FARMERS' UNION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2784, 31 May 1916, Page 8

FARMERS' UNION

" MEETING AT LEVIN 11 Wellington pkovincial branch

|i,'. ty. telegraph.— {Special Correspondent.) ' Levin, May 30. . The annual conference of tho'W oiling. ton .Provincial Branch, of tho /eni" land Farmers' Union opened to-day. Mr. frl; T. .Moss, president, was in the chair, and ; the.:idelegates' list was as follows:—Makara, S. Bryant; Waimarino, 1 J. Norton; Huntervillo, A. G. Simpson; Makuri, W. p;-; ; J.'-NMoore; Wangaimi, A. Robinson and : J.'ATlison; Pohangina, H. J. Gawler; p Shannon, Alex. Sauuders; Kumeroa, J. |¥ : VD.;;Bamsden; Morton,'A. Stuart and W. K; E.-''Simpson; Pongaroa, A. Dickens; |:S l'araparaumu, G. P. Lynch; Nireaha, A. K C-yPryde; Eketahuna', W. A. Giltadini; Pi Hukanui, W. J., Smith; Maugaweka, J, p: • Stuckey; Waikanae, .T, A. Austin; [v.; Palmeraton. North, J. A. M'Leavey and | D.'-Thomas; Pahautanui, J. Barclay; Pa { hiatua, N. Small, junior; ltangiwahia, 0 | ■ M'lntyre; Masterton, William Perry and D. Hebeuton; Gladstone, S. C. Broad* t- bent; Carterton, E. Eagle, junior; Featbf erston, W. B. Sadler; Marfinborough, H. |i:' Daysh; l Eoniotea, H. H. Hunt and J. Gloyne. All but four of the delegates !■ answered the roll call. 'Sir James Wilson (N.Z. President) sont ' an'apology for'uiavoidablo absence, as did also tho Premier and the Ministei i' ; . of.:"Agrioulture. Members of th's executive present were;» Messrs. G. L. Mar- ; hhall, W. J. Birch, .J. Balsillie, H. Booth, !i- E.-; Campbell, IC. W. DalrymplG, A. j ;; Howie, W. B. Matheson, Hugh Morison, f. .Hi" Morison, H. A. Nevins, A. Eobinson, ! '<• arid William Hunter'- (provincial fiecre- ( taVy). » j .'ln welcoming the delegates, Mr. T. h Mfes (Eketahuna) began in genial vein, .. biit gradually developed his themes until i with a rousing condemnation of the law- [: lessness now being shown by certain sec. r tipns of labour he aroused the delegates j- ■ _ to-warm response.. He was glad to aci - ' knowledge, ha said, that labour had its vloyal, law-abiding sections, and from - them had come men who had done much to help the Empire; but he was sorry to eay there were others; men who. were if-". . against, voluntaryism, against / conscrip- £.' tion, against military service in general, f»." against the policeman. For himself, ho tho.ngnt' there was no objection to the |maintenance of the law by the man who {: was strulght. (Hear, hear.) He never f; yet had found a man with any charac- \ ter .who objected to the policeman. They i;, had seen the need, some two or three .!> years ago, for the farmers to go to the • ' .city to support- law and order; and-he took it Tnat it was the disturbing, element £ on . that occasion that-' was helping to fl .■ raise the present ory that "the army raisrj. _ edsin this war .would produce crushing militarism." At times such as he hau ' v spoken..of, militarism/was necessary; tho i'. ' policemen' in Wellington. were, so insuffik cient in number that they wero unable. to move worth the snap of a finger. But f he desired it to be made clear, that the j farmer did not .wish.to hurt the workers; { ' all the farmer-desired was/maintenance of ».- ; Inw and order. Unless we' had this strong . organisation in this .country against thn day when the war would end wo would j:.. beMip against a'state'--of things that i would be' very- bad . for this country. (Hoar, hear.) Mr. Moss's speech, which ■ was lengthy for comprehensive review, ! was. cliaracterised by a patriotic tone j throughout, and'his references' to the eplcffdid work done by tho British Navy • in keeping clear the seas for. commerce, in I.;' . these?times' of stress; were'.warmly ap- . plau'de'd;'. -So,', too,-cwere .'his references : to Britain's dead naval heroes'of older '. . timclT ' Sh'ahrion branch moved:—"That the Government, if levying moro taxes, bo .urged to levy a tax on all tickets of i theatres, picturo shows,, totalisator, and . also .on beer and spirits." '.The 'remit evoked discussion that was' [.. not'lwholly commendatory, though several "• delegates supported the remits in un. measured terms. One delegato said it was impossible to fight out the war eji ■ tho racccoiirse or.'at the" picture shows; 1 ho thought those who. wore engaged in general. pursuit, of facing, in discussing the odds, were traitors to their country. Ee himself was a member of a racing ■ club; he paid his subscriptions regularly) " but,lie had no sympathy at present with racing.' He frequently saw in Wanganuj men of military ago standing discussing at street', .comers when they .should"be in' the trenches, •' Another delegate said that this present war $jts;not° merely between England and Germany; "it"was between' God and the devil;"' .. It should- bc-prosecuted-'vigor-ouslyj'.'.(ind there;should be.no hesitation in taxing all wild could bear it. . Mr£-SV:-"Perry (Jftsterton) thought'the reiuit'shoukl be thrown out; if for no other, reason, then "for the reason ' that i the farmers who objected to the cries of "tax_.the farmers' land" should hesitate I ' to. .call out "tax the totalisator." f: . >[r. ..Dickinson. (Pongaroa), who said he j". had-,;^ani-interest in .a picture show, es-presS'ed;:hiniself.-in favour of-the. tax. t' .. ' The ; chief speech .against the proposal [; was-, delivered by. Mr. H. "Campbell, ofWanganui. He said the proposal was one to deprive tlie Government.of about - -iffiopiCQO --a-'y'ear-,-'.There were lots-who followed racing.who were not fit for much else. The racing clubs were anxious to do their best to help forward the pat-, they r w.er& just as loyal - and just as. generous; Tens of thousands ■' of . poiinds ' sterling wereV contributed' to' i the re.venue.(through',.the -totalisator) by !■ : people othenrise would not pay a -penny .towards... any:; I ;patriotic purpose.

