AUSTRALIAN DEBTS.

Grey River Argus, 18 January 1922, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN DEBTS.

Ilii- debt liabilities of the Commonwealth Government can be gauged from the fact that since 1914 they have paid in interest alone £80,824,064. During that same period the war loan expenditure amounted to £254,407,441, which, added to the ordinary loan expenditure, £10,776,287, gives a total loan expenditure, since 1914, of £265,183,728. Seven years ago the interest bill was only £689,247. To-day, with practically the same population, the burden has reached Hie extraordinary figure of £21,311,331. But this is not all. During 1914-1921 the State Governtogether, paid in interest £111,854,111, which brings the grand total of State and Commonwealth interest paid during that time to £192,678,175. In 1914 Australia paid the money-lenders £11,000,000; in 1921 she paid £39,000,000. Side by side with the growing indebtedness of the country we find the banks showing Increased prosperity. In 1914 the excess of assets over liabilities of the banks was £7,447,606, while in 1921 that figure had increased to £31,145,306.

EARTHQUAKE. ADELAIDE, January 17. Earth tremors are reported from sevral country districts.