30

While  0,5  0 /o  are  reserved  for  Greece,  Roumani.i,  the  Serbo-Croato-Sloven
  State  and  for  the  others  not  having  signed  the  agreement,  but  which
also  have  a  right  to  reparations.
By  article  2  of  the  Spa  agreement,  the  reparations  to  be  received  from
Austria,  Hungary  and  Bulgaria  are  also  distributed,  namely  :  the  first
half  according  to  the  foregoing  quota,  and  the  other  half  is  given  to,
Italy  10  °/ 0  and  60 0 / 0  is  reserved  for  Greece,  Roumania,  Sewia,  and  the
other  Powers  not  having  signed,  but  which  have  a  right  to  reparations.  By
this  agreement  Belgium  receives  an  exceptional  treatment;  in  virtue  of  the
arrangement  of  June  16 th  1919,  it  gets  by  priority  2  Vs  milliards  of  francs  gol  1,
while  Italy  obtains  the  favor  of  keeping  back,  out  of  the  value  of  property
granted  under  the  title  cost  of  the  armies  of  occupation  and  for  reparations,
a  sum  equal  to  what  the  Commission  of  Reparations,  would  have  passed  to
her  account,  and  therefore  Italy  is  not  obliged  to  issue  the  bonds  mentioned
in  Article  4  of  the  arrangement  of  June  1919,  except  if,  and  within  I  he  limit
in  which  her  liability  for  the  property  granted,  should  not  be  covered  by  compensation. ­

Article  2  of  the  Spa  agreement  places  amongst  the  sums  to  be  shared  by  the
allies  also  the  payments  which  Italy,  Roumania,  Servia,  Ceko-Slovakia  and  Poland ­
  have  to  make  under  the  arrangement  of  September  10 th  1919  (Annex  63)
and  the  declaration  modifying  the  same,  of  December  8"'  1919  (Annex  64).
This  agreement  concluded  without  the  small  allies  being  called  or  taking
part,  was  brought  before  the  Commission  of  Reparations  for  discussion  on  September ­
  10 th  1920,  at  the  meeting  under  the  presidency  of  M'  Louis  Dubois.
The  President  by  the  declaration  he  read  out  states  that  the  arrangement  concluded
on  July  16" 1  1920,  at  Spa,  between  the  Governments  of  Belgium,  France,  Great
Britain,  Italy,  Japan  and  Portugal,  gives  rise  to  questions  of  principle,  and
presents  difficulties  of  application,  on  which  he  personally  would  like  to  make
all  possible  reserves.
”On  the  questions  of  principle  he  thinks  that  he  should  remind  them  that
according  to  the  terms.of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  of  June  28"'  1919,  as  also  in
fact  to  those  of  the  Treaties  of  S'  Germain  and  Trianon,  the  Commission  of  reparations ­
  is  constituted  until  the  final  discharge  by  Germany  and  her  allies,  of
the  debt  for  reparations,  and  until  the  final  winding  up  of  accounts  between
the  interested  Powers,  as  being  the  exclusive  representative  of  those  Powers  -.
The  President  refers  to  the  formal  text  of  part  VIII  (annex  2  paragraphs  12
and  23  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles).
The  Commission  of  Reparations  alone  has  quality  to  study  the  complaints
of  the  interested  Powers,  to  hear  the  German  Government’s  observations  on
these  claims,  to  estimate  and  to  notify  the  amount  of  the  damages  for  which
Germany  owes  reparations,  to  establish  the  schedule  of  payments,  to  determine
the  dates  and  the  modes  of  payment  of  her  obligations,  by  Germany.
After  a  whole  series  of  most  interesting  considerations  on  the  principles,
the  president  goes  on  :  »in  matter  of  reparations  the  allied  and  associated  Go-