Pessimists here are apt to point with special misgiving to
the serious nature of our financial position. They may be right to show alarm, but at any rate many Continental nations are in a far worse condition. In Germany, even in a period of profound peace, there will be, it is calculated, a deficit of some 25,000,000 next year, while Holland and Switzerland have also deficits. France, again, has a deficit of over e6,000,000, though about half of this is due to redemption of Debt. M. Caillaux, the Finance Minister, in his speech in the Chamber on Monday, in dealing with the deficit, pointed out that it would only be 2-.2,000,000 next year, and quaintly gloried in deficits as a sign of good administration. "If deficits were permanent they would simply prove that taxes had been remitted." That is a delightful variant on Artemus Ward's Let us be prudent and economical and live within our means, even if we have to borrow the money to do it with." M. Caillaux did, not deal with the recent increase in the in- debtedness of France, but mentioned incidentally that the total figure was now thirty milliards of francs,—i.e., 21,200,000,000. The indebtedness of the German Empire, it may be mentioned in this context, is growing with appalling rapidity. It was only 236,000,000 when fourteen years ago the present Emperor mounted the throne. It is now nearly 2150,000,000. Germany as a whole is, however, not very heavily burdened with Debt. The total German Debt is under 2680,000,000. That is a much lighter burden than that of France, and is spread over a much larger, if not a richer, community.
