§ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (Mr. Chamberlain)That is not an unmanageable figure, but I beg the Committee not to think for a moment that it is any measure of the effort that is required of us. In the first place, the early months of the year are, from the revenue point of view, always lean months, and we have to borrow in anticipation of the revenue coming in. In the second place, a large part of our debt—no less than £957,000,000—is in the form of Treasury Bills, and, for the most part, of three-monthly bills, which therefore fall due for repayment every quarter. In other words, we have to borrow that sum of money four times over in the course of the year. During the War these bills were largely used by the public as a means for the 184 temporary investment of funds intended, on the cessation of the War, to be employed in industry and commerce, and, as they are withdrawn for that purpose, the difficulty of borrowing to replace them will be no less great than the difficulty of new borrowing. It will, in fact, be new borrowing. We have, in addition, maturing in the current year Ways and Means advances of £455,000,000; Exchequer Bonds, £245,000,000 (including in this figure, £66,000,000, of 1922 bonds which have an option of redemption on 1st October), and £96,000,000 of Foreign Debt—together, £796,000,000; making, with the Treasury Bills, a total of £1,753,000,000.
The Floating Debt on the 31st March this year amounted, in round figures, to £1,412,000,000, namely £957,000,000 of Treasury bills, and £455,000,000 for Ways and means advances—an increase in the year 1918–19 of £223,584,000. This sum is less than the amount outstanding at the half-year ending 30th September, 1918, and much less than the maximum of £1,550,000,000 which was reached on the 31st of December, 1918. The drop is, of course, in part due to the collection of revenue but it is mainly owing to the large subscriptions in War Bonds in January last as a result of the special effort and special campaign then taken in hand, which brought the floating debt down to £1,380,000,000. This is not the time, nor am Ito-day in a position, to make proposals to the House for dealing with this large floating debt, but I can assure hon. Members that it is a subject which occupies my grave attention.