FARMERS'BANQUET.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 519, 28 May 1909, Page 10

FARMERS'BANQUET.

BRIDGES AND ACRICULTURE. . V MINISTERS'INTENTIONS. Tho banquet tendered to the Provincial Conference of the Farmers' Union at. Ekctahuns on Wednesday evening by tho • local union and chamber of commerce was attended by about a hundred persona.;. Mr. Ridge, local union president, presided, and was supported by the Dominion aiid Wellington president (Mr.. J. G. Wilson), the''Minister for Agriculture (Hon. T. Mackenzie), Minister for Roids, Bridges, Labour, ,arid Customs (Hon. A. W. Hogg), Mr., Guthrie, M.P., and Mr. Grey, Mayor of Ekctahuna. After the loyal and patriotic toasts, in connection with which Captain Hewitt, Mr. 11. D. M'Kenzie, and others made-interesting speeches, Mr..Ewan Campbell gave tho toast of'-The Legislature." Hon. A. W. Hogg: Finance and Retrenchment. The Hon. A. W.; Hogg, in reply, said that ho was told that there was to be no "cold hash" served up in the session about to open, but a series of .very "warm dishes." In tho commercial outlook, tho cyclone of tho recent past was disappearing, and the future was brightening. In-tho very favourable times which preceded the. recent slump, he believed chat nearly a million of money was spent in ono year in motor cars, and, to the surprise of thoir friends, many of the farmers turned globe-trotters. But the barometer began to fall, and, when the rain came, some of them got wet. The outlook'was' seriously regarded —at least Iby thoso who word supporters, of the Government.-. But the.Opposition, on the contrary, danced with delight, for at last their dismal 1 , prophecies -ha 4 been fulfilled. (Laughter.) ■' Tho cause .of the shortage of money was due, not to a shortage of exports,' j but. to reduced prices. Yet New Zealanders, as they, always would, bravely met their 'engagements, and even, threw a Dreadnought or, two at their chief creditor. Whentho British papers commented on the splendid, offer' of a,Dreadnought,'not ono word was said about the public debt or. financial' stringency of this country. That was left to the highsouled and patriotic Conservative press of Now Zealand. Concerning the Ministry's unpleasant retrenchment work, tho pruning knife had-not, been applied to the, lower grades or to tho useful workers, but to some of the high-paid, heads, a few of whom had begun to believo , themselves indispensable. In tho Department of Labour and ftoads and Bridges, it would be a cruel'and sorrowful task to him to have to dismiss any man on 'whom depended a wife and family. He believed his retrenchment would- be chiefly felt' in respect "to roads and'; bridges. Yet agriculture could not ..bo successfully prosecuted,without good access to. tho towns and tho.railways or to' the ' schools. Good roads and. bridges woro of more importance than handsomoTiuildingsin the city. ,Hointended.to introduce a reform in bridges, making bridges of iron, and steel; and cpricioto •that would last, for nearly a century, rather than the .wooden bridges of the past, that fell, into decayin'a very snort-time* In CustornsJ a sum of about £250,000 per year-passed.into his hands. Ho intended to continuo reducing taxation • on- tho necessaries' of life, oven l if they had to increase it oh pianos and motorcars. • ; '!- : .'","# •' -, Mr. Guthrie, M:P., - also ■ spoke. '".'■'< , Tiie President on.State Farms. Responding to the toast of "The Farmers'. I Union" (proposed by tho Mayor of Eketahuna), the president, Mr. J; G. Wilson, said he learned with pleasurd.that dairying districts had not feltitho financial depression. Much of the. success of tho industries was due to tho early work of Sir John M'Kenzie'' and Mr. J. D. Ritchio. Tho'present Minister, the, Hon. T. Mackenzie, had como : into office i at a difficult time, and he counselled him not to be in too great a hurry to''begin doing things:/ The State farm's appeared to be either-, demonstration or experiment -farms, but. there was l not- yet-.'an'i ; investigation station, which ho thought'desirable:- There should'bo arrangements made'.to have cadets on the experiment farm's and.to give teachers facilities for study of: agriculture. The work of these,farms needed-to; bo more systcrhatised. '■" .■■ . ~ Hon. T. Mackenzie: Dairying and -Wool.' Tho Hon. T. .Mackenzie, replying to tho toast of "The Agricultural and Pastoral Industry," expressed surprise.: that thero should be people in the country advocating the cutting-up • of experiment farms at Weraroa and elsewhere. He intended to push forward tho schomo of. training. cadets, at these farms,, so that the education received at tho public schools should extended. Ho --'congratulated'-the'; dairying in-, dust'ry on having mado'a record output this season; namely, butter valued at.£1,610,000 and choeso valued - at £984.000; increases of £163,000 and £75,000 respectively. ' But quality must be maintained, and, to, secure this, thore must be' regulations which" would prevent the filthy milker from spoiling the produce of the careful,man; ..The question of tho increased moisture in New Zealand butter needed attention, and the near approach of Siberian prices, to.those Zealand butter-,called .for-serious consideration. Politically, ho urged members'of the Farmers' .Union-.not to blindly tio themselves to any. particular party,'but to closely studv proposals and support those who wero best catering. for, ; their. interests.. - As to - wool ■prices, it was estimated that if all tho wool of last season had been sold at last May's prices, and' all the wool-of this season could have been ,solt at this-May's parity, the difference would bo equal-to an increase on the whole of the country's clip -of about a million and a half sterling. The increased price was--partly dueto.decreased output of cotton and other'competing fabrics and to decreased importation to Britain of shoddy for sanitary reasons. 'Ho condemned those farmers wha bought cheap 'inferior German wire and. other'goods in preference to the superior goods from Britain,; .whore this country s produce found its customers.. - Other speeches followed. ■'■ •:- ■- '