WEAKNESS OF CO OPERATION 27 



and all his tenants. This is the ideal which has been 

 evolved in England and is applied in practice in the English 

 tenancy law. 



The conflict of ideals between the peasant proprietor- 

 ship with co-operative organization, and the highly 

 organized landlord's estate is liable to lead to much loose 

 Blinking, and consequently to very ill-advised measures of 

 practical endeavor. In India the public, finding that only 

 a few landlords realise the position they should occupy 

 in the agricultural economy and exercise a useful function, 

 has turned very widely to the co-operative ideal. Much effort 

 has been expended ; but the ground has not proved fruitful. 

 Co-operative credit societies are flourishing in considerable 

 numbers ; but with how little effect in the improvement of 

 agriculture ! The number of co-operative societies in these 

 Provinces which are really promoting the progress of agri- 

 culture by distribution of better seed and implements or any 

 other way could be counted on the fingers of both hands. 

 The fact is that the rural population of India has not yet 

 arrived at the stage of educational, social and political 

 development in which alone co-operation can influence 

 efficiency or production. Even if such an educational and 

 social development had been reached, the system of scattered 

 holdings on minute fields effectually prevents its being 

 efficient in application. 



There is no doubt in my mind, therefore, that the 

 agricultural organization most appropriate to the stage of 

 social development in India is the landlord and tenant 

 system with fairly large estates, and a certain number of 

 large farms worked by gentlemen farmers. 



As to the economic efficiency of the landlord system 

 when operated by a class of landlords who understand their 

 business and practise it, there can be no question ; but it 

 must be understood that, as pointed out in my first lecture, 



