THE BRITISH WAR LOAN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2514, 15 July 1915, Page 4

THE BRITISH WAR LOAN

Tite marked success of the- British war loan . may bo regarded as an emphatic indication of the determination of the people of the United Kingdom to see the war through at all costs. ' Money is as necessary as men,and munitions, and the spirited response of'the British-public to the Government's call for money is as satisfactory to ourselves and our Allies as it is galling to our enemies. A message to-day regarding the reported position of Germany and the ruin which confronts it if tho war is carried on through the winter may be taken as an indicatiou of the part which finance. plays in the struggle. Even if tho message referred to lacks official confirmation, it has its lesson. If the war lasts for another year the cost to, Britain is expected to be £1,136,600,000, including about £200,000,000 in loans to the Allies mul I4i<s ftomtnlw!*. She irwuult ww Jpjuj jvilljmqlwMx fti'oviHc the Goy.

ernment with close on £600,000,000. This sum means about eight months' war expenditure. The surplus income of Great Britain—that is, the difference between the total national income and the amount required for the nation's living expenses and the maintenance of plant—is estimated in times of peace to amount to about £400,000,000, and this is a greaf asset'now. It is impossible to say what effect the war will have upon tho surplus income. In his Budget speech in' May last, Mil. Lloyd George declared that the income of the country was probably higher now than in times of peace, but the nation's living expenses have probably also increased, and there is the disturbance in foreign countries, from which much of the income of Britain is derived. Still, tho outlook in this respect is goo 9. The financial position placed before the House by Mil. Lloyd George on May 4 may bo summarised in the following tables: If tho war lasts six months longer (to September):— Expenditure .£790,458,000 Revenue £274,112,000 Net deficiency "to lie met by some process or other" ,£516,346,000 If the war lasts a year longer (till end of next March) Total expenditure £1,136,434,000 Deficiency to be made up ... The following figures will give some idea of the way the money will be spent:— ' . 6 months 12 months more war. more war. Army £400,000,000 £600,000,000 NaT}- £120,000,000 £146,000,000 Railways, corn.pensation for bombardment, v etc '. A £11,000,000 £22,000,000 Compensation ■. ) ' . and provision ' of canteens under, Defence of Realm Act • £7,000,000 £10,000,000 Advances to Allies and Do-

minions '£200,000,000 It is almost impossible to realise what these, vast figures mean. To most people they arc merely .figures. In order to convey a popular idea of what a million sovereigns mean, a-London paper tells us that they weigh 7.8618 tons, so that an expen-' diturc of £1,136,500,000 would represent 8935 tons of sovereigns. If the sovereigns were piled one on top of the other they would make a column 1085 miles high. Were they placed edge to edge they would make a line 15,705 miles long, which would cx J tend from Brest in Western France to Singapore in the Straits Settlement and back to Brest. When we ponder over these astounding facts wo' may be inclined to exclaim, "Who is sufficient for these things?" But we'havc the satisfaction of knowing that wo are more able to bear the colossal cost of this gigantic war than our enemies. If wo feel the financial strain, they must 'feel it still more acutely. At the end of another year's war, says the Financial Times, our position will'be by no means an impossible one, though additional taxation will be necessary. '■"The Chancellor of the Exchequer will have no difficulty, in raising whatever sums he requires without resorting to any of the empirical devices to which the German Finance Minister has. already . been driven." A National 'Debt of -£2,000,000,000 looks rather staggering at first sight, but it is by no means excessive when compared with the debt, of £900,000,000 a,hundred years ago,, when we bear in !niin'd i the growth in the population,' commerce, and wealth of the United Kingdom during tho past century. The magnificent manner in which the people have rallied round tho Government in order to make the latest and greatest war loan'such a striking success counts for a great deal at a 1 crisis ; like, that through which the Empire is passing. All classes seem to have. risen' to the occasion. It is this sort of spirit that wins wars. Tho nation is realising more keenly every day that its all is at stake, and that tKoso who stay at homo must mako sacrifices as well as those in tho firing lines. Those who cannot-fight must pay, .