Herinneringen en dagboek (3 delen)

[p. 1525]

Bijlage 11

21 September 1929

Speech van Heldring ter conferentie te Genève
(vgl. p. 814)

It is only natural that the prospective establishment of a bank whose activities may become, according to the officially published expectation of its own sponsors, of such magnitude that they may affect the financial and economic interests of every state, causes some anxiousness to safeguard such interests on the part of those countries, of which the part which they are assigned to play in the bank is to be a more or less passive one. I can therefore, speaking on behalf of the Dutch delegation, associate myself with a good deal of what the previous speakers have said. However, there are some important reserves which I should like to make.

We should not forget, that the primary function of the bank is to receive and transfer reparation payments, with the least possible shock to international exchanges. It has been conceived as such by the representations of the seven principal countries directly interested in reparations, with the object of lifting these outside the political field and treating them as a business affair. As long as the bank's operations are limited to this function and what is directly inherent to it, they regard chiefly the seven countries and are of no concern to the League of Nations. It is when the second stage is reached and the bank is going to deal with business which may affect the finances, credit position and economics of the states or may be instrumental or, even directive in schemes of international financial assistance that other countries will become directly interested. It is impossible to predict if and when that stage will be reached. Some of us may be inclined to think that the tendencies of the central banks governing the institution will be rather to restrict than to extend the field of its operations but the possibility, and in the eyes of some the probability, of a worldwide and most important role to be played by the bank in the future economic structure is there. It is when we view this possible development that we discover the necessity of certain provisions which appear to be lacking so far. It is difficult to imagine a bank of this magnitude to operate year after year without any obligation of annual publicity, or does it seem equitable that when it ceases to be primarily a reparation bank and its other activities become all important, the distribution of seats on the governing body should remain as it has been provided for and indeed one is inclined to be somewhat apprehensive at the

[p. 1526]

prospect that all changes of the statute of the bank will be left solely to its directors, however confident of their wisdom and prudence one may be. But the principal point which concerns all nations is the necessity of some sort of contact with the League of Nations, which has done excellent work in the sphere of international finance and which by the nature of its being will continue to take care of such financial problems of an international character which, put before it, shall be judged worthy of having its attention. Means should be devised to establish some relationship between the League and the bank so to obviate the danger of conflict and to ensure fruitful collaboration when the time of extensive operations of the bank outside the narrower scope of reparations has come. Any impression that the League aspires to a dominating or supervising influence should be avoided as the bank is conceived as a pure business concern without any political influence and it would be dangerous to bring about any method of contact which would undermine this excellent principle. I am sure that the framers of the resolution have no such desire and I would therefore suggest to them to leave out the reference to article 24 of the pact, which article seems to me to be of doubtful application to this case and which reference might easily be construed as an attempt to establish some sort of control which should not be in our mind. I also think that the paragraph following the paragraph referred to, as well as the words: ‘that the provisions setting up the Bank will be framed with due regard to the general principle laid down and enjoined upon League Members in the Covenant, and in the 2nd paragraph from below and finally the last paragraph of the resolution should be deleted.

It would seem to me that a resolution devoid of these references would meet the case, whereas unamended it might be interpreted in a sense which none of us should think desirable.