FRENCH FINANCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1664, 20 January 1917, Page 4

FRENCH FINANCE.

The result of the second French war loan was announced by the Minister for Finance, M. Ribot, before the Chamber of Deputies, on November 9th. He stated that the subscriptions amounted to £454,000,000, and that there were 3,000,000 subscribers. More than half the total was received in actual money, only a fraction of the subscriptions being not fully paid. M. Rihot stated: “The support which the country lias liberally brought to the Government confirms the Treasury in the certainty that it will be able to sustain with ease the burden of expenditure that will have to be met on our own territory during the course of the coining months. It must not be forgotten further that our situation condemns us to provide for greater and greater expenditure abroad. All the public services have the strict obligation of limiting their foreign purchases to materials indispensable to national defence, and to neglect no possibility of obtaining in France itself all (bat it is possible for French industry to furnish. A similar obligation lies upon all private individuals, who cannot be regarded as having fulfilled their duty to the country merely by lending it their money. 10very, individual must do his utmost to eliminate from his purchases all superfluities with a view to avoid fruitless waste of any portion of the products of the national soil and labour, and in order not to increase by useless imports the balance of our indebtedness abroad. It is because of the efforts of the whole people that we have been able up to the present to meet the demands of a struggle without precedent, and it will be by the maintenance of this effort by the whole nation that we shall obtain final victory, which must be the sole object before our eyes.”