y a p p o i n t s a S u b -C o m m it te e , co n s is t in g of t h e B ri t ish , French and Ita l i a n M e m b e rs of th e C ouncil , w i t h a u t h o r i t y to in v i t e th e G re e k Government to adi a f o u r t h m e m b e r , to r e c e iv e t h e r e p o r t s f ro m t h e F in a n c ia l C o m m ittee and from tk H ig h C o m m is s a r ia t , a n d to a d v i s e th e Council a t i ts n e x t sess ion w hether the Leagua i tse lf c a n p r o p e r ly a n d u s e fu l ly a c c e p t a n y r e s p o n s ib i l i t y or t a k e a n y action.

I l l

E X T R A C T S FR O M T H E R E P O R T O F T H E FINANCIAL COMMITTEE!

P R E S E N T E D IN 1923

T O T H E GREEK SUB-COM M ITTEE O F T H E COUNCIL

Ju n e 25th, 1923.

I n t r o d u c t i o n .

In a c c o rd a n c e w i th th e C o u n c i l’s re so lu t io n s of F e b r u a r y 2nd and A p r il 23rd, the! F in a n c ia l C o m m i t t e e has s tu d i e d th e q u e s t io n of t h e p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f the flotation ofl a l o a n b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t , o n t h e b a s is of se cu r i t ie s offered b y i t fo r the sedition! of t h e G re e k re fu g ee s p ro b lem .

I t has h a d to a s s i s t i t in th i s s t u d y a c o n s id e ra b le m a ss of information, in parti s u p p l i e d b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t in a n s w e r to a q u e s t io n n a i r e , an d in part prepared! b y t h e S e c r e ta r ia t . In p a r t i c u la r , h o w ev e r , i t h a s h a d t h e a d v a n ta g e of a special report,! s u p p le m e n te d b y o ra l e x p la n a t io n s , p r e p a re d b y one of i ts m e m b ers , M. Parmentier,r a s s is te d b y M. S to p p a n i , w h o m a d e a spec ia l v is i t to A th e n s o n its behalf. In addition,! i t ha s h a d be fo re i t t h e r e p o r t of Colonel P ro c te r , w ho , as D r. N ansen ’s represeata-l t iv e , h a s b ee n s tu d y i n g in G reece t h e p r a c t ic a l m e a s u r e s of relief and re -se ttlem entl req u ired ; , a n d a less d e ta i l e d s t a t e m e n t of t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t ’s own proposals. I

T h e C o m m it t e e has n e c e s sa r i ly a p p r o a c h e d th e q u e s t io n f ro m the pure ly business! p o in t of v iew , t h a t is, f r o m t h e p o in t of v ie w of t h e p ro s p e c t iv e lenders. From this! p o in t of v iew , i t ha s f o u n d th e t a s k o n e of p a r t i c u l a r d if f icu l ty because of the existencrl of c o n d i t io n s , so m e of t h e m n o t p r im a r i l y of a f inanc ia l c h a ra c te r , which at the s a m t l t im e se r io u s ly a ffec t t h e p ro s p e c ts of a n y loan .

P a r t I . — P r e l im in a r y C o n d itio n s o f the Loan .

I t t h in k s i t well, th e re fo re , in t h e f irs t in s ta n c e , t o p o in t o u t some of the 8enê | d ifficu lt ies a n d to s u m m a r i s e so m e of th e m o re i m p o r t a n t p o in t s upon which lent-l w ill w ish to b e s a t is f ie d . I

1. T h e y will w ish to be sa t i s f ie d t h a t a n y e n g a g e m e n ts e n te re d into by ^ reCl'e«]C| c o n s t i t u t i o n a l ly b in d in g u p o n th e p r e s e n t a n d a n y f u t u r e G re e k G o vernm en t . I C o m m it t e e u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t n a t io n a l a s se ts a n d r e v e n u e s c a n o n ly be pledged by G re e k G o v e r n m e n t w i t h t h e a p p r o v a l of P a r l i a m e n t . D #

2. T h e y w ill also, no d o u b t , w ish to b e sa t is f ie d t h a t t h e negotia t ions fora*^ T r e a t y w i t h T u r k e y will r e s u l t in t h e d e f in i te a s s ig n m e n t to G reece of those terri 0^ w h o se r e v e n u e s a re p ro p o se d t o be a l lo c a te d as s e c u r i t y fo r t h e in tended l o a n , ■ f u r th e r , t h a t t h e m e a s u r e in w h ic h th e s e r e v e n u e s m a y b e e n c u m b e re d shall not 1 t h e s e c u r i t y for t h e re fu g e e loan . .

3 . T h e y will a lso r e q u i r e so m e d e f in i te a s s u ra n c e t h a t b u d g e t a r y equil ibr ium be e s ta b l i s h e d in th e n e a r f u tu r e , a n d t h a t th e i n t e r v e n in g per iod will not be bn g m o n e t a r y in f la t io n b u t b y s o u n d f inanc ia l m e a su re s , in c lu d in g d r a s t i c reduction 01 e-P d i tu re , e s p e c ia l ly of a m i l i t a r y c h a r a c te r . , • n0j

(If a la rg e b u d g e t d e f ic i t is m e t , in t h e a b s e n c e of o th e r resources, by im‘a ^ a la rg e scale , th e r e s u l t m u s t in e v i ta b ly b e su c h a d e p r e c ia t io n of th e drachma as

— I I —

n b s t a n t i a l l y im pa ir t h e v a l u e of a n y r e v e n u e s w h ic h t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t cou ld as s ign security for t h e loan .)

