THE BALANCE OF INDEBTEDNESS, 1918-28 205 
freight percentage would, of course, give the same freight 
charge. 
Freight rates for the years in question broke away sharply 
from the high rates prevailing between 1915 and 1919. An 
abrupt fall of more than 60 per cent. took place in 1921, followed 
by a further gradual decline of 30 per cent. by 1925. For the 
post-war period it is now possible to present the cost of inward 
freight with some certainty. (See Table XLIV.) 
Insurance. Nothing need be added to what was said in 
Chapter XII upon the method of computing the charges for 
insurance of inward cargoes. We can therefore proceed to 
estimate the cost of insurance in accordance with the method 
there indicated. 
Tare XLV 
Insurance on Australian Imports 
Year. 
1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 
1924 
1925 
1926 
1927 
1G98 
Imports at 
insurance 
value. 
Lam 
110-058 
172-647 
107-809 
137-029 
146-665 
162-114 
158-007 
171-635 
152.802 
Rate of 
insurance 
per cent. 
Cost of 
insurance. 
em 
0-412 
0-647 
0-405 
0-513 
0-650 
0-609 
0-594 
0-651 
J-576 
Tourist Expenditures. In recent years tourist expenditures 
have acquired considerable interest, not merely by reason of 
bheir effect upon the balance of international indebtedness, but 
also because of the comparative estimates which have been made 
concerning the amount of travel undertaken by the people of 
different nations. The estimates here made indicate that fewer 
Australians go abroad now than before the war, despite popular 
opinion to the contrary. The average number of passages taken 
out by Australians in the nine years previous to 1914 was, in 
round figures, 49,000. The corresponding figure for the nine 
post-war years is approximately 44,000. Owing, however, to 
the decline in the value of the pound in the later period, the 
present expenditures make a much larger showing than formerly.