48 THE QUEENSLAND INCIDENT OF 1866
between 1905 and 1920. But the flower of prosperity faded, the
financial grass withered, immediately the streams of capital
irrigating their roots failed.
1882: The Indebtedness of the Australasian Colonies in Relation to their Resources;
Proc. vol. xiv. The Public Debt then stood as below:
Pusric Dest 18 RELATION TO WEALTH
N.S.W. . '
Victoria .
S. Australia .
Queensland .
Tasmania .
W. Australia .
Total .
Amount.
£m.
Population
Thousands.
Debt
per head.
£
Wealth,
£m.
18-9
22-6
11:5
13:1
1-9
0-4
781
882
295
227
119
32
20-35 192
23-85 181
25-45 60
46-8 41
15-88 16
12.55 | 5
684 | 2336 | 29.24 | 495
Percentage
public debt
to wealth.
31
12-4
19-1
32-0
12:0
8.0
13-8
‘ Besides the money which has been lent to our governments (including New Zealand)
more than 110 millions of English capital are even now embarked with us in private
loans: counting the commerce there are more than 260 millions of your money
placed with us, and we return you altogether 18 millions a year in the shape of
interest. One-fifth of the total amount of English capital invested throughout the
world is already embarked with us.’—Dillon Bell, op. cit,