Driving: away Capital.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2682, 11 December 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

Driving: away Capital.

A London paper, in commenting on tho effect of tho policy of the Asquith Administration! on home investments, says: In Consols alone the depreciation in capital value under tho present Government has been more than fifty millions. It is probable that tho loss ujpon homo securities would be found, if worked out, to represent a figure huge enough- to go a long way towards paying off the National Debt. This itself is striking enough, w. it is not the whole- of the tale. W* may mnko some estimate of the mischief inflicted upon existing investments, but we can never know to what oxtent—and it must be enormous—the dread of Ministerial policy has prevented the expansion of present undortakings and the foundation of fresh entereos. Remember that there has prevailed a period of cheap money; had it not -been for the vehemence of Air. Moyd-Georgo’s predatory campaign ana tho threats of his socialistic followers or allies as to the unlimited lengths to which' direct legislative plunder will be carried in the 'future, the prospects of national business would be brighter at this moment than for years past. As it is, tho Chancellor of the Exchequer makes (people who have money to invest anxious to carry abroad every penny thoy can transfer. In the first nine months of this year the mass of now capital raised was larger than in the corresponding period of tho year before. The colossal sum of noarly €150,000,000 was found for various forms of enterprise, and of that stupendous amount not a farthing went into the railways. And that is not the worst. Six-sovoniths of the whole vast sum simply left tho country. Capital to the tune of over £130,000,000 was carried away. Not a single shilling ■was left in this country for the purpose of any British undertaking whatever, old or new. Any thoughtful foreign observer, sufficiently equipped, to institute a just comparison between our economic conditions and those of competitive countries, might well consider us an almost domentod nation. Much of the money goes to the outer Empire, especially to Canada, and wo do not grudge it in that application. But, more than half the whole amount went ■to foreign countries, and millions upon millions of these oversea investments —yes, some hundreds of millions, taking the 'whole period since the general oloctionr-yreprcwent nothing but the determination of capital to* fly the country, rather than tolerate the treatment meted out to employers and investors who strive to keep money at home, and are penalised tor patriotism • ' , '