ABSTRACT
The New Year did not relieve the strain on London caused by continued exports of gold to France because the normal January improvement in the exchanges did not occur. This lent a note of urgency to the Anglo-French Treasury discussions which began in Paris on 2 January 1931. Montagu Norman was not impressed by the joint Treasury meetings, informing the Committee of Treasury of the Court of Directors of the Bank of England that the first round had produced no tangible results and expressed doubt as to whether there would even be a second encounter. Norman's dilemma was clear. The Governor returned to London on 21 April and attended the Committee of Treasury meeting the next day. Germany was in the forefront of the political news during this period; Foreign Offices and Treasury Departments were focusing on the Austro-German plan for a customs union.
