AUSTRALIA DURING THE WAR 169 
inevitably by the phase of declension, and it is here that an 
explanation must be sought rather than in world business 
conditions. 
Looked at in this light the figures representing new debt and 
interest as shown in the following table, and the relation be- 
taveen them as disclosed by the accompanying graph, help to 
TABLE XXXIX 
Australian Public Debt held Abroadt 
(In Millions Sterling) 
Year. 
1914 . 
1915 . 
1916 . 
1917 . 
i918 . 
1919 . 
1920 . 
1921 . 
1922 . 
1923 . 
1924 . 
1925 . ’ 
1926 . ‘ 
1927 . 3 
1928 . 
COMMONWEALTH. 
Amount. | Interest. 
I. II. 
3-5 
18-3 
10-1 
58-4 
102-6 
106-1 
111-7 
117-3 
(31-3 
|26-2 
142-5 
(46-1 
155-9 
168-2 
06-1 
0-16 | 
0-779 
1-764 
2-790 
5-067 
5-268 | 
5-546 
5-993 
5-678 
8-414 
7-248 
7-409 
7-950 
8-457 
10-622 
STATES. 
Amount. | Interest. 
111. IV. 
224-1 
229-2 
232-0 
243-7 
261-1 
258-2 
266-3 
272-0 
300-3 
309-2 
339-6 
336-9 
359-2 
374-9 
416-7 
8-068 
8-480 
8-587 
9-261 
10-182 
10-328 
11-717 
12-240 
13-812 
"4-378 
15-957 
16-339 
17-601 
18-370 
20-466 
Total 
interest. 
y. 
8-215 
9-259 
10-350 
12-051 
15-249 
15-596 
7-263 
18-233 
20-490 
20-792 
23-205 
23-748 
25-561 
26-827 
31-088 
New debt 
net.? 
VI. 
19-666 
6-7 
2-7 
18-4 
19-4 
2-2 
10-8 
13-4 
40-3 
79 
41-6 
2-6 
40-4 
11-7 
54-3 
explain the prosperity of war-time as they do the adversity of 
peace. In particular, attention is to be directed not so much to 
the high average of overseas borrowing as to the spasmodic 
character of this process of capital injection. The abrupt 
changes from plenty to dearth, wave upon wave as it were, 
precluded anything like an effective assimilation of the loan 
money, and strained the Australian financial system badly in 
the process. If ever there is to be found support for the ‘orderly 
marketing of loans’ it is surely in the records of Australian 
public borrowing since 1914. 
An examination of the facts of Australian public indebtedness 
Commonwealth Finance Bulletins, Nos. 11 and 18. 
? Allowing for duplications in columns I and ITI for loans raised by Common- 
wealth for the various States. 
3710