INDEBTEDNESS FROM 1900 TO 1913 153 
III. Capital Investments and Interest Payments. 
After 1850 the practice of floating Australian loans in London 
almost eliminated domestic loans. But the stoppage of the flow 
of capital from Great Britain after 1893 and the increasing 
surplus of domestic capital led, during the period after 1900, to 
the placing of many redemption and other loans entirely within 
Australia. This is, indeed, the outstanding financial feature of 
Tape XXXII 
Government Loans raised and Interest Payable Abroad 1 
Year. 
1901 
1902 
1903 . 
1904 . 
19056 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 . 
1911 . 
1912 . : 
1913 
Loans 
raised. 
£m. 
5-2 
6-7 
5-0 
1-7 
0-7 
2-0 | 
5-1 
2-@ 
6-8 
L 4 
Total held 
in London. 
£m. 
174-8 
181-5 
186-5 
188-2 
188-9 
190-9 
185-6 
183-3 
189-4 
192-0 
183-2 
190-0 
204-4. 
Average rate 
on debt 
per cent. 
3-68 
3-64 
3-78 
3-62 
3-63 
3-63 
3-60 
3-60 
3-58 
3.57 
3-57 | 
3:67 
9.60 
Interest 
payable 
abroad. 
£m. 
6-433 
6-608 
6-775 
6-805 
6-847 
6-911 
6-687 
6-591 
8-771 
6-855 
8-544 
6-775 
7.951 
the first decade of the Commonwealth ; and there is little doubt 
that the rapid increase in domestic holdings of Australian govern- 
ment securities has done much to increase confidence overseas 
in these loans. Between 1900 and 1913 the portion of the public 
debt raised in London increased from £174-8 millions to £204-4 
millions, while the portion raised in Australia rose from £288 to 
£90-1 millions. In other words the proportion of the public debt 
raised at home rose from 14-1 to 30-5 per cent., in itself some 
indication that the capital previously borrowed was largely 
reproductive. 
By comparison with Lehfeldt’s estimate of the return on 
large colonial investments (Table XXXV) it will be seen that 
Australia had borrowed very advantageously, despite the fact 
that interest rates were relatively high until 1890. By 1900 the 
1 Pinance Bulletins, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. 
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