Page 60 - The_story_of_the_C._W._S._The_jubilee_history_of_the_cooperative_wholesale_society,_limited._1863-1913_(IA_storyofcwsjubill00redf) (1)_Neat

The Story of the C.W.S.
members to nine. With one exception, however, all the Committee-
men still were drawn from South-West Lancashire. The exception
was Mr. James Crabtree, of Heckmondwike, who was first elected
toward the end of 1865, but who had expressed an unavailing desire
for retirement " on account of the distance." It is notable that at
this meeting, also, the Directors got into trouble for buying the
Balloon Street land, presumably without the previous sanction of
the delegates. While they were " exonerated from blame " (the
ground has since increased hugely in market value) " the meeting
objected to it being regarded as a precedent." Perhaps the
Committee were solaced by the increase of their fees to 5s. per
meeting, with promotion to second-class travelling on the railways.
Despite the pressure of these critical years of initiation the
Committee did not limit their consideration to trade, capital, and
profits. The Social Science Association, in the sixties, drew men of
aU ranks and degrees of distinction to its annual congresses; and
Lord Brougham, as president, had repeatedly proclaimed the merits
of co-operation. At York, in 1864, his inaugural address reviewed
—
in detail the estabHshment of the wholesale store " a most important
step " (he said), " which in its consequences promotes co-operation
in a degree almost incalculable." In 1866 the Wholesale Committee
reciprocated the interest by granting £2. 2s. to the funds of that
year's congress and electing delegates to attend. On Monday,
September 24th, 1866, the day of a great Lancashire demonstration
in favour of political reform and the extension of the franchise, the
Wholesale premises were closed at noon, by order of the Committee.
At a meeting supplementary to the half-yearly in November of the
same year, and held on the initiative of the Directors, they were
constituted a provisional committee to arrange for a co-operative
conference, which was to devise means " for the extension and
consolidation of the co-operative movement." Apart from com-
mercial help the Wholesale had already done a little toward this end
by making a small grant in each case to two societies in distress.
Two trade reforms were instituted at a later period when (May, 1868)
the Quarterly Meeting resolved that " all societies be charged the
same price for the same commodity on the same day," and the
Committee agreed " provided such be in whole packages ;" and
when (April, 1869) net prices were quoted in all cases, and the
system of discounts, which then existed and still exists in private
trade, \vas entirely aboUshed. But, again, this is carrying us too
far ahead.
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