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200 THE OPINIONS OF JOHN STUART MILL.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
.. * • Part Ii. Co-Operation. Neail The ...
mary , and lias presented a handsome drinking fountain to the "borough of Rochdale .
3 ? _¦& it _# * * * " A gentleman who has watched the progress of the Rochdale
Societies from the commencement says : — The alteration produced in the habits of the members is wonderful ; men who were formerly of
dissipated habits , women who were extravagant and troublesome to their husbands , have all been wonderfully improved ; drunkenness
is greatly diminished , and p - lenty and cheerfulness now reign in many houses where want and degradation were conimon . ' As a
proof of the class of men who are members of these societies , it may be stated that not more than 200 out of 3 , 100 occupy houses which
confer a borough vote for a member of Parliament , and who , although intelligent and moral enough to appreciate , adopt , and manage large
trading concerns , are yet shut out from any part in the business of the nation . The early history and struggles of one of these societies
very fairly illustrates that of most of them . The Rawtenstall Industrial Society was commenced in 1850 by six working-men .
They managed to save a few shillings each , and bought one load of , meal or flour . They then rented a cottage as a store at Is . 3 d . per
week , and met every evening to dispose of their goods . At the end of the first quarter they divided Is . 6 d . in the pound on purchases ,
after paying 5 per cent on capital . They were soon obliged to take larger premises . They now own the building used as a store ,
and have a paid-up capital of £ 3000 , and number 387 members , and their business amounts to about £ 310 weekly , and they
generally divide about 2 s . in the pound quarterly on the purchases . A purchaser who is too poor to pay for a share is allowed to rank
for profits on his purchases until the price of a share is realized . Alexander Redgrave , Inspector of Factories , in his report 30 th
April , 1860 , referring to co-operative manufacturing concerns , says : —' Co-operative societies have multiplied greatly since the
passing of the Limited Liability Act . They are composed generally of operatives . Each society has a capital of £ 10000 and upwards ,
, divided into shares of £ 5 and £ 10 each , with power to borrow in certain proportions to the capital subscribed ; and the money
borrowed is made up of small loans by operatives and persons of the like class . ' Upon the establishment of joint stock companies
under a limited liability , a man with £ 5 or £ 10 has been enabled to procure a high rate of interest ( I am informed that one of
these societies paid interest to the shareholders at the rate of 40 per cent , last year ) , and he has a voice at the general meetings in
appointing the managers or directors of the property , and in the general regulation of the affairs of the society . Here , then , are
strong inducements for a man to save a little . He has in his own townand with a full knowledge of the whole concern , a paying
, investment for his savings . He has his share in the management ,
and his property in the society is recognised , and is disposable at its
200 The Opinions Of John Stuart Mill.
200 THE OPINIONS OF JOHN STUART MILL .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Nov. 1, 1860, page 200, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01111860/page/56/
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