N.Z. FARMERS’ UNION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 23 July 1924, Page 6

N.Z. FARMERS’ UNION.

DOMINION PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS la the course of his lengthy address, the President said: ■‘Tnis year lias seen an amount of interest and .energy m tile affairs of tiie organisation that lias cneeired up even the pessimists. There is still a lot to cto of course. There is still the fanner, who does not know what ails him, to cure, and there is still the fanner who does not believe in organisation to convince. But in an age when every section of the community is organising, the fanner who stays out in the cold, and refuses to help himself is either very foolish or very selfish, and probably both. Considering the aloofness of so many fanners, the wonder is that' this union has achieved so much in the past. But

it is noting to what it will achieve when producers, as a body, learn that they must look after their interests themselves, and unite as one- solid body, instead of dissipating their energies as they do now. Each succeeding year brings its own propositions for investigation, because as times change so does legislation require to change also, to lit the new condition. The world’s competition, against which we can have no protection, forces us to adopt new methods in keeping with the methods of our competitors. The Farmers’ Union's usefulness continually grows as it suggests or initiates the legislation needed to keep us in line with those competitors, or points out the dangers in the way. What are we fighting for? Why all this turmoil and striving and feeling? There is a certain grim amusement from such a question when asked of a producer, hut the fact is that it is producers who mostly ask it. They do not realise that even in spite of high prices production is at a standstill .while .the towns are going ahead in leaps and bounds. They don’t read statistics, they fail to grasp the significance of the steady reduction in the country’s proportion of both population and wealth as compared with the towns. 1 They do not realise that history is only repeating itself. They are astonished when' you tell, them that in America and Australia, wealth, which was formarly held chiefly by the country, is now almost entirely in the possession of the towns. Nor'do they understand the reason (made so patent to those who read) that they are getting le-ss than half the value the consumer pays for the product they grow. The arresting figures Jay hare the whole position, and show those who carei to read that- we are steadily losing ground. Compare such a situation with Denmark’s, a. country wrtii every ciimatic and physical disability, and with liLtle or no wealth, which, in less time than it has taken the Amerrcan producer to drop from owner of 80 per cent, to owner of 5 per cent, of the community’s wealth, has grown rich, until to-day she stands at the head of the list, the richest country per [head of population in the world. If producers would recollect that Denmark has applied the co-operative programme we seek to apply iiere, they would better understand the.- necessity for united action, ; ancl more deeply appreciateethe work of our organisation. ‘T wish to offer my congratulations to the Prime Minister upon the success of his last mission to- Great Britain. Mr Massey was the doyen of the Prime Ministers assembled at the imperial Conference in London, and there can lie no manner of doubt that the soundness of his views and the breadth of his experience were of great help to his fellow delegates. He represented New Zealand with honour, and he lost no opportunity of preaching the doctrine of Empire to our fellow-citizens at Home. If we fail always to see eye to eye with Mr Massey on matters of domestic policy we realise one and all the soundness of his Imperial vision. It may he not out of place to add here i that while we may disagree with his attitude towards those political questions which affect ourselves, we have a keen regard for our Prime Minister, chiefly because we realise that he has striven to the utmost of his ability and according to his lights for the progress and prosperity of New Zealand. But Mr Massey has been many years in office. In the nature of things it is unlikely that he will long remain at the head of the Government. He has earned the right to (retire with honour whenever he thinks fit. It is with the effects of that retirement whenever it may take place that we are immediately concerned. Wei have seen the rise and wane of many parties, none of them Identified with the producers’ interests, and we may still stand by, or we may imitate our fellow 'producers elsewhere and declare that the time has come when we should have a party of our own. I believe I am right in saying that only the influence of Mr Massey has prevented such a step being .taken before this. With the retirement of Mr Massey a new situation would arise which might require a revision of the policy of laissez faire with which in the past we have oeen content. Mr Massey’s health and vigour are, fortunately, unimpVkCed and he may decide that he can still continue to serve the public. “Much has been done during the year to popularise herd testing amongst dairymen and to educate slice]) fanners to tho necessity for improving their stock. The meat Board has emphasised the necessity far increased stringney in the grading of our meat, particularly our lamb, for export, and the Agricultural Department has by no means lost sight of the- necessity for tightening up tiie grading of both butter and cheese. While we may face the future we must never forget-that we have competitors nearer the market who can produce at a lower cost and that those competitors are waking up to the importance of the trade and n.-aking plans accordingly. A serious decline in the values of our products will have a catastrophic effect upon this Dominion if we do not entrench ourselves while we have the opportunity behind the ramparts of scientific, economical and high-class production. W? must net be misled by the apparent, balance of exports over imports ; we musL remember that this is sonic-tunes more than counterbalanced by the country’s interest bill and that a. moderate balance of trade in our favour does not always represent the true position. In this regard I was struck with the sentiment expressed by Mr; T. S. Vision, the able president of the Employers’ Association of Near Zealand, in his last annual address. "There is,” lie said, “no good disguising the fact that this country has yet a long path to travel before all post-war problems of reconstruction and readjustment are left behind. Altliougri. the Government has reduced its expenses of administration. there is rnc evor-pi 0.-mut tendency towards renewed extravagance immediately the pressure cf hard times lessens in the slightest degree. There is also a steady and astonishing growth in local bodies’ borrowing. Government loans, although admittedly for works more or less -reproductive, continue to be heavy, and taxation has not yet a reserve available to increase the national revenue.’

