Co-operative Faith and Practice - An Address by Thomas Hughes and E. V.ansittart Neale

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Aria

Co-operative Faith and Practice is an address attributed to Thomas Hughes and E. V.ansittart Neale, arguing that the cooperative movement should rest on principles of brotherhood, truthful dealing, justice, and economy. It traces organizational developments over decades, outlining how societies should manage exchange, prevent false dealing and labor waste, and align capitalist, worker, and purchaser interests. The speech then explains practical application through aggregation, wholesale production, federation into a union, and cooperative production expansion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET

TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA

CO-OPERATIVE FAITH AND PRACTICE

Address content and principles

98-84382-19Hughes,Thomas Co-operative faith andpractice Manchester[c189-?] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISION # BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 334Z2Hughes,Thomas 1826-96 &Neale,E.V.1810-32Co-operative faith and practice;an addressManchester Eng jno-date D.15-pCo-opecrlveLmte,4((189-No 29 of a vol of pamphlets18. 8cm儿三D RESTRICTIONS ON USE: Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Libraries # TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE:35mmREDUCTION BATIO: 9:1 IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA( IB IIB DATE FILMED: 119 INITIALS: F TRACKING\#: 32757 No cade Co-0PERATIVE FAITHAND—PRACTICE.一个 An Aoress bn @has ugliesattoF.lTansiffart eale. 1 taπchester: PurLIBEED BY THE Co-0PERATTVE UxIoS LIMITED,CrTY BUTLDTKO5,CoLPORATION STREET. ro10 CO-0PERATIVE FAITH AND PRACTICE. AN ADDRESS BY THOMAS HUGHES AND E.VANSITTART NEALE. I. MORE than forty years have passed since,under thepresidentship of the late Professor Frederick DeuisonMaurice,the Society for Promoting Working Men's Associa-tions,of which we were among the original members,wasformed Two years afterwards,on the passing of the Industrial andProvident Societies Act,in 1852,that society was re-organisedunder the name of the Association for Promoting WorkingMen's Societies,based on the declaration of principlesfollowing:一 1.That human society is a brotherhood,not a collection of warringatoms. 2.That true workers should be fellow-workerB,not rivals. 3.That a principle of justice,and not of selfishnes,should regulateexchange. Twenty-three years later,in 1875,the Congress of Londonadopted,as the practical application of these principles,the 4 following statement of objects,which every society thatbecame a member of the Co-operative Union,represented bythe Congress,should profess to accept as the principles bywhich all its business transactions should be guided:— The desire to promote the practice of trathfulnesB,justice,andeconomy,in production and exchange一 1.By the abolition of all false dealing; 2.By conciliating the conflicting interests of the capitalist,theworker,and the purchaser,by an equitsble division among them ofthe fund eommonly called profit; 3.By preventing the waste of lubour now caused by unregulatedcompetition. Six years subsequently,in 1881,we repeated these prin-ciples in the Manual for Co-operators,which by the Congressof Gloucester,two years before,we lad been requested toprepare;and the Congress of Derby accepted the Manual as aco-operative text-book,with a litle opposition,directed,notagainst this statement of principles,but only against theclaim that we made for them to be the legitimate offspringof the Christian faith. We feel justified,then,in claiming for the principlesstated above,that they are the recognised creed of thec0-operative body.How are they to be applied in practice?So far as relates to the process of exchange,the question hasbeen answered completely by the retail societies formed oBthe type of the well-known Rochdale Pioneers,of which theremarkable success is the glory of British co-operation at thepresent day,and the sheet anchor of hope for the future. But exchange,though it has had a great deal to do with thedistribution of wealth among mankind,obviously cannotcreate it.The distributive stores may give to 18s.the pur-chasing power of l,but they cannot give to the buyer the18s.Toeffectexchange wemust first produce that which is to 5 be exchanged.If by co-operation we are to bring about a per-manent elevation of the working population,we must trans-form them into persons who produce on their own account,and not,as they do generally at present,chiefly on accountof others by whom they are sustained and employed.Howis this to be done

FAQs

What core principles does the address claim for cooperative societies?

It emphasizes a brotherhood view of society, fellow-worker relationships rather than rivalry, and a justice-based exchange governed by fairness instead of selfishness.

How does the address describe the practical goals of cooperative exchange?

It argues that exchange requires prior production, and that retail and distributive stores can shift purchasing power but cannot create wealth by themselves.

What scheme does the address propose to apply cooperation in practice?

It outlines aggregation around wholesale centres, using accumulated capital for production under cooperative conditions, federating distributive and wholesale bodies into a union, and extending cooperative production until it becomes the universal mode for creating wealth.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Aria