The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-05-30
The Wealth Of England.

In paper read before the Society of
Arts in London, April 8, by Mr.. Err est
Seyd, a learned and careful economist
of England, some facts and deductions
are stated concerning the trade and
wealth of England-that is, the United
KingdOm-which are worth mention
ing. just now, when England may be
on the point of jeoparding her immense
wealth and disturbing the great foreign
trade, from which this wealth mainly
is renewed, it is we'll for her to take ac-
count of stock, and see exactly what
she is risking in the lottery of war.
France risked much and lost much in
the war of 1870; yet France has solid
basis of individual wealth which no ca
lamity seems able to destroy, though it
may be paralyzed for time. 1t is the
joke of a French economist that silver
spoons are as plentiful in France as
pawn-tickets in England"-a saying
that rests upon solid fact, though it
may seem a mere Jest. The mass of
the people are richer in France than in
England. Yet England has great
wealth, as Mr.. Seyd's calculations
show-greater than that of any other
country, though more unequally dis
tributed than the wealth of any other
civilized CONTINGENCIES Russia be the
exception.
Mr.. Seyd divides her wealth into two
main classes" internal" and "exter-
nal," or international" wealth. The
whole wealth of England, estimated by
him at f6, 248, 900, 900 (about $50, OOO,-
600, 0OO) he divides so as to make the
internal wealth Is, 900, 900 (say
1926, OOO, OO0, 0OO) and the "inter nation
al" wealth fl, 100, OOO, 900, something
like S., 200, 100000. These figures re-
late to the year 1872, when, he says,
England held as international
wealth E65O, 100000 of foreign and
Colonial Government securities, E21O,-
OOO, 900 of foreign and Colonial railway
and debenture shares, f8O,OOO, 900 on
foreign industrial enterprises, estates,
etc.. f75, 600, 900 in ships in port or at
sea, and f85, Zoo, 900 in balances of
goods, afloat and abroad Ell, 1OO,-
OOO, 900. This amount, he thinks, has
been reduced since 1872 by more than
ESQ, 600, 900, in consequence of I'M
favorable trade, bad foreign loans, etc.,
so that England's present ''interna-
tional" wealth cannot exceed $780,
100000. In 1854. or at the opening of
the Crimean War, he thinks the total
was as high as E6OO. 900, 900, of which
less than E30O, 900, 900 were in foreign
loans. Since then it has nearly doubled.
but has now begun to fall off alarm
ingly.
Now for the Internal wealth.
This he divides into seven classes-one
of which-the National debt-he sets
aside because it is all owned in En-
gland. The other classes are lands
which he values at $4,000, OOO, 900;
houses at OO,OOO.OOO; movable
household goods at E6OO, OOO, 600; rail-
ways and public works. f8OO, 900, 600;
active capital not included elsewhere,
E4OO, OOO, 900, and metallic currency,
E148, OOO,OO In all, therefore, he
makes an aggregate internal wealth of
Is, 148, 900, 900. But deducting the first
three classes, as "pledged to home
purposes and having no exchanges
BE foreign value, he finds FL, 34S. Co.,
600 of .sinternal'' and FL, 100. OOO, 900
of internationally wealth, which in
1872, was the available riches of En-
gland. This he seems to think is now
reduced to little more than e., OOO,-
600. 900, of which the international
wealth is less than half; but, throwing
out the railroads (f8OO, OO0, OOO) as es-
sentially unavailable to foreigners, the
International wealth becomes two
thirds of the ready assets of England.
Austria, he says, has no such assets at
all, but only an "acsive capital of
ESQ.,, OOO. 900, and E24.OOO, 900, in coin,
with which to meet its international
indebtedness of E4OO. 100000. Were
not the Austrian railways, ETC., to some
extent, available far the foreign cred
itors, Austria, hs says, would be in.