thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine
pounds in 1867 than in 1866. Of course we
made money—why shouldn't we, with such a
roaring trade as that? Well, we cleared, after
deducting all costs of management, rent, &c.,
exactly forty-one thousand six hundred and
nineteen pounds! I would like to show that entry to
the twenty-eight originals. But how they would
stare if I read out to them the statement of our
accumulated capital. We possess, sir, a capital
to-day of one hundred and twenty-eight
thousand four hundred and thirty-five pounds, and
that is something for equitable pioneers to boast
of. Yet we do not hesitate to invest money in
permanent improvements. You see our almanack
is illustrated with a handsome engraving, in the
legitimate way of old-established almanacks.
That, sir, is our new central store, of cut stone,
four stories high, built, as our architect, Mr.
Cheetham, tells us, in Byzantine Gothic style.
The great clock in front, you see, is surmounted
by a beehive, for all are gathering honey within.
We spent fifteen thousand five hundred pounds
on that edifice, and it is, I do not fear to say,
a very handsome ornament to the good town of
Rochdale. Then we have erected a giant
bakehouse, to supply pure and wholesome bread to
those who may not be able to bake for
themselves, and who object to the use of potato
flour, ground rice, whiting, or alum in their
loaf. We are investing, too, ten thousand
pounds in building a good class of cottage
houses in the town, just the thing required for
steady workmen who like a comfortable
pleasant home and a bright fireside. We have
bought, also, a piece of the Larkfield estate—
the name reminds one of the bird that sings
near heaven's gate—and we are preparing
plans for laying the ground out to the best
advantage. Still our capital amounts to one
hundred and twenty-eight thousand four
hundred and thirty-five pounds, and we are
considering how we may safely employ a portion of
it. Parliament last year removed all restrictions
but one upon the action of co-operative
societies. We can enter upon any business we
please now but that of banking, and Overend,
Gurney and Co. are a caution to us not to wish
to turn our money in that direction.

Yes; there are "withdrawals" from our
society, and that to the tune of thirty-eight
thousand nine hundred and eighty-two pounds.
Workmen may wish to purchase a cottage, to
portion a daughter, to extend or open in business,
to help a son on in the world, or to meet,
if Providence so wills, the cost of sickness.
The shareholders can get their money at any
time, with five per cent., up to the hour of
withdrawal; so we Pioneers offer greater advantages
than savings-banks. But, notwithstanding these
withdrawals, we have now twenty-eight thousand
four hundred and forty-six pounds more capital
than we possessed this time last year.

You want to know what we do with the
profits? This almanack will tell you. We divide
our profits quarterly. First of all, we allow
interest at five per cent. per annum on all paid
up shares. That in itself is no despicable
dividend these times. Then we allow ten per cent.
as depreciation for all fixed stock—a proportion
rather in excess, you will say; but it is
better to err on the right side. Thirdly, we
deduct two and a half per cent. off the whole
nett profits for educational purposes—that is
a proper rule for pioneers to adopt; and when
we have provided for all these items, we divide
the remainder among the members in proportion
to the money expended by them with the
society. Last year each member received two
shillings and seven-pence back out of every pound
he spent on purchases at our stores. That profit,
and the five per cent., and two and a half per
cent. for educational purposes, would have gone
elsewhere, without the slightest benefit to the
consumers, only for the equitable pioneers.

You are curious to know what we mean by
educational purposes. Well, again the almanack
must tell you. We don't profess to teach
reading, writing, and arithmetic. We mean
education for the social life of youth and
manhood. We have, you see, a library of about
seven thousand volumes of good and useful
books, adapted to all classes and ages of readers.
The pioneers are of no party in literature; we
seek good everywhere. Moreover we have a very
useful institution, called a Reference Library,
always open, in which there are one hundred
and fifty volumes of first-class works, well
adapted for giving immediate information on
subjects which concern all classes of the community.
Then there are large globes, maps, atlases,
and a telescope in every reading-room for the
use of members. We know down in Rochdale
all about the march of our army in Abyssinia.
We have eleven news-rooms, all airy, cheerful
apartments, well warmed and lighted, with
comfortable seats and reading-desks. The
news-rooms are situated in those parts of Rochdale
where the working men chiefly live. They have
not to walk far from home to the pleasant
reading-room, where they will find laid out for them
daily and weekly newspapers, periodicals,
monthly magazines, and quarterly reviews,
representing all shades of politics, religion, and
social systems. I had almost forgotten to tell
you, that if a working man wishes to borrow a
microscope to examine fine work, or insects, or
flowers gathered in his walks afield, or an
opera-glass to scan the features of some
distinguished lecturer or speaker, or a stereoscope
to amuse and instruct the children, he can
obtain the loan of them for a trifling fee. We sell
the old newspapers and periodicals every three
months, and then a mechanic can procure a set of
a valuable periodical for a sum almost nominal.

The " twenty-eight" began trade with a very
limited stock of groceries: everybody would
want tea, coffee, and sugar, and the trade could
be carried on with comparatively little trouble
or expense. But under the name, "groceries,"
we now include an immense variety of articles.
Our object, too, is to save time and trouble,
and we think it an equitable thing that the
artisan's wife or daughter should be able to
purchase all she wants for the week's consumption,
or, as to that matter, for half a year's