The latest Parliamentary return in regard to the National Debt
is extremely interesting. The gross liabilities of the State for the year which ended on March 31st, 1894, were E669,104,024, and these were reduced in the succeeding twelve months by 28,943,417, so that on March 31st, 1895, the liabilities stood at 2660,160,607. In 1836 the gross liabilities of the nation. were 2853,473,597. The expenditure charged against the public revenue on account of the National Debt, including both interest and repayment of capital, has been reduced from 228,666,153 in 1836 to 224,977,912 in 1895. This, how- ever, is a misleading comparison, because in 1836 the sum applied to the service of the Debt was almost entirely spent in paying interest. Now over 26,000,000 goes every year to redeem capital. Another fact remains to be noticed. The nation possesses in the Suez Canal shares a saleable asset valued at 224,000,000. The net liabilities of the State are, therefore, reduced by this amount.
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