A BAD BLOW.
Latterly, however, we have received, as it were, a blow in two directions. Our visible adverse trade balance has remained great, while by reason of defaults of many of the foreign countries, our invisible exports represented by interest due to us have been gravely encroached. upon. Not only, however, have interest payments to us declined, but in connexion with the great War we have incurred a debt to the United States, the annual service of which is well over £30,000,000, thus adding to what may be described as our invisible imports. Moreover, the stagna- tion of trade has enormously reduced our invisible exports in the shape of freights, and latterly there has also been a reduction in the amount of financial and other services rendered by us to foreign countries, the net result being a substantial actual adverse balance.
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