251 



Miscellaneous. 



The following table shows the membership, capital, business and profits of 

 Co-operative Credit Associations during the years 1902 and 190:} distinguishing 

 England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and town from agricultural districts :— 





I 



M 

 eg 



a» 





Cap 



ital. 



ed in 

 the 



tis re- 

 year 

 post. 



in ^ 

 © o 



a ^ 



be. 



% 3 





.2 % 



CO 







"2 °£ 



c3 © 39 



o-a +-> 



. 



o 





Societ 

 g Reti 



a 



0) 

 *— < 



* % 



p- 



a g 



M Tl.S 



~ r 



O ci - 

 -P ^.3 



ing E 

 ing int 

 Capita 



after a 

 interes 

 Capita 





o.a 



*H 

 O 





<D 





a^ a 









6 



6 





cc 



2 o 



5*3.9 



Q ' 



t> 2 



o o 





<< 





CO 









a 





England A' Walps • — 









-£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



Town Districts 



11 



1,931 



9,182 



229 



6,<i48 



4,676 



417 



123 



AgriculturalDistricts 



7 



199 



962 



148 







41 



21 



Total England and 



















Wales 1903 



18 



2.130 



10,144 



377 



7,327 



5,399 



458 



144 



Ditto, 1902 



17 



1,549 



10,567 



282 



4,450 



4,286 



581 



262 



Scotland : — 



















TownDistricts,1903. . . 



2 



777 



47,156 



6,176 



5,340 



6,047 



1,854 



209 



Ditto, 1902 



2 



768 



46,852 



5,963 



10,822 



8,283 



1,656 



288 



Ireland :— 



















AgriculturalDistricts 



















1903. 



134 



7,602 



20,249 



1,026 



21,086 



15,748 



626 



299 



Ditto, 1902 



95 



5,604 



13,350 



593 



15.835 



10,710 



434 



263 



An account was given in this Journal in June, 1902, of the steps taken 

 by the Co-operative Banks Association, since incorporated in the Agricultural 

 Organisation Society, for the establishment of village banks in the rural districts 

 in England. A village bank, which joins the Agricultural Organisation Society, 

 receives on formation a complete set of books free, together with simple in- 

 structions for keeping the account and specimen model rules. The Central 

 Association also gives expert advice from time to time as required. 



In Germany, among the various systems of real credit, i.e., loans on 

 real estate, the best known takes the form of a voluntary association of land- 

 owners ; these associations, known as Landschaften, have been in existence for 

 over a century, and make advances to [their members by the issue of negotiable 

 debentures, bearing interest at 3 or 4 per cent, guaranteed by the society. They 

 usually operate in small areas, and are controlled by legislation and by the 

 public authorities. Their great advantage, in addition to a low rate of interest, 

 perhaps rests on the fact that they ensure the borrower who has sunk the 

 loan in improvements against any sudden demand for the repayment of the 

 capital. Although the operations of these societies have been attended with 

 great success, it is on the side of personal credit that the greatest develop- 

 ment has taken place in Germany. The principles on which the agrarian banks 

 know as the Raiffeisen Credit Associations, which date from about the middle 

 of the last century, are based, have been mentioned above, and it is claimed 

 that they have effectually delivered the German agriculturists out of the hands 

 of the usurers. Their number has increased very greatly, especially during the 

 past ten years, and similar institutions exist in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, 



