Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1899-12-01
GREAT R1TAM,sp PUBLIC DEBT
II L. Of Comparatively Modern origin
The OLD Caston HsA Been
Net Il Pay.

l 4OSoR ~ o4ANA1A
act granting to their majesties Wnlism
and Mary certain excuses or duties o.
malt liquors. These excuses or duties
were 10 be held as securities on loaus
TO theil majesties Of El.ooo,GcO sterling.
and il was hoped in this way 10 raiSs
El,ooo,ooo and carry on he war with
France. Each subscriber 10 cn amo.s :
of 500 was entitled TO rame a life
watch was to receive IN annuity during
The continuance that is. 20 name some
individual, who should as long as he
lived receive a certain percentage on
b loan every year.
AS the number of lives diminished
the aruuiiics Of dividends were 10 be
divided between the survivors uutil the
number decreased 10 seyep. The lo-a
was speedily i2keo; ard thus, oaly so
years aga. by = system akin TO tonii2e
life insurance, which the Italian, ToE;i.
had brought 20 Cardinal MazaTin -
years before. El,cCO,oCo was raised for
the government and the present IA
tionaI debi of Great Britain was inau-
gurated. That debt was Afterwards in
creased 10 about Si.OCO.CCo,CO0 and yet.
when William and Mary raised their
Ei,oOo,p0o, Louis looked across the
channel with au2zemsnt and eN-
claimed: MY li;;!e cousin, the prince
OF Orange. is fixed in the saddle"
l may be criticised for arguing with
| Mr.. kc!sh; that This loan of 1893 was
the foundation Of the national debt of
EnElsnd. / I'm aware that an eminent
English judge has bestowed the honor
of an &C; of 1897. but | do not; see how
he can ignore thai; OF 90. And l am
aware, too. that Mr. Macaulay says:
There cau'be no greater error than
10 imagine the device of meeting ,hs
e~Sigencies of the state by loan was i'm
ported into our island by William III.
From = period of imnemo5ial Antiquity
il has been the practice of every E2g-
lish government to contract debts.
What Tie revolution introduced was the
practice Of honestly paying chem"
Tut ii seems 20 me that Mr.. Macaulay
mus; have been swayeG by a feeling of
iDsu!ar pride when lie made this state
nen:. lie admits that the previous
practice Of the government had not
been 10 Pay and i; seems TO me that
,ae previous so-called debts were moth
iIg bat tXio:.:ous and robbe-ies.
For Instance, the wife of Hugh de
Neville paid 200 hens for n visi; TO her
husb7"'i r. prison. Richard /. forced
his .-..-,is % give up money in pro.
po.i.c@ 10 ;hcir wealth for the deliv-
france q -" Holy Sepulchre. and said
he would sci London itself rather than
give up TIE crusade.
He sold the property of the Kingdom.
and. On mis- return. took il all back on
= ia IA. 49,. l.. - 1T. -
ALLEVIATE il. John imprisoned the mis-
tresses OF the priests TO extori money
from them. Henry III. seized property
and borrowed largely, promising high
rates OF interest. promises which par
Lament refused 10 raiify. Edward |.
took the money and plate of the monas-
tcries and churches. feigniEg q voyage
TO the holy land, and when he had coll
lected the funds refused to 20.
Richard II. pawred the crOwn jewels.
Edward ~, who was called the b.-d-
soonest fax gatherer, kissed a widow
who gave more than was c.-"c:gd.
w~hereupop she doubled the 30. - 80
pec;ation of 4 second kiss. =. r-. vi.
was 4 noted Tobber. Elizal. ..c,.d
large sums for New Yea. and
loans, and, when she hal .s AIN
she needed. relnaned II t. ....--.
Mt seven par cent. a'th, 200 ..ll
ihctg 10 i".. est. # j. irv. ~
in lC:.. r-:.r- raised eI..O . .gr -
Duica war wa practically c,=apel.qd
to leave one-ha!f Of this sum al in
terest.
And this has been called the origin
Of the English debt. But the king APP
propriated oDe-haIf OF the amount he
owed and promised TO pay the other half
only under compulsion. Thus il would
SEEM Mr.. Francis says, "the e%Schequer
of the early monarchs was in the hands
OF the people; that of Henry VIII. in
the suppressed inconsistencies; Elizabeth
in the corporations, and Charles II.
wherever he could find it,"
In I'LL. about Is years after the E1,-
10000 loan of william and Mary, the
father OF Alexander Pope. tie poet, died.
leaving the remnant OF his diminished
savings.hoarded in a chest, because in
his day there was no convenient secu-
riiy in which a prudent man could in
vest his money. The old man had re-
tired many years before with c2O,O 900
in a strong box, and he bad been spend
no va Ohib' "ulIe ueElNlDR no pTOit
from IT., because he could not get an
income from his money and at the "a M
time have it available. Money had
been scarce, and no large amount of
II had been seeking investment.
A'little while before the death OF Mr..
Pope, the income of an eminent mer-
chant was quoted at G 400 per annum,
and that OF another, not quite so dis
tinguished, was estimated at G2OO.
True, n good deal was locked up in
the strong boxes Of the goldsmiths, on
which n sort OF check could he drawn,
but living on the income Of personal
property was then practically unknown.
The necessity. however, had not arisen.
n great deal Of money had accumulated
in the money chests, and the little gov
eminent loan, which was soon in
creased, vas n small channel through
which to empty the strong boxes OF
England into the current 81 remuncra-
tive Observation-Disclosures Magazine.
There Is always good fishing at the
duke OF R~ichinonG's place. Gordon cas-
tie. and Lady Caroline Gordon Leuox.
who acts us hostess for her brother, Is
quite an cxpcr; with the rod.
Lord Carnarvon is n good shot. and
recently he gave O party for the prince