332 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NE^^'S. 



October 10, 19U. 



CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT. 



TRINIDAD AND AGRICULTURAL BANKS. 



A lirief liistorical sketi-h of the efforts tliat have Ijeen 

 made for many years in Trinidad to establish agricultural 

 banks will be found in a paper on Co-operative Credit in the 

 West Indian Bulletin, Vol. XIV, No. 1. Up to the present 

 time the difiiculties in Trinidad .seem to have been sufficiently 

 great to prevent anything definite being accomplished in the 

 vay of the establishment of credit societies. Now, however, 

 mainly as the results of two important directions of effort, it 

 seems likely that this important requirement will be 

 .satisfied. Judging from the Proceedinas of the Ar/ricnl- 

 iural Society of Trinidad ard Tt)6a<70 for August 1914, the 

 two lines of effort adopted that may lead to ultimate 

 succe.s.s in the movement are (1) the discussion of the whole 

 .subject by the Government in co-operation with the Agricul- 

 tural Societies, that is to say, the subject has lieen 

 approached conjointly from both official and unf)tticial sources: 

 (2) the disl libution amongst the agricultural societies of 

 copies of the >St. Vincent Agricultural Credit Societies 

 Crdinance c*' August 191.3. 



Before t'.iis Ordinance was published, the Government 

 Committee on agricultural banks appointed in 1912 issued 

 a majority :eport stating that cheap money was reijuired in 

 the Colony but that uo practical scheme could be evolved for 

 the establi hment of agricultural banks. Ten rea.sons were 

 given for making this statement, and these reasons the two 

 minority leports endeavour to prove unsound, arguirg prin- 

 cipally on the basis of the St. Vincent Ordinance and on the 

 results of experience in India and other countries. The 

 piints around which controversy has been waged have been 

 brought up .-o often from time to time in the past and have 

 lei to such inconclusive decisions that it seems desirable to 

 publisli tl'e Hiajority committee's points side liy side with those 

 of the minority committees; — 



1. There is no demand for 

 an af^ricultural l>ank by cane- 

 f.trmt-rs, owing to the system 

 of ad.vancps b^' factories. 



2. No bank coidd be pro- 

 htafely worked at the low 

 rates (6 to 10 per cent.) 

 charged bj' the sugar facto- 

 ries on advances to cane- 

 farmers. A minimum rate of 

 20 per cent, is estimated for 

 a bank. 



3. Factory owners have 

 intimated their intention to 

 cease making advances if a 

 baiik be established. 



4. Small properties (cacao, 

 etc.) are in the great major- 

 ity of cases very heavily 

 mortgagel, and the owners 

 are in additioi; largely in- 

 debted to shopkeepers to 

 whc>m as much as 40 per cent. 

 is paid iu interest, with the 



1. Such 1 ranks being local 

 and membership voluntary 

 they would not be founded in 

 districts where not required 

 and people who do not wish 

 to use them would not join. 



2. Eight per cent, is the 

 maximum interest allowed on 

 transactions in St. Vincent. 

 If in this colony 10 or even 

 12 per cent, was necessary 

 the results would still be 

 beneficial. 



3. This objection appears 

 founded on the assumption 

 that the banks must charge 

 high rates of interest (20 per 

 cent.). 



4. Mortgages would prob- 

 ably not be the ordinary 

 security. Growing crops and 

 personal security of one or 

 two other persons would be 

 more usual. Personal knowl- 

 edge too plays an important 

 part. 



result that sooner or later 

 their holdings must be lost. 

 5. Small proprietors do 

 not always meet their obli- 

 gations, due to carelessness 

 or otherwise. 



mut- 

 proj)- 



6. There is a lack of 

 ual confidence between 

 rietors and dealers. 



7. With jointly owned 

 properties dissensions between 

 the owners cause the security 

 to deteriorate. 



8. That small proprietors 

 woidd be unable to take 

 shares in a bank. 



5. Neglect to meet obli- 

 gations would deprive a 

 person of membership and 

 power to l.iorrow again, whilst 

 not doing away with his 

 liabilities. The liank would 

 thus have an educational 

 influence and make for im- 

 jirovement in this direction. 



6 et 7. The same consid- 

 erations as under (5) apply. 



9. That if they did take 

 shares it would only be for 

 the purpose of borrowing 

 money and to borrow more 

 than they invested. 



10. That a liank would 

 require several local branches 

 within each a staff, including 

 inspectors. The cost of a staff" 

 for an average district is put 

 at £.500-£600 per annum. 



8. The value of share.s 

 would be small. Shares or- 

 entrance fees in Raitteisen 

 banks do not provide the 

 capital, OTily the reserve fund. 



9. A man becomes a share- 

 holder or member for the 

 purpose of borrowing money 

 when required, and naturally 

 more than he has invested 

 or he woidd not join. 



10. I'nder the Eaift'eiseii 

 co-operative system expen- 

 sively paid local staffs and in- 

 spectors are not necessary,, 

 and thus this, the most for- 

 midable finaniial difficulty as 

 regards working disappears. 



The Agricultural Societies are of opinion that in the 

 majority repfirt of the Government Committee too much 

 emphasis has been laid on the difficulties. And moreover 

 the reports received from the various district agricultural 

 societies made after careful consideration of the actual rules 

 and regulations of the St. Vincent Ordinance, intimate that 

 agricultural credit societies of the Raiffeisen type should be 

 established in the Colony. It is also considered that the 

 ntMiessarj- legislation should be introduced as .soon as po.ssible 

 following generally the luies of the St. Mneent Agricultural 

 Credit Society's Ordinance including the amendments to the 

 rules gazetted on August 21. 



Perusal of the paper in the Proctedinr/s of the Agricul- 

 tural Society o/ Ti-inidad may give rise to some confusion in 

 the minds of those who are not fully acquainted with the 

 various steps that have been taken in the colony as to which 

 of the numerous committees are responsible for the various 

 points enumerated. Nevertheless it appears evident that 

 the influence of the St. Vincent Ordinance is being felt in 

 Trinidad and that there is every likelihood that the necessary 

 organization for the successful establishment of agricultural 

 banks will be introduced in the near future. 



The vascular system of ^ugar-caiie plants suffering from, 

 sereh is stopped up with gummy matter which influences the 

 circulation of water in the plant so that healthy stems absorb 

 1'18 times more water than affected stems. Using a lithium 

 salt as an indicator, the writer showed that the salt had risen 

 to a height of 70 cm. in 3i hours in a healthy plant, while in 

 a diseased plant it had only reached 30 cm. (Munthly 

 Bulletin of Aqricultural Intelligence and Plant Diseases,. 

 July 1914.) 



