222 ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES

included, as such, in the published totals of international
trade movements, but the consideration of these invisible
elements in the trade enables us to understand that, in
spite of appearances, the fact that a country pays by its
exports for its imports, and receives in its imports the
payment for its exports, remains. It is incapable of being
disproved. When payment cannot be otherwise made, a
shipment of bullion becomes necessary, and there is a
constant movement of bullion to and fro between countries,
a movement mainly due to the necessity of meeting a
balance of indebtedness on other accounts.
The net result of the trade movement, and of the other
international obligations of a country, is mainly seen in the
changes of the second of the items in our table. A country
may be steadily acquiring evidences of the indebtedness of
other nations to it, or of its ownership of property situated
abroad, or the opposite may be the case. At one time
foreign capital was being largely invested in the development
of American resources. French capital has recently been
poured into Russia in considerable volume. Undeveloped
countries add to their indebtedness, generally speaking, the
opposite being usually the case with countries having highly
developed industries. These latter usually accumulate
capital faster than their own investment opportunities can
readily absorb, and hence are ready to lend in other
countries.
The recent movements in England and in the United
States possess considerable interest. So far as the former is
concerned, her claims for interest on investments abroad,
earnings of shipping, mercantile and banking commissions,
and earnings of her subjects in foreign countries, are all
important items, and the deductions to be made for
corresponding payments due to foreign countries are
relatively small. It is probably true that the excess of
imports has not, in most years, if in any, represented the
whole balance due, and that investments abroad have been
steadily growing, though possibly only at a slow rate at
intervals. The variation in opportunities for such investments
 is perhaps reflected in the variations of the excess of