I have spent much time over the French claim, because it is the largest, and because more particulars are available about it than about the claims of the other Allies. On the face of it, the Belgian claim is open to the same criticism as the French. But in this claim a larger part is played by levies on the civilian population and personal injuries to civilians. The material damage, however, was on a very much smaller scale than in France. Belgian industry is already working at its pre–war efficiency, and the amount of reconstruction still to be made good is not on a great scale. The Belgian Minister for Home Affairs stated in Parliament in February 1920 that at the date of the Armistice 80,000 houses and 1100 public buildings had been destroyed. This suggests that the Belgian claim on this head ought to be about a quarter of the French claim; but in view of the greater wealth of the invaded districts of France, the Belgian loss is probably decidedly less than a quarter of the French loss. The claim, actually submitted by Belgium, for property, shipping, civilians and prisoners (that is to say, the aggregate claim apart from pensions and allowances) amounted to 34,254 million Belgian francs. Inasmuch as the Belgian Ministry of Finance, in an official survey published in 1913, estimate the entire wealth of the country at 29,525 million Belgian francs, it is evident that, even allowing for the diminished value of the Belgian franc, which is our measuring rod, this claim is very grossly excessive. I should guess that the degree of exaggeration is quite as great as in the case of France. The British Empire claim is, apart from pensions and allowances, almost entirely in respect of shipping losses. The tonnage lost and damaged is definitely known. The value of the cargoes carried is a matter of difficult guesswork. On the basis of an average of $150 for the hull and $200 for the cargo per gross ton lost, I estimated the claim in _The Economic Consequences of the Peace_ (p. 132) at $2,700,000,000. The actual claim lodged was for $3,835,000,000. Much depends on the date at which the cost of replacement is calculated. Most of the tonnage was in fact replaced out of vessels the building of which commenced before the end of the war or shortly afterwards, and thus cost a much higher price than prevailed in, _e.g._, 1921. But even so the claim lodged is very high. It seems to be based on an estimate of $500 per gross ton lost for hull and cargo together, any excess in this being set off against the fact that no separate allowance is made for vessels damaged or molested, but not sunk. This figure is the highest for which any sort of plausible argument could be adduced, rather than a judicial estimate. I adhere to the estimate which I gave in _The Economic Consequences of the Peace_. I forbear to examine the claims of the other Allies. The details, so far as they have been published, are given in Appendix No. 3.