COST OF THE WAR.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13826, 22 July 1915, Page 5

COST OF THE WAR.

ANOTHER CREDIT

STATEMENT BY MR. ASQUITH

A BILLION ALREADY SPENT

POSSIBLE ACCESSIONS TO THE

ALLIES

London, July 20.

Mr. Asquith, speaking in the House of Commons, moved a credit of £150,000,000 to meet the war expenditure, making a total of £1,012,000,000 since the outbreak. For the first 17 days in July the expenditure was £54,190,000. The expenditure during the current year to the 17th had been roughly £301,000,000, of which £241,693,000 was for the Army and Navy, while loans to the Dominions and Allies roughly amounted to £44,000,000. The balance had been expended in food supplies and other purposes. It was estimated that the present vote will last till the end of August.

Mr. Asquith added that the item, advances to our Allies, might grow with the adhesion to our cause of States which took no part in the war in the earlier stages. He pointed out that the wording of the clause dealing with loans had been altered to authorise expenditure by loans and grants for purposes connected with the war. The clause previously restricted advances to the Dominions or the Allies. The Government purposely eliminated the Kmitation and trusted the House not to ask for details. The Government desired wider powers in respect to countries to which advances might possibly be made.

Mr. Asquith intimated that Parliament would re-assemble in the middle of September.

During the discussion in the House of Lords on the national expenditure, Lord Lansdowne said that no nation was likely'to emerge from the war with unimpaired resources. There would be great financial embarrassment, and he might almost say disaster, which it would take all the resources of the civilised world to bear. He pledged the Government to scrutinise the civil expenditure closely.

Lord Cromer said that the only way to rehabilitate the finances of this or any other country was to carry the war to complete victory, which would result from the overthrow of Kaiseri«m and the establishment of real constitutional government in Germany.