Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 348 



[AfRlL, 1912. 



2. Agricultural Syndicates. 

 We have often pointed out in previous 



articles in this bulletin how ill-defined 

 is the position of the agricultural 

 syndicates with regard to their com- 

 mercial capacity, especially after an 

 important sentence of the Court of 

 Cassation, refusing them the right to 

 make purchases on behalf of members. 

 The draft bill presented by M. Ruau on 

 the 19th June, 1908, for the institution 

 of agricultural economic syndicates dis- 

 tinct from the professional syndicates, 

 although not yet dealt with in Parlia- 

 ment, has already excited much rather 

 lively discussion among the organizers 

 of syndicates. 



The Fifth Congress of Agricultural 

 Mutual Societies could not fail to con- 

 cern itself with this very important 

 problem. Af cer discussion of the report 

 presented by M. Tardy on the subject 

 of the legal regime of the agricultural 

 syndicates, in which he claimed for them 

 a special legislation distinct from that 

 for the commercial and industrial syndi- 

 cates, the desire was expressed that the 

 Commission entrusted with the amend- 

 ment of the various legislative provi- 

 sions relating to mutual agricultural 

 credit and cooperation should present 

 in accurate text for the definite regu- 

 lation of the juidicial position of the 

 agricultural syndicates for collective 

 purchase of farm requisites. 



3. Agricultural Co-operative 



Societies. 



M. Semichou, Manager of the Narbonne 

 Enologi^ Station, reports upon the work- 

 ing of long collective agricultural credit, 

 in accordance with the law of 19th 

 December, 1900, on loans to the co-oper- 

 ative societies lor production.* After 

 full discussion of the matter, the Con- 

 gress expressed the following desires:— 



That the agricultural co-operative 

 societies be at last assigned their own 

 judicial regime by an organic lawt ; 



* See bulletin of Economic and Social Intelli- 

 gence, December, 1910, p. 226. 



t It must tie remembered that in France there 

 is no fundamental law on cc-operat'.ve societies, 

 and they are subjected to the common regime 

 pf societies, 



that encouragement be given to the 

 formation of unions of co-operative so- 

 cieties grouped by classes and regions, 

 and that regular periodical inspections 

 be organized of all co-operative societies 

 profiting by long or short agricultural 

 credit; that the Unions of Co-operative 

 Societies, the Federation of Agricultural 

 Mutual and Co-operative Societies, as 

 well as the Agricultural Department, 

 prepare detailed monographs on the 

 agricultural co-operative societies of 

 various kinds ; that the States waive the 

 mortgage registration required by arti- 

 cle 10 of the decree of 20th August, 

 1907, as guarantee of the long loans 

 granted by the regional banks to the 

 co-operative societies for production, and 

 that the Federation study what means 

 may be substituted for this guarantee. 



On the proposal of M. Balp, the 

 Government was further requested to 

 appoint a Commission at as early a date 

 as possible to amend the laws on agri- 

 cultural co-operation as has been done 

 in the case of credit. If necessary, the 

 opinion of the associations concerned 

 might be obtained through the Feder- 

 ation. 



After hearing M. Belletre's report on 

 collective sale and exportation of fiuit, 

 the Congress expressed the following 

 desires : That the foundation of agricul- 

 tural co-operative societies for collective 

 sale and exportation of fruit be en- 

 couraged in every way, in the regions 

 lending themselves to fruit culture, 

 especially by the publication of the re- 

 sults obtained by the existing associ- 

 ations and by popularising the law of 

 29th December, 1906; that the existing 

 co-operative societies unite in feder- 

 ations to profit by the advantages de- 

 rived from these organs of centralisation, 

 especially as far as the distribution of 

 the produce on the markets is concern- 

 ed ; that the Department of Public 

 Works exert influence on the transport 

 companies to improve their speed and 

 facilitate delivery, etc. 



Fiually, M. BeDetre gave the members 

 of the Congress the results of his in- 

 quiries on the fruitibres of Haute Savoie* 



