CO-OPERATION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2376, 1 October 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

CO-OPERATION.

In a recent i'suu we dealt with this quL*'ti’*n with a view to asc-utain the principles of legitimate co-upei.di »n, and how far their observance or■ neglect had cmiuced l<* the proem >l.ite ul tiling m our cheese factories There is, hj av.-ver, wlial we may cm]] a by-buu. oi co-oper.iti'Mi, calK-d I miusti ial Uartuc! -hip. When larger capital is required than can b>* supplied by operatives them-fLes, ..r '.viier-t *-le* management of U;.? bu*ane«. lie*, purchase ot malenal.' t or the disposal vt re pine-, greater skill than the ordini.y operative p isscs.'U', co-operatt-m pme and simple must necessarily he a failure. U. is not, however, nece-i-ary even here that there should b;» a hard and fast line drawn between Capita] and Libun. While tin; hoik ol tin; capital is pro*, ided by, and the management remains in the hands <»I skilled and moneyed employers, the employees may be admitted into partnership by maknn; a portion of Ilnur watfe-*. depend on proii t.*.. This plan, iccommcnded hv Babbage so far luck as IS?-, has been .-tic* : cesstuby tried cf recent years in >.* v* ;ai larj'e works, notably in collieries and in Me*>is F»»x, Head and ; Co\s ironworks. Tho general arrangement 1 is after making provision for the payment j ol 10 per cent, on capital, fair salaries for j management, and a sum to meet bad debts, j depreciation, Ac., to divide tire rest, of the I profits into two o'jual juris, one to o.» to} those who provide the capita], the cth-jr t<» j be divided between tho employed in proportion to tiro drawn during the year. A workman thus finds Imn-eif every Christmas in possession of five, ten or more pounds, in addition to the u-ual wage* of his trade. This or other money he is encouraged to invest in the business, or may of course deal with as he likes. The advantages of tins system are that by identifying the interests of both parties, it prevents trade disputes with the great loss to both involved in strikes, and gives the men so much more interest in their business that work is superior and wages are higher in such establishments than the average in the same trade. It appears to satisfactorily solve the problem how to give the workman a fair share in the profits of his work, as distributive co-operation secures him a fair value for his wages. We notice that an attempt is being made, none too soon, to extend the principle of industrial partnership to onr goldfields. The bdlowiug extract from the llerald of a recent date will show what is proposed : “Asa practical start towards extracting gold from the ores on the Coromandel Ueninsula, a mining association is being organised, free from all the risks and expenses of ordinary goid mining companies, and so constituted that the w.uking capital will not only be al\vu3*s maintained, but will be added to at the rate of 10 per cent, on all monies available for dividend*. The terms are easy, and the conditions simp!**. The shares arc £*!:.’, payable I*l monthly, in advance, for one year, with no liability whatever. Experienced miners will be employed at the rate of -I per week : this money, together with other expenses, will be the first charge on any crushing of quartz, the balance of profit (less 10 |>er cent., to be added to the working fund), to be proportionately divided between th«»*e who subscribe, and those who work. By working chieHy on known gold-bearing lodes, there will belittle doubt of this fund being maintained permamentlr, after once subscribed, thus providing the necessaries of life for men while mining, and giving them a chance of diking a patch for their own and their supporters’ benefit. There will be no charge lor the management, winch has been undertaken l>3' -Mr Witheford, while the direction of work will be left to a committee of long-experienced minors.*’ Without pledging ourselves to the details of this scheme, we certainly think it is a move in the light direction. Tiie impottant part played by gold mining in our provincial prosperity is shown by these figures: In the last twenty years we have raised I, valued at I'-Vod lS I’-, one year —IS71 —Icing actually ciebted with Even dining the past 1.-n years of famine the production of gold has averaged ](i,oUooz, of the value of l'l>o,obb. per year. Every day wc hear of reefs or h>des being discovered, and for .some time past it has been recognised that tho sole condition necessary to an enormous output of gold, and consequently incalculable taaeHt to the community as a whole, and not least to Waikato farmers, is a satisfactoiy meth<»d of treating refractory ores. The whole district between Te Aroha and Cape Colville, it may safely be said, is teeming with the precious metals, but unfortunately from the fineness of the gold, and its peculiar chemical combinations, ordinary pr« ce-ses allow from 7*o to 7-’» per cent to run to wa>te. Here too, a p.utnership between practical miners and capitalists is suggested and it will be little to the credit of Auckland’s commercial sagacity and enterprise if we “ let 1 dare not wail upon I would, ’looking to that universal milch Cow, the (oivcrninent, for the shove we are too lazy to give ourselves.