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THE AGrJCULTURAL NEWS. 



February 22, 190S. 



continental states on the 'Raiffeison 

 system. The peculiar cjiialifications in virtue of which 

 these associations are sijecially adapted to a;ive aid jusc 

 where it is needed, lies in the fact that under the 

 Raiffeiscn system, each bank confines its operations 

 to a very limited area, and the managers arc usually 

 men with a good knowledge of matters agricultural. 

 It will be seen therefore, that they ni'e in a position to 

 judge of the character of ajiplieant,'; for assistance, and 

 also as to the sum whicli may judiciously bo advanced. 

 Sums lent are repayable in instalments with interest, 

 at periods agreed upon. 



The fundamental id* .i of the Uaiffeisen system is 

 that the members of the bank join together to pledge 

 their common credit fnr the seeuiity of money deposited 

 with them on interest, which is afterwards disposed of 

 among themselves, or advanced to .-ipplicaiits at slightly 

 increased interest, so as to cover e.xpenses. The 

 money must of course be applied to agricultural 

 purposes. A prinjary feature of these associations is 

 the nnlimiteil liability of every member. As a result, 

 the greatest care is exercised in electing trustworthy 

 men only, since the other members know they will have 

 to meet any default caused by one of their number. 



A (Committee of officials is elected to carry out 

 executive work, but none of these are paid. Further, 

 there is no distribution of dividends, .-ill the profits 

 being i>nt towaids the lurmution of a reserve fund. 

 There is also a Council of Supervision, to which is 

 entrusted the task of supervising and checking the 

 Committee, while the ('i)uncil themselves are subject 

 to check by the whole mass of members. 



In the West Indies, so far, little lias been done 

 towards the establishment of agricidtural banks, but 

 one or two were started on a small scale in Blanchester 

 parish, Jamnica, some yeais ago, through the efforts of 

 local branches of the Agricultural Society. The neces- 

 sity of some agency, by means of wliich peasant proprie- 

 tors might be enabled to obtain temporary assistance 

 in time of need, was brought prominently to the front 

 as a result of the devastation caused on the lands of 

 small proprietors by the hurricane of l!)0-'>. 



From sonic cause or another, however, neaily all 

 of the Agric\dtiiral Btmks mentioned as having been 

 established in Jamaica have ceased to exist, and at 

 present only two institutions, the Christiana People's 

 Co-operative P.ank, Limited, and the Trinity Yille 

 Bank, arc carrying on operations in the island. These 

 operations are, it is true, on a modest scale only at 

 present,but the banks arc undoubtedly doing good work 

 and making satisfactory progress. 'J'he Christiana P.ank 

 has now a sum of .EOO t" •'= ■•r-dit and this sum is 



steadily increasing. In a ]japer prepared for the Agri- 

 cultural Conference of 1907. by the Revd, W. Turner, 

 and published in the West Indian Jitdlet in {\'»\. VIII, 

 No. o), a full account of the system of working of this 

 bank is given. 



At the recent Agiicultiiral Conference, allusion 

 was made to the Barbados .Sugar Industry Agricultural 

 Bank. This was established about a year ago, in order 

 to carry out the a(hiiiiii>lration of the free grant of 

 £80,000 made in aid of the sugar industry of the 

 island by the Imperial Parliament. The Directorate 

 consists of the Colonial Secretary (Chairman), ono 

 member elected by the Legislative Council, four 

 members elected by the House of Assembly, and one by 

 the Agricultural Society. Loans, which can only be 

 expended in connexion with the cultivation and manage- 

 ment of the estate (except with the express permission 

 of the Directors), are made to planters at G per cent. 

 interest on the security of the growing crops. 



Although the fund managed by this bank \vas 

 originall}' granted ' in :ud of the sugar industry,' vet 

 phinlers whose chief ero}) may be cotton, are not ilebar- 

 red from obtaining assistance from the bank, pro\ided 

 they keep within the letter of tiio law by planting 

 some sugar-cane. 



In this connexion, too, it may be mentioned that, 

 in continuance of previous efforts in the same direction, 

 an Act (No f of 1907) to regulate advances in aid of 

 the cotton industry was brought into force in the 

 Leeward Islands during the past year. Its opera- 

 tions have been confined chiefly to Montserrat, Nevis, 

 and Anguilla. Atlvances are made to large and small 

 estates, but in ii^xst eases the borrow-ers are persons 

 of small means. 



Considerable interest has lately been aroused 

 in Trinidad as the result of an announcement by 

 Sir Henry Jackson, that i^e contemplates to lay 

 before the Legislative Council, a scheme for the 

 establishment of a Government Agricultural Loan 

 Bank. Some years ago, a People's Bank, as it was 

 styled, was established at 'i'rinidad for the benefit 

 of small holders and occupiers of land, and for 

 a short lime it did good work. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, it fell through, but its temporary existence 

 demonstrated the real necessity of some institution 

 through which the peasant proprietors of the com- 

 niunity might obtain assistance without being obliged 

 to resort to money lenders. The announcement made 

 by the < Jovernor of Trinidad is apparently very 

 acceptable to those in the colony who have continued 

 to urge the establishment of some such means of 

 agricultural credit. 



