§ Mr. KINGasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state, in approximate figures to some recent date, the total cost of the War to this country and to all the Allies, and also the cost to Germany and to the countries of the Central Europe combination; and what amount has in each case been raised by loan and by taxation, respectively?
§ Mr. McKENNAI hope my hon. Friend will not press this question. As regards the expenditure of this country it would be very misleading to attempt to give figures showing the cost of the War and what proportion has been raised by loan and by taxation otherwise than for complete financial years, inasmuch as the bulk of the revenue, as my hon. Friend knows, is collected in the last quarter. As regard the expenditure of the Allies and of other belligerent Powers, I have, of course, information, derived partly from official sources and partly from newspaper reports, but the information, especially in the case of the Central Powers, is incomplete. Moreover, such figures as have been published officially are made up to different dates in different cases. An attempt to reduce the various figures to a common period would be laborious and the result misleading, and for this reason I would not feel justified in asking the staff of the Treasury, which is working at very high pressure, to make the attempt.