Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1902-04-26
GREAT BRITAIH'S DEBT
Why It Has Never Borrowed
In Time OF Peace.
STRIKING CONTRAST TO OUR OWN

$1OO,OOO,OOO Per Annum to Pay For
the Napoleonic Wars-sir Michael
: - Hielzs-Rsaeh,s Gleemy View of Flu
ture Public Expenditure.
The recent announcement Of a new
consols loan of 932,OOO,000 marks the
! fifth large borrowing operation Of the
British government since the Trans
vaal war began. In view Of the magni-
tude of this borrowing in the last three
years-the total, including the new pro-
posals, footing up G146, OOO,000-it will
be interesting to review the history Of
Great Britain's debt and contrast that
history with our own, says the, New
York Evening Post.
Unlike the continental states-whose
public debts have largely been created
in time Of peace to make good perpetu-
al deficits in revenue-England has in
reality never contracted permanent
debt except to pay for war. Its excel
lent budget system and the fact that
annual revenue in time of peace has
rarely exceeded expenditure have made
this possible. In the twenty years pre-
war there were only three years when
the exchequer's receipts fell below dis
bursements. The sum Of those three
deficits Gin 1894, 1886 and 1885 was
only G3,S61 600, whereas the sum of the
SURPRISES in the other years of the Sc
ries was G22, 900, or an average Of |
more than S5,0OOOOO surplus annually. |
1t is also an interesting fact to notice |
| that in every one of the twenty years |
'eferred to, except 1886, 1898 and 1894, |
Great Britain's actual revenue exceed |
ed the eZchequer's estimate of twelve |
months before, while yearly e1pendi- |
| ture prior to 1901 has never but once |
come up to the estimate. III this pre-
sents a striking contrast to the history |
| of our own public finances for exam
pie.
Great Britain is sill paying interest
to the amount Of more than $10O,O0O,-
900 annually on the debt created dur
ing the wars with Napoleon. At the
outbreak Of the war with France in
1892 the British public debt was $780,
663, 421. At the signing of the peace
of Paris in 1915 it was 1851, O39,O49
AS the total outstanding debt was
G62S, 97S, 1913 before the Boer war bor-
rowings began it will be seen at a
glance that the burden Of the great
continental struggle still rests heavily
on the backs of the British taxpayer,
for the only addition to the mass of
debt up to 1900 was some E33, 100000
raised to meet the expenses Of the
Crimean war.
Between 1915 and 1854, when the
Crimean war broke out, Great Britain
redeemed f56,812.000 Of it's debt, an
average annual reduction of 81, 1O1, 800.
In the period between 1857, when that
war ended, and 1899, when the Boer
campaigns began, the decrease was
f2OS, 1854, an average annual re-
demption of $23,13OO0O. AS a matter
Of fact redemptions for the sinking
fund had been growing larger and
larger on the eve of the Trans7aal
war. In April, 1899, the eXchequer an
nounced an appropriation Of e., 80O,OOO,
or $29,OOO,O00 for the years contribu-
ton to the sinking fund. Since then,
as is we'll known, purchases for the
sinking fund have been suspended.
This maximum annual debt redemp-
ton Of $29, 100000, of which Mr. Bal
four at the time complained as a waste
Of money, cuts no great figure beside
our own treasury's efforts in that line,
Even in the fiscal year 1901 our gov
eminent bought in some $36OOO,00O of
it's outstanding bonds. In the fiscal
- re- iIoto
ing debt by $71,OOO,OO0, in 1887 by no
less than $124,OOO,OOO and in the year
ending July 80, 1882, there was a slash
ing cut of SITS, 100000. In the twelve
years between 1879 and 1891 our out
standing debt was reduced S1,197,0OO,-
600, an average Of very nearly $780,
100000 annually. But while this coun-
try can thus claim a record in debt re-
demption far surprising anything yet
done by the British treasury it cannot
claim the exchequers immunity from
large bond issues to meet deficits in an
nual revenue.
Great Britatn's moves toward re-
trenchment and debt redemption when
the war outlay is over will be matter
of great interest The process will not
be altogether simple. Sir Michael
Hicks Beach himself spoke in parlia-
ment exactly year ago as follows:
1 am afraid it is not only war deficit.
] am afraid the real difficulty before US Is
not so much the cost of the war in South
Africa and China as the increase OF what
may be called our ordinary expenditure
After a reference to the increase Of
taxation last year he went on to say:
What was that taxation imposed for?
Not for ordinary expenditure, but for war I
services. 1t was proposed, and it was in
tended by the house to be additional taxa I
ton for war expenditure. We all hoped
and expected that at the end of the war 1t
could be RENTED, but since then our Or
binary expenditure, apart from the war,