Personally, ho never had had a ticket on the totalisator in his life, but ho was decidedly against the remit, and he moved that the word "totulisator" be struck oiit. , , . ; Mr. Moss (president) expressed his view that "in order to get the stamp of liorßo that was fit for racing it was necessary also to breed a class of boy aim man that was 110 good at the war n/id no good on the farm." Mr. Campbell's amendment was lost on the voices. . Mr. Broitdbent then moved as a further amendment that the words "and on all war profits," bo substituted for tiio words "totalisator and picture shows." He gave his view that no patriotic farmer should object .to tliis amendment.. ... .' .The amendment struck an icy audience, and eventually it was seconded, pro forma, by tlio president, who said it would be a pity to let sucli a subject IXIB3 undiscussed. He said the farmer already was paying heavy taxes (in railway haulage, for instance), apart from ordinary taxes. He was quito prepared to leavo to the Government the whole subject of taxation; when the taxes came, the farmers would carry their load with tho rest.

lUr. Robinson was against the amendment, chieily for the reason that anyone who talked about "taxing war profits" .did not know what ho was talking about. . Mr. Broadbent's amendment was lost on the voices, after which Mr. Robinson moved: "That this conference, whilst generally approving the principle of tho Shannon remit, expresses its opinion that it is no part of this conference's duty to tell the Government how or in what way taxation should bo imposed." The amendment was carried by 32 votes to 9.

