Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/517

 GO-OPERATIVE PROGRE$$ 499 has no personal ambition in politics. If he is ambi- tious he is only so for the sake of the soil that he tills. It is now the right time to bring these matters energetically before the Franchise Committee. It is to be hoped that the various Registrars and prov, incial Federations will take up the matter and bring it into due prominence. From he Governmen and he official circles which have been always so sympathetic owards our aspirations nothing bu encouragemen expected. Finally, the Bengal ation Society and other similar Co-operative associations will li is giveu princeps, can be Organiz- find in this direction their rightful sphere of work. It has been objected to the above proposal to constitute co-operative societies into would be to divide them and to destroy by splitting them on pary questions. To tis con- tention several answers might be suggested. In the first place it is a pure assumption that the introduc- tion of representative institutions will be followed by the appearance of a two party system on te usual liberal and conservative lines in India as in England. The two pary system, is not a necessary corollary of the representative system. Indeed, the later history of representative system shows that parties tend to be formed more and more on the lines of property, and the line of cleavage tends to be between those who have property and those-who have not. In fact political and econo.talc lines of cleavage are in the course of being identified more and more. In the case of India, if adequate rpresentation or institutiona o he main ineres--agriculure as indusies and commerce--he forma- tion of paries on the usual lines migh be prevented snd all groups migh work wholeheartedly for he common welfare of he county and he empire. I is e duy of. co-operative bodies to insis on he that electorates their unity