THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1880, 24 July 1884, Page 3

THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.

TO THE EDirOK. Sir,—" Curious to Know " asks my reason for departing from my economic.il ideas as a dnectorjof t..e N.N.Z.F.G.A. In tbe fiist place, 1 did not vote tor any of the depots, — and, secondly, I was told on my way to tlie meeting of directors on the first instant, that it was no use | objecting as it was decided aheady that ' they must be. Evidently there was an under cunent at work on this matter. My informant was light, and, I did not vote or object simply because 1 ielt my doing so would only mouse angiy fellings, and be useless to oppose w hero all had made up their minds on the subject. Now, I ventuie to say that not one of those directors was more ready to vole for th se depots than 1 would be undtsi different encumstanees, I piefer seeing the Auckland head-quartets firmly establiahed. Dining that tune oui trade would be uici easing, our capital increasing, by calls being made and profits made. Then we shall be in a position to open a depot wheie A'e thought it most needed and theie appeared pios pects of a paying trade to be done, and w e could ha\e gone on slowly and surely increasing our resources, our depots add a benefit to the shaieholder. That word reminds me that it was decided at our last meeting " that any peison not a member ot our association is to be supplied with goods fioin our depots." 'JLhat means no peisou need take sluies iv theas&ooiation, because he may buy his goods at the same puce as shaieholdcis without locking up his money in shaies. So, now, the association is to be a trading company, for the purpose of making a piolit. 1 What saya tlu oth section of the memor andum of association :—": — " To confine the advantages ol the association exclusively to shaieholdeis." How will our chairman get o\ ci that lesolntion and the sth section as above. I cannot think that many ol the dnectois who \oted for the depots had senoiibly thought over the £ s d question in the mattei. It is very easy to sit tlieie and vote that this and that shall be done, but w hat about the w ays and means to do these things with. Someone said, Oh give these Auckland men a good thing and they will pull it tlnough all light. Tht directors ought to ha\ c a clear \ lew ot their own leooiuceb, and I teel convinced that we are not justified, at piesent, with the means w e ha\ u at com maud, in opening so many depots. Let us looU at the position we aie in to keep stocks, pay wages, &c, lor all thusu places. The Auckland office, store ami shop, and stoiages, without stock ol goods, w lien in woi king older, will cost about £S5O per annum ; tho Hamilton depot, Mi Gane estimates, will cost about tloO pei aumim, and Caitibuilge will cost about ' £450 pci annum, and the Te Awamutu depot will cost £'200 per annum. To these amounts we must add \auoas travelling, extia labour, and other expenses, and the total will not tail far shoit ol £2000 per annum. That piofit must be made, oi we make a loss. In addition, we ought to make sufficient piofit to pay 7 per cent, or 8 per cunt, to the shareholders. I take it that we are to depend on our own resources, because the sixth clause of the memoiandum of association reads, "To conduct the operations of the association on a cash basis." If we don't do this, a time of mercantile depression, a distuibauce in the niouey market, or some other giave cause may break up the whole concern in a few days. 1 was told at our last meeting that we had begun to dispose of the ninth thousand of our shares, and as it is not intended to call up more tlnn 10s per share at present, we may say that £4000 is the extreme amount we aie likely to have in hand, but as a fact the calls are being paid up very slowiy, and I estimate that we shall not get in quite £2000 this year. At piesenfc if all our debts weie paid, should we have £300? To this amount we can base an overdraft of £500 from the bank, but, of course, we must pay interest on that, and that means so much moie piofit wanted. I shall be veiy pleased if any directoi can prove me wiong in these figuies. I feel very anxious the association shall be a success — like the one at Christchurch, which, after thiee years' experience is still, according to all repot ts I have heard, doing all its work from one • central depot. But I fear we are trying to do too much with the funds at our disposal, and that the resufcf'may end in our doing very little. At the beginning of the public interest iv a co-operative association we were told that we were to establish a business and a reputation for ourselves. Lately that policy has been abandoned, and I leally cannot cindeiatand why there should be so much hastu in buying other people's business, nor can I comprehend why tiadespeople aie so ready to give us their businesses, which are " said " to yield a profit of £300 to £SOO a-year. The only condition is that we are to take all their stocks of goods at cost price, rent their premises, and emSloy themselves at a salary. It looks ke a puzzle why they are so ready to give us a profit of £300 to £800 a-year for nothing. If I were the buyer I should want something more than amount of cash received, cash paid out, cost of working the business, and amount of bad debts, &c. ! I mention these things to obow that we ought not to be in such a hurry to take any persou's business. Ifc has been decided to take Messrs Clark and Gave's business, stock and premises. Now, Mr Gane is manager pro tern, so when they are paid and he resigns it is more than likely we shall have other offers of a like nature. Shareholders naturally like to have depots within easy ,-ggdistance, but it ought to be for the |||||irectors to weigh well the cost before pPfstablishing them. Once started where are we to end ? Is the Waikato to be the f*. .boundary ? and if so, will it be justice to the accommodation to the outside .'^'shareholders, whose money we have • „' taken? — lam, &c, J. Newland.

TO THE EDITOH. Sir, — "Sour correspondent " Shareholder " gets a little unnecessarily warm on the above subject. My letter was not > intymded, to reflect in any way on bis „ ' good sense, but simply to protest against J r his -j grumbling statements and vague *" \ generalities. Thanking you for the |C~,f 'space taken up by this rather useless tgL cotttroveray.— - 1 am, &c, We" Fair Play. W\ JJautapu, July 10th, 1884.

W*k Metsrs Smith and Caughey, of Auckland , an ifeiiourtce that they will open on 30th inst., for a. of their cheap drapery JB§San3 parcel warehouse, in the shop formerly ocHH?csf>ied by Mr K. McDonald, opposite Rose's jEpEfctel/Duke-ttreot, Cambridge, where all goods jjj^^llWsold af their well-known low prices for H^st»honly. ' ;