The war crisis has been invaluable in teaching us deep lessons. Had there been machinery for the ready provision of legal tender currency the moment the war was foreseen, a moratorium might have been unnecessary, with all its complications and confusion. A prolonged Bank holiday, with its inconveniences, might likewise have been obviated. The crisis has shown enlightened nations how terrible the risks and consequences of war are. It has been invaluable in revealing the spiritual, material, and financial strength of Great Britain and the Empire, and in setting up precedents for future guidance in the financial as well as in the military and commercial spheres. And the heavy financial burdens shouldered by the nation may not in the long run be so heavy as some fear. APPENDIX A The following pre-war Bank of England return, of June 24th, 1914, may be regarded as a normal return, and it can be compared with the abnormal return appearing in Chapter IX. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. £ £ Notes issued 56,753,275 | Government debt 11,015,100 | Other securities 7,434,900 | Gold coin and bullion 38,303,275 ---------- | ---------- 56,753,275 | 56,753,275 ========== | ========== BANKING DEPARTMENT. £ £ Proprietors’ capital 14,553,000 | Government securities 11,046,570 Rest 3,160,254 | Other securities 39,994,619 Public deposits 18,074,214 | Notes 28,050,150 Other deposits 44,915,911 | Gold and silver coin 1,624,988 Seven-day and other | bills 12,948 | ---------- | ---------- 80,716,327 | 80,716,327 ========== | ========== The proportion of the reserve this week was 47⅛ per cent. APPENDIX B MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN AND MR. LLOYD GEORGE ON GOLD RESERVES While this book was in the press, interesting views upon the note currency and the gold reserves were expressed in the House of Commons by Mr. Austen Chamberlain and Mr. Lloyd George. They coincide largely with my own views. The opinions were expressed during the discussion on February 23rd on the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement on the financial arrangements made with France and Russia. Mr. Austen Chamberlain said, to quote from the report in the _Morning Post_:--