, 4. Finally, t h e C o m m i t t e e u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t , u n d e r a n a g r e e m e n t e n te r e d in to b y J j r e e c e with th e U n i te d S t a t e s of A m e r ic a , F ra n c e , a n d G r e a t B r i t a in , d a t e d F e b r u a r y [oth 1918, Greece has u n d e r t a k e n " j u s q u ’a u r e m b o u r s e m e n t d e s d i te s o b l ig a t io n s , Lcun

— 12 ---

As th e p o p u la t io n of N e w Greece, a g a in , is a b o u t e q u a l to tw o - th i r d s of tha t of then k in g d o m , t h e e s t im a te s f u rn is h e d b y t h e G re e k M in i s t ry of F in a n c e for the follow ta x e s le v ied in th e new p ro v in c e s a p p e a r to be n o t u n l ike ly .

Duties

S ta m p d u t y ............................Tobacco .....................................S a l t ...............................................M a t c h e s .....................................P la y in g -c a rd s ............................C ig a r e t t e - p a p e r .......................

T o t a l

Estimated revenue for New Greece

Drachma;

22 ,000,000200,000,000

14 .000 .0002 1 . 0 0 0 . 000

2 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 010.000.000

269 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 0

Revenue estimate an: confirmed en bloc b y * I International Financial L

Commission in Old G.-ttsI

Drachmae

4 5 . 000.000 3 6 0 , 000,000

2 1 .000.000 2 7 , 000,000

9 , 6 / 1,0001 4 , 400,000

4 7 7 , 071,000

T h e d u t y on a lcoho l in t h e w ho le of G reece a n d t h e C u s to m s w hich are at present free c a n n o t fu rn is h a b as is for a n y s im ila r co m p a r iso n . T h e G re e k Government estimate t h e a m o u n t w h ic h will b e o b ta in e d f r o m t h e f o rm e r a t 122,630 ,000 dr. I t canonlyl p o in t e d o u t t h a t t h e C u s to m s ch a rg es h a v e r e c e n t l y b e e n v e r y considerably raised, ani t h a t t h e a m o u n t p r o d u c e d has s t e a d i ly in c re ase d d u r in g t h e l a s t few years (25 millionsii 1920, 33 m ill ions in 1921, 74 m ill ions in 1922). T h e a m o u n t f ro m free Customs is estfl m a te d a t t h e r e la t iv e ly m o d e s t s u m of 32 m illions.

U n d e r th e s e co n d i t io n s , i t a p p e a r s — if w e a d o p t t h e s a m e prem ises as the Greek] G o v e r n m e n t , w i th all t h e r e s e rv a t io n s r e fe r re d to a b o v e — t h a t we m a y be justified ia[ e s t im a t in g t h e a n n u a l r e c e ip ts a v a i la b le to p r o v id e s e c u r i t y as follows :

Drachms

Surplus of receipts adm inis tered by the In te rn a t io n a l F inancialCommission (Commission’s figures)............................................................ 130,000,000

Receipts not adm inistered by the In terna t ional F inancia l Commission (figures of the Greek M inis try of F inance).......................... 425,000,000

T o t a l ........................................................... 555,000,000

w h ich , a t 300 dr. to th e p o u n d s te r l ing , w o u ld g ive £1 ,850 ,000 sterling.T h e se e s t im a te s m a y , of course , b e s u b je c t to c o n s id e ra b le modification as a result I

of f lu c tu a t io n s in t h e r a t e of e x c h a n g e . B u t s u c h a case m i g h t be provided for bysti-l p u la t in g t h a t th e ta r i f f sh o u ld n o t b e low ered w i t h o u t t h e c o n s e n t of the International! F in a n c ia l C om m iss ion a n d t h a t th e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t , m o reove r , should, a t the request! of th e C om m iss ion , r a ise t h e ch a rg es to t h e e x t e n t n e c e s sa ry to re n d e r the tariff, expressed! in d ra c h m æ , c a p a b le of p r o d u c in g a fixed r e v e n u e in p o u n d s s terling. 1

I t w ou ld a p p e a r , ho w ev e r , e s sen t ia l to d e d u c t a c e r t a i n a m o u n t from the above! m e n t io n e d figure, in o rd e r to cove r f inanc ia l a n d e c o n o m ic risks, and the Committee p ro p o ses to f ix th i s a m o u n t a t 20 p e r cen t . T h is d e d u c t io n b r ings the total amou a v a i la b le for s e c u r i ty d o w n to £1 ,480 ,000 s te r l ing .

