And in the face of these facts we are asked to believe that we are plunging yearly into disaster!
The figures of the last twenty-seven years are still more startling.
| In 1854 our imports amounted to | £152,389,053 |
| In 1880, with interruptions, they had mounted to | 411,229,565 |
| In 1854 our exports amounted to | 115,821,092 |
| In 1880, with interruptions, they had mounted to | 286,414,466 |
The totals for these twenty-seven years are:—
| Imports | £7,626,503,082 |
| Exports | 5,883,766,072 |
| Excess of imports | 1,742,737,010 |
The bullion records before me show that from 1860 to 1880 inclusive, we imported, on balance, £83,000,000, or at the rate of about four millions a year. I have no figures for previous years, but we may reckon, from common knowledge, that as from 1854 to 1859 gold flowed into this country in greater quantities, and remained here in larger quantities than since, probably eight millions a year remained here on balance; so that for the whole twenty-seven years we probably retained £131,000,000 of it.
We will now look at the foreign loan and investment account for this period.
As before stated, we receive by way of interest an annual sum of fifty-five millions.
This capitalised at 4½ per cent. makes over 1,200 millions. And assuming that during the period in question we acquired only one-half of these bonds, &c., the account will stand thus for John Bull:—
| He has imported and appropriated of the world's products, on balance | £1,742,737,010 |
| He has pocketed in bullion, on balance | 131,000,000 |
| He has made Creation his debtor on balance | 600,000,000 |
| 2,473,737,010 |
In the course of these twenty-seven years, therefore, we seem to have got hold of the world's products to the amount
