Sir, - According to your July 31st edition, Mr Charles Bates, the Mayor of Marlborough in Wiltshire, plans to pay £21 owed by his ancestor to Shakespeare's father. He will pay it to Derrick Smithers, the present Mayor of Stratford upon Avon. The money has been owing since 1599.
It is admirable that Mr Bates is paying the debt after all this time. But what about the interest? Even at the nominal rate of five per cent, compounded annually, in 397 years the £21 debt would have grown to the astonishing sum of approximately £5,424,605,613.60.
Forget the debt, Mr Bates. Just pay the interest. - Yours, etc.,
Drogheda,
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Co Louth.