C. 767. M. 269. 1924. Ii

U<istributed to the Council and C. 767. M. 269. 1924. II. 1 the Members of the League.] LEAGUE OF NATIONS Geneva, December 23rd, 1924. GREEK REFUGEES Fourth Quarterly Report on the Operations of the Refugee Settlement Commission. Athens, November 25th, 1924. The preceding report of the Refugee Settlement Commission as regards financial work covered the period from January 1st to August 15th ; as regards the Agricultural Settlement, from January 1st to July 31st, and as regards the Urban Settlement, from January 1st to August 31st. H The present report deals with all the work up to October 31st. In the first place, it is gratifying to observe that the exchange of populations has nearly come to an end. At most, there can only be some few thousand more exchangeable Greeks to arrive from Asia Minor. It will be a great relief when the exchange is completed because in Greece, which is overcrowded with refugees, any new arrival is infinitely more difficult to settle and establish in a productive occupation than those who came in the first wave of j*iigration. There are no statistics to show the numbers of the refugees, and perhaps no exact record can ever be compiled, because, in addition to those who passed through the official exchange organisations, there were many others who came over of their own accord. Some of these, especially the earliest to arrive, have been so well absorbed into the population of Old Greece that they can no longer be regarded as refugees. We now have yet another category of “ independent ” refugees : those who are considered as “ established ” but who, nevertheless, are leaving Constantinople for pecuniary or other reasons. However, we must repeat that Greece is overcrowded with refugees ; according to the most conservative estimates, they number at least 1,300,000, and of these our Commission could only deal with 600,000, of which 500,000 belong to the agricultural class. The rest, if we deduct the small proportion who can at once become self-supporting, are an enormous burden not only upon the country and the good-will of the population but upon outside charity as well. The suffering is great, and we give our sincere thanks to all the national and international organisations already at work. The Refugee Commission has been greatly encouraged by the support of the Greek Government and the League of Nations, and feels confident that it will be able to carry out its work when the main refugee loan is concluded. Meanwhile it has tried to make every drachma spent produce the maximum result for the refugees and lead to the establishment of a “ productive ” population as laid down by the Protocol of Geneva. F in a n c ia l A c t iv it i e s , The Refugee Settlement Commission during the last three months has proceeded with a certain caution, in order to ensure that the liabilities will be met and that the balance left over will not be exhausted before the arrival of fresh funds. , This caution was imperative, for in August the estimates of funds required for the settle ment of refugees up to the end of December amounted to over £3,000,000. This sum, added to the requirements of the Urban Settlement and to the general expenses of the Refugee Settlement Commission, brought the necessary expenditure up to the end of the year to £3,500,000, while the available funds of the Commission amounted at that time to only £400,000, after deducting the existing liabilities of £1,000,000. I Moreover, as this year’s crops in Macedonia have largely failed owing to drought, it has become necessary to issue to agricultural refugee communities who were supposed to be self-supporting large quantities of wheat for consumption, sowing and food for their animals. Under these circumstances, the Refugee Settlement Commission was obliged to inform the Greek Government of its financial position. The Government, in agreement with the Governor of the National Bank of Greece, informed the Commission that the Cabinet had decided on September 1st that, after the exhaustion of the available funds of the Refugee Settlement Commission, the Government would place at their disposal, in addition to the £1,000,000 already advanced, £3,000,000 more bv instalments as necessity arose until the IJfiie of the Refugee Loan. ■ S. d. N. 850 (F) + 850 (A) 12/24. Imp. d’Ambilly. — 2 — ’ By this decision, the Cabinet asked the Commission to issue, on the Government's account, wheat, barley and forage to districts which had suffered from the failure of the crops. Under this arrangement, the Commission has recently obtained a first advance of £200,000, which has enabled it to continue all the work which lack of funds might otherwise have compelled them to abandon. This assistance from the Government enabled the Commission to furnish, among other things, the following supplies : 16,000 tons of wheat for feeding newly settled refugees ; 6,500 tons of wheat for sowing ; 4,500 tons of barley and rye for food ; 13,500 tons of forage for live-stock ; 3,000 tons of barley and rye for sowing — of a total value of £650,000. The following amounts, which have been charged to the Government’s account, have been expended on 50,000 families of refugee cultivators whose crops had been destroyed, and on forage and barley for 32,000 draught animals : 12,050 tons of wheat for food; 3,800 tons of barley for animals ; 7,500 tons of forage for animals — of a total value of £250,000 approximately. From the following sums placed at the disposal of the Commission from the very beginning of their work — i.e. : £ Two advances by the Bank of England ......................... 2,000,000 One advance by the Greek Government through the the National Bank of Greece........................................ 1,000,000 Temporary advance by the Greek Government on the £3,000,000 promised ........................................................ 200,000 T o ta l............................................... 3,200,000 ■— the following amounts have been expended until October 31st : £ s. d. For the Agricultural Settlement ................................. 2,196,288 2 0 For the Urban Settlement .............................................. 297,719 10 4 Headquarter expenses (general expenditure)................. 18,349 7 2 T o ta l............................................... 2,512,357 5 8 Balance at the disposal of the Refugee Settlement Commission with the National Bank of Greece on October 3 1 s t............................................................ 687,642 14 4 Total (about) .............................. 3,200,000 0 0 Rate of Exchange. Out of these sums £1,775,000 was changed into drachmas from January 1st to Octo ber 31st, 1924, at the average rate of exchange of 253.02 drachmas to the pound. The exchange was effected through the National Bank in five separate transactions. A gricultural S e t t l e m e n t . From the time of the refugee immigration from Asia Minor in 1922 up to December 1923, the following number of agricultural families had been settled or partly settled by the Greek Government : In M acedonia................................................................................ 66,920 In the rest of Greece ................................................................ 5,661 Total .......................................................... 72,581 The settlement of these families was completed by the Refugee Settlement Commission, which provided them with seed, implements, etc. From January 1st to October 31st, 1924, the Refugee Settlement Commission settled : In M acedonia................................................................................ 29,954 In Thrace ................................................................................... 5,5001 In the rest of Greece ............................................................ 8,203 Total ............................................................ 43,657 We have therefore : Families settled From September 1922 to December 1923 ............................. 72,581 From December 1923 to October 1924 .............................. 43,657 Total ........................................................... 116,238 1 The permanent settlement work in this area has shown no progress during the last three months, because th1 question of purchasing all Mussulman property by the State is not yet settled. As indicated in the following distribu tion tables, supplies of seed, implements, etc."were given to about 14,000 families who have cultivated the land but who cannot be considered as permanently settled until the definite solution of this question. I houses constructed. In addition to the houses built by the Government before January 1924 and the houses of Mussulmans subject to exchange — about 50,000 of the latter in Macedonia alone — the number of houses constructed from January till October 31st, 1924, is : In Macedonia........................................................................... 5,872 In Thrace ................................................................................ 2,612 In the rest of Greece ............................................................. 653 Total .......................................................... 9,137 Under construction................................................. 25,000 houses. Draught animals distributed1. In Macedonia............................................................................ 32,098 In Thrace .................................................................................. 1,755 In the rest of Greece ............................................................

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