WORK DONE OR PROJECTED 231 



Support, rather, by grants or. by Government guarantee, a 

 Central Agricultural Bank which would finance provincial 

 federations of local co-operative credit societies themselves 

 having direct dealings with the persons to be aided, distribut- 

 ing the loans and collecting the repayments without the 

 trouble, cost and complications that would arise if the 

 State did the work itself." 



As regards definite action, the Society could point to the 

 existence of a Central Co-operative Agricultural Bank and 

 its affiliated societies as already constituting the foundations 

 on which a national scheme could be built up to meet, not 

 only an actual national emergency of to-day, but the 

 inevitable requirements of agriculturists, and especially 

 of small holders, in the future. 



L. CO-OPERATIVE LAND RENTING. 



Desirous of establishing the principle of co-operation in 

 the initial process of acquiring and holding land, as well as 

 in the subsequent process of cultivating and developing it, 

 the A. O. S. aimed almost from the outset of its activities at 

 promoting a system of co-operative land renting. Certain 

 difficulties arose, however, in regard to the interpretation of 

 section 4 (3) of the Small Holdings Act of 1892, which was to 

 the following effect : " The County Council shall have power 

 to sell, or, in the case of small holdings which may be let, to 

 let one or more small holdings to a number of persons 

 working on a co-operative system, provided such system be 

 approved by the County Council." The question arose as 

 to whether the power thus conferred on a County Council 

 did not relate exclusively to the selling or the letting of land 

 direct to persons actually engaged in the cultivation of the 

 land, and whether, in this case, a County Council could make 

 its arrangements with a co-operative society which would 

 sub-let to the individual cultivators. 



iDoubt on this point was set at rest, however, by the Small 

 Holdings Act of 1907, which provides that, in addition to 

 the power granted under the earlier Act, " a County Council 

 shall have power ... to let one or more holdings to any 