If th e t r e a t i e s now be in g d r a w n u p d e b i te d G reece w i th p a r t of the Ottoman in v o lv in g a n a n n u 1 p a y m e n t of £ 500 ,000 s te r l in g , a n d if th i s a n n u a l paym ent is secur b y r e v e n u e f ro m th e N ew P ro v in c es , o n ly £980 ,000 s te r l in g w ou ld remain availabeJ If we a s su m e t h a t a lo a n is f loa ted , t h e t o t a l se rv ice of w h ic h (including amortisation) wTould r e q u i r e 10 p e r c e n t of t h e c a p i ta l , t h e s e c u r i ty offered b y th e Greek Governm could , if th e a b o v e e s t im a te s p ro v e c o r re c t , a c c o rd in g ly p ro v id e secu r i ty for a ôa.n| a b o u t £10 ,000 ,000 s te r l ing . T h is to t a l w o u ld c lea r ly be d im in ish e d if, as a result 0 t r e a te i s , c e r ta in se cu r i t ie s w ere d e d u c te d f r o m t h e t o t a l in o rd e r to g u a r a n t e e 0 o b lig a t io n s .

E v e n if w e a d m i t t h a t th e t r e a t i e s will n o t b u r d e n t h e G re e k T re asu ry with c ajS o th e r t h a n p a r t of t h e O t t o m a n D e b t , t h e th e o re t ic a l m a x i m u m of £10,000,000 stff r e fe r re d to a b o v e c a n n o t b e r e a c h e d in th e case of a l o a n w h ic h would be used en to so lve th e re fugee p ro b lem . I t m u s t n o t b e f o r g o t t e n t h a t Greece will shortly av p r o v id e for t h e p a y m e n t of a r r e a rs , th e a m o u n t of w h ic h i t is difficult to esti a n d t h a t , m o reo v e r , she will h a v e to m e e t t h e d e f ic i t on her c u r r e n t budge , , d o u b t le s s , e v e n if e x t r a o r d i n a r y e x p e n d i tu r e (m o b il i sa t io n , w a r material, reiuge a b o l ish e d in t h e n e a r f u tu re , a c e r ta in d e f ic i t in th e n e x t b u d g e t . ^

As t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t is u n a b le to b o r ro w a t h o m e , i t can, in order 0 ^th e s e tw o ca tego r ies of e x p e n d i tu r e a n d av o id s u s p e n d in g p a y m e n t , only re^°rt0 ] fo re ig n lo a n or to t h e in f la t io n of t h e c u r re n c y . I t c a n th e re fo re only ^ eVoetue f r e fu g ee lo a n a p a r t of i ts r e m a in in g se cu r i t ie s , a n d i t w ill be obliged to r e se rv e fo r a f u r th e r c r e d i t o p e ra t io n . I t is d iff icu lt to see h o w i t cou ld otherwise preve

ation of th e c u r re n c y , w h ich , a m o n g o th e r c o n seq u e n ce s , w o u ld b e s u c h as to ace the ac tua l v a l u e of t h e s e c u r i t i e s w h ic h a r e a s s ig n e d to t h e re fu g e e lo a n .

It appears to b e im p o ss ib le t o g iv e a n y p rec ise f igures c o n c e rn in g t h e im p e r a t i v e s for which th e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t will h a v e y e t to p r o v id e ; w e e i th e r possess i n dent in fo rm ation c o n c e rn in g th e s e n ee d s (a r re a rs ) o r t h e y d e p e n d on f u t u r e e v e n ts ibility of r e tu rn in g , in t h e n e a r f u tu r e , to a s t r i c t b a l a n c e of t h e to t a l r e c e ip t s a n d nditure of th e S ta te ) . H o w e v e r , i t c a n n o t b e d o u b te d t h a t , e v e n in t h e m o s t

vourable c ircum stances , a v e r y i m p o r t a n t p a r t of t h e s e c u r i t y m u s t be re se rv e d a n d -,t the refugee lo a n m u s t b e r e d u c e d to v e r y m o d e s t d im e n s io n s un le ss se cu r i t ie s o th e r

those ind ica ted b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t c a n be f u rn is h e d .In this connection , i t s h o u ld b e p o in t e d o u t t h a t t h e re fu g ee lo a n is d e s t in e d , as f a r

possible, to re s to re o nce m o r e to p r o d u c t i v e l a b o u r a p o p u la t i o n w h ic h is a t p r e s e n t ctive. The G reek G o v e r n m e n t is d e t e r m in e d to d e v o t e t o th i s p u r p o s e n o t on ly

e amount w hich m a y b e p r o d u c e d b y t h e l o a n b u t also v e r y c o n s id e ra b le a re a s of tivable land w h ic h i t possesses a n d t h e a r e a of w h ic h i t e s t im a te s a t 4 00 ,000 h e c ta re s .

It would therefore se e m t h a t th i s la n d , w h ic h w o u ld a t t a i n a d e f in i te v a l u e b y be in g ought under c u l t iv a t io n , m i g h t fu rn is h s e c u r i t y for t h e lo a n .

In other words, t h e f a r m r e n t s w h ic h t h e re fugees , w h o h a d t h u s b ec o m e f a r m e r s ce more, would h a v e to p a y , a n d t h e p a y m e n t s w h ic h t h e y m i g h t m a k e in o rd e r i to tain the ownership of t h e i r l a n d , m i g h t ea s i ly b e a s s ig n ed to t h e se rv ic e a n d sp eed er ortisation of th e d e b t . T h e s a m e w o u ’d a p p l y in t h e case of th e r e p a y m e n t of

dvances which th e a d m in i s t r a to r s of th e lo a n s m i g h t m a k e to u n d e r t a k in g s c a p a b le relieving th e m of all t o t a l l y u n p r o d u c t i v e e x p e n d i t u r e o n u p k e e p b y t h e e m p lo y m e n t refugees (1).

