The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-10
TREMENDOUS INCREASE OF ENGLANDS
WEALTH.
London Tablet.

Calculations as to the rate and amount OF
the accumulation of national wealth avail
able as capital for employment in fresh
productive enterprise, are based mainly on
1.-The income tax returns, and must, for that
reason err, if they err at all, much more on
the aide of defect than on the side of ex-
acess. These accumulations are shown to
Ito have been enormous beyond all former
precedent during the ten years from 1865
Ito 1875. The matter was stated with great
Hclearnes sat y meeting of the Statistical So
fciety on Tuesday, by Mr. Robert Gifen, o.
well known economist, who is now at the
head of the Statistical Department of the
Board of Trade. 1t was shown that, at the
beginning of the present century the ma
|tional property assessed to income tax in
'Great Britain amounted to lis millions, ip
|lSI5 1t had risen to 130, in lo43 to 25l and
lin 1853 to 262 millions. In 1855 the returns
'for the United Kingdom showed the as
Isessed property to amount to 3Oo millions,
land in 1865 to 396 millions. By the end oil
the following decade of years the increase
|smounted to a per cent. or 175 millions
|sterling; SO that in 1875 the property as
!sessed to income tax amounted to 57l mil
lions. An estimate of the increase of thel
Iother kinds of capital based on those as
lsessed to income-tax, makes the value of
the national estate to have increased dur
THE ten years in question at the rate of o!
|quarter of a million of millions of sterling
iper annum 80 that in ten years of aver!
|sge prosperity the country has been amas
lsing . sum equal to three OF four times the!
amount of the national debt. In other
words, the United Kingdom could pay off
the national debt three times over in ready
;cash and yet remain more wealthy than wei
were in 1865. 1t may be noted that a dis
|cussion arose amongst the members of theI
Statistical Society present On the conclu-
!eiop of Mr.. Giffen's paper, and it was rel
marked by Mr. Newmarch, FRS, whoI
presided, that, according to his belief the
|6gures given by Mr.. Giffen were considera-
IDLY below the reality. If we accept theml
las correct, they certainly convey, even al
lowing for the increase Of population-sp!
|eAtim8te OF national prosperity probably
~ exceeding that enjoyed by any nation|
lof modern or ancient times. A question of
great present national interest closely
connected with this matter is as to whether
the national prosperity OF which we have
spoken, be not already showing symptomsI
sof decay. Pesslmism, it would seem, hasl
it's representatives amongst the statistic
ians and political economiste, as we'll as|
Elsewhere, and gloomy fOrebodihgs have
been expressed that the enormous prosper
|ity enjoyed by the United Kingdom from|
1865 to 1875 is not progressive, nay has al
READY begun to decline. 1t has been as
serted "that we are spending our capital; Il
that we have lost the power and the will tol
save; shat we are calling in our foreignl
Investments aud dissipating the money they
represent" Mr.. Giffen dealt with these
alarms in so far as they have anything!
tangible about them and showed their fal-
Ilacy, except on the improbable suppositionI
that the slarmists mast have enjoyed access|
ito sources of Information that were hiddepl
from himself.