THE BURDEN OF WAR

Taihape Daily Times, 23 October 1917, Page 3

THE BURDEN OF WAR

CAN THE BRITISH EMPIRE PAY 9 Speaking at the British Imperial Council of Commerce, Lord Desborough, said: —With regard to our own economic future and the gigantic war war debt which has been piled up, I estimate that even if the war stopped to-morrow we should find ourselves burdened with a debt of four thousand millions, the interest and sinking fund chages on which would represent a liability of something like 240 ’ millions a year, apart from our ordinary expenses of Government, and without taking into consideration the heavy demands that would bo made for increased expenditure on education, housing, and other charges following on the war. On the other side of the account we have enormous and largely undeveloped assets in the British Empire. It was said that after the Civil War in the United States the wealth of thaat country was estimated at 3000 millions, but after a not very long period, so great had been the national development that its wealth was estimated at 40,000 millions. In view of the fact that British Empire comprises two-thirds of the habitable globe, it is not rash to assume that by a policy of wise and prudent and energetic development we may so reduce our burden of indebtedness that we shall be able to pass our Imperial heritage on to our successors with a very greatly diminished burden of debt as compared with war period. In this connection I am delighted to see that the Dominions Royal Commission has, independently of the British Imperial Council of Commerce, unanimously resolved to advocate the formation of an Imperial Development Board—a proposal which we hope will meet with the greatest success. (New Zealand’s net expenditure upon the war up to March 31 last totalled £22,004,683. This is now increasing at the rate of £2,000,000 per month.)