WORK DONE OR PROJECTED 215 



has thus far been done by the Society has led to a laying of 

 the foundations, rather than to the actual creation, of an 

 adequate system in England and Wales. 



Whilst the results attained may have fallen below anticipa- 

 tions, it has to be remembered that in Germany it took about 

 twenty years to form the first credit societies, and that in 

 various other countries the advance made at the outset was 

 so slow that the pioneer efforts here do not compare at all 

 unfavourably with theirs, allowing for a corresponding 

 period of time. Then there are the further facts (i) that 

 exceptional circumstances in England and Wales have 

 retarded the expansion of the Raiffeisen system here as 

 compared with the present-day proportions thereof in 

 Continental countries and in Ireland ; (2) that even in those 

 countries the advance of the system was due to special 

 causes ; and (3) that developments are now taking place 

 which should lead to a greater rate of progress being made 

 in England in the early future. 



In order that the whole situation may be clearly under- 

 stood, it is desirable that an outline of the various stages in 

 the policy adopted by the A. O. S. in respect to agricultural 

 co-operative credit should be given. 



The first step taken was in the effecting of an amalgama- 

 tion, in 1904, with the Co-operative Banks Association, 

 several agricultural credit societies which had then already 

 been established by the latter body thus becoming affiliated 

 to the former. 



Efforts were made by the A. O. S. to increase the number 

 of these societies through its propaganda work ; but one of 

 the greatest difficulties lay in the direction of raising the 

 necessary capital. There had been an expectation that 

 much of this capital would be provided by means of deposits 

 through the utilisation of the credit societies as savings 

 banks, savings already gained through production being thus 

 used over again for production ; but the practical difficulty 

 arose that money on deposit, and subject to repayment on 

 demand or at short notice, could not well be advanced by a 

 society of limited means to borrowers who might not be able 



