CO-PARTNERSHIP IN LAND.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 24 April 1913, Page 3

CO-PARTNERSHIP IN LAND.

The co-partnership experiment in the cultivation of agricultural law), made by Lord Rayl.igh, has aroused great interest in- Kngland. The area farmed by Lord Rayleigh at Witham amounts to between 3000 and -1000 acres, of which about two-thirds .ire arabk' and the remainder grazing land. It is divided into farms undo-.-the charge of bailiffs, who Uve in the farmhouse rent free and receive in addition a fixed salary. The largest of these farms extends to about 1000 acres, and the bailiff in charge control* between o() and 60 men. About '2O years ago Mr Edward Strutt (who manages the estate or behalf of his brother. Lord Rayleigh) commenced paying his employees in annual bonus in 'addition to theh wages. The amount of each man's bonus- is, roughly, proportionate .to his wage or salary. Thus an ordinal ■ y labourer receives a bonus of 30s to £2;-a, horseman and cowman, earning higher wage", £2 to £5; and the bailiffs a still larger amount. The system has been still further elaborated in the case of cowmen, who receive an additional bonus if the amount of milk from their cows exceeds a certain quantity. While tain rough rules of this kind are observed in allocating the bonuses th exact'amount which each one receives I rests with Mr .Strutt, whose aim throughout is to reward any man who has done especially good work: The amount now distributed in bonuses is about .£'ooo a year but this sum bears no exact relation to the year's profits In 190S Mr Strutt supplemented the bonuses by a regular system of co partnership. The principal particulars o fthis sch me are as follows: Any man working on" the estate i& ■ allowed to invest, his own or bis wife's savings in the fa no. The money thus invested is usrd :;*< ordinary farming capital! It is withdrawable at any time on a week's notice being given. It is guarantee! interest at 4 pc cent, and it rcc.--iv\s, in addition, a full percentage <>f any additional dividends that may be declared at the end of the year. Thus, as far as profits are concerned, the men investing nino-cy in the farms receive nil the'privileges of shareholders in an ordira'ry commercial company. L. other rlf.>pc(;t-s, however, they are su'ojact to certain important restrictioni For instance, any man leaving Lord Rayleigh's •-•inploy is required to withdraw his deposit forthwith. Xo inJividu'd d'.p-ositer may invest a larger sum than l'2!X). Finally, the enti e control of the industry rests with Lord R.iyhigh and Mr" Strutt, who decide the manner in which the men's capita! is to be employed and the amount to be put by in any given yc-ar for depreciation' and reserve before the additional dividends (over and above the guaranteed 4 per cent.) are declared. Before declaring a dividend the following charges are met: (1) Outgoings and current expenses of all kinds, including wages and salaries; (2) a. rent to Lord Rayleigh of about £1 an acre on all the land farmed; (3) the bonuses, amounting to about £6OO a year; and (4) a varying sum put by for depreciation and 'reserves. 'The sum refraining after all these charges have been met is profit, and is divided at an •equal rate between Lord Rayleigh, and Mir Strutt on the one hand, and the employed depositors on the other hand, in proportion to the amount of capital invested by each, in equal rates. Up to the present the experiment has been a great success. A large proportion of those em ployed have invested their savings in the farms, the amount invested being about £3000; and it has been found impossible to pay on these deposits a very heavy dividend over and above the'guaranteed 4 per cent. .- As a,n additional inducement to the men to invest, Mr Strutt ha ? arranged that the bonuses referred to should be automatically invested in the farm, unless the employee expressly desires to receive them in cash.