AGRICULTURAL CREDIT BANKS 

 AND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 



AGRICULTURAL CREDIT BANKS AND CO-OPERATIVE 

 SOCIETIES, 



By SIR JAMES DOUIE, K. C.S.I. 

 Late Financial Commissioner in the Punjab. 



THE decade from 1840 to 1850 was a very noteworthy 

 one in the history of co-operation. It saw the start 

 of co-operative distribution in England and co-cperative 

 credit in Germany, both of which have since grown to 

 vast dimensions. History should assign very high places 

 among the makers of modern Germany to Raiffeisen and 

 Schulze, the authors of the two main types of co-operative 

 credit societies. Indeed, their influence has spread far 

 beyond the limits of the German Empire. I must assume 

 in my hearers a general knowledge of the wonderful 

 growth of co-operative credit in Europe. It is enough to 

 note that there are now 17,000 banks of the Raiffeisen 

 type, pure or modified, in Germany, four-fifths of which 

 are united in an Imperial Federation, which also embraces 

 about 8,000 other co-operative societies, 41 unions, and 

 77 central societies. A few years ago the membership of 

 credit societies affiliated to this great federation amounted 

 to 1,200,000 persons, and their working capital was 

 106,000,000, of which 102,000,000 consisted of deposits, 

 while loans granted during the year amounted to 15^ 

 millions, and payments on current accounts to 33^ millions. 



I cannot better describe the pure Raiffeisen type of 

 bank than by setting out the constitution of the village 

 banks affiliated to the Irish Agricultural Organization 

 Society. 



(a) Limitation of area, so that all members may be 

 acquainted with each other. 



