To complete our summary of the facts two particulars must be added. (1) The total, as assessed by the Reparation Commission, comprehends the total claim against Germany _and her Allies_. It includes, that is to say, the damage done by the armies of Austria–Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria, as well as by those of Germany. Payments, if any, made by Germany’s Allies must, presumably, be deducted from the sum due. But Annex I. of the Reparation Chapter of the Treaty of Versailles is so drafted as to render Germany liable for the whole amount. (2) This total is exclusive of the sum due under the Treaty for the reimbursement of sums lent to Belgium by her Allies during the war. At the date of the London Agreement (May 1921) Germany’s liability under this head was provisionally estimated at 3 milliard gold marks. But it had not then been decided at what rate these loans, which were made in terms of dollars, sterling, and francs, should be converted into gold marks. The question was referred for arbitration to Mr. Boyden, the United States Delegate on the Reparation Commission, and at the end of September 1921 he announced his decision to the effect that the rate of conversion should be based on the rate of exchange prevailing at the date of the Armistice. Including interest at 5 per cent, as provided by the Treaty, I estimate that this liability amounts at the end of 1921 to about 6 milliard gold marks, of which slightly more than a third is due to Great Britain and slightly less than a third each to France and the United States respectively. I take, therefore, as my final conclusion that the best available estimate of the sum due from Germany, under the strict letter of the Treaty of Versailles, is 110 milliard gold marks, which may be divided between the main categories of claim in the proportions—74 milliards for pensions and allowances, 30 milliards for direct damage to the property and persons of civilians, and 6 milliards for war debt incurred by Belgium. This total is more than Germany can pay. But the claim exclusive of pensions and allowances should be within her capacity. The inclusion of a demand for pensions and allowances was the subject of a long struggle and a bitter controversy in Paris. I have argued that those were right who maintained that this demand was inconsistent with the terms on which Germany surrendered at the Armistice. I return to this subject in the next chapter. EXCURSUS V RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES PRIOR TO MAY 1, 1921