THE PROPOSED WAR INDEMNITY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 834, 12 April 1878, Page 3

THE PROPOSED WAR INDEMNITY.

—o The Bendigo Independent has been at the trouble to make Ihc following interesting calculations!!! reference to the warindemnuy; demand of Turkey :—“ In the first place, it represents—round numbers being calculated -one-fourth of the English National Debt. In regard to the English National debt, it has been proved, .that there is not enough coined money in the world to pay it off. The amount is LT00.000.000 Consequently to pay tho war indemnity required-of Turkey at least one-third of the world’s coinage will be required. The indemnity represents almost to a fraction four times the amount of gold produced in the Australian continent during the last twenty-live years. Tho amount asked for represents, according to the value of Bendigo, no less than 50,00U,0000z5., or (say) the product of our mines for 100 years to come, calculated on tho average returns of the goldfield during the past five years. Tho weight of such a quantity would be I,IGOJ tons, or. in other words a load equal to that which 2,000 horses could draw from Sandhurst toCastlemaine in one day. Tho acturial mind is lost in calculating such figures ; but enough can he gathered from them for ns to be thankful that wo are nut Turkey, and that our near neighbours arc not tho Russians. Calculated on tho population of Victoria, it would repicsent a tax of L 250 per head for every man, woman, and child in the colony.