RISE AND DEVELOPMENT 21 



footing as one of the most important forces of the day from 

 the point of view of national progress. 



In the matter more especially of co-operative credit, the 

 ideal conditions are that the State should avoid having 

 direct dealings either with individual cultivators or with 

 local societies, and should establish relations exclusively 

 with central banks undertaking the work of financing lesser 

 federations of bank which, in turn, pass on the State assist- 

 ance to the local credit banks providing for the wants of 

 their individual members. This system has been adopted in 

 Germany as the outcome of over half a century's experience. 

 It represents a happy combination of State-aid and co- 

 operative effort which, while ensuring an application of the 

 former under the best conditions, still leaves full scope for 

 the activity of the latter, with less risk of the demoralisation 

 that must needs result when the State itself undertakes 

 duties or details which had much better be left to others, 



