This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1922 edition. Excerpt: ...raw materials, or manufactured goods. In attempting to construct a trade balance sheet for Great Britain, attention will first be directed to the visible or trade factors. Following the plan adopted in the preceding chapter, when considering the case of the United States, our undertaking will concern itself chiefly with the three-year period, 1911-13. Merchandise imports into the United Kingdom averaged, in value, $3,580,000,000 per annum during these years, while exports had an average annual value of $2,920,000,000.1 The excess of imports of goods was equal, therefore, to about $660,000,000 a year. Imports of gold and silver during these years had an average annual value of $337,000,000, while the export of these articles averaged $300,000,000. The net movement of gold and silver was accordingly into Britain to the extent of $37,000,000 a year. As a consequence, there was a total visible debit balance of about $700,000,000 a year against the country during the period, on account of trade in merchandise and bullion. In the light of the foregoing we should expect to find a credit balance of invisible items approximating three-quarters of a billion dollars. Prominent among the invisible factors to the credit of the United Kingdom is the receipt of interest on British capital invested overseas. It was 1 Compiled from "Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom, 1917," p. 75. estimated by Sir Robert Giffen in 1898 that Britain was then deriving about $450,000,000 per annum in the form of interest from abroad. In the opinion of Sir George Paish, the British people were receiving in 1907 approximately $675,000,000 from their foreign investments. The export of large amounts of additional capital was continued, however, with the...