1 877-] 
National Wealth and Public Debt. 
211 
( 
, 
1 
possessions of the British Empire abroad ; and when we 
consider how important coal is for the maintenance of su- 
premacy on the seas, this appears to be a most important 
element both for commercial and naval success. As was 
observed by Mr. Alfred Eccles, in his Report on the New 
Zealand Exhibition of 1865, “ It is a fortunate circumstance 
that, with few exceptions, wherever important British colo- 
nies have been founded, there has also been found a local 
supply of coal ; thus the colonist of that race which, above 
all others, has attained great national prosperity by means 
of its vast mineral wealth, find in their new countries the 
same agents whereby to build up a like greatness.” And, 
with regard to its importance to our steam navy and mer- 
chant vessels, the late Mr. Eddy, to whom we have already 
referred, has remarked — “ Here, again, the singular faCt 
which I have already referred to meets us, viz., that of the 
general absence of true coal fit for marine purposes, and 
also conveniently situated near the coast, from all except 
British territory. The faCt is not only remarkable, but sig? 
nificant of the destiny of our race as the great maritime 
power of the world. During the whole voyage from England 
to India, up the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and along the 
coast of Arabia, no native coal appears, as far as I am 
aware ; and moreover, wheneyer you come to depots of fuel 
you find it is of English origin, and generally, too, on English 
territory. Witness Gibraltar, Malta, Aden. Verily we hold 
the keys of the world, and long may we continue to hold 
them with a firm grasp. Until we reach India we meet 
with none but English coal, and there British coal from our 
own colonies at the Antipodes meets ours in the market.” 
Turning now to the national debts of different countries, 
it appears that Holland was the first to introduce the prac- 
tice of raising public loans, and other nations have not been 
slow to follow the example. The public debt of this country 
may be said to date from the reign of James I., and, like 
other countries, it has chiefly been raised for the purpose of 
defraying the expenses of wars and of military preparations, 
although in more recent years many nations have added to 
their debts for the construction of railways, but these, in 
many instances, have been made more with a view to mili- 
tary and political than to commercial and peaceful require- 
ments, present or prospective. It is perhaps a curious 
coincidence that England and France, the two most pros- 
perous countries in Europe, have also the largest debts, 
exceeding in both eases upwards of £700,000,000 sterling, 
and they are also the only two upon whom the burden of 
