LATER CONFERENCES IN PARIS After the conclusion of the important conference already de scribed, three meetings of Allied statesmen were held in Paris to consider matters arising out of the execution of the Treaty of Versailles.
Jan. 24-30,1921.—A meeting to consider proposals put forward by Allied experts as a result of a meeting between them and German experts at Brussels from Dec. 16-22, 192o, in continua tion of the Conference of Spa (see SPA, CONFERENCE OF ) . The Allied statesmen adopted the experts' proposal for two German annuities, one fixed and the other on a sliding scale, but they proposed to saddle Germany with a far heavier burden than the experts had considered reasonable. The Allied Governments' proposals were rejected by Germany.
Aug. 8-13, 1921.—A meeting of the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers to take action upon the results of the plebiscite in Upper Silesia (see SILESIA, UPPER) . After failing to agree upon a line of partition between Germany and Poland, the representa tives of the principal Allied Powers decided unanimously to refer the question to the Council of the League of Nations, under Article 13 of the Covenant.
Jan. 2-4, 1923.—A meeting between Allied statesmen to con sider the terms on which Germany might be granted a repara tions moratorium. The British Government proposed that Ger many should be given an absolute moratorium for four years (except for certain deliveries in kind which were to be credited against future payments), on condition that Germany should stabilize the mark on lines suggested in the majority report of a commission of international experts which the German Govern ment had called in during the preceding autumn ; and secondly, that Germany should accept financial control by a foreign finance council, of which the German Minister of Finance was to be chair man, ex officio, and which was virtually to supersede the repara tions commission. In regard to inter-Allied debts, the British Gov ernment made specific proposals which would have given sub stantial relief to France in exchange for a remission of German indebtedness, which would have been equally substantial. The gulf between these two sets of proposals was so great that there was no chance of an accommodation. The conference broke up after the French and British Governments had "agreed to disagree." A week later, on Jan. '1,1923, the French and Belgian armies invaded the Ruhr (q.v.; see also REPARATIONS). PARIS, TREATIES OF. Many treaties and conventions have been signed at Paris, among the more important being the treaty of Feb. 1o, 1763, between Great Britain and France at the end of the Seven Years' War; the Treaty of Alliance of Feb. 6, 1778, between France and the United States; the definitive treaty of Sept. 3, 1783, which ended the War of American Independence; and the Treaty of March 3o, 1856, between Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia and Turkey, which followed the Crimean War. When "the treaties of Paris" are referred to with out qualification, however, what is commonly meant are the two sets of treaties signed in Paris on May 3o, 1814, and Nov. 20, 1815. The first embodied the abortive attempt made by the Allies and Louis XVIII. of France to re-establish lasting peace in Europe after the first abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau on April II, 1814. The second contained the penal and cautionary
measures which the Allies found it necessary to impose when the practically unopposed return of Napoleon from Elba, and his resumption of power, had proved the weakness of the Bourbon monarchy. It is with these treaties. which are of great importance in the history of Europe and the formation of its public law, that this article is alone concerned.
The treaty of May 3o, 1814, and the secret treaty which ac companied it, were signed by Talleyrand for France; by Lords Castlereagh, Aberdeen and Cathcart for Great Britain; by Counts Rasumovski and Nesselrode for Russia ; by Prince Metternich and Count Stadion for Austria; and by Baron Hardenberg and W. von Humboldt for Prussia. Sweden and Portugal adhered later, and Spain adhered on July 20, to the public treaty, to which there were in all eight signatories. It is this public treaty which is known as the First Treaty of Paris. The Allies declared that their aim was to establish a lasting peace based on a just distribution of forces among the powers, and that as France had returned to "the paternal government of her kings" they no longer thought it necessary to exact those guarantees which they had been regret fully compelled to insist on from her late government. The pre amble was more than a flourish of diplomatic humanity; for the treaty was extraordinarily favourable to France. It secured her in the possession of all the territory she held in Europe on Jan. 1, 1792 (Art. II.) ; it restored her colonies, except Tobago, Santa Lucia, Ile de France (Mauritius), Rodriguez, and the Seychelles, surrendered to England and the part of San Domingo formerly Spanish, which was to return to Spain (Art. VIII.). Sweden re signed her claim on Guadaloupe (Art. IX.) ; Portugal resigned French Guiana (Art. X.). The rectifications of the European frontier of France are detailed in the eight subsections of Art. III. They were valuable. France obtained (I) a piece of territory south of Mons ; (2 and 3) a larger piece of territory around Phil ippeville, on the Sambre and Meuse ; (4) a rectification including Sarrelouis; (5) a piece of land to connect the formerly isolated fortress of Landau with her own dominions; (6) a better frontier east at Doubes ; (7) a better frontier as against Geneva; (8) the sub-prefectures of Annecy and Chambery (Savoy). By the same article she secured all the German enclaves in Alsace, also Avi gnon, the Venaissin and Montbeliard. Art. VI. secured Holland to the house of Nassau, with an addition of territory, not defined in this instrument; asserted the independence, and right to federate of the German states, and the full sovereignty of all the states of Italy outside of the Italian dominions of Austria. Art. VII. gave Malta to Great Britain. By Art. XV. France was to retain two thirds of all warships and naval stores existing in ports which had belonged to the empire of Napoleon, but were outside the borders of France, with exception of the Dutch ships. By Art. XXXII. the powers bound themselves to meet at Vienna within two months to arrange a final settlement of Europe. Among the additional articles was an agreement with Great Britain by which France undertook to suppress the slave trade.