318 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



O0TO»BK« 4, 191!). 



POSITION OF COLONIAL CREDIT 

 SOCIETIES. 



The working and position of Agricultural Credit 

 Societies in St. Vincent, St. Lmia, Mauritius and Ceylon is 

 dealt with in four publications recently received, n;iiiiely ; 

 St. Vincent GovcrnmnU Gaz-lte (Sepietnber 11, 1919): 

 St. Lucia Goi'ernment Gazette (June 14, 1919) ; Interna 

 tioiial Re7Heu' of Agiicultura! Ecoiioniics for May 1 !> 1 9 

 (dealing with Mauritius) ; Ceylon Administration Keporls 

 (Cooperation Credit Societies, lieport of the liegistrar 

 for 1918.19). 



Information brought together from these sour -s in t'.i«i 

 following note is likely to prove interesting to leaders, if 

 only from the point of view of the comparison it afford-. 



ST VINCENT In St. Vincetit there were twenty. on" 

 societies registered up to March -31, 1919, and the tntal 

 number of members was 1,060. The increase in the nutnber 

 of members amounted to 13.5 on that of thp previous year. 



The strict observance of the date of repayment of all 

 loans and for the payment of interest continues t' be the 

 characteristic of every society. 



During 191819 the societies borrowed £4,44!, princi 

 pally from the Colonial Bank. Ltd., rate of intere.'st being 8 

 per cent. It is interesting to note that in 191415 a private 

 individual lent the societies a small amount at 10 per cent. 

 Loans were first obtained from the Government (in lyl3 14) 

 at 6 per cent , but money was subsequently obtained each 

 year from the Colonial Bank and from I'rov dent Societies. 

 Loans repaid during 1918-1919 amount- £ a. d. 



ed to — — — 3,450 



Total sum repaid from the establishment 



of thesocietiea to March 31, 1919 13,196 



Intcie.st on loan.s paid in 19IS 1919 was 331 17 8 



Total interest iiaid from date of establish 



ment to March 31, 1919 — 867 5 9 



ST l,\JCA.K In St. Lucia there were ten societies 

 registered up to Mar.h 31, 1919, and the total number of 

 ■jembers was 381. The number of members shows an 

 increase of seventy-two daring the year under review 



The year's working can, on the whole, be considered as 

 Katisfactory, the interest on all loans due to and by the 

 societies have been settled to date. The inember.s of the 

 societies have during the year either endeavoured to 

 improve their cultivated areas, or cleared lands lor planting 

 up fresh crops, particularly sugarcane. 



The amount of loans due to the Colonial Bank by the 

 societies on 31.3.19 was £2,420, an increase of £1,189 

 on the previous year. The loan of £28H borrowed from the 

 Government by the Soufrii-re, Choiseul nnd Micoud .Socieiie.s 

 has been repaid, and another for a similar figure has been 

 obtained from the Colonial liank. 



Produce to the value of £270 was bandied by the 

 societies during the year 



MAUKiTiu.s. In 1918 there were twenty three socioties 

 and this number ha.M not chanf;ed since 19 LO, when the 

 number was twenty. The total number oi shareholders 

 has undergone in the whole period (1914-18) a slight 

 diminution, falling to 2,767, or an average of 120 a society. 

 The loans due on June 30, 1918, amounted to Hs. 270,541, 



having increased by more than 11 j. 16,000 since the 

 previous year. In 1918 the total share capital was 

 IN 121,270 the -vn >unt deposited by members was 35,735, 

 by non tneiuliers ■31,225: Government loan.s, 37,370 : Reserve 

 funds, Us 44,589. 



Practically all the loans were for productivd purposes. 

 The average amount of a loan was 11'. 157 



Three societies had been working five years since the 

 date of their registration, and were entitled in con'equence 

 to declirc -t liividend. Ta^o c>f iheiii resolved to aHrogale a 

 divideii 1 for one year nioir', in order turtlier to improve the 

 posiiion of the le^e^ve funds, while the third declared a 

 dividend of 7 per cent. 



civLoN I'rngress has to be recoided during the year, 

 parlicnlirly by some uf the o der socieli.s which had 

 previously been performing good work. It takes two years 

 iiefore newly loinied societies m^kes general and sound 



plOgrei'.-'. 



The credit societies tmvement was s'arted in 1913 and 

 there are now 103 sncieues. Ttie besc progress has been 

 made by societies in the Western, Southern and N'onhern 

 Provinces. Little or no progress can be reported for 

 societies in the C-entral Eisternand North-central areas. 



The total number of members is 11,310- The paid up 

 capital is Hi 68,062*55 »s compared with Rs. 48,519 in 

 1917 18. The amount of money on deposit was U3 4,772*51 

 a-< against Rs. 2,646-10 in the preceding year. During 

 1918-19 the societies gave loins amounting to Ks. 74,605; 

 loans recovered am anted to Rs. 50,93474; loans outstaqding, 

 Rs. 70 605 45. It is r ported that greater attention must 

 be given by committees to the recovery of loans. The 

 Loans and I )evelopment Commissioners of Ceylpn granted 

 the societies loans amounting to Rs. 5,550 a'. 5 per cent. 

 The rates of interest are being generally maintained. 

 The rales on loans lange from 6 to 12 per cent., and upon 

 deposits from 2 to 5 p r cent. 



The total profit earned by all the societies during the 

 year under review is Rs 7,297"03, and the working expen.ses 

 on stationery, postage, and on transport of manure amount to 

 Rs 1,179 67, le.ving a nett profit if Rs.6,117-36. 



The following, viz, Minuwaneoda. Government Printing 

 Ofli e, IMiip|ii'l ij, Tellippil.ii, 11 luJapangodi, Kumbuke 

 Pattu, Ddkunu Talangama, have declared bonilses to members 

 on their shares, and an amount of Rs I,I80'57 has been set 

 apart for this purpose. 



The total amount now standing to the credit of the 

 reserve fund of all the societies is Ks.l 1,243*27. This 

 shows an increase of Rs 4,566 over last year The reserve 

 fund of the societies covers more than a sixth of the paid-up 

 capital of all the societies. 



Sugar-cane sets with a cingle eyebud, sown with ilic bud 

 turned upward, are said to have shown a germination of about 

 80 per cent., the plants germinating simultaneously, and 

 germim.tion occurring one week earlier than with ordinary sets 

 sown ill the usual way. The cane is also said to bo less liable 

 to lodge, and to facilitate cultivation between the rows. Due 

 to the high rate of j^ermination obtained with this method, 

 the tillers are removed and only the mother canes allowed to 

 devolop. Karliest germination wlh cotton was obtained 

 when the scod was planted with the apex turned upwards. 

 These results have been obtained in India and arc reported in 

 Experiment St,ifion Necord iot M.vf \^i\M . 



