THE DEPARTMENT ASSAILED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1224, 5 September 1911, Page 10

THE DEPARTMENT ASSAILED.

BOAKD or AGRICULTURE SUGGESTED. A vote of general satisfaction with tho ifork done by tho Agricultural Department lias beou struck nt rccent conferences of farmers, but Jlr. James Mosley, president of ihe. Clutha branch of tho .farmers' Union, does not hold tho opinion that the Department is what it should bo. To his mind tlip time has arrived for the appointment of n Hoard of Agriculture, , tho , members of which would bo elected i by tho farmers, and presided , over by an appointee or tho .'Government.. Taken generally, ho does not think the farmers have Hio slightest confidence in the Agricultural Department, and the constant changing of .Ministers, with their different ideas, did not tend to promote confidence or efficient, working. Theso'constant changes militnted against tho interests of tho farming community because tho experimental, work took years to bear fruit. For such a board ns.he suggested, Mr.. Mosley thinks the Dominion should bo divided into six wards, 'each farmer in ' tho respective wards to exercise one vpto for the. election of a farmer as representative on tho board, the board to. bo ' elected for, say, six years, so as to give, permanency of plan and ideals. After two years one member of the board from the" .North Island, and 0110 from the South Island would retire by ballot, but .bo eligible for re-election. Four years • after the election .two, more members, orio from each' island, would retire, .as above, and be eligiblo for re-election, and at the end of the sixth year the whole board would retire and a fresh election ensue. By this means Sir. Mosley thinks tho country would have a board which would bo ..continually., in .touch with . the fanners, as well as ensuring .permanency of-plan,, as it was reasonable to supposo that at least three-fourths of'tlie old. members would be returned. The - Government could appoint the president of the board , in place of. the Minister, for Agriculture, and by this means wo .would have aboard of experts in agriculture .which: would control everything pertaining , thereto. Such a boa I'd would not become an autocratic bureau such, as the present 'Agricultural Department was. Tho scheme might be objected to ,by _ some on the score of expense, but in his opinion the . expenso would be no greater than under . the present Department of Agriculture, • and tho accruing results would bo very much greater owing to the greater pcr- , manenc.v of tenure by the controlling authority. The aixive proposal is to be considered at the next .meeting of the Clutha branch of the Farmers' Union.