10 



ITAI,Y - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



Table III. — Number of members oj co-operative societies. 



Thus the membership of these co-operative societies increased altogether 

 between 1910 and 1915 by 186,643. ^^ it be remembered that 2,278 societies 

 furnished no data in 1915 and 718 in 1910, and if it be calculated that each 

 society has about 190 members, it is no exaggeration to place the total 

 membership at 1,300,000, giving an increase of 400,000 since 1910. But 

 the increase arises also from an increase in the number of societies, and there- 

 fore we must conclude that there has been no true progress in this sphere. 



If finally each kind of co-operative society examined be considered 

 separately, it is seen that while the average membership of a consumers' 

 society fell between 1910 and 1915 from 213 to 208, and that of a produc- 

 tion and labour society from 156 to 136, that of a building society rose 

 from 157 to 195 and that of an agricultural society from 195 to 275. 



§ 3. The financial basis and the business OF THE SOCIETIES. 



The financial basis of the societies appears from the following compa 

 rative figures for 1910 and 191 5 : 



Paid-up Capital 



. Reserve 

 & various Funds. 



191 5 



Co-operative consumers' societies . Iv. 

 production and labour 



societies .... " 

 " building (i) societies. 



agricultural societies " 



31,617,205.72 ly. 23,868,709 



3,255.547-3i 

 32,257,311.45 

 21,687,867.42 



31,481,004 

 43,109,237 

 15,687,199 



Total 



L. 118,817,841.90 Iv. 114,146,149 



(i) The apparent diminution in the assets and reserves of the building societies should 

 be ascribed to the fact that i!i the yearbook under review the special autonomous institutions 

 for popular dwellings, of which many were formed after 1908, were by an error omitted. 



