The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-02-12
the Public Debt OF England.

The Public Debt OF England.
The WHO insists that Great Britain mas
once or os,encr" iorcibly r,adIusied hef
,leb,, within the meaning OF those WORDS az
used by the Funders. We have no personal
Knowledge OF course on this subject; nor
has the Wig; but we endeavoied 10 IN
form ourselves 10 the premises before eN'
pressing any opinion or answering any
oaesiion relating 10 the uaiional ueo.
tf England. Since reading the wing
article Of yesterday, We have ag''s 'ooh."
jn,o the matter. We turned 10 sroffokp's
statistical, Financial, aud Political Aimah'c
for information. Mr.. sPoFfohp' Tue eo"'
piler or editor, is the Librarian Of CONGRESS,
and universally admitted TO be re'''''.
man and thoroughly Informed on any suu
every subjec, to which he turns his a''e"'
tion. Congressmen go to him for 'niorma'
,iop, confidently expecting BIN 10 supp!
il. whatever NAV be the subject to whicn T"
relates. Mr.. SpoFFoRD'S book has long
.ar,jc,e on The national debt OF Great BIZ
tain. He se,s that II was compiled IRON
F.<x,s COMPENDIUM OF Funds. 1874; the
r,,opc,aI Reform Almanac. 1877 ; and The
st0.k-Exchapge Yearbook, 1871" here
il one paragraph from that article:
q. The principal portion OF the debt OF
Gtct Britain is not in the form OF bonds,
IN; of annuities Strictly speaking, lhe
g. vgnment OF Great Britain has no bonded
deot. IL is all funded debt, and the prac-
tee OF the Government Is 10 sell anDul'iesi
that is, upon paying ElOO INTO Inc ueasu,!'
tie s9bs cribcr receives 60Verhheht P'V-
mise to pay so much per annuin dui'hs
certain time. but without any promise 10
return the sum paid in. the per ceut.
CONSOLIDATED annuities, fa,Diiiarly kno",i a.
couSots. practically make the funded deot
Of Great Britain consist OF neyer-enolng an
nuties. unless redeemed at the option OF
tbe Government. 1t has never been inc
British praclice TO sell the Government
bo, ds PAYABLE al q certain time, or Opliob,
ard bearing certain interest, at o nXeu
price, or 10 The highest bidder, as III france
and the United States"
Now, If the reader shall examine
that language carelessly be VIII be MIS-
led as to its meaning. II he VIII exam
Inc il carefully, he will learn how IL was
thai Great Britain conid, without foicibiy
r,adjusting her debt, compel her creditors
either 10 take new securities or receive the
amount OF their claims in money. cit mas
never been the British practice to sell the
Government bonds payable at certain
time, or option, and bearing certain H.
teyest, at a fixed price. or 10 the hl@hcst
bidder, as in France or the United States"
on the contrary, instead Of selling that sop
ton she reserves 1t 10 herself; and so, as
Mr.. SpoFroRD says above, British consos
are never.ending annuitieS unless re-
deelaed at the option Of The. Government"
Great Britain merely availed herself OF THIS
"option" when she did what The journal
OF Commerce described as follows:
"Great Britain cut down her rate OF in
teresi repeatedly, but gave The creditors me
option of taking the principal at par. vi
course, il one held per cept. perpetual
stock worth much more than par, he would
prefer 10 keep u TO receiving par Tor ", or
lower rate OF interest; but as between the
last two, most of the creditors took Inc Iat-
ter"
Great Britain's debt consists partly OF
telmipablc annuities-that Is, annniiies eX-
pirIng at fixed time. The perpetual
stock alluded to by The JOurnn Of Com
merce Is such as is not redsemable at any
fixed date, nor payable at any fixed date
that is, the Government does not promise to
redeem il at any fixed date. nor give to the
creditor the right to claim it at any fixed
date but as the Government reserves TO
it.elf the "opiion" OF redeemng what is
called the perpetual stock. there can be
nothing like forcibe reimbursement in the
ac; OF giving to her creditors the option
(Which she has reserved for that purpose) OF
taking the amount due them or reducing
the rate OF interest upon il.
BEAD from the sane book the following:
"Cn the 25th of November, 1749, tue act
passed for this purpose. Stipulating that
The interest should be reduced on all the
public debt redeemable by tolc," &c.
That is, which the Government had the
"opiion of redeeming. Thus we find no
trace OF forcble reimbursement in anything
that Great Britain has done to her credi-
tors. II the Wing has Information more
reliable or more specific, we shall be pleased
TO be allowed the benefit Of 1t.