FINANCIAL NOTES.
It is almost common ground among those who have given consideration to the matter that nothing has done more to confirm the good relations—founded on mutual esteem—between the United States and ourselves, and nothing, certainly, has done more to strengthen our general credit than the funding of our Debt to that country early in the present year. It is regrettable, therefore, even in these days of Elections, when excuses must be made for political feeling, that papers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, which pretend adherence to the Conservative cause, should be endeavouring to persuade the masses of the people that their interests have in some way been injured by the arrangement made by Mr. Baldwin. There is even the insinuation that but for the arrangement which involves an annual remittance on our part of something like £50,000,000 across the Atlantic there might be more funds in hand for the relief of the Labour problem. * * * * The argument, however, utterly ignores the actual facts of the case. When our Debt to America was funded it did not increase, but it lessened the sums which we have immediately to send to America. If the Debt had not been funded this year one of two things must have resulted : either we must have been declared de- faulters on our obligations, or we must have continued to operate under the arrangement entered into by the United States with the Coalition Government—namely, that until the Debt was funded interest was payable at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum. This latter arrange- ment would have involved a larger payment for interest alone than we are now making for interest and sinking fund included, the Debt having been funded on the lines of 3 per cent. interest for the first ten years and 81 per cent. thereafter. Attacks on the Prime Minister along these lines are unworthy even of Election politics, and the City has very carefully noted them. * * * As indicating the bad,: held in some quarters, at all events, that trade conditions may have seen their worst, business in Industrial shares tends quietly to increase, and, on the whole, the movement in prices is upwards. Even hotel shares, which for a long time past have been at a very low level, have participated of late in this rallying tendency, most of the leading groups showing quite a fair advance, and the better re3ults disclosed at the recent meeting of the Hotel Cecil, Limited, are indicative of the improvement which has also taken place in some other directions.
A. W. K. A. W. K.
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