﻿BROWNFIELD’S GUILD POTTERY SOCIETY, LTD.

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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 w7orks 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