“Mr Yl estonk* advice is simply to live within our incomes and prepare for harder times. There is nothing more difficult either with individuals

or governments than to get back to habits of economy after having acquired the habits of extravagance. Mr Weston stressed the point m a paragraph which is of special interest to us a.s producers. ‘Trade reports throughout the world show a .thoroughgoing effort on the part of all rural communities to increase l their production.

The present high prices in dairy product must inevitably mean bigger outputs. The best market for these is London. New Zealand farmers must, theiefoce, expect to meet greater competition. and hence lower prices. -Extravagance at the present .time, either by the Government or private individuals, is much to be deprecated. Any public work, unless a necessity, and certain to pay interest upon capital in the near future, should be avoided.’ "There is no farmen' in this conference who will not echo this statement made by the head of the industrial organisation. In the meantime I would be failing in my duty as head of this producers’ organisation if I did not continue to urge complete equipment, better weapons, better organisation, belter co-operation upon my fellowproducers in order that’ no emergency may find us unprepared. •‘lf co-operation has received a check in New Zealand during the past year or two—which I am inclined to doubt — the matter should be one for regret, not merely hv the producing community, but by the community as a whole. We are consumers of goods

whether we live in the country or the towns. Properly applied, co-operation should reduce costs to all of us. and if there has been any misapplication the fault lies not with the principles of cooperation, hut with the application of those principles in New Zealand. The cost of distribution is too high when compared with manufacturing cost. It is interesting to observe the attitude of the American public towards' this movement because it is entirely sympathetic. In seeking to put co-opera-tion on a sound basis in this country cannot we, too, expect the sympathy of the public at large.

“The attitude of the authorities over the immigration question still leaves manj r of us cold. Other bodies have joined in the protest raised by this organisation a year ago against the slip-shod immigration policy of. this Dominion. The nomination system has come in for fairly universal condemnation. Instances of its 'unsuitability, and of the unfortunate results of its operation, have come before us on more than one occasion. lam glad to see that we have successfully focussed attention on the group system, and

