II

COAL

41

Coal Agreement was, therefore, to secure for France an increased supply of German coal.

The Conference was successful in obtaining coal,but on terms not unfavourable to Germany . Aftermuch, bargaining the deliveries were fixed at 2,000,000tons a month for six months from August 1920.But the German representatives succeeded in persuad-ing the Allies that they could not deliver this amountunless their miners were better fed and that thismeant foreign credit. The Allies agreed, therefore,to pay Germany something substantial for this coal,the sums thus received to be utilised in purchasingfrom abroad additional food for the miners. In form,the greater part of the sum thus paid was a loan ;but, since it was set off as a prior charge againstthe value of Eeparation deliveries (e.g. the ships), itreally amounted to paying back to Germany the valueof a part of these deliveries. Germany 's total cashreceipts 1 under these arrangements actually came toabout 360,000,000 gold marks, 2 which worked out atabout 40s. per ton averaged over the whole of thedeliveries. As at this time the German internal

1 Under the Spa Agreement (see Appendix No. L) Germany was to be paidin cash 5 gold marks per ton for all coal delivered, and, in the case of coaldelivered overland, " lent " (i.e. advanced out of Reparation receipts) thedifference between the German inland price and the British export price.At the date of the Spa Conference this difference was about 70s. per ton(100s. less 30s.), but this sum was not to be advanced in the case of theundetermined amount of coal delivered by sea. The advances were made bythe Allies in the proportions, 61 per cent by France, 24 per cent by GreatBritain, and 15 per cent by Belgium and Italy .

2 For details of these payments see p. 124.