SINEWS OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 32, 1 November 1917, Page 5

SINEWS OF WAR

£400,000,000 CREDIT VOTE IN ■ BRITISH PARLIAMENT

GERMANY FACING BANKRUPTCY

' (Roc. October 31, 8.15 p.m.) . London, October 30. /in tlie House of Commons, Mr. Bonai , Law (Chancellor of the Exchequer), introducing tho JM00,000,000 vote of oredit, said: "We are now exceeding tho Budget estimate by .£239,000 every day. Wo havo advanced to our Allies .£1,000,000,000, awl', to tho Dominions .£160,000,000. The war, had increased tho National Debt by .£3,000,000,000. The Germans had passed votes of credit totalling .£4,700,000,000, not including loans to their allies, and the indications were that Germany would be hopelessly bankrupt after the war. Our financial burden after tho war would largely depend on tho conditions of poace which wo would bo able to secure. If tho war ended satisfactorily the financial burden would be one which wo would 1)0 nble to bear." . Mr. Bonar Law added: "This vote will carry us until January. Tho daily cost of tho war is «£6,6«,000."-Aiw.-N.Z. Cable Assn. THE NATIONAL DEBT. l'ho National Debt was raised almost entirely for foreign wars. There wae a trifling sum of £664,a63 until the "Glorious devolution" of 1688, which added nearly £15,000,000 to tho debt. Under Queen Anne the campaigns of the Duke of Mariborough added nearly £38,000,000, part of which wae paid off in the time of.George> I. In tho reign of George II about £87,000,000 were added, but tho first twelve years of Georeo IH eaw £10,000,000 of this paid off. The American War added £1N,0W.000. makinf tho total nearly £250.000.000 wMch was reduced considerably untU 1790. when the repayments ccaßed owing, to the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War. In twenty-thTeo yearn. £601,500,343 were added to the debt for tho purposes of the war, tho following amounts being raised: Year. £ Year. ~„?„, 1793 , 4677,956 1805 xi MM 17W 4598,389 1006 JJffiJJ 1795 30,464,831 1807 }°,-£?'S} 1796 22,244,982 1808 $Kk 3797 30,356,873 1809 n^f. S , 1798 16,853,503 1810 • 7792,444 1799 21,711,863 1811 "'iS'Sjj 1600 Z3,050,520 1812 24,790,97 1801 27,305.271 1013 39 - H ?s: 1803 14,653,254 1814 M '^^ 1(03 8,752,761 1815 20.241,807 IJO4 14,570,763 1814 514,059 The amount of the debt in January, «». was £900,136,000 (funded, £816,3120«) i uninnded, £44,727,000; annuities, W97,0°0). tho annual charge beins nearly £33,000,000. but lie following amounts were paid oil Jroin 1817-1837:-1.626,814 2,023 CM 181? 1,624,606 1828 4,667,965 lßlt ......... WM.130 1829 2,760,003 1830 1.518,019 1830 1.935,465 1821 4,104,457 1831 2,673,658 1823 2.962,564 1852 5,696 182J 6,261,725 1833 1,021784 im 7.456,659 1834 1,776,378 , 1825 9,900,725 1835 1.270,060 | IB2S 1,195,531 1836 1.590,727 1837 1,585,885 At) the accession of Queen Victoria the j amount stood at nearly £788,000,000, with | an annual charge of £29,000,000. Small sumß were paid off annually from 1837-18 M, j when the Russian War added J533.C00.000 to the dobt. Repayments wero made from ISSB onwards, with slight increases in 1868, 1875, 1878, 1879, and 1886. the following being the actual amounts paid off:— Year. £ Yew. £ 1858 2,971,727 1879 Nil. 1659 58,441 1880 4,034,595 1860 2,888,254 3881 5^10,»4J 1861 381,691 1882 15,647,762 1862 1 1,038,371 1883 6,659,421 1863 v 968,099 1884 9,952,565 1654 9,256,915 1885 6,093,2 M 1865 , 4,054,429 1886 Nil. 1866 ■ ,8.789,050 1887 6,993,723 1867 1:886,986 '888 30,703,615 1368 Nil. 1889 7,426,812 1869 1,092.700 1890 8,636.931 1870 4,073.603 1891 4,709,820 1871 5,303,406 1892 5,412,351 1872 3,C4!,1K3 1893 6,894.205 1873 (5,899,370 1894 4,543,540 1874 15.094,807 189S 8.943,417 1875 ..: Nil. 1896 7.620,502 1676 7,094.132 1897 7,630.258 1877 1.1 M.551 1898 6,643,365 1878 Nil. 1899 6.873,119 On MaTch. 31, 1699, tho gross total was £635.040,965, being a. decrease since 1837 of £153,000,000. ffor the South African and China Wars £162,000,000 were raised, but since 1903 large reductions have been made. The total grofn debt on Jlgrch 31, 1915, was £1,161,9i 1 .,702, acainst which must bo ett tho value of, the Suez Oanal shares (£29.993.000), othor , assete (£3,242,906). and Bxcbcfluw balances (£83.450,952), total of £116,686,858: leavlijsf the net amount of the dpbt at £1,078,500,750. Tlio cross deht, on Jfarch 31. 1916. was £2,189,838,245, and the net debt £2,135,984.388. The estimated grdss debt on ITarch 31 of this year is £3,900',000.000. but the detailed figures are not yet' available.