IV

LETTER FR O M M. D. CACLAMANOS, GREEK M IN IST ER

IN L O N D O N ,

TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL O F T H E LEAGUE O F N A T IO N S

London, A ugus t 16th, 1923.

I have the h o n o u r t o in f o rm y o u t h a t , s u b s e q u e n t to t h e a d o p t io n b y t h e L e a g u e Nations Council, d u r in g i t s tw e n t y - f i f t h session , of t h e p ro p o sa l of th e F in a n c ia l Com -

nuttee of the L eague in f a v o u r of t h e f l o t a t i o n of a lo a n of f r o m £ 3 ,0 00 ,000 to £6 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 y Greece for th e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e re fugees , M. D io m e d e , G o v e rn o r of t h e N a t io n a l ™L°f Greece, has o p e n e d n e g o t ia t io n s t o t h a t effect in L o n d o n .

The conclusion of a lo a n fo r t h e w h o le a m o u n t p ro p o s e d a t t h e p r e s e n t j u n c t u r e unfortunately e n c o u n te re d c e r t a in difficult ies .However, in o rd e r t o ea se t h e s i t u a t i o n a n d t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e im m e d i a t e c o m m e n c e

n t of the e s ta b l i s h m e n t of t h e r e fu g e e s— p e n d in g t h e f l o t a t i o n of t h e w h o le lo a n — e Hank of E n g la n d h a s c o n s e n te d , s u b j e c t to c e r t a in c o n d i t io n s , to a r r a n g e fo r a p ro - 1S|onal advance of a p p r o x i m a t e l y £ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to t h e N a t i o n a l B a n k of Greece,

the S 1S-a conc^ t io n t h a t t h e a m o u n t of t h e a d v a n c e is t o b e p la c e d a t t h e d isp o s a l of last S e t t le m e n t C o m m iss io n su g g e s te d b y t h e C ounc il of t h e L e a g u e d u r in g i ts

session, to be a p p l ie d b y t h e m u n d e r t h e t e r m s of t h e A n n e x . I t is th e r e f o r e of t h e importance t h a t t h e m e m b e r s of th i s C o m m iss io n s h o u ld be a p p o i n t e d a t once, a view of th e a b o v e , I s h o u ld b e v e r y g r a te f u l to y o u if y o u w o u ld b e good e n o u g h

Com*1’6 necessar y s te p s to b e t a k e n fo r th e a p p o i n t m e n t of th e tw o m e m b e r s of th e Stat™15!’011 to b e a p p o i n te d b y t h e L e a g u e of N a t io n s a n d t h e G o v e r n m e n t of t h e U n i te d

65 of America.

ibi»; j 5i|t Jjjjy Secretariat. — The portions of the Financial Committee’s report which followed those given in full il;;; jj anj the form to be given to the organisation to be adopted. The text will be found in Doc. C. 660.1923, *»" ; thc p The Council, after discussion, adopted as a form of organisation “ the Refugee Settlement Commis- * ° tin Cm,-» anc* statutes of the Refugee Settlement Commission were drawn up by the Financial Committee

™al s decision.

— 14 —

O n th e o th e r b a n d , a r r a n g e m e n t s a re be in g m a d e for t h e appo in tm en t by Gr« of th e o th e r tw o m e m b e r s of th e C om m iss ion p r o v id e d for acco rd ing to the deci of th e Council .

I t is m y e a r n e s t h o p e t h a t y o u will k in d ly see y o u r w a y to cause these appointment! to be m a d e a t y o u r e a r ly co nven ience , so t h a t t h e u t i l i s a t io n of t h e advance consented! b y th e B a n k of E ng lan 'd m i g h t be d e la y e d as l i t t l e as possib le , a n d t h a t the all-important| w o rk fo r G reece, of th e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of e v e n a p a r t of t h e refugees, might commence| f o r th w i th .

(S igned ) D . Caclamanos.

A N N E X

* -T h e R e fu g e e S e t t l e m e n t C o m m iss io n to u n d e r t a k e , as r e g a rd s the disbursement tl

t h e m o n e y s t o b e p r o v id e d b y m e a n s of th e p ro p o se d t e m p o r a r y ad vance to the National B a n k of G re ec e :

1. T o a d o p t t h e l ines of t h e p ro p o sa ls a p p r o v e d b y th e Council of the League of j N a t io n s a t i t s tw e n t y - f i f t h session.

2. T o effect s e t t l e m e n t s so le ly o n l a n d s p r o v id e d f ree of ch a rg e and w ithou t encum-] b r a n c e b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t .

3. T o o b t a i n s e c u r i ty for all p a y m e n ts .4. T o m a k e p a y m e n t s o n ly for p r o d u c t iv e pu rp o ses .5. T o m a k e no c h a r i t a b le or ex gratia p a y m e n ts .6. T o h a n d o v er all e v e n tu a l a s se ts a n d s e c u r i ty to th e In terna t ional Financial

C om m iss ion .

