158 A REVISION OF THE TREATY chap.

on the sort of scale, for example, on which she mighthave been building up new foreign investments,without stimulating her exports as a whole to agreater activity than they would enjoy otherwise.This is the correct course for Great Britain from thestandpoint of her own self-interest only.

The practical application of Principles (5) and (6)is also clear. So far as (5) is concerned, Great Britain is to receive not the whole of the indemnity, butabout a fifth of it; whilst (6) provides the argumentwhich to me has always appeared decisive. Thepermanence of reparation payments on a large scalefor a long period of years is, to say the least, not tobe reckoned on. Who believes that the Allies will,over a period of one or two generations, exert adequateforce over the German Government, or that theGerman Government can exert adequate authorityover its subjects, to extract continuing fruits on avast scale from forced labour ? No one believes itin his heart; no one at all. There is not the faintestpossibility of our persisting with this affair to theend. But if this is so, then, most certainly, it willnot be worth our while to disorder our export tradesand disturb the equilibrium of our industry for twoor three years ; much less to endanger the peace ofEurope .

The same principles apply with one modificationto the United States and to the exaction by her ofthe debts which the Allied Governments owe. The