The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-10-17
Hor Gre&s Britain has Eecns,eo .AS
s.,ssrs.xs us,on Her NaEtonaa NeOa-


amount Of labor.
us- x.rcss Britain has Reduced tae
s.serest ua,or Her Nasfonaa NeNa-
TO he Edssoys ef tie Us$pascae
sys.hin the past four months have re-
,,,,tsrftr read in print and heard lt stated,
t,ot, ur,on the hastings and IN conversation.
ts,as Great Britain haG frequently compelled
fconuelIcd In the sense Of forctbie read! ust-
.nent, her creditors 20 submit 10 reduction
OF interest upon her obligations held by
Them. This statement has been SO uo'-
forrniy nut forth without contradiction
Though, I believe, there was aispesItioa
IN the mind Of every intelligent man 10
ouestiea it) that it has beyond doupt
brought strength 80 the cause of repudia-
sion. suppose it has passed without clai"
Ienge upon authority, owing 70 the dill
c,tty OF procuring information upon the
subject. ] have felt sure that il eeuld not
he true. and this conviction, coupled Win
a sense Of the importance Of taking tins
arruules1t away from the readi Ulster, mas
inSuced me TO make |; careful AND RIGOROUS
examination into the history OF the rise ano
progress OF the debt o. Creat Britain. Lux
result Of which give, and, lis you VIII sec,
have supported every statement by asi-
thority with reference 10 chapter and verse
First. lei. me premise that the StGf&S Of
the Englisn debt is very little understood ID
this country. In 1863 il MAS reported 10
Parliament as consisting Of about Ia4e,-
fee. 900 Of funded debt aud about Es,oun.e'V
az eacheuuer bills. Yet the Government
does no, owe pound Of the funded dest.
strictly speaking. At DO time since the
f;oyernnen; commenced borrowing money
has il been the practice to put up the Gov
ernInent bonds, payable ct certain time
and bearing certain Interest. for sale TO
the highest bidder, as III this country. 1t
has never issued bonds. The practice,
commenced II the be@inDlDg and adhereo
10 throughout, has been 10 sell 0seytel'lfS-
that il, upon paving ,c1D9 into the Treasury
the subscriber received a Government
promise TO pay him so much per annum
during an agreed time, bat without az!
promise 10 return the SUN paid II. NOW,
much. perhaps al. Of the present funded
deb, consists Of neyer-cnding anDuuits
(unIess ct Governments option. SO that II
amounts IN the end 10 the same thlag as Il
debt Of G140, 100000, though II Ii Dol,
strictly speaking, such thing al all. THIS
will enable the reader 10 Observation-Disclosures
is not at I'LL understood generally III this
country what is meaat By the changing
quotations Of "eonsoIs." When we SEE
kilograms stating thu, consols are at
certain per cent. On Que day, ana III
another on another day. it does Dot
mean that the Government is selling lis OBJ
legations 1T one rate II depreciation ~ one
tiue and ~ another ri different time;
but that the holder Of 4 three percent. an
puity, .ishiBg TO sell it, sells il at one price
on one day AND at another on another, ac-
cerdiBgiy a. the demands OF trade make
CAPITAL scarce or abundant. The quotatlons
have 10 reference whatever 10 the credit OF
Goyerpment--tbat, because Of the perfect
and rigid faith that it Las always kept With
its creditors, being fixed and absolute but
are simply tests Of the rate Of interest Which
capital will command. t,9.-.. ... ..--...
A few words now upon the history Of The
debt: The debt commenced during the
reign Of William, and Mary. The first obi
cations which the Government contracted
were under an act of Parliament passed
January 20, 1893, authorizing the raising OF
EI,0O0, 900 by the sale OF appuities at ID per
cent. till 1900, and after that vi The rate OF
Z Der ceht.-fComm0Hs Journal. Stat.
WiiiiAn aud Mary &. 81 Prior to that, IN
their Jealous Watch over the purse, the
Commons had never been willing to allow
the sovereign more money than Was enough
each year 10 meet the actual demands OIL
that year. But at this time everything con-
spfred TO predispose the nation in favor 1
spreading over the years OF the future some
part OF the heavy burdens which their war
with Louis KY. WIS imposing upon them.
Farther, they had the examples Of pe1ghber-
ing States. 10 Italy the practice had exist
I'd Tor taaay generations. France, during
! the war that commenced in 1917 and ended
lin 1879, had borrowed thirty millions OF
British goid. Sir William Temple, lately
returned from his embassy at tie Hague,
had told them Ia bis work on tie EataFian
!. Federation how Holland had owed y debt OF
dye millions sterling, and how Interest on
it Ut four per eept. Was always ready al the
day and, further, Aow the creditors had
demonstrated whenever the Government
paid OF Spy part Of the principal. But the
most potent agency Was the principle Of
policy inspired by the King himself. lie
found himself the ruler OF Il nation whose
lawful king was a hostile exile, domieilied
y sud supported NY his own and EHglanfs
powerful and mortal Toe. And at home
this exi!ed monarch had secret party pu o.
herring many Of the most powerful subjects
! i'm the Eeain warmly In sympathy with him,
what, then. could William do In these dan
serOus circumstances tending more directly
10 get the English people interested in the
alaiptsnsRee OF haS Government tliaa TO get
them to be holders Of its Obligati0Dsi
Accordingly, he found England without a
debt, and left her, In the space OF seven
years, owing e20,0o0, 600. ..,.- .os..s
$ The war which his successor, Queen
Anne, prosecuted against Louis XIV, OF
course made heavy drafts upon her Govern.
+ nent, so that I'm the year It'll the public
debt amounted 10 somewhere about ESQ.,
00G, 000.-f M0reau and i'ebrer's Tables, ]
Nov, this debt had been created almost ex-
elHsiyely from the sale OF aunuities, gene
rally running for long period Of years (the
usual time was from eighty-fye to one hun
dred yasrs5, and ut rates OF interest ranging
ut every figure between fourteen and six
i per esats-~fsee Return OF whole amount OF
National Debt and Interest for each year
from 1851 to 1867, passim, and especially
page E4, No. 443, So Parliamentary Papers
Farther, the principal OF annuities was
ia the main irredeemabie, UNLESS the holder
chose TO accept payment. AL the period
spoken OF am the debt was fels'as very.
oppressive, Money could be borrowed in
any quantity at four per cent; yet the Gov
ernment was actually paying the prices
stated above, and II did not have the right
i to pay OF the principal, aud, through this
means, force the acceptance OF smaller il-
terest, In this state OF affairs Mr. Harley,
at that time the Earl OF Oxford, Queen
Anne's Lord Treasurer, hit (as bis admt-
rers eontended) upon the brilliant iseheme
OF getting the. debt into a manageable
form through his device OF the Great
ssonth-Sea bubble Through his ad-
Mtrers claimed for him the doubtful honor
o. having originated this humbug, he is not