E X T R A C T FR O M T H E M IN U TES

O F T H E T W E N T Y - S I X T H S E S S I O N O F T H E COUNCIL

O F T H E LEAGUE O F N A T IO N S

Twenty-fourth Meeting {private), held on Saturday, September 29th, 192 }, at jjo/uM

P re s e n t : All t h e r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s of t h e M e m b ers of th e Council, and the Secretary-1 G enera l . T h e B r i t i s h E m p i r e w a s r e p r e s e n te d b y Sir R e n n e l l R o o d .

Greek R efugees Schem e : R eport of the Greek S ub -C om m ittee .

M. M i c h a l a k o p o u l o s , r e p r e s e n ta t iv e of Greece, c a m e to th e Council table.

M. H a n o t a u x i n t ro d u c e d th e P ro to c o l a n d S t a t u t e s ap p ro v e d b y the Greek Sabj C o m m i t t e e fo r th e c re a t io n of a R e fu g e es S e t t l e m e n t C om m iss ion . He recalled the * t h a t , a t i ts l a s t session, t h e Council had , a t th e r e q u e s t of t h e G reek G o v e rn m e n t , a w i t h th e a s s i s ta n c e of D r. N a n se n , e s ta b l ish e d a g e n e ra l office for th e relief of refug' b y m e a n s of e m p lo y m e n t in G reece.

H e need n o t , he th o u g h t , em p h a s ise t h e im m e d i a te n ec es s i ty of these numéro r e fugees f ind ing on th e i r ow n soil so m e e m p lo y m e n t w h ic h w o u ld allow of their s e l f - su p p o r t in g , a n d also to d im in ish to so m e e x t e n t t h e h e a v y expenditure whic o n th e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t in th i s co n n e c t io n .

U p to t h e p re se n t , t h e refugees in q u e s t io n h a d b e e n as s is ted bo th by the G o v e r n m e n t a n d b y E n g l is h a n d A m e r ic a n re lief o rg a n isa t io n s . Some of these n is a t io n s h a d m a d e i t k n o w n t h a t t h e y w o u ld n o t b e a b le in d e f in i te ly to c o n t in u e elief w o rk . I t w as th e re fo re v e r y u r g e n t t h a t t h e s c h e m e s u b m i t t e d by the Gree

C o m m i t t e e sh o u ld b e p u t in to e x e c u t io n as soon as poss ib le . ,H e th e n r e a d t h e d r a f t r e s o lu t io n p ro p o sed b y th e G re e k S u b -C o m m itte e an

g e s te d t h a t th i s r e so lu t io n sh o u ld be p u b l i sh e d in o rd e r to en co u rag e subscrip 1

M . M i c h a l a k o p o u l o s w ished to ex p re ss to th e C ounc il and the Secretariat^ b e h a lf of th e G re e k peop le , his d e e p g r a t i t u d e for t h e p a r t t h e y had taken

— 15 —

fing-up of this schem e , w h ic h h e w as su re w o u ld r e s u l t in g r e a t b e n e f i t t o t h e re fugees , accepted th e t e x t o f t h e r e s o lu t io n as p ro p o sed b y M. H a n o ta u x .He had received in s t ru c t io n s f ro m h is G o v e r n m e n t t o s ig n t h e sc h e m e w i t h o u t d e lay .

M H a n o t a u x a d d e d t h a t t h e G re e k S u b - C o m m i t te e h a d h e a rd t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e Dr Nansen, who h a d s t a t e d t h a t he h ad no o b je c t io n to th e d r a f t r e so lu t io n .

Sir Rennell R o dd en t ire ly approved th e d raft reso lu tion b u t w ished to m ake e or two observations.

He wished, in p a r t i c u la r , to ex p re ss his g r e a t a d m i r a t i o n for th e w o rk a l r e a d y d o n e v Colonel Procter a n d Colonel T r e lo a r in W e s te r n T h ra c e . In s p i t e of t h e v e r y sm a ll :m5 at their disposal, th e s e tw o g e n t l e m e n h ad suc ce ed e d in a s s is t in g 15,000 G re e k Vees t0 become se l f - su p p o r t in g . H e th o u g h t t h a t all t h e M e m b e rs of th e C ouncil ouîd agree w ith h im in t h a n k i n g t h e m for t h e w o r k t h e y h a d d o n e an d , a t t h e s a m e 'me inexpressing th e h o p e t h a t th e C o m m iss io n e n t r u s t e d w i t h t h e d u t y of re l iev ing

refugees would p ro f i t b y th e i r ex p e r ien c e .

M. Mi c h a l a k o p o u l o s s t a t e d t h a t M. P o l i t i s h a d a l r e a d y h a d o cc as io n to express Colonel Procter a n d Colonel T re lo a r t h e g r a t i t u d e of t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t fo r th e i r mirable work. H e w o u ld a d d t h a t i t w a s ch ie f ly ow ing to t h e i n t e r e s t a ro u se d b y t h e ork of these two g e n t l e m e n t h a t i t h a d b e e n poss ib le t o conceive t h e id e a of a g e n e ra l lan for the relief of al l t h e re fugees .

