94 IV.—CONVERSION OF ORDINARY BUSINESSES INTO
CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES.
good by writing off tbe accumulated shares to the amount
required; out of the balance an amount not exceeding 10 per cent,
of the profits was to be devoted to forming a Reserve Fund to the
value of one-tenth of the amount of the Society’s shares, loans and
deposits; a further.10 per cent, was to be paid over to the Provi
dent Fund and Education Fund in proportions to be determined
by the Committee; while the remaining profit of the Society was
to form a “dividend fund” to be distributed as follows:—(a)
One-third to the holders of ordinary and accumulated shares, and
to the holders of special loan stock in proportion to the paid-up or
accumulated amounts of their holdings; (b) one-tliird to all the
employees of the Society who should have worked for the Society
at least 600 hours during the period to which the distribution
related, but so that the bonus to labour thus provided should accrue
in favour of those employees only who were members of the
Society, the share of profit which would have gone to the other em
ployees but for their non-membership being paid to the Provident
Fund; (c) one-third to the management. This one-third allotted
to the management was to be distributed in the proportion of 50
per cent, to the president as remuneration for his services, 15 per
cent, to the Committee, and 35 per cent, to the manager and fore
men, and to others rendering special services to the Society,
whether members or not; such 35 per cent, to be in addition to
their bonus as employees, and to be at the sole discretion of the
president, without his having to render any account of the same,
and with power to carry any part forward from year to year. Of
the shares of dividend allotted under (a) and (b) one-half was to be
paid in cash, one-half in accumulated shares of the Society.
In its first year the Society employed (according to the amount
of work in hand) from 120 to 150 persons, of whom at the end of
the year (1902) 27 received out of the profits in the form of cash
bonus plus sums credited as shares or to Provident Fund, amounts
equivalent to 41 per cent, on their wages; in 1903, 33 (out of 120)
employees received a little over 3 per cent.; in 1904, 4 per cent,
was paid to 44 employees (out of the total of 190 employed in that
year); in 1905 no bonus was paid; in 1906 6'4 per cent, was paid to
30 member-employees (out of a total of 109 employees); in 1907
a bonus was paid, but neither the ratio which that bonus bore to
wages, nor the number of participants can be stated; in 1908
and 1909 no share in profits was received by the employees, and
in July, 1910, the Society went into voluntary liquidation.