Review of heviews, l/i/l3. PROGRESS OF THE WORLD. 



115 



to raise the monc}' required many 

 schemes have been resorted to, 

 Amongst others, a fortune tax has 

 been levied, 12s. on every £100. To 

 prevent its evasion, the banks will be 

 compelled to divulge their clients' 

 accounts. In man\' ways the burden 

 of this war taxation will weigh heavily 

 on the Germans, and loud protests are 

 being uttered. i^S2,ooo,ooo is to be 



contribution from 8d. to is. 2id. It 

 is significant that ^^4,000,000 of this 

 special expenditure will be for air- 

 ships and aeroplanes. 



France's Reply. 



The new French Prime Minister, M. 

 Briand, brought in a bill increasing the 

 years of service from two to three in 

 the armv and from one to two in the 



THE LATEST DREADJN'OUGHT— H.M.S. QUEiEN ELIZABETH. 



The first Battleship to be driven by oiL Register, 27,600 tons; Armament, eight 16.25 guns and 



twelve 6-in. guns; Speed, 25 knots. 



raised at once for immediate require- 

 ments. The war chest is to be raised 

 from i^6, 000,000 to ;^i8,ooo,ooo, and 

 a recurring expenditure of i^g, 500,000 

 per annum is to be budgeted for. The 

 Imperial Government cannot raise all 

 this money itself, so is shifting some 

 of the burden on to the States, which 

 will have to increase their per capita 



reserve. This was done, said M. 

 Briand, because of the decHning birth- 

 rate. He at first arranged for an 

 exemi)tion in the case of members of a 

 family, exceeding five in number, let- 

 ting them serve onl>' six months, but 

 that concession was withdrawn later. 

 Formerly an onl\- son was able to 

 secure some exemption, but it is cer- 



