238 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1902. 



down in the Government bill, which was calcu- 

 lated still further to hinder education, greatly de- 

 crease the rates, inflict injustice, and create relig- 

 ious bitterness." 



At a meeting of the General Committee of the 

 National Council, June 2, reports were made of 

 activity in all parts of the country in opposing 

 the Education bill by the circulation of documents, 

 the holding of public meetings, and the delivery 

 of addresses by representatives of the Free 

 Churches. 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1902. The 

 most important event of the year was the ending 

 of the Boer War in South Africa through the 

 acceptance, on May 31, by the Boer delegates 

 to the peace conference at Pretoria of the terms 

 of surrender imposed by the British Government, 

 through Gen. Kitchener. These terms were, 

 as briefly stated, that the burghers should lay 

 down their arms and recognize the sovereignty of 

 King Edward; the return to South Africa of all 

 Boer prisoners, Great Britain undertaking that 

 they shall not suffer the loss of liberty or of 

 property, and that no action shall be taken 

 against any such prisoners save in cases where 

 they have been guilty of a breach of the laws of 

 war; that the Dutch language will be taught in 

 the schools of the new colonies where the parents 

 desire it, and that this language w r ill be used in 

 the courts of law where necessary; that the 

 burghers will be allowed to retain rifles for self- 

 protection and that military occupation of the 

 colonies will cease as soon as possible and self- 

 government will be substituted. 



The total British losses in South Africa, as offi- 

 cially stated, from the beginning of the war, Oct. 

 10, 1899, to the ending of hostilities, which prac- 

 tically terminated with the capture of Lord 

 Methuen's force by Gen. Delarey March 10, were 

 1.069 officers and 20,897 men who w r ere either 

 killed in battle or died from wounds or disease, 

 884 officers and 9,181 men missing and prisoners, 

 and 2.937 officers and 68,311 men sent home as 

 invalids. The British took 37,000 Boer prison- 

 ers; of the killed and wounded no statistics were 

 given. The cost of the war to the British, as 

 officially reported by the Chancellor of the Ex- 

 chequer in presenting the budget on April 1, was 

 165.034,000 ($825,170,000). The direct and in- 

 direct borrowings on account of the war were 

 estimated by the London Statist at 250,000,000 

 ($1,250,000,000). The last loan issued was for 

 35,000,000 on April 14, and another loan for 

 about 10,000,000 for the restocking of the Boer 

 farms and for other improvements in the Trans- 

 vaal will soon be emitted. The British forces in 

 the field during the war were about 280,000 

 men; the Boer force at the beginning was esti- 

 mated at 50,000. 



The effect of the war upon the gold production 

 of South Africa is shown by the fact that from 

 a maximum of 459,709 ounces in August, 1899, 

 it fell to 19,906 in October, and the total for that 

 year was 4,069,1(56 ounces. In 1900 no record of 

 production appears after March, and the output 

 for that year is stated at 251,891 ounces. In 

 1901 mining was resumed in May, and the pro- 

 duction in that year was 238,901 ounces. For 

 nine months of 1902 the output was estimated 

 at 1,329,573 ounces, and it increased from 81,405 

 in February to about 190,000 ounces in October. 



Another event of the year was the postpone- 

 ment of the ceremonies of the coronation of King 

 Edward and of Queen Alexandra, which were to 

 have taken place on June 24, because of the ill- 

 ness of the King, which necessitated an operation 

 for appendicitis. The ceremonies were finally 



held on Aug. 9, after the King's recovery, though 

 they were of a much less imposing character 

 than originally contemplated. 



Prince Henry of Germany visited the United 

 States in February, when he was enthusiastically 

 received and entertained by the Federal, State, 

 and municipal governments and by commercial 

 and other bodies. In October the Crown Prince 

 of Siam was a visitor to this country. 



When the time arrived for the payment of the 

 interest and of the first instalment of the Chinese 

 indemnity, which were due July 1, the Chinese 

 Government insisted upon such an interpretation 

 of the terms as would permit payment to be 

 made on a silver, instead of a gold basis. The 

 United States Government assented to the 

 change, but other powers refused ; later, however, 

 the terms were partially modified by these pow- 

 ers. Largely as a result of the payments of the 

 indemnity, the market price of silver declined, 

 and on Nov. 22 it fell to the lowest price on rec- 

 ord, 22J pence per ounce. 



During the first half of the year there was 

 more or less depression in the European markets, 

 and particularly in those on the Continent. In 

 France the Bourse was unfavorably affected in 

 December, 1901, by a decline in copper shares, 

 which fall was also reflected in the London mar- 

 ket. Later coal-mining strikes in France caused 

 more or less industrial unrest, which extended to 

 Germany, and the situation in Russia was at 

 times regarded as critical. Consequently French 

 and German capital was largely diverted to Lon- 

 don for employment, resulting in an enormous 

 increase in the investments, especially by French 

 bankers, in consols apd in other securities and 

 also in sterling bills in the British capital. It 

 was estimated late in October that the invest- 

 ments of France in foreign countries amounted 

 to about 1,200,000,000, and that those invest- 

 ments in England alone were not far from 40,- 

 000,000. The plethora of French capital seeking 

 employment greatly facilitated borrowings, 

 through sterling bills, by American bankers, and 

 it was estimated at the end of October that such 

 loans were upward of $200,000,000. This large 

 indebtedness of Americans will account for the 

 sensitiveness of our markets to the changes in 

 monetary conditions abroad which resulted from 

 the efforts in September of the Bank of England 

 to divert to Paris the drain of gold to New York, 

 which was then threatened by the acute mone- 

 tary tension at this center. When our money- 

 market grew easier and gold exports hence to 

 Paris became possible, the London discount and 

 the bullion markets promptly responded to the 

 changed conditions here and to those in Paris as 

 indicated by the rate for exchange at the French 

 capital on London. 



The following is a tabular survey of the eco- 

 nomic conditions and results of the twelve 

 months ending Nov. 29, 1902, contrasted with 

 those of the corresponding period ending Nov. 30, 

 1901: 



