A NATION'S CREDIT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 253, 28 November 1914, Page 9

A NATION'S CREDIT.

FINANCE AT HOME. ; MR LLOYD GEORGE EXPLAINS. (Received November 28, 11.55 a.m.) LONDON, November 27. The Rt. Hon. Lloyd George, speaking in the ,House of Commons, said: — f/At the beginning of the war this country could neither buy nor sell because exchange had broken down, and though the. whole world owed us money. America owed £1,000,000,000. He assured the LabduF Party that the moratorium was not enforced fo save'a few. rich people, but to save British industry, commerce, labour, and life. With eighteen thousand millions assets it would have been criminal negligence to allow the credit of the country' to be in doubt for twenty-four hours, for £350,000,000 of which most was owing to our own people. 1 ' We decided, "he added, '.' that the credit of the State must be maintained at any cost, and thus the unimpeachable character of the British bill of exchange has been maintained, and the greatest financial catastrophe ,■ the world could ever have seen has been averted. The total loss as a result of these bill transactions is about what it costs us for a single week of war., Between £7,000,000 and £8,000,000 worth of Stock Exchange securities had been hypothecated before the outbreak of war, and if the banks had pressed, the bottom would have dropped out of the market. '