CONFIDENTIAL.

Sir W. Erskine to Sir Austen Chamberlain.—(Received November28.)

(No. 174.)

Sir, Sofia, November25, 1927.

WITH reference to your despatch No. 266 of the 19th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit herewith copy of a report with which Colonel Corfe, at my request, has furnished me, on the work accomplished up to date by the Mixed Commission on Graco-Bulgarian Emigration since the session of the Council of the League of Nations held last September.

• 2. It will be seen that it is estimated that, excluding properties of communities and foundations, the field work in Bulgaria and Greek Thrace will be terminated by the end of December of this year, but that a further three months in 1928 will be required for dealing with the work in Greek Macedonia; that when the above work is completed, and the overdraft incurred in connexion with it repaid, it will be possible to effect a very considerable reduction in the expenses of the two Governments, and that the remaining work of making up the liquidation files of individual claimants will, in Colonel Corfe's opinion, not be completed before about September 1928.

• 3. It would appear that the termination of this work does not by any means mean the end of the commission's labours, as the difficult matter of the properties of communities and religious foundations will still remain to be dealt with, while the complicated question of finance will have to be arranged between the commission, the two Governments and the Bulgarian Refugee Settlement Commission.

• 4. As regards the financial aspect of the question, it is estimated that, excluding the communities and foundations, the Bulgarian Government will be called upon to pay in cash a further amount of 1,070,000 dollars, and to issue bonds to the amount of about 11 million dollars, and the Greek Government 2,015,000 dollars in cash and bonds to the value of 20 million dollars. With regard to Colonel Corfe's concluding observations, I concur in his view that it would be most undesirable for the values placed on the properties by the commission to be reduced.