The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-09-16 00:00:00

THE PAYMENT OF THE WAR
INDEMNITY.

One day last week, the convoy of gold, completing
the first 1,500 millions of the 'oar lila • 'ty, Wait re-
eei% ed at Berlin. It was the larget sum yet paid down
in one day. It amounted to not less than 113 millions
of francs. (If thew, tl millions were in gold, 20
franc pieces. Every separate bag contained 200,000
francs. Not less than twenty Yam, belonging to the
Berlin Pickford -Nloreau and Valette- were required
to convey the gold from the railway terminus to the
bank. The remainder consisted if Prussian Treasury
notes, which had been collected for the purpose an over
the north of France. Some of these notes were or
sums as low as three shillings.

Now that a considerable portion of the war Monday-
-1..00,000,04) f.—has been liquidated br France, it I nterest-
ing to know whist becomes of the money. SOMe b.f.-M:10M
on the subject is supplied by the itUA:tll e,rcapondetit of
The Timex. lie

In the first place, 325,000,000 f., being the purchase
money for the Alsatian railways, must be deducted
from the sum total. The rest, 1,175,000,000 h, is
ritual to 313,000,000 tinders. Id this 4,000,000 Hinters
have been reserved ti endow the Generals, awl another
4,000,000 Hurlers to assist those members of the
landwehr awl reserve whose pecuniary circumstances
have suffered in the war. Two million thalers more
will indemnify the Germans expelled fhan France ;
7,000,000 tinders are allotted to shipowners whose
vessels were seized or detained in harbour by the
blockade ; and about 20,000,000 thalera have to go to
the inhabitants of Alsace and Lorraine for damage., sus-
tained and provisions sionilied Is iti. to French and t
mans in the campaign. All to this 5,000,000 thalen re-
quired for repairs and rolling-stock of the Alsace-Lor-
rain railways, and we have a total of 42,000,000 thalers
consumed in redressing some of the evils wrought by
the war. I/f the remaining 271,000,0e0 thalers, Govern-
ment would, under a new Act of Parliament be en-
titled to appropriate 210,000,010 thalers as a pension
for invalids ; but as the whole sum is not required at
I nice, nil! 85 the individual tate:, are anxious to have
a portion I,f their war expenditure reimbursed, it is as-
sumo' that only 31,000,004 will revert to the pension
list for the present, told the remaining 210,000,000 be
distributed. The division is made according ti the
number of men supplied by each State. In other words,
Prussia, or rather the late North German 4 'onfederacy,
ceives five-sixths nf the whole, the remaining sixth
being portioned out between Bavaria, Wintanberg,
Baden, and the southern half of Hesse, which before
the war haul a separate contingent. The 200,000,000
thalers thus accruing to North I ermauy will be mi-
ld, Ted in replenishihg the war treasury, awl cancelling
a portion if the Aver debt. The war treasury amount.,
it is well known, to 30,000,000 thalers. As tithe war
debt, Treasury bonds to the amount of 35,M0,000
Orders were redeemed in the last few weeks, 65,000,000
Hullers more fell dne before the lot of February, tool
17,000,000 paper money are GI be withdrawn foul. cir-
culation in the core of the present year.