The Farmers' Union.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 87, 19 June 1908, Page 5

The Farmers' Union.

The ordinary monthly meeting of Otorohanga Branch of the Farmers' Union was held on Saturday last.

Mr R. Gregg proposed that ift-fu-ture the day of meeting be Friday (monthly), and was seconded by Win. Vicary. —Carried. Mr Vicary proposed that Mr B. Bidden be added to the deputation to wait upon the Premier upon his arrival at Otorohanga, on Thursday, June 18th. Mr Ranby seconded.— Carried. It was resolved to bring the following matters before the notice of the Premier: The reading of ; the backblocks, the opening of the waste Native lands, and the granting of the freehold of sections in the Otorohanga township. Mr John Ormsby proposed that the Government be urged to cut up all the lands they have acquired an the Rangitoto-Tuhua Block in order to throw the said lands open for selection as soon as possible, on the optional tenure. 'Seconded by Mr Budden. —Carried.

Mr Ormsby proposed, and R. S. Matthews seconded, that the Union take a list of all the roads in the district ithat have been neglected, and require attention, and instanced the following roads : Otorohanga-Piron-gia, Hauturu-Otorohanga, WaitomoOtorohanga, Kio Kio-Puketarata, Otorohanga - Kihikihi, Otorohanga Road, Orahiri Survey district (which has not yet been felled, although money has" been on the Estimates for the work for some years), KawaKawhia and beidge over the Waipa River on this route.—Carried. Mr Ranby proposed that the present system of dealing with the rabbit question is unsatifactory, and that the Premier be urged to support the bonus system as the best means of keeping the rabbits in check. Mr A. Ross seconded. —Carried. Mr R. S. Matthews proposed to again bring before the notice of the Premier the awkward position in which the Otorohanga station, trucking yards, and goods shed are situated, and that the deputation impress upon the Premier the urgent necessity of appointing an officer in charge of said goods shed and station. Mr Budden seconded.—Carried.

Mr Wm, Vicary proposed, and Mr H. Matthews seconded, that the Premier be asked to get a sum of money, say £SO per annum, to subsidise the Otoro'hanga chemist, in order to retain the said chemist in the township. —Carried.

Much comment took place at the meeting over the very short reports of the doings of the Conference of the Auckland Executive of 'the N.Z. Farmers' Union in the Auckland papers. It was stated by the Hon. Secretary, who was a delegate, that on the first morning of the Conference the Tramway Strike took place, and most of the reporters at once left the chambers where the Conference was being held in order to report the street, scenes in connection with the strike. The Annual Conference of' a body of delegates representing practically the "whole of the farming interests in the Auckland Providence being side tracked in order to pander to and eugolise the doings of a few

men. who were in the employ of a Tramway Co. The Secretary considered that it was an object lesion for farmers generally, and that they must be v endense if they do not take it to heart, seeing that a small body of men like the Tramway Company could stop a system in a large city at practically a moment's notice, by organisation. Were the farmers of the Dominion to shoulder and organise like those men of the Tramway, they would be such a power in the "land tnat they would have a very much larger share in framing the" laws of the Dominion, that they now enjoy under their present lackadaisical style of " trusting some other fellow to do the graft."