CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

               There are many different types of co-operatives societies in different parts of the entire world, but they all have one feature in common they are financed by those who participate in them. The most familiar type of society is the retail co-operative society. The main lines on which these retail societies are run areas, any person may become a member by taking up one or more shares. There is a nominal   entrance fee of me cent/naira and the balance of 19cent/ naira can be provided out of future dividends. No member may hold more than two hundred pounds/dollars/naira in shares.                    All goods are sold at current retail prices. The profits, after making a basis of so much per pound/dollar/naira spent on the society’s goods. This is usually referred the co-operative rebate or dividend. The Scottish societies reserve a proportion for employees but the English ones do not.                          Some societies particularly the large ones spend a proportion of their profits on educational and similar institutions. The wholesale and retail societies are examples of consumer co-operatives.              There are also producer co-operatives where numerous small producers combine together either to acquire machinery or to facilitate marketing or both. Credit banks and credit societies are principal features of co-operation, where as in advanced countries like England and the U.S.A, the business is centered on building societies.

                        CHARTERED COMPANIES-

              The right of incorporation by the royal charter is one of the powers vested in the crown by the common law of England. Companies incorporated by the royal charter are not very numerous but this was the earliest mode of incorporation and such companies were usually formed in furtherance of trading purposes. The East India Company, the kudos’s Gray Company and the bank of England are all famous instances of incorporation by the royal charter. The crown has always used its powers to grant a charter reluctantly. It is a hard mode of incorporation for a trading company.

                        STATE AND MUNICIPAL TRADING ENTERPRISE-

               In England, of which Nigeria was a crown colony, just by 1946 the only business which the state ran was the post office and cognate services. Long before that time quite a number of large industries of national importance have nationalized(Electricity, gas, coal etc).In some parts of the world , governments monopolize the sale of tobacco, matches , cotton wool and  a lots. The original capital the investors being paid interest out of taxes. If the concerns are profitable, the profits are taken by the state; if not then further taxes required to make the good the loss. When existing industries are nationalized the normal procedure is to raise a government loan in order to obtain the capital necessary to compensate the existing shareholders for instance Airline stock. The increase in the number of nationalized industries has given rise to a constitutional problem. In theory those who control the industries in question must be responsible to the state but the question arises of how. Various ministers in connection with the industries but it have agreed that operation of them in parliament. The problem is   therefore to devise a suitable channel through which those controlling the nationalized industries can be made responsible to parliament and to the nation. This is still largely unresolved. A select committee was established to consider the problem and its recommendation was that a permanent select committee should be formed which would have powers to investigate and report on the operation of the all the nationalized industries. Municipal enterprises are capitalized in the same way as those just described but the profits go to the municipalities concerned and the interest on the loans is paid by them. Again, if losses are made, the deficits must be made up by the ratepayers.

                            COMPANIES LIMITED BY GUARANTEE-

             Of the two kinds via those having a share capital and those not having a share capital, the latter are more common. In such companies the memorandum of Association must contain a clause stating the amount to be contributed by each member in the event of the company being wound up and where such a company has no share capital, the articles of association must state the number of members with which the company proposes to be registered to enable the registrar to determine the fee payable on registration. The amount guaranteed by each member is the same for all and may be any sum determined by the subscribers to the memorandum. It forms no part of the capital of the company, cannot be mortgaged or charged, being wound up while he is a member or within one year afterwards. It is only when required should it be needed

                To enable the company to pay its debts and liabilities contracted before he ceased to be a member and the costs of expenses of the contributors among st themselves. Guarantee companies are usually formed for the purpose of carrying on undertakings not intended to make profits, e.g. Mutual insurance and trade protection societies, professional associations, social clubs and the like. Under license of the board o trade such a company may be registered with limited liability without the necessity of adding the phrase limited liability to its name.