V. THE BALANCE-SHEET OF THE ARGENTINE ACCORDING TO THE INVENTORY OF SECURITIES 349 THE INVENTORY OF MOVABLE PROPERTY OR SECURITIES——The capital represented by movable properties, stocks, bonds, shares, etc., is the only kind of capital which lends itself to statistics——The great groups of movable properties: National Funds, Railway Shares, Insurance Companies, Foreign Banks, Mortgage Companies, and agricultural and industrial undertakings. The nominal amount of capital represented by movable values—— Table of the annual revenues of the same, and the sinking fund——Division of this revenue among the different countries having capital invested in the Argentine. English capital——The importance of English investments in all branches of Argentine activity——The benefits of a reaction in favour of Argentine capital——French capital; its small value compared to English capital——German capital and its rapid increase——Approximate valuation of that portion of revenue remaining in the Argentine, and of that which goes to the various nations having capital invested in the country. THE BALANCE-SHEET——The assets are principally composed of exportation values; the liabilities, by the value of imports—— The revenue of investments exported to foreign countries, and the total of the sums expended by the Argentines abroad—— Table giving a summarised Balance-sheet and the balance in favour of the Argentine——International exchanges and the importation of gold confirm this favourable situation—— Argentine capital will presently play a more important part in the country as compared with foreign capital. CONCLUSIONS 370 INDEX 373 AUTHOR’S NOTE At the outset of this work our thanks are due to Señor J. Romero, ex-Minister of Finance, who has given us the benefit of his experience for this study of current Argentine affairs. Señor Romero is the author of the monetary law of 1881, and was responsible for the arrangement of the foreign Debt of 1892; he is to be numbered among those Ministers who have rendered, in the course of their financial administration, the greatest services to their country. We must also pay tribute to the memory of two eminent gentlemen, no longer living, whose death the Argentine deplores; who had desired, by aiding us with their advice, to be in some sort collaborators in this work, destined as it is to make popularly known to European readers the present prosperity of the Argentine Republic.