136 CO-OPEKATION IN DANISH AGKICULTUEE 



the peasant farmer, who often stipulated that the smallholder, 

 besides paying interest for the loan, frequently granted with 

 six months' notice from the lender, should work certain days 

 for the farmer during the busy season. The Agricultural 

 Commission of 1875 pointed out how onerous this was for the 

 smallholder, and in^880 a Law was passed according to which 

 the Credit Associations for Small Landed Properties in Jutland 

 and the islands were estabUshed^ with the following special 

 privileges from the State : The State to guarantee interest at 

 4 per cent. p.a. on the bonds ; ^ to pay to each Association 

 once for all a grant of £550 to defray cost of establishment 

 and assessment of the properties to which loans were granted ; 

 but on condition that loans should be granted only up to half 

 the value of small holdings and to two-fifths of the value of 

 cottages with allotments ; that members of the Associations 

 should be only those whose properties were valued at £220 

 or less ; ^ that the loans should be repaid within 45 years ; 

 that the Minister of the Interior must sanction the election of 

 the chairman of the Board, prescribe the rules for auditing the 

 accounts, and appoint one of the auditors. 



Credit Associations, as already explained, are co-operative 

 associations of members seeking loans on the security of their 

 real property. Before a property-owner is elected a member his 

 property is assessed according to rules fixed by the Minister of 

 the Interior by two valuers permanently engaged by the 

 Association for the district or appointed by the Minister. The 

 assessment must specify the sum which the property would 

 fetch if sold. The Board of Directors then decides the amount 

 of the loan they are willing to grant ; the borrower deposits 

 a bond with the Association for which he must pay stamp duty ; 

 he also defrays the cost of the valuation and of recording the 

 bond on the Kegister of Mortgages. The Association then 

 issues to the borrower bonds to the value of the loan and bear- 

 ing the same interest as the loan. These bonds are, by the 

 Law of 1850, exempt from stamp duty, as already explained. 

 The creditor cannot demand repayment on notice ; he has no 



* This was amended in 1915, the State to guarantee interest up to 4| per 

 cent, on bonds for loans granted before December, 1920. 



' Two ^ears later increased to £330, and in 1908 increased to £550. For 

 holdings with at least 2^ acres the limit was in 1915 fixed at £G70. 



