158 
The whole subject is full of interest and 
of important results when the records are 
looked at upon a broad-fact base, and without 
any of the narrow and superficial picking-out 
of this or that year for the purpose of sup 
porting a pre-conceived opinion. The latter 
method has, unfortunately, become so common 
in this country during the last four years of 
. discussion upon matters of trade, that one 
welcomes any opportunity that comes to 
enable any section of trade to be dealt with 
in a full and sound way. And as regards 
the special purpose of this present investiga 
tion, I am pleased to be able to say that the 
large mass of facts which have been examined 
and condensed do support the sound principle 
of the Geographical Distribution of Capital. 
If it be admitted, as I think it must, that 
the trade condition of a country has a pre 
dominant and widespread influence upon the 
value of the capital securities of that country, 
then it seems to me that the principle of the 
distribution of capital-investment in various 
parts of the world must tend towards the 
safe and profitable investment of capital, and 
must go a long way to remove from capital- 
investment the unsuspected element of specu 
lation that comes in when capital is invested