PROVISION OP BORROWING FACILITIES. 279 



that Indians will co-operate, that unlimited liability is not a bugbear, 

 that societies are succeeding in attracting capital, and that they have 

 not found the absence of a summary procedure an insuperable difficulty 

 in the way of collecting their debts. 



According to the last figures available, there are now 3,456 

 urban and rural societies with a membership of 226,958 persons, and 

 with a working capital of Rs. 1,03,27,743 ; of which, I am glad to 

 say, only Rs. 7,21,775 comes from Government. This is the result 

 of 7 years' working. In Germany there were only 1,729 Co-operative 

 Credit Societies working in 1890, 23 years after the first Prussian 

 Co-operative Law was passed. In Austria the co-operative movement 

 commenced in 1873. After 17 years there was only one RAFFEISEN 

 Bank for 131,000 inhabitants. Here, excluding Native States, we 

 have already in 7 years got approximately one rural Co-operative 

 Society to just over 70,000 people. In Italy the first rural bank was 

 founded in 1883, and it took 24 years to bring the number up to 

 1,461. Seven years after the movement had commenced, there were 

 only 44 banks. Making every allowance for differences in membership 

 of the societies and for the fact that India has benefited by the 

 pioneer work, specially, of Germany and Italy, and that the pioneer 

 work has been done here by the State and not by individuals fighting 

 against the State, yet the figures I have given testify to an 

 extraordinarily rapid advance. 



It may be asked why, if the movement has been so successful 

 under the existing Act, not remain content with it ? My answer is 

 that it is lar gely owing to the very success of the movement that a 

 new Act is required. The success of co-operative credit societies has 

 paved the way for co-operative societies formed for other purposes, and 

 it is difficult to fit them into the provisions of an Act which was not 

 intended for them. In saying this I cast no reflection on the framers 

 of the present Act. It was deliberately resolved to limit the Act to 

 credit societies, and the decision was a wise one, while the scheme was 

 in the tkperimental stage. But now that the co-operative movement 

 is well established, it is clear that provision must be made for 

 co-operation not merely to borrow, but also to purchase and produce. 

 Moreover it is essential to provide, as I will show later on, for the 

 , union of societies in larger bodies so as to secure a large measure of 

 non-official inspection and control and to facilitate the raising of funds. 

 Seven years' experience has brought to light many minor defects in 



