BRITISH FINANCE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 223, 14 June 1919, Page 10

BRITISH FINANCE

A WONDERFUL RECORD

RECOVERY FROM THE WAR

The strength of British .'inauee was emphasised by the chairman of directors' of the Bank" of Now Zealand (Mr. 11. Ueauchamp) in his speech :il thu annual meeting of the' Dunk's shareholders. Tlio cost of the war to Grout .Viritain, and her' iibilily to recover rapidly from the effects of the struggle! ho said, wqrc matters of extreme imporranoe to New Sfieuliind, its also to the n>sl: of the Empire, Britain hail spent lavishly on the irar, and hnd extended generous financial support to her Allies and to the Dominions, ami yet Britain stood in a sound financial position, 'i'he exact litres i f the British nuances' are not yet .-.vniluble, but he had gathered the foilo'.viiiß from the mostreliable sources:— £ Tola! amonnl: sprint' iroin April ], 1014, to March 31, 1019—actual for tyears und estimated for 1918-19 !),!)7(i,000,OIIO Total revenue - 2,1)80,0(10,000 Amount borrowed 7,290,000,000 Deductions:— Excess of lievenue over estimate for 1018-19 17,000,000 deduction in estimated expenditure 1.. 393,000,000 Loans (o Allies and Dominions 1,739,000,000 Recoverable by sales of ships, supplies, etc., eey ■ 1,,'.00,000,000 3,079,000,000 .•1,611,000,000 Add pre-war debt ... .710,000,000 ' l ~£4,321,000,000" "There is still io he taken into eccoilnt the amount of the indemnity to he received from Germany," said. Sir. Beauchanip. "However, we may ■ accept the above figures as approximately correct. For the current financial year, that is, to March 31, 1920, the deficit is expected to amount to .£275,2Gf1,000, which has to bo covered by borrowing; so that on March 31 next tlio .British National Debt will be Bay, Britain's position now compares not unfavourably with the conditions following the close of the Napoleonic war. In. January, 191G, the debt, ivas •£900,400,000. equal to ,£4! i per head.' In ainrch, 1920, the debt v.ill bo .£i,(M0,0O0,OO0, equal to .C9G per head. But the ability and aptitude of the British to-day are very different from what they wero over a hundred- years ago, and the- debt of 1920 is perhaps liot quite such a eerious burden as ivae the debt of 1816.

Tho industrial situation in Ilio Mother Country is such Hint, if not unduly disturbed by labour troubles, the British will recapture the whole'of the foreign trade Dint had to lx) abandoned during (he war, and more besides, for the British are now masters of several new industries, euch aa the dye industry, the glass industry, manufacture of magnetos, and other subsidiary lines. Furthermore, British manufacturers have learned the value, of standardisation; specialisation, quantity production and costing, nlso the full'value of laboursaving machinery, and these.lessons will enable Great Britain to meet competition from whatever direction it may come. "The British Budget is another illustration of the magnificent strength of the nation. The figures for the past two years, and the estimates for 1910-20, an? wonderful:— Year ended J?ev- ExpendiM'ch.3l. enne. tare Deficit. £ £ £ i 1018 707,231,565 2,69(5,221,405 1,988,986,840 1910 889,020,825 2,570,301,188 1,690,280,363 *1920 1,159,(i50,0<K1 1.431,01(1,000 275,260,000 "Estimates. "The ndditoin (0 tlie debt during the current year is a modest one, and the amount is not likely to bo as much as .4275,260,000, as additional taxation is estimated to yield £11,450,000.' _An Anieriuan financial expert, after intimately - studying conditions, in Europe, predicted that England would be stronger within a year than eve? before, because of her, commercial enterprise and the courage with which she had'met debts bv taxation. The interests of ?sew Zealand are inextricably mixed up with the Mother Country, and Britain's early rocovery from tho war will be beneficial to us. , ' .