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  supporting ­
  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  investigation, ­
  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  predominant ­
  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  capitalinvestment
  the  unsuspected  element  of  speculation ­
  that  comes  in  when  capital  is  invested