84 THE RURAL PROBLEM 



unless it forms itself into a separate society and registers 

 anew under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 

 and 1895, which permit of the carrying on of both banking 

 and trading, but not of unlimited liability. Trading and 

 banking are said to be necessary complements to one another 

 in order to provide funds for the payment of secretaries, etc., 

 or for other reasons of convenience ; and the Raiffeisen banks 

 of Germany, of which the credit banks in this country are 

 imitations, carry on trading in addition to banking. The 

 object of the Thrift and Credit Banks Bill, 1910, was therefore 

 chiefly to simplify procedure rather than to confer additional 

 powers, except in so far as it is permitted credit banks to 

 assist in the formation of central banks for the deposit of 

 their surplus funds. 



Another Bill was introduced the same year by the President 

 of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, entitled the 

 Agricultural Credit, and Insurance Societies Bill, but this also 

 was subsequently dropped. This Bill gave to the Board 

 power (1) to employ officers to promote the formation of 

 agricultural credit and insurance societies ; (2) to pay the 

 costs of formation ; (3) to contribute to the expenses of 

 management of newly formed societies ; (4) to appoint and 

 pay auditors ; (5) if necessary to obtain an investigation into 

 the affairs of the society and its winding-up and dissolution. 

 The monev was to come out of the Small Holdings Account, 

 and the societies were to work on their own credit and 

 not on State credit. The principle of unlimited liability was 

 accepted, but it was proposed to use the Industrial and 

 Provident Societies Acts with unlimited liability instead of 

 the present limited liability, rather than to use the Friendly 

 Societies Act under which liability is already unlimited. 



The reason for the dropping of the Bill was probably the 

 decision of the Development Commissioners to make the 

 A.O.S. the channel for their grant instead of the Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries ; but whether this be so or not, the 

 matter rests in this stage at present, except that the Board 

 has come to an arrangement with some of the leading 

 joint stock banks which have branches in rural districts 

 whereby the managers of these branches shall assist in the 

 formation of credit societies among small holders and 



