230 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



success and knows since a long time now that in co-operative 

 credit it possesses a very valuable national asset. India 

 only began in 1904 — and late in that year. The incidental 

 points which so much trouble our wise men were promptly 

 and, it may be said, instinctively, grasped by the Hindoo and 

 the Mahommedan. No doubt in either case the conscious- 

 ness of poverty and indebtedness has hastened the success. 

 For poor people make the readiest co-operators. However, 

 an unprejudiced mind brought to the problem has greatly 

 helped. 



It may be admitted that, as a country, we stand in a 

 decidedly different position from what Germany and Italy 

 — also Belgium and Austria — did when Co-operative Credit 

 was there first introduced. We possess a first-rate organisa- 

 tion of credit, spread out over the entire country, with its 

 tentacles, in the shape of branch offices, penetrating into 

 pretty small local centres. None of the Continental countries 

 named could at the time boast of anything like that. How- 

 ever, that credit organisation of ours manifestly does not 

 reach those particular points upon which our territory most 

 requires fertilising with money. Either it does not touch 

 them ; or else, in consequence of the incompatibility of 

 usages, it cannot connect itself with them. That difference 

 indeed may account for the fact that we do not set up such 

 powerful business banks on co-operative lines, in towns, 

 as Germany and Italy possess at Leipzig, Milan, and at some 

 other places. It may be granted that we do not here want 

 such giant co-operative establishments. But what credit 

 organisation do we possess for Agriculture ? The Joint 

 Stock bankers whom a year or two ago the Board of Agricul- 

 ture summoned to an interview, to say if they would grant 

 credits to co-operative banks — which it was hoped would 

 be formed — made a boast of it that they had never had 

 more farmers on their books than at that precise moment. 

 But that, as observed, is not for productive purposes, and 

 only proves prevailing embarrassment. People point to the 

 United States and plead that there there are many farmers 

 shareholders and even directors of National Banks and in 

 such capacity obtain easy credit. Quite so—" in such 



