War Service Homes. The corresponding figures for 1022 were 
£333,000,000 and £32,000,000, respectively, so that during the 
six years from 1922 to 1928 deadweight War Debt was reduced 
by £40,000,000 and Works Debt was increased by £47,000,000. 
Tt is, of course, only the latter that the community can expect 
to be represented by self-supporting undertakings providing their 
own interest or by assets giving a service equivalent to the 
corresponding interest paid in respect of them out of the proceeds 
of taxation. The States have no War Debt, for though it may 
be true that their post-war resettlement schemes were a direct 
consequence of the war, they were, at least in their inception, 
intended to be self-supporting. The total debt of the States in 
1922 was approximately £519,000,000, and has, therefore, in- 
creased by some £204,000,000 in the six years from 1922 to 1928. 
The position as regards the interest payable, the amount thereof 
available from revenue-producing assets and the balance which had 
to be covered from taxation, in respect of the Commonwealth 
and the States’ debt respectively, for the years 1921-22 and 1926-27 
(the latest year for which figures are available), is set out in 
tabular form hereunder :— 
1921-22— 
Commonwealth oe 
States ... ven 
Total .. 
1926-27 — 
Commonwealth 
Qtates ... 
Total 
Interest Payable. 
Amount 
Available from 
Revenue- 
nroducinge Assets 
Balance Covered 
by Taxation. 
18,976,803 
20.807 026 
x 
876,202 
15,038.350 
£ 
18,100,601 
5.768.676 
29.783.829 
15.914. 552 
23.869.277 
20,749,118 |, 2,768,467 
31.373.271 | 91661.522 
£9 199 384 21499.089 |  97892.395 
14. Tt will be seen that while the total interest charge in respect 
of the Commonwealth debt increased by about £1,800,000 during 
the five years, the amount of it which had to be provided by 
taxation, notwithstanding the change referred to above in the 
relation between deadweight War Debt and Works Debt, was 
reduced only by about £120,000. 
15. The position is more serious in regard to the combined debt 
of the States. The proportion of the interest payable which was 
available from revenue-producing assets fell and, correspondingly, 
the proportion covered by taxation rose by 3.2 per cent. during 
the five years. The amount covered by taxation rose by 68 per 
~ent. (from £5.786.676 to £9.711.749). while the total interest