Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-01-25
From the New York Evening Post.
The National Debt of England-WhaC w,
Bear.

The National Debt of England-VhaC we
can Bear.
The great struggle with Napoleon increased
the British national debt in twenty-five years
by the vast sum of E601 SOC, 943, equal to
more than three thousand millions of dollars.
In 1898 Great Britain and Ireland had a pop
ulation OF less than fifteen millions and the
government entered on th= war with debt of
over G239, 100000, or about eleven hundred
and ninely-tive millions dollars and an annu-
al revenue of about one hundred million dol
lars. In twenty two years it borrowed three
thousand million dollars besides increasing
the taxation TO such an extent that during the
period from 1898 to 1901 the annual revenue
averaged fortysiX million pounds sterling
S22OO0O,01O, with a population of little over
fifteen millions; and in the succeeding period
OF 1901 TO 1914, with population of some
what over seventeen millions, three millions
less than that Of the loyal slales,) the annual
revenue reached the enormous sum of three
hundred and forty million dollars. AT the
close of the French war in 1876 Great Britain
owed over tour thousand two hundred millions
oil dollars and had on her hands military and
naval establishment a hundred times more
costly than our own will be at the close of the
present war; while her natural resources
though great, were not nearly SO vast as our
own.
NTedl DIlNdlu Is uOl llelu up as all example
for us to follow : her wars are levied to spread
her power at the expense Of other nations.
But we may well turn to this part OF her his
tory for encouragement in our own affairs
During the greater part Of the period above
mentioned she was at war with half the world,
and had the other half in her pay With her
commerce preyed upon by hostile cruisers
with her merchants unable to dispatch a cargo
without an expensive convoy with her pro.
ducts excluded from the continent; with every
disadvantage to her industry, her rulers and
people, steadfastly keep in mind the great
principle that, when you want a new loan,
you must trst devise new source of income
and that the way to keep up nations credit
is to borrow as little us possible, and raise as
much as possible by taxation In 1913 the
total expenditure of Great Britain was fll8-
100000 - five hundred and ninety million
dollars. She had in that year one million one
hundred and seven thousand men under arms
and fleet of one thousand and nine ships, of
which 613 were in commission. She had a
population less than eighteen millions, and
from this was raised in that year revenue of
f68 800, 000-three hundred and forty million
dollars. That is to say, the revenue of the
GEAR betrayed considerably more than half the
vast total expenses. In 1874 the British rev.
enue was nearly equal to the previous year (;
and in 1916, the year of greatest expenditure,
the total expenditure grew to f126,0O 600
six hundred and thirty-sx million dollars (;
but with a courage and wisdom which we
must emulate if we value our credit, the rev.
enue was also raised, aud grew in this year to
E75 800 ,000-three hundred aud seventy-six
million dollars.
Here we see not only what a nation in earn
est can do, but also what we must do if we do
not mean to sink our credit and disgrace the
fair name which we have for seventy years
held in the money markets OF the world. 1t
depends upon our Legislators to tax the nation
properly. Let them have the nerve and the
wisdom of honest men, who can bear to look
affairs in the face, and are determined by all
means to present fair balance-sheet to the
world, and we shall be all right. And the
m0re-because we shall be our own creditors.
Hitherto we have not looked abroad for fnan.
cial aid-at present, it 10 as well TO add we
need not look there. The paper money plans
advocated by some of our financiers. and the
hesitation and insufficient measures of con.
gfsss, have brought our affairs to such pass