230 THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE CH.

and her excess of imports as serious a symptom as inthe case of France . 1

The existing inflation and the maladjustment ofinternational trade are aggravated, both in France and in Italy , by the unfortunate budgetary positionof the Governments of these countries.

In France the failure to impose taxation is notorious.Before the war the aggregate French and Britishbudgets, and also the average taxation per head, wereabout equal; but in France no substantial effort hasbeen made to cover the increased expenditure. " Taxesincreased in Great Britain during the war," it hasbeen estimated, "from 95 francs per head to 265francs, whereas the increase in France was only from90 to 103 franca." The taxation voted in France forthe financial year ending June 30, 1919, was lessthan half the estimated normal post-bellum expendi-ture. The normal budget for the future cannot beput below £880,000,000 (22 milliard francs), andmay exceed this figure; but even for the fiscalyear 1919-20 the estimated receipts from taxation donot cover much more than half this amount. TheFrench Ministry of Finance have no plan or policy

The figures for Italy are as follows :

Monthly Average. Imports.

£1000.

1913 . . 12,152

1914 . . 9,7441918 . . 47,005

Jan.-Mar. 1919 . . 45,848

Apr.-June 1919 . . 66,207

July-Aug. 1919 . . 44,707

Exports. Excess of Imports.

£1000. £1000.

8,372 3,780

7,368 2,376

8,278 38,727

7,617 38,231

13,850 52,357

16,903 27,804