The great co-operative movement in England was created by the celebrated Rochdale Pioneers, the name given to the weavers of Rochdale who started it. On a rainy night in November 1843, twelve men met in the back room of a mean inn and commenced the co-operative movement by organising themselves as "The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers." They agreed to pay twenty pence a week into a common fund, but only a few of these twelve men were able to pay their pence that evening. They began by buying a little tea and sugar at wholesale prices, which they sold to their members at little more than cost. In a year their number had grown to twenty-eight, and they had collected _28l._, with which they rented a little store and stocked it with _15l._ worth of flour. During the first year they made no profit. In its second year the society had seventy-four members, _181l._ in funds, _710l._ of business, and made _22l._ profit, 2-1/2 per cent. of which was used as a fund for education.[857]
Gradually but constantly growing, this movement has branched out in every direction, and the result is that there are now in Great Britain 1,685 co-operative societies with 2,263,562 members. These co-operative societies are manufacturers, ship owners, bankers, brokers, factors, merchants, millers, printers, bookbinders, and shopkeepers of every kind on the largest scale. The rapidly growing assets of the various undertakings represent a value of about _50,000,000l._, the combined nominal capital comes to _42,813,348l._, and the yearly net profits amount to about _11,000,000l._, or to more than 35 per cent. per annum on the subscribed capital. In 1905 the net profits amounted to 37.4 per cent., in 1906 to 36.4 per cent. on the share capital.
Capitalised at 4 per cent, the co-operative societies represent an investment value of about _300,000,000l._, or about _100l._ per co-operator. The societies maintain an army of 107,727 employees. Their progress during the last decade may be seen at a glance from the following figures:
_Total Trade of British Co-operative Societies._
1896 £58,729,643 1901 88,394,304 1906 110,085,826[858]
Already the income of the co-operative societies is twice as large as the interest paid on the whole of the deposits in the British savings-banks. There is no reason why the co-operative movement should not further grow and increase, and it is to be hoped that it will further extend in every direction to the benefit of the industrious and thrifty workers. There ought to be no propertyless workers in Great Britain.