GREAT MEETING OF THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 18, 20 May 1867, Page 117

GREAT MEETING OF THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST.

(Communicated.)

An indignation meeting has been recently held of those most interested in the cultivation of the soil and its redemption from waste and mal-appropriation. The attendance was very good, and we noticed upon the platform many of our old friends, including Mr Pedigree Wheat, Messrs White and Brown Oat, Professor Turnip the celebrated Swede, Mr Rye, Mr Clover, and many others. • Mr Tartarian Oat rose and proposed that Sir John Barleycorn do take the chair, which was carried with acclamation.

The Chairman, on rising, said that this meeting had been called together to express the prevalent indignation felt by all parties, except those whose interest was bound up in the perpetuation of the pre sent order of things. They were aware that himself, and those good friends they saw around him, had suffered, and were still suffering, great ill usage from some of the elder members of the Agricultural and Pastoral Society, and had come together in order that some steps might be devised to remedy the evil; each of those present, he might say, had their grievances to complain of. and he hoped that no diffidence or fear of others would prevent their expression. For his own part, he was very greatly misunderstood, having much opposition to encounter from quarters least to be expected. There were some who said that he was the cause of much drunkenness and crime, and pointed to the publichouses as proof, accusing him of having an extensive interest in that trade. If such was the case, it was his misfortune, and not his fault. It was no doubt true that, if he could only get possession of the large estates that were his by right, breweries would follow as a matter of course, but he could not help that; he had no liking for the drownings, roastings, crushings, scaldings, and other ill treatment to which he was exposed by malsters and brewers. Still, allowing it to be true, what he produced must be acknowledged to be infinitely superior to the poisonous stuff imported, which, he distinctly repudiated; [[hear, hear, frem Mr Kentish Hop] but he was not of necessity connected with that line of business—he was in the provision line. He had provided thousands with their daily bread, pudding, and food in a great variety of ways, and was able to do much more, to say nothing of the fattening of animals, —a province particularly his, —and he hoped that the result of that meeting would be that a large portion of his landed property would be handed over to him : trust him for making a good use of it, if it should be so.

At this stage of the proceedings the meeting was .interrupted by Mr Scotch Thistle, who applied for admission on the ground of the large quantity of land he had under crop, more, he said, than any of them, and he was a rising member of society. He could show them how to go a-head. Much of the land he held was of first-rate quality, and he thought he ought to he admitted.

The meeting, on the motion of Mr Perennial Rye, voted him a nuisance, and sent him about his business.

The Chairman, in continuation, said, that if the acres held by .that vagabond were in the possession of himself and the friends he saw aronnd him, it would be much better for society at large, for their pockets, their homes, the increase of their comforts, and the decrease of their doctors’ bills. He would not longer detain them, but call upon one of the oldest of their members, —one, indeed, who by right should have filled the office of president of that meeting, but to which he had been kindly voted, —he meant Mr Wheat, whom lie knew had grievances to complain of.

Mr Wheat said he had not attended that meeting to boast of his abilities, the meeting already knew something of what he was capable. Millions of people depended on him, under Providence, for their daily bread, and he could feed them better and cheaper too, if he had only fair play. When he oast his eyes around and saw people in distress for want of bread, and reflected that but for actual : injustice he would be able to supply them all, so that not one neen want, bis indignation became so great that it was difficult to re-

strain it within bounds. Fair play was what ho wanted, and aU he wanted, but that he had never been able to get here; he had almost, in. fact, been banished from the province, and for no fault of hi* own, but the ill usage he received would drive him away. In fact, he thought that but for the. present meeting, which acted as a safety-valve for his pent-up indignation, be should have left already. He reckoned Mr Short Horn, and Messrs Leicester, Lincoln, and Merino, as amongst his personal friends, and he did not grudge them land enough for all grazing and pastoral requirements; hut it was well known that they had possession of much that belonged to him and the friends present. Besides, there was a black sheep in the province, with several years' growth of wool upon his skin—a great enemy of his and all present. That Bheep was worth but about ss. a‘ive, aud 4d. per lb.dead, and he believed that there was that worth of wool on every pound of his carcase. They must combine, for it was their common interest to get the animal shorn. He protested against the inj ÜBtice he suffered in the fact that grain was imported, and home produce kept down. ■ While this state of things existed, this sheep, and those who upheld it, were the deadly enemies of the agricultural interest, and, of course, the interest of the public. Why should legislators be *o short-sighted as to sacrifice the interests of the whole public for the sake of mutton. Some time since a. friend of his (Mr Wheat’s) erected a mill for his especial use, but having neglected to clear away his enemies first, had failed, of course; such folly had met its reward, and it would not surprise the meeting to learn that that mill had been closed to this day. (Sensation.) Now he was informed that there were 30,000 acres of good flat land in the district before him, and it would be readily admitted that fully onethird of that was his in justice. If ho was only placed in possession, there should be no valid reason why the mill should remain idle, and he would induce, folks to build granaries for his use as well, but he believed that there- was no such word as that he had just used in the dictionary of Hawke’s Bay a* yet. He could assure tho meeting that in other colonies he held large esta'es, and the result to the public was that 4 lbs. of bread could be obtained , for 6d. He begged them to contrast that with the little bit they get here for the same money, and was sure his claims to their attention and his rights would not be disregarded.

Mr Wheat’s speech was received with a loud burst of applause.

Mr Poa Pratensis wished to know whether the meeting could not take steps for the ejection of Mr Thistle from the land he was in occupation of, and confiscating it to a better purpose.

The Chairman thought not. It was quite true that Mr Thistle held possession of some of their estates, which they were met to regain, if possible, but while they were unable to get them, Mr Thistle might as well hold them as any one else. Land was at present used only for speculating, and,* as far as he could see, it would do for that whether covered with thistles or not. (A voice.—“ Thistles destroy its value.”) Yes! but speculators do not regard tho intrinsic value of the land.

Several other members spoka to tho purpose, but our limits forbid a fuller report.

On the motion of Mr Rye, the meeting resolved by acclamation: That the black sheep is an enemy to the true interests of the province, and should be immediately shorn. The only dissentients being tvro, Mr Canterbury Oats, and Mr Auckland Potato. (These gentlemen were Btrangers, and had obtained admittance to the meeting owing to their striking resemblance to two of the members of the society.

A vote of thanks to the chairman con** eluded the proceedings of the meeting.