Forestry. Mr. Birch, on behalf of the executive, moved; "That this conference urge upon the Commissioner of Lands the importance of starting forestry operations in suitable districts in the Dominion; and that in order to encourage private planting, suitable . men be engaged to visit and instruct farmers in planting, and also to provide seeds at a reasonable price." Mr. Matlieson spoke of the need for urging more rapid development of forestry. He moved an amendment to this effect, and at the same time referred to tho excellent quality of tho work already done by the Government. Mr. Dalrymple seconded the amendment, but thought it would. bo well to make clear the conference's opinion that the work should be done after tho war. (Applause.) The voting was oven- for the amendment, but it was lost on the oliairman's casting vote. The executive's motion was then put, and carried. •. A further remit concerning forestry was moved by Mr. M'Leavey (Palmerston North), to. the . effect that tree-planting by farmers be encouraged by the Government remitting certain taxation on land so planted. Mr. Kevins mentioned a case wherein ,£2 10s. extra per aero had been put on the value of -.land on account of plantations that had been made. Mr. Matlieson thought farmers should be encouraged to plant trees; but they should do so as a duty to their grandchildren, not as a means to receive Government subsidy. Mr. Lynch spoke of the privations suffered by stock in the Wjiirnrnpa through lack of shelter.. If Wairarapa farmers would do proper planting they would save the cost ten times over. Their ?heep blistered in the summer sun and shivered in .the lee of wire fences during the winter blizzards. The amendment was lost on tho voices. Public Economy. . Tho executive moved: "That this'conference strongly urge upon the farming community the urgent necessity for practising the. severest economy in the purchase of goods manufactured outside the Empire." In moving the proposal's adoption, Mr. Birch said that the. accumulation of capital brought about by economy was used for development, and therefore for the benefit of labour. The accumulation of capital, therefore, was a good thing. At present New Zenlanders were the most extravagant people in tho world, as they were the best off on the face of tho globe.

Mr. Broadbent. who seconded tho'mo. tion, qnestione<l whether it would not be better to add the words "Allied nations" after the words "outside the Empire.", Mr. Daysh spoke appreciatively of tho pioneer work done by the lato Joseph Chamberlain to this end. . Tho motion, was carried, unanimously. Embarno on Hides. : Executive' proposal-.—'That the.conference enter'its protest against the'action ;of the Government in taking 10' per cent. !of the hides over • 451b. at 10d. per - lb., whereas in the open market they .are worth considerably more. The loss entailed should fall upon the revenue and not upon tlio producer." This ivaß moved by Mr. Campbell, who complained that when the percentage was fixed the actual farmers and pastoralists were not consulted. The profits were going to the tanners, not to the. Government; a principle that was absolutely wrong. As an addition to tho. motion, Ifr. Broadbont moved:—"That tho Farmers' Union be officially represented on all conferences called by the Government dealing with matters vitally affecting the farmers." Such a motion, he said, had been passed by the Dominion Conference last year, but the Government had not acceded to it, and the; regulation regarding hides had ! got through in consequence. -■■■•• On the objection of Mr. Nevins, the pro-

