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Ever; if the
British taxpayer were compelled to provide for the deficiency, either
by an annual grant or by payment of a divorce penalty of L15,000,000 to
L20,000,000, or by both, a prudent investor would fear that the annual
dole might at any moment be withdrawn should, for instance, John Bull
become irritated by the action of a Dublin Parliament, say, in declaring
enlisting in His Majesty's forces a criminal act; or that the capital
gift would soon be frittered away in the interests of agitators and
their friends. He would simply refuse to invest in Irish stock.
Now, a fundamental condition of commercial and industrial well-being is
financial confidence. If the Public Exchequer of a country lacks
confidence, it is a truism to say that consequently commercial
confidence must be gravely impaired. The magnates of Lombard Street and
Wall Street would view their Irish clients with unpleasant reserve.
Irish bankers would in turn restrict advances to their customers, and
these again would limit the credit of those with whom they transacted
business.


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