CAPITAL AND CO-OPERATION. 335 



the ground again. All political parties are 

 agreed that there is a necessity for their 

 formation. There is even a clause in the 

 Small Holdings Act of 1908 which permits 

 the county council to advance loans to the 

 co-operative societies ; but as it is a permissive 

 clause, and county councils are as a rule im- 

 practicable, unimaginative assemblies, it has 

 become, like the Housing Act, a dead-letter. 



This section of the Act (No. 49) runs as 

 follows: "A County Council may promote 

 the formation or extension of, and may, subject 

 to the provisions of this section, assist societies 

 on a co-operative basis, having for their object, 

 or one of their objects, the provision or the 

 profitable working of small holdings or allot- 

 ments, whether in the relation to the purchase 

 of requisites, the sale of produce, credit 

 banking, or insurance or otherwise, and may 

 employ as their agents for the purpose any 

 such society as is mentioned in subsection (4) 

 of this section." 



Now before we dwell on what the small 

 holders should do by voluntary co-operation 

 amongst themselves, it would be pertinent to 

 show what county councils themselves might 

 do as landowners and builders. This, in my 



