But we are discussing internal demands only, and as, so long as gold does not leave the country, it is merely a question of certain sums flowing from the London money market and drifting back to it again, this ebb and flow, which is shown by the various ups and downs occurring from time to time in the items of the Bank return, does not create any apprehension. Indeed, these movements occur so regularly at certain times of the year that large borrowers often anticipate them in order that they may tide over such periods with the minimum of inconvenience. It is, however, otherwise when gold is leaving the country in large quantities in order to settle the balance of our indebtedness to other nations, for that _may_ not come back. How it is again enticed to these shores I will endeavour to explain. We now come to a foreign drain of gold; and this depletion of the currency, we know, flows from the store at the Bank of England into the hands of the foreign creditors of the nation. We export to, and import from, other nations on a gigantic scale, and as our imports are invariably in excess of our exports, it follows that the balance of indebtedness on this score is always very considerably against us; but there are other debts due to this country which from time to time turn the balance in favour of England, and the prices quoted for bills on the various Exchanges are the indexes which tell us whether gold is likely to be either received from, or sent to, the great commercial centres of the world. Other debts due to this country have been mentioned--debts which either tend to reduce or turn in our favour the balance we owe to foreign countries. England has immense sums invested in foreign securities, and the interest received therefrom acts in this direction. So, too, does the huge sum earned by her ships in the shape of freights. Then, again, London, still earns a large amount in the shape of commissions, even if her position as the Clearing House of the world is now less powerful than formerly, owing to large accumulations of capital in other centres. On the other hand a considerable amount of foreign capital is invested in English securities, which, when sold on the Stock Exchange, give the foreigner a claim on our stock of gold; and though we, by similar sales of foreign securities, can prevent this temporary drain of specie, the enormous dealings in stocks and shares on the various Exchanges are most keenly watched by the directors of the Bank of England, lest huge realisations of British securities by foreigners should drain the Bank of its gold, with which international indebtedness can alone be settled.