AND ON THE CONTINENT.

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interest. Interest and capital payment amounted to £15 12s.annually.

From what lias been said it results that a happy solution of theso-called operatives’ house question is to be found in the lastdegree in a greater participation of the working classes in nationalpossession of capital.

Of special interest is the development of the “ limited ” principlein spinning at Oldham, and certainly not only from economical,but also from social points of view. It has already been touchedupon how the “limited” system helped onward the development ofspinning, and made possible concentration of capital, and there-»ith a considerable lowering of the costs of production.

It is a remarkable fact that those large limited spiuning-mills atOldham, furnished with the mostimprovedinachinery, which to-daycan generally be looked upon as the leading ones, are also sociallyinteresting pictures, and in fact emanated from a movement of theworking classes.

Their origin is ascribable to the co-operative movement, whichhas always had its chief seat in Lancashire. The banks of thelittle river Roach, which washes Todmorden and Rochdale, are cer-tainly those of a second Tiber, going out from which the co-opera-tive idea, according to the thought of its supporters, should conquerthe whole world (5). As a fact, however, the efforts of the co-operative societies at production have mostly failed, and haveproved themselves only possible under the first condition of havingmorally exceptionally high-standing members. On the other hand,the co-operative stores, to which belong the extensive masses ofthe cotton and machine operatives of Lancashire, had an increas-ing success. They educated the operative for the practical manage-ment of business. Besides which they collected, as savings, thedividends, which in many cases were not drawn by the members,forming considerable capital which required investment. Bothconditions must come together in order to make possible the suc-cessful formation of “limited” undertakings by the workingclasses. A further circumstance favoured this development; num-erous Oldham employers had arisen from the ranks of the opera-tives. as well as that large class of overlookers, technical men, andmanagers, which stands between employers and operatives. In all

Compare my book “ On Social Peace,” I., p. 311.

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