174 



on the second instalment for three months, &c., in each case the 

 instalment paid in on account of loan being treated as if it were 

 a new deposit. Or supposing the loan to have been made subject 

 to the right of repayment in two instalments, at any or specified 

 dates, the interest on part of the loan to the extent of the amount 

 covered by the first instalment would terminate with its payment, 

 and the interest of the balance with the payment of the second 



instalment. 



As a rule, the loans and advances are secured by the signature 

 of two solvent sureties who must be shareholders, but in 

 addition to these signatures the committee of credit and manage- 

 ment is obliged to inquire carefully into the personal financial 

 standing and condition of the borrower, and ascertain whether 

 reasonable confidence may be placed in his promptness to repay 

 the loan. Above all, they are obliged to obtain accurate informa- 

 tion with regard to the honour, the spirit of order, activity, 

 honesty and ability of the borrower, and the latter is always bound 

 to state in his application for credit the use he intends to make of 

 the moneys asked for. The society may open credits on current 

 accounts, with or without security, but the amount due is not at 

 any time allowed to exceed $100. 



ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT. 



The affairs and management of the society are under the 

 direction of a council of administration, a committee of credit and 

 management and a committee of supervision, whose powers and 

 action are determined by the shareholders as a whole, in general 

 meeting assembled. 



To preserve the democratic nature of the institution, and to 

 further successfully its main objects, two principles have been re- 

 garded throughout as fundamental. In the first place, the number 

 of shares to be acquired by any one person is limited, by the 

 general meeting of shareholders, and in the second place, in the 

 management and direction of afi'airs, the votes have been on the 

 basis *of membership rather than on the basis of the number of 

 shares held — one associate, one vote. In this way the controlling 

 interest of all the members has been made dominant over an other- 

 wise possible cumulative interest of a few. Another fundamental 

 principle is the local control, no branch system being admitted. 



THE GENERAL MEETING. 



A general meeting of shareholders is held annually, and where 

 occasion demands, extraordinary general meetings may be called. 

 At the general meeting the officers of the society and the members 

 of the various committees are elected. No shareholder is allowed 

 more than one vote, whatever may be the number of shares he 

 owns, and no one can vote unless he has been a shareholder for 

 at least three months, and is in good standing with the association. 

 Decisions are adopted by the majority of the votes. The general 

 meeting receives the reports of the council of administration and 

 the committees of credit and management and the committee of 

 supervision, which reports it examines, approves or rejects. It de- 