poeal to add this to tlio motion was deferred, but it will be taken later on. The original motion as brought" down was passed on .the voices. War Bonus. Executive motion:—"That tho conference supports the recommendation of tho Arbitration Court to large employers of labour to pay employees a war bonus in preference to any permanent increases during the' war"—was" carried. Employment of Returned Soldiers. The conference discussed at some length a proposal "that the Dominion Executive formulate a scheme to assist in providing employment for returned soldiers." Some delegates gave the proposal hearty support; others considered that before being sent to the Dominion Executive the proposal should bs put into definite shape; it was a bald proposal at present. Mr. Balsillie said that a successful scheme would help to prevent a few dishonourable men from taking advantage of the employers. All returned soldiers deserved assistance,' but here and there one took undue advantage. The motion was lost. Defence Minister Commended. A unanimous loud "Aye" greeted a motion that tho following telegram be sent to the Eight Hon. the Prime Minister: "The Wellington Provincial Farmers' Union Conference, sitting at Levin, desire to express their hearty appreciation of tho great efficiency shown by tlio National Government in their many and .arduous additional tasks imposed by tho necessity of preparing the Dominion to tako its due share in the defence of tho Empiro, and that it specially recognises tho splendid administration of the Hon. James Alien, Minister of Defence, in bis responsible position." Stock Auctions. Mr. Bryant (Makara) moved the following motions: "That tho Provincial Conference set up a committeo to confer nith stock auctioneering firms operating' in thfe province and endeavour to arrange a fair commission basis for the sale of store stock, the present rates being considered too high." Mr. Bryant also moved: "That some effort should be made for bringing about uniform commission charges on sales, and that t'he question of stock commission should be again considered, with a view to obtaining a reduction in auctioneers' charges." Mr. Barclay (Pahiatua) seconded 'the motions, which were discussed in committee, and eventually withdrawn in favour of proposals which, are now before tho Provincial Executive for consideration and decision. Government Experts. The conference extended a welcome to Messrs. Pope and Brown, of the Agricultural Department, both of whom were present in their official capacities. It was further dccided that delegates pay a visit to the Weraroa State Farm on Wednesday, there lo meet experts and jointly inspect the fannsi Other Matters. Three remits from Gladstone werij adopted as follow: That the Farmers' Union be officially represented at all conferences dealing with matters vitally affecting farmers. That the Stock Department be requested ti instruct inspectors of slock to be careful in their inspection of rains offered for sale or exhibition, to prevent' rums infected with lice being sold. That tho Government bo requested to instruct responsible, officers to more carefully study tho formation of the couih, when culling up laud for settlement, and seo' that tho boundary linos and ;c-;u!s arc- cleared in tho best possible places. Apropos of tlio third motion, Mr. A. Dickens (Pongavoa) expressed hiiiMii \ u . Government .-airvoys \ra-e hampered l>v 'tho need to make sections of uniform size; instead, they.should• l:e instruct.,-, t.i cut up land in accordance with i natural contour of tlio country. If that had been done years ago, wo would' havo had better roads and more settlers now, and many miles of tho existing roads would have been unnecessary. Mr. J, P. Lynch said that muchi tf tlio trouble aroso through too much of Mio work being done in surveyors' officer, as a result of which roads ran into sheer cliffs, sometimes, and at other times departed unnecessarily from good lilies.

Telephone Subscriptions. Regarding tc-lcphones, tho Gladstone dele-Rate moved: "That the Post and Volegraph Department be asked to collect telephone subscriptions from individaal subscribers on party lines, instead of . appointing one of the subscribers to collect, as at uresent." In seconding tho motion, Mr. Kevins' said it was -small i-.se trying to carry it further. The Department had set its back agftinst having to collect, from each subscriber,- as lh«y sometimes loft tlie district, and their successors secured free use of the telephone. Tho remit was carried by 27 votes to 10. Stock Guarantees. . The Shannon delegate moved: "That auctioneers bo ashed to note in their Iwoics and in accounts rendered to buyers any guarantee given vitli stock sold by them." Tho motion was carried with only <no dissentient. The conference expressed sympathy with Mr. Escott, a' union member, who lives in Wellington. Tho delegates are being entertained at ft banquet to-night by the Levin branch c£ the Farmers' Union. | DUNEDiN WINTER SHOW BUTTER AWARDS. By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, May 30. The Otago winter show opened torday. Entries totalled 1222, as against 1184 last year. The quality of the exhibits was on the whole very good. 11l opening the show, tho Hon. Dr. M'Nab stated that he understood that the country would have to face the contingency of the Bri-tish-War Office commandeering tho whole of the cheese output for 1910-1917 season. The following are the butter awards:— Factory Butter, one box, half cwt., suitable for export—Canterbury Central Cooperative Dairy Company, 951 points; Levin Co-operative Daily Company, !)5 points; Taieri and Peninsula, 941 points; Canterbury Central, 9-1 points. Three others competed. One box, half cwt., suitable for export; open to members of the New Zealand Factory Managers' Association.—Levin i Dairy Company, 951- points: Taieri and Peninsula, % points: Canterbury Central, 94 point.-:. Three others competed. One box, half cwt., suitable for export (North Island companies only).—Levin Cooperative Dairy Company. 95 points; Kairanga Dairy Company, 92 points. One box, suitable for export.—Canterbury Central, 95J points; Levin Co-opera-tive, 95 points; Taieri and Peninsula, 94V points. Four others competed. Grading points in butter prices, awarded to members whose" factory output for the season gains tho highest aggroaate number of pounds according to certificates, issued by the Government Graders. —Lopperton Co-operative Dairy Company, 94.62; Kairanga Co-operative Dairy. 94.58; Levin Co-operative, 94.49; Moa Dairy Company, 94.14. Three others competed.