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TABLE 17.-SHOWING INCREASE (+) OR DECREASE (-) IN THE ASSESSED VALUATION OF REAL ESTATE.

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PART III.

INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATIVE

LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES.

Part III.

Industrial Co-operative Legislation in England and the United States.

Industrial co-operation has met with but little "legislative countenance and encouragement," as the first New Jersey building and loan association statute put it. This, possibly, may explain to some extent the reason why it has made such little headway here, either to the productive or distributive direction; for organized under our general corporation acts, associations would be joint stock companies, where stock, not individuals control, and whose profits and losses are divided accordingly; while private partnership means unlimited liability. Certain it is that in England, prior to the original "industrial and provident societies act" of 1852, little progress was made by these institutions, which now are such a remarkable success there. Says McCarthy in his "history of our Own Times,"*"the law was much against the principle in the beginning. Before 1852, all co operative associations had to come under the Friendly Societies Act, which prohibited their dealing with any but their own members. An act obtained in 1852 allowed them to sell to persons not members of their body. For many years they were not permitted to hold more than one acre of land. More lately this absurd restriction was abolished, and they were allowed to trade in land, to hold land to any extent and to act as building

• P. 409.

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