AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL DEBT. 669 



would probably soon result in the realisation of a jwofit on 

 the capital cost. The pohcy of the Australian Governments 

 has always been to lower the rates as soon as the net revenue 

 is more than sufficient to pay interest on loans ; and in 

 accordance therewith, the remission of railway freights by the 

 Victorian Government alone during the last eight or nine 

 years is equivalent to at least £200,000 per annum, or about 

 66 per cent, of the capital cost. This aspect of the case 

 indicates that the assets are substantially sound, although a 

 large proportion of the interest has, under existing conditions, 

 to be provided for by taxation. 



I have had some difficulty in tabulating on a uniform basis 

 the amounts of loans repayable in the different colonies from 

 the present lime until 1 940, when it appears the last portion 

 of the existing debts is repayable. Some of the loans are 

 repayable at fixed dates, others by annual instalments, and 

 some are redeemable only at the option of the Government. 

 This information is embodied in the following table, which 

 shows as nearly as possible the amounts repayable in each 

 quinquennial period, commencing with 1891 : — 



