Feb. 1908.] 



151 



Miscellaneous 



tered under the Industrial and Provident 

 Societies Law, 1902. From some cause 

 or another all but one of the various 

 banks that have started have ceased to 

 exist, and it is supposed that the Christ- 

 iana People's Co-operative Bank, Ltd., 

 is the only one in operation in Jamaica 

 at the present time. This bank was 

 started on May 22, 1905. The system 

 was very carefully explained before the 

 bank was started, and since its com- 

 mencement, meetings have beeu held 

 in some of the surrounding districts, and 

 the benefits of the bank placed before 

 the people. Although initiated in con- 

 nection with the Christiana Branch of the 

 Agricultural Society, the loan bank was 

 started as an idependent concern, as 

 some of the members of the branch did 

 not approve of its policy. The number 

 of members at its commencement was 

 twenty, but three of these dropped out 

 at an early period. In December, 1906, 

 the membership was twenty-six, and 

 there were also three depositors. This 

 is not a large number, but it is believed 

 that it will be largely augmented in the 

 near future when it is found that the 

 bank is firmly established, and when its 

 benefits in giving loans are realized by 

 the people. The share has been fixed at 

 £5, and each member of the bank must 

 be a holder of at least one share. The 

 large size of the share, and the fact that 

 it cannot be withdrawn, have prevented 

 from joining many of those who would 

 proba bly have done so had the share 

 been fixed at £1, or if it had been pos- 

 sible for members to withdraw from the 

 bank after joining. The fixing of the 

 share at the higher amount, while lessen- 

 ing the number of those seeking to join, 

 has had the effect of securing that only 

 the most trustworthy and industrious 

 men have become members. It is con- 

 sidered better to have a small number of 

 substantial men than a large number, 

 some of whom are unreliable. While 

 the shares cannot be withdrawn, they 

 may be transferred from one to another, 

 so that at death, or on leaving the 

 island, a member will not lose all he has 

 paid. We believe the time will come 

 Avhen the shares will be sought after, 

 and will realize when sold more than 

 their par value. The shares may be 

 paid up at once, or by instalments. If 

 the latter be adopted, the minimum rate 

 of payment is 2s. per month. This gives 

 four years to pay up the full amount of 

 one share, and makes the payment of a 

 share within the reach of every indus- 

 trious man. At the present time, only 

 two of the twenty-six shares are fully 



Eaid up. The monthly payments are 

 eing well kept up, and there is not much 

 over-due to the bank. The entrance fee 

 is 2s. 6d., a book of rules costs 2d,, and 



a passbook 3d. This is all the outlay 

 needed. The bank is managed by a 

 Committee of five, and has a President, 

 Secretary, and Treasurer. All these 

 officials are at present honorary. The 

 members of the bank are men of high 

 character and are among the most in- 

 fluential men in the districts in which 

 they live. They are chiefly Day School 

 teachers, who firmly believe in the bank 

 and the benefits it is able to confer on 

 the people. The bank commenced to 

 make loans in May, 1906, and seven have 

 been made up to the present for " im- 

 proving cultivation," "purchasing stock," 

 and " purchasing land." The value of 

 these loans is £38. The first one has 

 matured and has been repaid. The 

 period for which loans are made is 

 restricted to six months. At present, 

 the lending is confined to the share- 

 holders, but as the bank grows, and 

 more money than the shareholders are 

 likely to require becomes available, the 

 operations may be extended to outsiders. 

 Already it has refused several applica- 

 tions for loans to outsiders. The in- 

 terest charged on loans is 10 per cent., or, 

 roughly speaking, Jd. per £ per week — a 

 rate that is surprisingly low to people 

 who have paid 6d. or even Is. per £ per 

 week interest. After paying all the 

 initial expenses, the reserve fund stands 

 at £1 18s., there are £20 in the Savings' 

 Bank, and £32 out on loan. Of course 

 these are small sums, but it is the be- 

 ginning of a new and untried system 

 among a not too confiding people. The 

 bank has existed since May, 1905, and is 

 steadily, though slowly, gaiuing ground. 

 When the shares are fully paid up, at 

 the present number of members only, 

 £130 will be available for the accommo- 

 dation of the best of the small settler 

 class in the district the bank serves. 

 Before the bank was started, this class 

 of the community had no means of 

 raising small loans to help them in their 

 cultivation except from the usurer with 

 his exorbitant interest, and it is felt that 

 there are many men of the small-settler 

 class who are honest and industrious 

 and worthy of all the help that can be 

 given them towards working their way 

 up to a better financial position than 

 they now occupy. The bank is a deposit 

 as well as a loan bank. A beginning has 

 already been made in this direction, for 

 there are three depositors at present, 

 and it is believed that it should be of 

 great service to the community in this 

 way, seeing that many of the people, 

 especially of the labouring class, have 

 no secure place for putting their money 

 at deposit. It is hoped that people will 

 soon realize this, and will come 

 forward in large numbers as de- 

 positors. These are some of the chief 



