Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-06-13
The English Consols.

This question may be worth looking al. a,
present, when every one is looking with IN
terest to the commercial statuS of Great Bri.
tain. A rise or fall in "Consols' is %inyaria.
bly taken rs Il sign of commercial prosperity
or adversely, yet few have 4 very definite
idea Of what is meant by "ConsolS. We
find in the Boston Herald the following ex.
PLANTATION of the term:
1T is not expected that everybody should
know what Cuns"lS are, or if they DO. that
they should constantly bear in mind what an
important element they are in the affairs ID.
Great Britain. We propose TO make a single
explanation as 10 their Importance, by r..
marking that Il permanent fall of one per
cent. involves Il loss to holders of. in round
numbers, thirty millions of dollars.
The national debt of England BEGAN
with the REIMBURSEMENT Of the old custom #
extortihg from the people and substituting
borrowing therefor To meet public ~cNigrn.
cies. Charles |. borrowed largely from IN,
partisans; but all his debts were ~cXtingul,h
eel by the revolution. lt was under his SONS.
Charles ii. and James II. that the fouuIa.
tons OF Il permanent debt We're laid IN Eng
land. On the accession of William Ill. the
debt was COS .263. During his reign. how
ever, the system of credit was expanded
throughout Europe. \ large part Of the an
nual expenditure OF the government was de-
trayed by borrowing money aud pledging
the state to pay annual interest upon il. A.
Williams death the debt was clj. 80 5p.
From his time to the present the process 81
borrowing has been continued in ali exigeu.
cies, such as war, the large payment on ac-
count of Negro Emancipation. AZ. In pc
riods of peace and when the rate of interest
has been low the government has rrd,rmr!
small portions of the debt, or it has lowered
the annual charge by reducing. with the con
sent Of the holders. the rate of interest.
The debt. then. consists of several Spr-
cieS Of loans or funds. with different demon.
nations. which have been, in process u,
time, variously mixed and mingled. such "a,
Consols, /. e., several different loans c%Jnso.i-
dated in one stock, ) pc: cents, Reduced
Consols, new 3 per cents. &c. The public
debt continued To increase, until ut the az.
cessiou of George l.. in ia. ii was Ga
1853. Some two millions was paid II
during this reign, but during that Of hi,
successor it was greatly increased SO tha;
in 1863, it had reached the sum of El,>.-
S65. $50. During the peace from 1853 to
l71j, ten millions were paid, but at the con
clusion of the American revolution it va,
e249.Sjl .62S.
"In the peace which cnSuci from l7Nit
1893, ten and Il half millions were paid
Then came the great moral and political
revolution of Europe, in the course of which
England sided with despotism. She tomru-
ted auarrcls. caused coalition after coalition
to be formed, spent most freely 10 uphold
every absolutist, subsidized every dr>p0t.
and was the persistent enemy OF the people
During this insane career she contracted ~
increase of debt exceeding six hundred NIL.
lions sterling. So that at the close of the var,
and when the English and Irish EXrhequrrs
were consolidated. the total funded and AZ
funded debt, in ISL. was Eslo.>jO.?Il, aud
the annual charge upon it was L52.Olj,?iI.
From tina; time to 1854. there was acon-
tinual reduction of debt. On the 1t ul
April, 1854, it was C116,64i,2I9. But then
came the Crimcan war, and afterwards tie
war of India. Immediately following these
came the necessity for increased expenses in
placing the Navy and Army in preparation
for q general European war. The Crlmcau
and Indian wars have increased the debt
more than all the reductions which were
made during forty years, and to-day it can
not be less than ESj0.0OU.0OO
This vast sum, reduced 10 dollars. l.
four thousand two hundred millions. moStof
which is ~cOnSoIS, bearing interest at three
per cent. The ordinary price Of the tire"
per cents is %, because people investing ~
s,,.b q, l,,v ,nt, will NM my uur yyl,pu NANCY
is worth II higher per centagc. The la,
news is that consols had fallen to ~ and o..
This fall is equal to two years interest on
four thousand million dollars. II holder.
were obliged to sell now, the aggregate lo,.
would be $40. 100000. As it is, only those
who have money engagements. and mus
sell out to meet them, will be losers. A.
ready we hear of the failure of forty stock
brokers of this class, and others will follow
unless ~consols improve