BROWNFIELD’S GUILD POTTERY SOCIETY, LTD. 
91 
for the payment of the ordinary share capital remains.” The existing 
capital of the society is stated to consist of £6,690 deferred stock, £7,531 
preferred shares, and £932 loan stock. The £6,690 deferred stock includes, 
in addition to the £6,000 belonging to Mr. Brownfield, £690 belonging 
to employees of the society. Of the 7,531 preferred shares, £251 belong 
to employees of the society, £1,410 to trade unions (£650 to the Pottery 
Hollow Ware Pressers’ Society, £500 to the Pottery Printers’ Society, 
£250 to the National Order of Potters, and £10 to the Bakers’ Society),. 
£1,760 to working potters employed in other w 7 orks and railway servants,. 
£650 to 25 co-operative societies, £23 to employees of co-operative socie 
ties, £125 to three customers of the Guild-Pottery society, £480 to persons 
who supply the society with raw materials, and £2,832 to the general 
public. The £932 loan stock consists, in part, of £200 advanced by two- 
managers of co-operative societies, and £50 advanced by a co-operative 
society, these loans carrying interest at 5 per cent., while the balance 
(£682) has been advanced without interest hy Mr. Brownfield, this sum 
including £282, part of his salary of £400 a year remaining unpaid. The 
total number of persons employed by the society is about 400, of whom 
200 (not including Mr. Brownfield) hold stock or shares, all the 200 
holding deferred stock, while 150 hold both deferred stock and preferred 
shares. The whole of the employees are expected before long to have 
become owners of at least £1 apiece of deferred stock, as they are taking 
up this stock by instalments; “ every week, when the workers are on full 
time, men pay 5 per cent, on their earnings and women 2^ per cent.” It 
is intended that the holdings of the employees in the deferred stock shall 
be increased until they amount in the aggregate to £2,000. The rules, 
provide that the net profits, “after providing for the interest and dividend 
upon any loans or deposits or guaranteed preferential shares,” shall be 
applied in reduction of the fixed stock and plant at specified rates, and 
in the reduction of any preliminary expenses, and then in the following 
manner: share capital is to receive a dividend of 6 per cent.; not less 
than 10 per cent, of the profits shall be carried to reserve until this fund 
amounts to 10 per cent, of the capital; not less than 2^ per cent, of the 
net profits shall be devoted to an education fund; the society’s subscrip 
tion to the Co-operative TJnion is to be paid; the committee may devote 
a certain part of the profits to an assurance and pension fund; then 
three-fourths of all remaining net profits shall go “to all the persons 
who during the period to which the division relates have been employed 
by the society for not less than six calendar months in the whole, the 
proportion of profits falling due to each person to be determined as the 
committee may fix from time to time ” (the bonus is at present arranged 
to be “ in proportion to the weekly wage ”), while the other fourth of the 
net profits is to go to the customers of the society. All bonus coming to- 
employees is to be in the shape of shares or payments on account of a 
share in the society. Mr. Brownfield is manager of the society, the rules 
providing that he can be removed only “ by the vote of five-sixths of all 
the members of the association and five-sixths of all the votes capable of 
being given at a special general meeting ”; he “ shall control all business 
carried on by the society, and engage, remove, or discharge, all assistant- 
managers, salesmen, or employees of every description,” &c., “ subject 
to the duty of regularly reporting all such acts to the com 
mittee.” His remuneration is determined by an agreement made between 
him and the committee, which was part of the conditions of the purchase 
of the business. The committee consists of 18 members, of whom 16 are 
persons employed by the society (including Mr. Brownfield, one of the 
travellers, the art director, the cashier, the stock-keeper, and several of 
the leading operatives) and two are representatives of Trade Unions (the 
National Order of Potters and the Pottery Hollow Ware Pressers’ Society). 
It appears that this undertaking has at its outset been considerably ham 
pered by having to contend with “ the prejudice of the former customers 
of the late firm, who object to the Guild-Pottery supplying co-operative 
distributing societies,” which has led to a falling-off in the trade done. 
The- profits did not suffice to permit of the payment of any 
bonus to employees in 1894. In 1895 they received a bonus at the