56 GERMANY - CREDIi' 



profitable for the farmers, into Landschaften mortgages opens for tlie 

 institutes an immense field of action (i). 



The conversion of all the mortgage debts of the §mall farmers, from debts 

 to private individuals, as they are at present for the most part, into debts 

 secured on land bonds, is now the most important task the Prussian I^and- 

 schaften have to accomplish. It is on the result of their efforts iu this 

 direction that the degree of their future development essentially depends. 

 In spite of the great progress they have made, the lyandschaften have 

 not yet reached in this field the preeminent position they occupy in respect 

 to the large landed proprietors. 



A consideration of the measures adopted by the lyandschaften in re- 

 cent decades shows clearly that they recognise it as an important duty to 

 give the advantages of cheap agricultural loans, not to be repaid on de- 

 mand, but b}- a SA'^stem of compulsory instalments, to the owners of small 

 and medium sized farms. 



Of the five oldest Landschaften, originalh^ intended to provide for the 

 needs of the large land holders, there are three, the West Prussian Land- 

 schaft, the Credit Institute for the Nobles' Landed Estates in Kurmark 

 and Neumark and the Pomeranian Landschaft, that, in 1861, in i86c) 

 and 1871, founded special establishments for credit to peasant farmers. 

 Whilst the Silesian and East Prussian Landschaften, since about the 

 same date, have been themselves providing small farmers with credit. 

 The Landschaften founded in the provinces of Posen(i857), Saxony (1864), 

 and Wesphalia (1877) have from the start allowed small landowners the 

 benefit of their credit. The Landschaftlicher Kreditverhand fiir Schleswig- 

 Holstein (Schleswig Holstein Credit Association) , founded in 1882, is entirely 

 for the peasants. The Schleswig- Holsteinische Landschaft (Schleswig-Holstein 

 Landschaft), founded in 1895, quite at first was only concerned with the 

 large landed proprietors, but in 1907 it extended its business to include 

 credit to proprietors of small and medium sized holdings. What are the re- 

 sults these institutions have up to the present attained bj^ the grant of 

 loans to peasant farmers ? 



The loans granted on the securit}^ of peasant holdings by the Schle- 

 sische Landschaft (Silesian Landschaft) amounted in 1885 to 41,700,000 

 marks ; in 1895 to 106,300,000 marks and in 1905 to 188,700,000 marks. 

 On March 31st., 1913, the total amount of these loans was 233,700,000 marks. 

 The 15,829 holdings (2) on the security of which it had granted credits on 



(i) Thedecreaseclbu?iiies= of theWestpresusischeLaitdschatt, Ihe ainouuiof the land bonds c4 

 which in circulation was, in 1886, 155,000,000 mks., and even, in 1896, 145,000,000 niks., must 

 be largely attributed to the action of the Colonisation Commission (Ansiedelun^skommission) 

 founded in 1886. Cfr. Bulletin of Economic and Social Intelligence, December, 1912, p. 140. 

 This Commission and the Prussian State , during the period 1895-1913, by means of purchase 

 of landed estate, caused the redemption of land bonds to the amount of 33,868,165 mks. 



(2) The 11,000,000 marks advanced by this I^andschaft as loans on large landed estate- 

 on March 31st., 1913 had been granted on the security of 1,879 such estates. 