that conferences of various bodies have

endorsed that system, while condemning the present policy of the Government. Diu'ing the year we had a visib from an Imperial Immigration Commission, instructed by the Imperial authorities to survey the Dominions and report upon their suitability for immigration. The Commission was more impressed with the wide empty spaces of Australia than with New Zealand, the members going so far as to say that we had no land in New Zealand. No doubt the Commission’s misconception was largely due to the fact that it was raced through this country at express speed, and that it had no opportunity of examining our vacant lands or of assessing their value, for settlement. The Commission spoke in the most glowing terms of this ‘glorious country,’ its magnificent climate and its fertile soil, hut it seemed to doubt whether possessing all these advantages it could sustain any great increase in population. It seemed to me that the dominating personality on the Commission, was a Labour memj betr of Parliament, who seized upon i every circumstance, however trivial, to oppose immigration, or at all events immigration to New Zealand. I do not know what the policy of the British Labour party upon this important question may be, but I imagine that u realises the advantages of a self-con-tained and self-sustaining Empire, and tlmt only colonial development with its consequent migration of population can. bring that about. During the recess we have published a great deal of informative literature about this question, and particularly about the various Australian schemes in order to stimulate interest amongst our owe. members. The question is of the greatest national importance. The President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, Mir \Y. H. Hudson, at the annual conference, pointed out that in New Zealand less than one-seventh of the population were engaged in our primary industries and producing Po per cent, of our wealth. Our commercial population, he stated, in proportion to that engaged in production, was, in comparison with that of Britain upon the same basis, two and a half times as numerous (i.e., 50 per cent, as against 20 per cent.), while our '“professional” class was 73 per cent, larger than theirs (i.e., 4.32 as against 2.5). “In New Zealand the ‘unoccupied,’ or ‘unclassified’ balance of population is 48 per cent, of the whole, as against 43 per cent, in Britain, well over ten per cent., said Mr Hudson, who concluded an interesting address by stating the unresting fact ‘that m a community such as ours (in which ive claim there are "no ‘idle rich,’ and pauperism should be unknown) but a fraction of our population produces the income ol‘ the remainder.’ “This is one of the questions which no patriotic citizen can allow to be longer neglected. We must push on with immigration. Commenting on the British electors’ Free Trade verdict, the president said: "Without subscribing to all that was said on the conservative side, it looks to the Now Zealander scanning the situation from a distance as if the Britisher has discarded a shillingswcrth of extra wages in order to save a penny-worth of bread. But from the viewpoint of the Empire surely a thrift that would help to make us self-sus-taining without inflicting hardship upon the Mother Country is not an impossible thing. There is no desire in the Dominions to impose greater burdens on the British taxpayer, the desire is to lighten those burdens. That can well be done by expanding the Empire, settling its outposts, popiw kiting the overseas; only a fiscal system that will give them some preference oyer the foreigner will adequately- do that. Surely, if we further curiail the foreigners’ trade in favour of the Homeland, we are creating employment. adding to the wealth of the community, and assisting in relief from high taxation. We realise that wo must make sacrifices in return ftp Great Britain’s protection apart from the ties of blood, but we do not want to make unnecessary sacrifices. The decision of the British electors is an avowal that they do not want preference from us, at ail events that preference from us is not worth troubling themselves about. We may. therefore, with a clear conscience, seek to increase our foreign markets by moans of tariff bargains with other countries if we wish. Markets are vital, of course, and with this mandate from the Mother Country to guide us we should have little hesitation in reeking those markets, and if we examine the position it is easy to convince ourselves that we aire right in taking .such a conrse. Markets mean population.

Population means strength, and so we may increase the power of the Empire and achieve our ends by the very plan we have hitherto refused to consider.

