The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-04-13
THE WORLDS DEBTS.
Every Man, wcman an1 Child Gives Tho Sum cf
TWen,y Dollars.

The worlp Is so heavily I'm debt that
IL viii never be able TO get out of IL.
There is not enough gold In existence
TO settle the unpaid bills of the nations.
Altogether, they run up TO something
like six thousand million pounds sterl-
ing.
AZ a universal court OF bankruptcy
were appointed ana the whole of this
debt ordered 10 be paid by the total
population OF the world. irrespective of
age, sex. or nationality, your share
would be ca
But as a matter Of fact-assuminS
that YOU are an Engllshman, says the
London Mail--vOur debt IL much
greater than that. The unpaid bills OF
the United Kingdom amount 10 over
$3.50, 0CO 600. SO that the debt per mead
of the population is about "a los. Di-
vidod among heads of families the deDt
would be 60 each.
1t is not likely, however. that yol
will be called upon TO pay the money
The government is tightening the load
for you at the rate of five shillings =
year, 80 that i'm four years you WIZ
owe q sovereign less than now, ana III
5S years. If no other Liabilities are IN
CURED. YOU will be entirely out OF debt
tNilu the SONtlfl Nbh lif AiAf bNNANts
ing that for every five shillings PAID
on the debt l2s. Cd. IS paid in interest
on what is left. and that. besides, GipO
rs spent every week in looking after the
accounts.
The colonial debts Of the emplre-the
debts. that Is. of Canada, Australia, IN
dia, etc-nearly double the home debt,
making the total Of John Bulls indebt-
cdncss over Cl, 100 O00,0 900. Every sub
hn said
owes CO.
IL does look alarming. but think what
e really means. " the Chancellor or
the EXchequcr were to begin tomor-
row to pay off the debt OF the Empire
at a sovereign every second, and If ne
were TO live TO be hundred, he would
hardly have made any appreciable re-
duction in the sum owing. II IL were
decided TO pay off the debt i'm that way
the last sovereign would be paid about
the year 2260.
Compared with other nations, now
ever, Great Britains debt cannot be
said To- bc heavy. France owes much
more than the whole OF the British en-
pire put together Frances liabilities
amount TO one-ffth the whole debt Of
the world -cl, 100000. 1t II the
heaviest debt that has been incurred
by one nation since the world began,
population.
civilization is, indeed. n costly lux
ury. Until II few years ago China had
no debt at all. and though she has been
borrowing lately on large scale her
total Indebtedness is only half a crown
per head.
Another y-Siam-manageS to
get along on G2000, 900 "a year without
incurring any debt at all. Russia, on
the other hand. owes e720,000,050 SO
that she helps considerably TO swell the
enormous interest which the nat!oni
pay every year. This amounts TO E200,-
600. 600 per annum. of half "A crown for
every man, woman and child on tho
globe. or our colonies India is moss
heavily in debt. owing 100000 900. al
though her immense population reduceu
the amount per head to 6s. Canada
owes G10 per head C so, 600 900: New
South Wales, G50,OOo,OOO, and Victoria
c4S, 900. 600
1t is interesting 10 set out the in
debtedness OF the world according to
nationality. and working out the fig
urps i'm this WaV we find that.