60 A QUESTION OF TEMPERAMENT 



the Continental co-operative societies are not 

 welcomed in this country, it would be erroneous 

 to conclude that our small farmers do not 

 appreciate the value of organization. The 1892 

 Small Holdings Act failed to supply small 

 holdings because its method of administration 

 was unsatisfactory, not because there was no 

 demand, which is instantly made apparent by 

 the large number of applications under the 

 later Act. 



The indifference to co-operation in this 

 country is undoubtedly a question of tempera- 

 ment. An English farmer, above all, is proud 

 of his individuality. Once a member of a co- 

 operative society, this individuality must, to a 

 certain extent, be sunk for the benefit of the 

 association. He is at once lowered to the 

 position of a producing machine in common 

 with his neighbours — a position which is abhor- 

 rent to him. The same difficulty is met with 

 in the RafFeisen method of developing agri- 

 cultural credit. A credit transaction is par- 

 ticularly distasteful when it can only be 

 obtained by the guarantees of the surrounding 

 community. The process of revealing the 

 exact state of his finances, and the publicity 