I imagine ‘that the eclr.se the Mother Country is adopting will tend to increase immigration, of which also we make take advantage hv fostering ouc markets abroad. ‘‘Much needed relief from war taxation was, I am glad to’ sav, provided by the Government during last session of Parliament. The double system of taxation —taxation on our tools ot production and taxation on the income we earned from it, has been done away with. For this- great credit is due to the Prime Minister. it would iiavc been easy for him to give'wav. to popular clamour and allow the producers to carry the burden imposed on them by the' war. But the burden of taxation borne by the New Zealander is still far too heavy. If we compare the 1922 taxation with the taxation for that year of France, and the. United States as typical States, we are able to see at a glance the comparative load we carry—

Those are surely sufficiently arresting figures. It must he pointed out m fairness to the Government that last year's figures show a reduction, but 'no doubt the figures for France and the United States, which are not available, show a. reduction also. The collection of a high rate of direct taxation invariably reacts detrimentally. It hampers and handicaps industry and protection, and prevents employment, if we are to have a further reduction in taxation in the near future we must insist upon the maintenance of economy in our public service. While we

admit the lairness of income tax properly applied, we are certainly not going to stand double taxation —land and income tax. The Government which seeks to reimpose it will sign its own death warrant as far as the

producers are concerned. ‘‘l am convinced that there can be no great progress in our organisation until we take a more active interest in political affairs. Just now, with the prospect of a continuation of triangular control, we have little hope of achieving our programme as we are at present situated. Members had an opportunity of observing last year how easily we are foiled in ouir attempt to get legislation for the establishment of an agricultural bank on the statute book —although there was no question either of its soundness or its preferability to the State advances system, and although a very considerable'number of members of the House were in favour of it —simply because we had no representative of our own there to insist upon the introduction of the Bill. We are out for an immigration policy tiiat will settle the vacant lands of New Zealand. Me want, to see closer^settlement so that every atae of this country will be made as .ligjily reproductive as is consistent a ith onr geographical situation. We are anxious to see taxation reduced, partly through sound and economical administration, and partly through an increase in population tljat- wilL mean more shoulders to carry it. We are determined to see tins country developed as it should be developed, and to set our faces against its being plunged annually further into debt because easy money is available. We have been asking for .years for legislation in connection with shipping—something that will, provide us with a means of countering any effort on the shipping ring CO' put on further turns of their screw 7 in the future. We see a prospect through the disorganisation of the existing parties of further experiments in social legislation, and a with the individualistic system which'' has given Britain her Empire and built up these Dominions. The Farmers' Onion has fought consistently for the development or the country on sound misiness lines, because we have realised chat we dare not stand still, hut we havejiot made the headway we should Have nnade. We have succeeded 'certainly with marketing control, hut we must see to it that the handicaps of taxation, vexatious social legislation,

shortage of labour, and loss or population through failure to insist on higher production do not rob us of the benefits of these great reforms, and ■ possibly turn them against us. The future is fraught with many dangers. We see every interest organised, and with men in Uarlia nieiu ready to (iiumpion its cause. We see a steady chi ft of population townwards, and of wealth also. All over the Empire, country men, realising this, are concentrating

upon political action. 1 declare my opinion here, that political action is as necessary to the New Zealand funnel a.s to any other. What form that action is to take is for you to say, hut 1 am bound to inform you here that none of the plans we haye adopted in the past have been of the slightest use. “The. activities of your Dominion officials during the past year have been a source of great satisfaction to the Executive. Seven of our leading men have made considerable tours embracing the major portion of.both islands, and there is no .donot that their visit has been productive or a very considerable revival of interest in farmers' unionism. It is to lie hoped that this gift of their time and money by these missioners to the uninitiated will be welcomed, even by those who may not agree with all that was said, and that it will not he a spasmodic effort, but a recurring one. Meanwhile, I wish to express my personal thanks to Messrs Harding, Mnrney, Boss, Duxfield, Col beck and our worthy vice-pre-sident for having set a new fashion. They arused a storm of criticism, chiefly from people who, while doing nothing heipful themselves eagerly welcome the opportunity to point out how much better the thing could be done. However, they can console themselves with the reflection that criticism is a sign of life, and that the union is evidently very much alive.”

Direct. Indirect. Total. £ s d £ s d £ s cl Franco 3 6 8 2 10 0 5 16 8 Ameirica 2 14 0 2 4 0 4 18 0 N.Z. 9 1 11 4 11 2 13 13 1