M. Branting d re w t h e a t t e n t i o n of t h e Council to th e fo llow ing r e so lu t io n of th e ssembly on the s u b je c t of th e s e re fugees :

"The A ssem b ly :

"Having n o te d w i th g r e a t i n t e r e s t t h e r e p o r t of th e H ig h C o m m iss io n e r for R e fugees on the w o rk w h ic h he has so su c ce ss fu l ly c a r r ie d o u t on b e h a l f of th e re fugees of Asia Minor, p a r t i c u l a r l y w i th a v iew to c a r ry in g in to effect a sc h e m e fo r th e i r permanent s e t t le m e n t in G reece,

“ Desires to ex p re ss to h im i t s g r a t i t u d e fo r t h e e m in e n t se rv ices w h ic h he has rendered to th e L e a g u e a n d to t h e re fu g ee s ; an d ,

"Considering i t d e s i ra b le t h a t he s h o u ld c o n t in u e to c o l la b o r a te in t h e w o r k undertaken on b e h a lf of t h e re fu g ee s :

" Inv ites t h e H ig h C o m m iss io n e r to c o - o r d in a te t h e w o r k of t h e o th e r o r g a nisations dea ling w i th th e re fu g e e s ; a n d

"Decides to p lace th e n e c e s s a r y s u m s fo r th i s p u rp o se a t h is d i s p o s a l .”

The Council a d o p te d t h e fo l low ing r e s o lu t io n :

"The Council :"1. A pproves t h e s c h e m e for t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a G re e k R e fu g e e s S e t t l e m e n t

Commission for t h e s e t t l e m e n t , in p r o d u c t iv e w o rk , of re fu g ee s in Greece, s e t o u t in the d ra f t P ro to c o l fo r s ig n a tu r e b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t ;

"2. A pproves t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of M. E t i e n n e D e l t a a n d M. P er ic les A rg y ro - poulos, no m in a te d b y th e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t , as m e m b e r s of t h e a b o v e C o m m iss io n ;

"3. A ppo in ts Mr. C a m p b e l l a s L e a g u e m e m b e r on t h e a b o v e C o m m iss io n ;"4 - A ppo in ts Mr. H e n r y M o rg e n th a u , o n t h e n o m i n a t i o n of t h e N e a r E a s t

Relief, as fo u r th m e m b e r a n d C h a i r m a n of t h e C o m m iss io n ;"5. Decides to issue a p u b l i c c o m m u n ic a t i o n w h ic h will m a k e i t c lea r t h a t ,

since the loans to be a d m in i s t e r e d b y t h e R e fu g e es S e t t l e m e n t C o m m iss io n a re to be devoted exclusively to s e t t l e m e n t in p r o d u c t i v e w o rk , a n d t h e C o m m iss io n is s p e cifically p rev e n ted f r o m u s in g t h e m fo r t h e p u r p o s e of r e l ie v in g d is t re s s , a n d s ince it is inevitable t h a t m u c h d is t re s s m u s t r e m a in w h ic h c a n n o t b e d e a l t w i th , o r c a n n o t be dealt w ith a t once, b y th o s e m e a n s , t h e w o r k of c h a r i t a b le soc ie t ie s is a n e s sen t ia l complement to t h e s e t t l e m e n t sc h e m e .

"The Council th e re fo r e h o p e s t h a t t h e c h a r i t a b le su b s c r ib e r w ill c o n t in u e to support these soc ie t ies as g e n e r o u s ly a s in t h e p a s t — in d e ed , e v e n m o re g e n e ro u s ly , *n the knowledge t h a t s u c h s u p p o r t w ill n o t b e as i t ha s b e e n h i t h e r t o — a p a l l ia t iv e " b u t an im p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t io n a n d a n e s se n t ia l f a c to r to w a r d s a d e f in i te a n d final soution of th e G re e k re fu g ee p r o b le m . ’’

— i 6 —

VI

T H IR D Q U A R T E R L Y R E P O R T O N T H E OPERATIONS

O F T H E REFUGEE S E T T L E M E N T COMMISSION

[C . 4 3 8 . 1 9 2 4 . ] Athens, A ugust 25th, 1924.

A l th o u g h w e h a v e a d h e r e d s t r i c t ly , in t h e u se of t h e fu n d s rece ived f ro m the Bank I of E n g la n d , to t h e c o n d i t io n s la id d o w n in t h e P ro to c o l a n d O rg a n ic Statutes, we are I h a p p y to s t a t e t h a t w e w ere e n a b le d g r e a t ly to en la rg e o u r s p h e re of usefulness by obtain-1 ing f r o m t h e N a t i o n a l B a n k of G reece a lo a n of o n e m i l l io n p o u n d s s terling free of the I r e s t r i c t in g c o n d i t io n s u n d e r w h ic h t h e o r d in a r y fu n d s of t h e C o m m iss io n m u s t be expended, [

F i n a n c i a l P o s i t i o n .

T h e to t a l s u m s w h ic h h a v e b e e n p u t a t t h e d isp o s a l of t h e R e fu g e e Settlement Com-1 m iss io n s ince i t s i n a u g u r a t i o n n o w a m o u n t to th r e e m i l l io n p o u n d s sterling. Of these, t h e f irs t m i l l io n w a s a d v a n c e d b y t h e B a n k of E n g la n d in N o v e m b e r la s t , and the second m i l l io n b y t h e s a m e i n s t i t u t i o n in M a y of th i s y e a r ; b o t h th e s e a m o u n ts were advanced th r o u g h t h e N a t i o n a l B a n k of G reece , w h ic h p a r t i c ip a t e d in t h e m to th e extent of one- q u a r t e r . T h e t h i r d m i l l io n w a s a d v a n c e d b y t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t th r o u g h the National B a n k of G reece o n J u l y 9 th , 1924.

