A £6000 OFFER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 3

A £6000 OFFER.

EXPERIMENT FARM FOR WAIRARAPA. ~ MR. BUCHANAN'S PROPOSAL. It wili.be remembered that some time ago an anonymous . donor, supposed to bo tho Hon. R. : M'Niib, himself, gave the Government £1000 to purchase Shorthorns with which to start a Government milking strain. The' Minister for Agriculture (tho Hon. Mr. M'Nab), in announcing this anonymous gift at the last Manawatu Winter Show, threw out an invitation to the wealthy farmers of New Zealand to follow tho: example.

The invitation was accepted by somo gentloman whoso namo was also concealed, but the Minister announced that he had declined tho offer, because it stipulated for a now experiment'farm,! which, although the donor offered another £5000 to provide tho farm, the Government could riot undertake tho additional cost ,of maintaining. The sccret js now . out. The, gentleman who madcf this, liandsomo offer was apparently Mr. W. C. Buchanan, as tho following shows :— (BV IELEGRAPn—SrECIAI, CORUESrOKnENT.t Msstcrton, March 20.

At a meeting of the Wairarapa A. and P: Association, held ,at Carterton to-day, .Mr. W. C. Buchanan mado known the fact, that ho had. mado an offer to tho Government to' donate to tho-Stato a sum'of £5000" for a State farm in. the Wairarapaj ,and £1000 toward-a-dairy herd.- Tho conditions were that the farm was to.be in some locality south of-tho Waingawa Rivor in Wairarapa. ■ Mr. Buchanan's proposal was-made public to-day, owing to the'-fact that the Featherston Chamber, of, Commerce had requested the co-operation of tho Wairarapa A. and P. Association in asking tho Government to provide the district with a State farm. ' '' . Tho Wairarapa A. and P., Association is now communicating. with tho various local bodies asking their support in; order to bring pressure upon the Government for the cessful consummation of : Mr. Buchanan's scheme. . In'.connection-.with .the wholo business, it is. interesting to. note that Mr. Buchanan mado-this otter several mo'nths ago to tho Govornraent' through Mr. M'Nab, the Minister for Agriculture. .Mr. M'Nab then stated: that' Cabinet would give the - matter .' consideration. Nothing further was heard of tho subject-for somo time, aiid then Mr. M'Nab wrote to Mr.. Buchanan stating that tho Gov-, ornmeiit -did n'ot feel disposed to accept his offer, owing. .to'"the expenditure which would be necessary for tho upkeep of tho farm. It ; now transpires that as the Levin people are believed to have expressed an; opinion unap-' preciativo of the beneficial influence of thd : State-farm iii' their district, Mr. M'Nab may possibly accept Mr. Buchanan's offer, if. the public' meeting of Levin people, which is to bo held shortly, decides against the continuance of the State farm in that district.