A FORMIDABLE TASK.
The task, however, before Mr. Neville Chamberlain was concerned with a 5 per cent. Loan totalling £2,087,000,000, a Loan, moreover, which the Government was compelled to redeem not later than 1947 so that in many ways the existence of the Loan was a barrier to an improvement in the national credit. By many financial experts it was considered that the conversion must necessarily take place in piecemeal fashion because, so it was argued, the Chancellor dared not run the risk of being called upon to repay the whole of the Loan in the case of his conversion scheme being unacceptable. And if only a few months before the actual conversion took place it had been known that the Government would take the course of bringing out a scheme to convert 5 per cents. into 31 per cents. with determination to repay all who objected to the terms, the proposal would have been regarded as a most hazardous one. Nevertheless, the Government decided to take the bold course and at the same time to take advantage of the extreme ease in money which was driving up the value of investment securities. And the result has abundantly justified the measure itself and the means adopted to ensure success.
Previous page
