The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1902-05-01
GREAT BRITAla'S DEBT.
Why II fzas Never Borrowed
In Time at Peace.
Sticking CONTRAST no OR OWN

nritials Taxpayers Still soaatrilufirag
a1oo,oooso3o Per A1zatsan to Pav For
the NapoIeonfe yvars--sir Michael
f1aeExa-T 3eacla's gloomy view DC En-
sure PuRlie Expenditure.
The recent announcement OF a new
consols loan Of $50 000,00O marks the
fifth large borrowing operation Of atle
British government since~ the Trans
Yaal war began. Iii view of the nls3gni-
tude OF this borrowing in the last three
years the total, Including the new pro-
posals, footing up Gl46, 600, 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. It's 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-
cedinS the outbreak Of the Transyaal
war there were only three years when
the e1chequer's receipts fell below dis
bursements. The sum of those three
deficits lin 1894, 1886 and 1889 was
only f3,S61 900, whereas the sum of the
surpluses in the other years Of the Sc
ries was f22, 720, 900, OF. an average of
more than $5,000,OO0 surplus annually.
1t is also an interesting fact to notice
that in every one of the twenty years
referred to. except 1886, 1893 and 1894,
Great Britain's actual revenue exceed
ed the exchequer's estimate of twelve
months before, while yearly expendi-
ture prior to 1901 has never but once
come up to the estimate. All this pre-
sents q striking contrast to the history
Of our own public finances for exam
pie.
Great Britain is still paying interest
to the amount of more than 100000
900 annually on the debt created dur
ing the wars with Napoleon. At the
outbreak of the war with France in
1902 the British public debt was $780,
663, 42l. At the signing of the peace
OF Paris in 1915 it was 1851 .039, 049.
AS the total outstanding debt was
E62S. 9TS, 1888 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 $4,000, 900,
raised to meet the expenses of the
Crimean war.
Between 1915 and 1851. when the
Crimean war broke out. Great Britain
redeemed f5C.812.000 OF its debt, an
average annual reduction of 7,101,5 800.
In the period between 1851, when that
war ended, and 1899, when the Boer
campaigns began, the decrease was
ZOOS, 165,S14. an average annual re-
demption of S23. 10000. AS matter
of fact reGemptions for the sinking
fund had been growing larger and
larger on the eve of the Transvaal
war. In April, 1899, the .exchequer an
nounced an appropriation Of f5.S00,0OO.-
or $29,000O00 for the years contribu-
ton to the sinking fund. Since then,
as is well known, purchases for the
sinking fund have been suspended.
This maximum annual debt redemp-
ton of S29,OO0,00O, Of which Mr.. Bal
four at the time complained as 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 $36,OOO,OOO OF
its outstanding bonds. In the fiscal
year 1888 it reduced it's interest bear
ing debt by $71.O0O,OOO, in 1887 by no
less than $124 100000 and in the year
ending July 80, 1882, there was a slash
ing cut Of SITE. 5000, 900. In the twelve
years between 1879 and 1891 our out
standing debt was reduced 1,187, OOO,-
600, an average Of very nearly $1OOs-
100000 annually. But while this cOun-
try can thus claim a record in debt re-
ademption far surprising anything yet
done by the British treasury it cannot
claim the exchequer's immunity from
large bond issues to meet deficits in an
nual revenue
Great Britain'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:
am afraid it is not only war deficit.
I 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
services. 1t was proposed, and 1t was in
tended by the house to be additional taxa
ton for war expenditure. We all hoped
and expected that at the end Of the war it
could be RENTED, but since then our or
binary expenditure, apart from the war,
has enormously increased, and, looking to
the way in which the increase Is going on,
supposing the war come to an end three