CO-OPERATION

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 101, 2 May 1922, Page 8

CO-OPERATION

LECTURE ON ROBERT OWEN.

The newly-formed Ladies' Guild in connection with the Workers' Go-opera-tive Society held its first meeting for, ths winter session last night in the lecture room. The meeting was presided over by the president, Mrs. Stewart, and there was a good attendance of women coroperators. '

Mr. M.. Ayrton was the speaker, who delivered a lecture oil Robert Owen. The speaker outlined the economic conditions prevailing in Great Britain during the 19th century. Robert' Owen as a successful cotton-spinner was intimately acquainted with the horrors of the factory system. • Owen conceived a new view of society and made a wonderful experiment at the New Lanarkshire mills. , He establishment beyond all doubt that, afteiv providing liberally for the wants of his work people in. the way of education and general recreation, in 29 years .he could'show a profit of £300,000. When" the" cotton-famine''prevailed, the mills stood idle for four months and hepaid out in wages during that time the sum of £7000. The work people who had hitherto distrusted him were at once impressed with the sincerity of Owen's propositions. . He - encountered, too, considerable opposition from his partners, who regarded his schemes as "amiable lunacy." Finally, Owen's connection ceased with the New Lanarkshire experiment in 1825. and he then turned his attention to the founding of co-operative colonies. The one in Indiana left Owen poorer by £40,000. The lecturer affirmed that Robert Owen inspired the main social movements of the 19th century. He laid the foundations of a system of education. He initiated a scheme for thn organisation of ■ workers in trade unions, and Owen's Grand National Consolidated Trades Union preceded by a century the big union theories of to-day. However, the greatest monument to-day to the constructive ability of this remarkable man was the co-operative movement. If he, the speaker, were asked which is the best-piece of work that the workers have contributed during the last century to the social wellbeing, he would unhesitatingly say the British co-operative movement. In 1916 there were in the Kinedom I^oo societies with a 'membership of 5,265.013. with a yearly turnover of 5102.557,779. As a matter of fact the co-ooerative societies nf Great Britain supply the daily wants of ten million people.

At the close of the lprture several ant questions were discussed. One of them being: "Why in it that the co-operative movement has failed to take root in New Zealand as it has done in older lands?" The sneaker snid that the same economic conditions did not exist in the rolonies as in Britain. Besides, the noonlation was more shifting in New Zealand and there were other features which were not favourable for the bnildinc up of the coonerptive movement. On the other hand, he wished to noint out that farmers' coorjeration in New Zealand was a nronounred success. The obvious defect in the farmer"' 00-onerstive was that it did not include within its sphere of operations the waee-workers.