Note: A considerable part of the public debt of Great
Britian, which had been contracted in the form of
annuities yielding various rates of interest, was, in
1757, consolidated into one fund at 3 per cent
interest, the account of which is kept at the Bank of
England. This debt has been diminished and increased at
different times, and now constitutes somewhat more than
half of the entire national debt. The stocks are
transferable, and Their value in the market constantly
fluctuates; the price at any time being regarded as a
gauge of the national prosperity and public confidence.