PROVISION OF BOBIIOWING FACILITIES. 353 



monthly subscriptions is usually repaid at Rs. 102-8; the period 

 may be a little less or a little more than the nominal, terminating 

 whenever the shares reach the determined value. It is usual, however, 

 now to make the societies "permanent", that is, fresh series of 

 shares are periodically and frequently issued, and it is these only and 

 not the society which are wound up as each series matures, so that 

 subscribers are continually coming in and going out; this prevents 

 the accumulation of idle funds at a loss of interest as the termination 

 of the period approaches, in order to pay off non-borrowing members, 

 and also permits the entrance of members without the payment in 

 lump of a erious and often prohibitory mass of back dues, it being 

 only necessary to pay such as are due for the prior months of each 

 particular series. It is, however, usually necessary, as each series 

 approaches maturity, to attract deposits at perhaps 7i per cent, 

 per annum, in order to pay off matured shares : these deposits are then 

 repaid from future subscriptions, to the detriment, however, of the 

 lending power of the society. 



All the societies are called " Limited " ; this word is frequently 

 not even understood by the societies, which in many cases have 

 explained that the word means limited to a certain number or to a 

 certain value of shares. Since business is almost limited to the grant 

 of well-secured loans to the maximnm amount of the share values, 

 there is no real risk to any member in a decently-managed society. 



The essence of the society is mutuality ; it is a group of men 

 united to help one another by a common contribution of funds which 

 are to be lent out to members only for their sole benefit, all profits 

 derived from the transactions are to return to the members, so that 

 all benefit : the non-borrowing members by the receipt of profits, the 

 borrowing members by the use of the loaned capital and by a portion 

 of the profits which they have contributed to the society. That is 

 the theory, and with the exception of the British Friendly societies, 

 the British and American Building societies, of which the Madras 

 Nidhi is a copy, and the Raiffeisen and Wollemborg Rural Credit 

 Unions, jbhere are no societies in the world more thoroughly 

 co-operative in theory. It is, therefore, greatly to be regretted that, 

 through want of guidance and explanation, through the total absence 

 , of any teaching in the idea and methods of co-operation, through the 

 fact that the only societies available for imitation in this country are 

 trading joint stock companies, through the personnel of many of the 



