THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1910. BENEFITS OF CO-OPERATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10079, 29 August 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1910. BENEFITS OF CO-OPERATION.

In the course of a very interesting and instructive address at the opening of the Auckland Winter Shaw, Lord Islington dwelt at some length upon the . subject of co-operation among farmers, and we make no apology for reproducing his remarks. His Excellency said that at Home, in the past, the absence of organisation had been one of the principal disabilities of farmers. For years he had advocated a system of co-opera-tive organisation in regard to the dairying industry in the district from which he had come, and it had now been brought about. They had already realised the importance of co-operation in dairying matters in New Zealand, and in regard to their butter that went Home he was glad to be able to say that it was ! second to none there. The moment ' that a farmer allied himself with his j neighbour by working under the cooperative system one of the greatest j of his difficulties was removed, as he | was then enabled to sell his produce., not at cut-throat but at advantageous prices, at regular times during the year. The old falacy that in order to be successful one must try to get the better of his neighbour was by degrees being exploded, even at Home, and he was pleased to notice that in New Zealand it had already been exploded. The success of one man need not. depend upon the failure of neighbour. The co-op-erative system should be applied not merely to the sale of the farmers' produce, but also in the purchase on a wholesale basis of his stock and equipment. This principle has already been adopted with success in

some parts of England, Ireland, and Denmark. He had known farmers to obtain discount ranging from 15 to 40 per cent on their manures and feeding stuffs purchased in this way. j The old , principle of selling on the j wholesale basis and buying on a retail basis was gradually being discarded. If a farmer sold his produce at wholesale rates, he should at least 1 make his purchase in accordance with the same system. It may interest j Lord Islington to know that co-opera-tive buying has already been carried on in New Zealand in a small way, particularly in regard to manures and dairy requirements. As, however, the small farmer has been dependent in a measure upon the merchant and retailer, he has found it practically impossible to make his purchases on the wholesale basis.