A CO-OPERATIVE COLONY.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXI, Issue 3072, 24 January 1894, Page 3

A CO-OPERATIVE COLONY.

An account has been given of a cooperative experiment Which is bein& tried on the shores of one of the bayi. of the Gulf of California, a long waj south of San Francisco. On a magnificent harbour of this bay ii toTJe built a model city,' to be called Pacific City, and to cover 29 square miles. It is to be built on the raoat riflidly, ca-operatire principles. A 00-opera-jt.iTe railway is to connect it wift the Railway system ot Mexico and the (United States. Each adult colonwt, 'male or female, must hold one share*: and only one, and; no absentee lharebolders will be permitted. All colonists must work at what they are told to undertake by the directori. There are at present 400 in residence, and 5,000 hay« promised to come a» •soon - as the railway, which, has been surveyed* is »ready to be constrocte dt [They hare acquired possession of 60,CKX) acres of land, and ba?e the b|)t ion of buying 150,000 more at. 8s 4d per adre ; and they hare ob-, gained other concessions from ihs] Mexican Government. . About 745 acres ha?e been planted with orange^ trees, bananae, vinef, and straw* berries, and they bare already roaped some wheat and barley. More net-, tiers are wanted, but they must be settlers able to undergo the prirations of pioneer life. Aa every per- ! manect resident must be a member of this co-operatife community, the . eolohy thus becomes a great experi- • ident in Socialism in one or other of its forms.

Germany as a competitor in the m1 t trade >i§ proying herswlf most for* ' midable, and appears to be posiesmng herself of tbe major pdrtion of the trade. Before tbe formation of tbe Salt Uwion nearly all, if not actually all, the Rangoon trade wa« in the bands of Liverpool sttpplierf , *nd the •alt carriers ftdm the Wmef fonhed ' a numerous and magnificent fleet of ship* to tbe Bast; At tba prwebt moment, instead of half a dotten ibip% loading? salt at Lirerpdol for Btiigo^i, there is one soHtary fessel filled, #bile in Hamburg there are f dor sbips taking altogether to Rangoon alone nearly ten thousand tons of silt. The iossto Lirer^ool throogh the abwnceof these rewels is ?eiy senoqs, and it is no consolaliott to Englishmen to find that th» tlepartiog trade is going to a foreign competitor. This loss of trade is solely on account of the high pricei now charged by the Lirerpool aropjiers, as Cheshire salt always had the ppefdrence at fqtial rales. Middlesborough is also takiog a portion o£ tbe teade from Liferpool, but not by aiiy, meanßia« madh as Hamburg.