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Agricultural Co-operatives.
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Some years ago, Mr. Strickland wrote a report *bliobed as a Government White Paper on the possibility of ast.blishing rur 1 co-oper tivés in Hong Kong. This report has been considered by a succession of Governors and their Councile, but no stepa have been taken to implement the recomendations made in it. Shortly before leaving Hong Kong in October, 1945, the vocasion being propitious, I put before Government a propos 1 for the collection and marketing of the Colony'a vegetablem by a body which would in effect be the forerunner of Co-operative Society comparable to thet eet.blimbed by me for fisheries in September of the same year. October 19th, the day before I left Hong Kong, Goverment discussed this proposal with the nucleus of w tem which would run the scheme, and asked that it should be worked out in detail in tar next two or three secke with view to ita adoption if approved. The vaɣet ble business is one of the worst raps in the Colony, the producer gets next to nothing, the ampit-list siddleman almost all the profite. The scheme proposed would ensure that the former gets a fair price end the purchɛser did not pay too much.
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Another problem which must be tackled is thst of land tenure. Much of the land in Hong Kong, *s in South Caine, is very hervily mortgaged, and the fermer has to pay a large
1 percentage of the yield of rice as interest on the debt - the cupitsi is very rarely repaid. In consequence, the former is too poor to buy bemute and implements and cannot afford to experi-i ment or to try new meth:da. He cannot afford the risk of loss if an experiment is a failure, and hence la ultr- conservative in bio methode. Eural co-operative banks are essential to help save the famore from the mean that they ere in end to finance improvements. Pert pe tia Imperial Government might consider æ grunt to such banks to facilitate the rehabilitetion of the
gricultur 1 industry of the Colony. I need not elɛberste this any further.
I do not profese to know anything about fere eniasia, but I do know something about native ad fordiṛn eropa oultivɛted in Hong Kong, and I do know the Colony, its people and its grobless. Though these schemes would cost money, they are essentially preatio@l, and there is no reason why any one of them should not prove a great success.
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