NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 463, 8 May 1912, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

TE KUITI BRANCH. The annual general meeting of the Te Kuiti branch of the Farmers' Union was held at Mr Mussen'a ofiice on Monday. The president (Major Lusk) occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance. The report and balance-sheet was read and confirmed, the balance-sheet, showing a small credit. The chairman reviewed the position of the union as a whole in regard to the largo questions of the day, and laid special emphasis on the comparatively weak position of the union as compared with many other bodies controlled by other sections of the commnitv. lie advocated a greater activity in respect to political matters and a cementing of the bonds between the various brandies for the purpose of conserving the interests of the farming community, in dealing with the remits which were being forwarded by the Auckland branch centre to the annual conference to be held this month, the chairman referred to the remit advocating a system of nonparty Government in the form of an Elective Executive as being the form of Government calculated to more truly carry into effect the views of the electors and tending to eliminate from the politics of the Dominion the many evils which have grown around the party system. It was intended to move that a committee be appointed by the Dominion Conference to consider and draft a scheme of Government by Elective Executive for this country in order that the Farmers' Union may be able to enter on an active campaign to bring the principal clearly before the electors of the Dominion. In referring to the Trading Association which had been established by the union the chairman said it had begun in a small way, but the members had found it to be an incalculable benefit. He was pleased to report that a large access in the membership of the union in the province was directly attributable to the association. Even those who had not joined the association had received large indirect benefits, as directly the association began business prices of farmers' requisites had come down into line with the prices obtainable by the association. At present the association had a membership of over 500 and was doing a turnover of over £SOOO a month.

Approval waa unanimously expressed by the members in regard to the action of the Provincial Executive on the main points of policy with respect to the labour troubles. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: —President, Major Lusk; vice-president, Mr R. M. Somerville; secretary and treasurer, Mr H. Mussen; committee, Messrs Finnis, Gadsby, Britain, N. B. Luslc. Lever, McLuckio and Steel. Mr J. Boddie was appointed delegate to the annual Dominion Conference, and in the event of Mr Boddie being unable to attend Mr Somerville was chosen. Reference was made to the Local Government Bill, and a committee consisting of Messrs Somerville, Lusk, Brittain and Steel was appointed to arrange with the Debating Society to have certain provisons of the Bill debated.