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286 ECtl1ll0MIC. INQUIRIES AND STUDIES
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other articles. one thing or the other. at any rate. than
we had ten years ago. and we must have more in the
aggregate. including securities both at hom~ and
abroad. than we had at the beginning of the penod.
I t is especially to be observed that the increase of
20 per cent. is at a much greater rate than the.increase
of population in the period. which could not have been
more than about 10 per cent. There is, consequently,
an increase of the total capital per head as well as an
absolute increase of the amount of capital, not consider-
ing the increase of the numbers of the people.
The Income Tax returns are not in such a form as
to show separately the whole income derived from
foreign investments, but I believe, if inquiry were
made, and the whole income from foreign investments
could be stated separately, it would not appear that the
foreign capital itself has actually been diminished.
The inquiry, however, would require a greal deal of
elaboration. What we can say with certainty is, that
there is nothing on the face of the figures to indicate
any material diminution of our foreign investments
such as would be implied if there were any diminution
in amount to correspond to the excess of imports over
exports.
The matter might be left at this point, but, of course,
there are further observations to be made, as a wrong
idea of this nature when once it gets into people's minds
is not easily eradicated. It is, therefore, expedient once
more to point out that the excess of imports itself, as a
real expression of the balance of our trading transac-
tions with other countries, is not correct, and that, in
any case, a certain large excess is to be expected as the
expression of the payment of interest on previous in-
vestments that we have made abroad. As regards the
first point, that the excess of imports is not the same
thing as the balance of our trading transactions with
foreign countries, I need only refer to what I have
urged before as to the exports not including the freight
. and other charges which become due to us in the course