BRITAIN’S WAR BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1748, 3 November 1917, Page 3

BRITAIN’S WAR BILL.

DAILY COST, £6,648,000. 400 MILLIONS NOW REQUIRED. London, Oct. 80. In the Hon.se of Commons, Mr Bonar Law (Chancellor of the Exchequer), introducing the £400,000,000 vote- of credit, said that the British war expenditure was now exceeding the Budget estimate by £239,000 per day. We had advanced to the Allies £1,100,000, and to the Dominions £160,000,000. The war had increased the National Debt by £3,000,000,000. The Germans had passed votes of credit totalling £4,700,000,0000, not including loans to their allies, and the indications were that Germany would be hopelessly bankrupt after the war. Our financial burden after the war would largely depend on the conditions of peace which we would be able to secure. If the war ended satisfactorily the financial burden would be one which we would be able to bear. Mr Bonar Law added that the vote asked for will carry Britain on until January. The daily cost of the war was £6,648,000. The aggregate since the outbreak of the wax', sanctioned by eighteen distinct votes, will, after the vote of this week, amount to the stupendous total of £5,692,000,000, as shown by the following table: 1914-15. £

August 6th .... .. 100,000,000 Novoinbei’ 15th .. 225,000,000 March 1st .... . . 37,000,000 £362,000,000 1015 -16. March 1st ... . .. 250,000,000 June 15th . 250,000,000 July 20th ...150,000,000 September 15th .. 250,000,000 November 15th 250,000,000 February 21st . .. 120,000,000 £1,420,000,000 1016 -17. February 21st . 300,000,000 May 23rcl .... 300,000,000 July 24th .. 450,000,000 October 11th .. .. 300,000,000 December 14th .. 400,000,000 February 12th 200,000,000 March 15th ... .. 60,000,000 £2,010,000,000 1917. -18. February 16th . ., 350,000,000 May 9th .. 500,000,000 July 24th .. 650,000,000 October 31st .. 400,000,000 £1,900,000,000 Grand total ... £5,692,000,000