T h i s l a t t e r g r a n t of a m i l l io n s te r l in g e n t a i l e d g r e a t sacr if ices on the part of I G re e k G o v e r n m e n t a n d d e m o n s t r a t e s in t h e m o s t c o n c lu s iv e f a sh io n the importance I t h a t i t a t t a c h e s to t h e w o r k of s e t t l e m e n t b e in g p u s h e d t h r o u g h a t a m axim um velocity a n d i t s a p p r o v a l of t h e m e th o d s a d o p t e d b y t h e C o m m iss io n to t h a t end. T h e sum is p la c e d a t t h e C o m m is s io n ’s d isp o sa l to u t i l i se in e s ta b l i s h in g re fu g ee s on lands not yet t h e p r o p e r t y of t h e C o m m iss io n — t h a t is, n o t y e t f o r m a l ly a n d lega l ly t r a n s f e r r e d free a n d u n e n c u m b e r e d to t h e i r o w n e r s h ip — b u t w h ic h t h e G re e k G o v e r n m e n t binds itself to t r a n s f e r in p r o p e r f o r m as s o o n as i t is poss ib le t o d o so. I t is a g re a t advantage to t h e C o m m iss io n to h a v e th i s s u m to d r a w u p o n in c i r c u m s ta n c e s w h e re a l l t h e Protocol c o n d i t io n s a re n o t sa t i s f ie d a t t h e m o m e n t w h e n e x p e n d i tu r e is called f o r . Disbursem e n t s c a n n o w b e m a d e a n d th e w o r k of s e t t l e m e n t p u s h e d a h e a d in m any directions w h ic h h e r e to fo r e w e re e x c lu d e d b y t h e t e r m s of t h e P ro to c o l .

B u d g e t .

T h e e x p e n d i t u r e a c t u a l l y in c u r r e d is as fo llow s :

Up to August 15thX S. d .

A gricu ltu ra l S e t t l e m e n t ................... 1 ,043 ,247 5U rb a n ........................................................ 202 ,244 9H e a d q u a r te r E x p e n s e s ................... 12,762 13

Up to Mav 15th £ s. d.

302,415 3 10 182,239 9 5

5 , 4 2 4 o 5

Up to February 15th £ s. i

76,359 13 I 60,724 06

2,523 9 °

1 ,258 ,254 13 11 490,078 13 8 139,587 3 1

T h e r e is also th e s u m of £ 1 60 ,000 sti l l he ld in rese rv e , a s e x p la in e d in the last ReP0!̂ a g a in s t e x p e n d i tu r e e n te r e d in to u n d e r t h e a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h t h e National Bank 0 G reece. T h is m a t t e r will be l i q u id a t e d v e r y s h o r t ly . ,

I t will b e n o te d t h a t t h e r a t e of e x p e n d i tu r e d u r in g t h e p e r io d of th re e m o n th s en 1 A u g u s t 1 5 th is m o re t h a n d o u b le t h a t of th e p re v io u s q u a r t e r . T h is in c re a s e d rate " be m a in ta in e d a n d p r o b a b ly s l ig h t ly in c re ase d . • j

N o a t t e m p t has b e e n m a d e t o fo re c a s t e x c h a n g e m o v e m e n t s over a long Pe ’ b u t a d v a n t a g e is t a k e n of s h a r p r ises in t h e v a lu e of t h e p o u n d s te r l in g to lay in aS of d rac h m ae su ffic ien t fo r t h e n eed s of t h e im m e d ia te f u tu r e . T h e a v e r a g e conVfr „ t f igure for t h e v a lu e of t h e p o u n d s te r l in g in d rac h m as (ca lc u la te d o n the 19 eXC o p e r a t io n s w h ic h h a v e t a k e n p la ce s ince th e b e g in n in g of t h e year) is 2 4 7 -72-

It has been d e c id e d t o con s id e r , fo r a u d i t p u rp o se s , J a n u a r y 1st, 1924, as t h e d a t e oa which the C o m m iss io n b e g a n f in an c ia l o p e r a t io n s , a n d to h a v e th e a c c o u n t s for t h e twelve months e n d in g o n D e c e m b e r 31st , 1924, a u d i t e d b y p e rso n s n o m i n a te d b y t h e Ministry of F in a n c e a n d t h e N a t io n a l B a n k of G re ec e re s p e c t iv e ly .

O v e r h e a d E x p e n s e s .

An analysis h a s b e e n m a d e of t h e e x p e n d i tu r e u p t o J u n e 3 0 th , 1924. In one c a t e gory have been p u t t h e i t e m s w h ic h h a v e d i r e c t ly b e n e f i te d re fugees , s u c h as t h e a m o u n t s spent on m ateria ls (p loughs , seed , w h e a t , c a t t l e , e tc .) , in c lu d in g t r a n s p o r t a n d t h e in c i dental expenses of p u r c h a s e ( in su ra n c e , in s p e c t io n , lega l fees, e tc .) ; a n d o n t h e w a g e s of workmen or th e p a y m e n t of c o n t r a c t o r s for b u i ld in g h o u se s or o th e r c o n s t r u c t io n s d i r e c t ly useful to refugees.

