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 article. It cannot be a matter of real assets owned by the debtor because we have already seen that the United States and England, whose credit stands highest, have practically none; but then the United States owe nothing abroad and the British Government likewise, until during the war it borrowed abroad in order to finance its Allies; it is even now possible that out of Reparations and payments of interest and debt by Allies the British Government may be able to cover the service of its debt to America; and if nothing should be received from these sources, the net income from the foreign investments of British citizens is now estimated at £250 millions, or nearly eight times as great as the yearly sum required for the service of their Government's debt to the United States. It thus appears that countries which have no foreign debt, which is only another way of saying countries that have wealthy inhabitants, are those which enjoy the highest credit, which is a dismally platitudinous conclusion to reach, and not very helpful; because the wealth of a country is nearly as difficult a matter to estimate as the readiness of its citizens to pay taxes rather than allow its Government to default.

The mere fact, however, that a country has to borrow abroad may be taken as an indication