But here we must mention the striking Report—the fourth of
its series—issued as a White Paper on Wednesday by the Committeo of Public Accounts. The Committee do not hesitate to speak of the possibility of national bankruptcy. They declare that nothing will ensure the necessary degree of econcmy but a return to the "almost forgotten tradition" established by Mr. Gladstone and carried on by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. *Under those statesmen the policy of the State was " by saving numerous pence to spend effective pounds." It is pointed out that since their day there has grown up a feeling that "small expenses do not matter." After all, the old proverbs are always true. If they were not true, they would not have become 1roverbe. None is more true than the saying that if you take
care of the pence, the pounds will take care of themselves. It is true because it embodies a profound metaphysical fact. Economy postulates a certain habit of mind, and care for email things is the chief symptom of the existence of that habit.
