he War, but
habits of thrift have been fostered, and the sense of having a stake in
the country, a direct financial interest in the national funds, makes
for order and will form an element of stability in national life which
will be invaluable.

Notwithstanding the "ingrained prejudice against thrift" among the
majority of all classes, which is a marked characteristic of the English
nation as compared, for example, with the French, the number of holders
of national securities has increased enormously. Before the outbreak of
the War it appears that only 345,100 persons held securities of the
British Government. It was estimated that at the end of the year 1917
Government securities had been distributed among no fewer than 16
million persons, including 10 million holdings of War Savings
Certificates.[8] It was further estimated that "during 1917 over 51
millions were contributed to the Post Office issues of War securities,
which, together with the net value of nearly 64 millions from War
Savings Certificates and an increase of deposits over withdrawals in the
Post Office Savings Bank of no less than L5,683,000, provides in all a
sum of L120,723,000 odd, the total contributions of small investors
during the year." Since the beginning of the War the contributions of
small investors already amount in all to a grand total of about
L253,000,000.

Care in expenditure and a habit of saving will, in view of the financial
position after the War, be alike necessary; the nation cannot afford
waste in any form; after the War, as well as during the War, the
national welfare demands that any balance beyond what is required for
healthy life should be saved and made available to meet the national
needs, including not only the fulfilment of the national obligations,
which is an imperative condition for the maintenance of credit and
prosperity, but also the provision of the means for future betterment,
material or moral. We do not wish to reduce useful expenditure, but to
get money for what we need by increasing production and by more careful
spending. It will be a time for all classes to refrain from expenditure
on luxuries or ostentation, or in fulfilling those imagined claims which
convention imposes. In different ways almost all classes are fettered by
these conventional obligations. How much of the expenditure of a person
with fairly good income is devoted to things which give him no
additional pleasure and confer no real benefit on