In the o th e r c a te g o r y h a v e b e e n p u t t h e sa la r ie s a n d t r a v e l l i n g or o th e r ex p e n se s of the Commissioners, t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s s ta f f of e v e r y g r a d e , t h e in s p e c t io n s ta ff , t h e )irectors of C o lon isa t ion a n d th e i r s ta ffs , t h e d i s t r i c t a g r i c u l tu r i s t s a n d s u p e r in t e n d e n t s with their clerical a n d te c h n ic a l e m p lo y e e s ; t h e r e n t o r o th e r e x p e n d i tu r e in c u r r e d on buildings occupied as offices, s to r e s o r fo r p e r so n n e l a c c o m m o d a t io n ; c lea n in g , s t a t i o nery and o ther office e x p e n se s , a n d all i t e m s of a l ike n a t u r e w h ic h ca n b e c lassified as indirect expend itu re .

The a m o u n ts s p e n t u n d e r th e s e tw o h e a d in g s a m o u n t in r o u n d f igures r e s p e c t iv e ly to £840,000 a n d £28 ,000 , f r o m w h ic h i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e p e r c e n ta g e w h ic h o v e r h e a d expenses bear to t o t a l e x p e n d i t u r e is 3.2.

L a n d S e t t l e m e n t .

More th a n 90 p e r c e n t of t h e c u l t i v a to r s a re b e in g s e t t l e d in M a c e d o n ia a n d W e s te r n Thrace. B o th th e s e p ro v in c e s c o n t a in la rg e a r e a s of c u l t iv a b le l a n d w h ic h be longs either to large la n d o w n e r s or to t h e S ta t e , a n d t h e f o rm e r p r o v in c e co m p r ise s a la rg e a r e a of land left v a c a n t b y t h e e v a c u a t io n of t h e M u s s u lm a n p o p u la t io n . T h e se c o n d i t io n s do not obtain in t h e r e m a in d e r of G reece , e x c e p t in C re te , w e re s o m e a r a b l e l a n d bec o m e s available owing to t h e d e p a r t u r e of t h e C r e t a n M u ssu lm a n s .

The t r a n s p o r t d ifficu lt ies in M a c e d o n ia a n d T h r a c e a r e one of t h e m o s t se r io u s o b stacles in the w o rk of s e t t l e m e n t . T h e r a i lw a y s a re s h o r t of ro l l in g - s to c k a n d t h e t r a n s port of materia l is c o n s e q u e n t ly o f t e n d e la y e d , w h i le m a n y i m p o r t a n t c e n t r e s a re s i t u a t e d at great d is tances f ro m t h e r a i l w a y a n d a l l m a te r i a l m u s t b e ca r r ie d th e r e b y m o to r lorries and an im als , of w h ic h th e r e is a s h o r ta g e .

The cereal c rop , w i t h t h e e x c e p t io n of m a ize , h a s n o t b e e n good th i s y e a r in th e s e provinces owing to t h e p r e v a le n c e of d r o u g h t in t h e s p r in g , b u t n o tw i t h s t a n d i n g th is there is more la n d u n d e r c u l t iv a t io n , a n d t h e r e w ill be a l a rg e r p r o d u c t i o n of a g r i c u l tu r a l produce th a n has e v e r b e e n k n o w n b e fo re .

The following s t a t i s t i c s sh o w t h e w o r k a c c o m p l i s h e d d u r in g t h e p e r io d J a n u a r y 1st to July 31st, 1924 (seven m o n th s ) :

F am ilies of Agricu ltura l Refugees settled :

M acedonia ................................................................................................................. 1 5 , 0 0 0T h r a c e ........................................................................................................................... 5 , 5 0 0

Old G r e e c e ............................................................................................................ 2 , 8 0 0

T o t a l ..................................................................... 2 3 , 3 0 0

H ouses constructed :

M acedonia ................................................................................................................. 6 , 5 0 0T h r a c e ........................................................................................................................... 1 , 8 0 0

Old G r e e c e ................................................................................................................ 3 0 0

T o t a l ..................................................................... 8 , 6 0 0

Drought an im als distributed :

M acedonia .................................................................................................................. 7 , 4 0 1O t h e r d i s t r i c t s ...................................................................................................... 1 , 3 0 7

T o t a l .................................................................... 8 , 7 0 8

Ploughs distributed :

M acedonia .................................................................................................................. 1 4 , 0 8 5Other d i s t r i c t s ..................................................................................... 1,143

T o t a l .................................................................... 1 5 , 2 2 8

GREEK r e f . **

— i S —

Seed grain distributed :

M acedon ia ._ .......................................................................................... 2 ,257,641 okesO ther d i s t r i c t s .................................................................................... 64,000 »

T o t a l ........................................................ 2 ,321,641 okes

Forage distributed :

M acedon ia .............................................................................................. 5 ,771 ,984 okesO ther d i s t r i c t s .................................................................................... 80,334 »

T o t a l .................................