NZ FARMERS’ UNION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1943, 22 February 1919, Page 3

NZ FARMERS’ UNION.

MEETING AT MAROIIRL ' -

A meeting of farmers, convened by Mr Tancred Cooper, provincial organiser of the Fanners’ Union, was held at Marotiri last night. Mr A. Saunders, president of the Shannon branch of the Union, occupied the chair.

Mr Cooper addressed the meeting on the same lines as his previous addresses, and. stressed the necessity of every farmer linking up with the Farmers’ Union, not only in the interests of the farmers themselves, hut in the interests of the Dominion as a whole. lie explained the methods of* organisation, and impressed upon those present the necessity of not only joining, hut also of attending the branch meetings, so that a strong progressive policy could be established. At the present time branches of the Union were in existence at Foxton and Shannon, and he would leave it for the meeting to decide whether a branch should he at Marotiri or whether the farmers there would link up with one or other of the branches mentioned. He asked the chairman to express Ids views on the subject. Mr Saunders said that as president of the Shannon branch lie naturally did not like losing members of his branch, but he recognised that the matter must lie looked at from the standpoint of the interests of the Union as a whole, ami not from the point of view of individual branches. Viewing it in the interests of the Union as a whole, he would not. advocate the formation of a new branch, hut felt it would he better for those farmers living nearest Eoxton to join the hran/'h (here, and those that were move conveniently situated to attend meetings at Shannon to link up with the Shannon branch. Mr P. W, Brown thanked Iho chairman for the broad view he had taken up, with which he heartily agrccd. It was unanimously decided not to form a branch al Marotiri, hut (hat the farmers then’ would link up with one or other of, the two branches now in existence.

TO COMBAT BOLSHEVISM. At a record meeting of farmers held in Palmerston under the auspices of the Palmerston North branch of (he Farmers’ Union, last Saturday, two very instructive speeches were madu by Messrs \V. J. Poison and Edward Newman, M.P. With regard to his criticism of the Labour Government in Queensland, Mr Poison said he was pleased to be aide to report that the Liberal newspapers of Queensland agreed with what he had to say, and the Conservative organs also vouched for Ids statements. Mr Poison then went on to describe parts of Queensland through which he had passed, with the object of illustrating bow, on account of I be apathy and mismanagement of the Labour Government the country was not progressing: as it should. Ho referred to (he curse of the priekly pear, and also staled that, except over the mountains, (here were no formed roads at all in the State.* There were no metalled thoroughfares; they were simply (racks, and in wet weather their condition could well bo realised. There was land in Queensland capable of carrying u milch cow to the acre, besides young stock, but the insufferable labour conditions were heading the country to disaster, ft was only after one had lived in Queensland for a while that one appreciated the seriousness of the situation. He instanced how .farmers had to employ two shifts of men each shift, working eight hours a day. One of (he troubles was (hat although the wages were not materially different, the

- “CO-SLOW” POLICY had been widely introduced. In one freezing works (Swill’s) which he inspected the manager told him that at the beginning of the season (he union delegate appeared on the scene and gave arbitrary orders as, to the staffing of the establishment. ■These the management dare not countermand or disobey. The speaker gave several other incidents typical of the conditions in Queensland. He cited the case of a, dispute In (he town of Hughenden between the hotelkeepers and (heir employees, where the Arbitration Court had made an a wa rd ret rospecl ive in its scope. Tin’s was opposed by the employers, and a strike occurred, out of sympathy for which the railway employees in the vicinity also struck. A Minister of the Crown arrived on the scene, and said Unit there was such a thing as making the employers meet the strikers in their demands. When asked if (his was a threat, the "Minister had replied that they could lake it as they liked, and at the end the employers established the justice of their contention that the section of the award in question could not be made retrospective, and they went out. It was the first time the employers had struck since the Labour Government came into power. Another instance: In the Cairns district some cane-cutters struck in the middle of the season for an extra 5s a day. The owner cut the crop wi'h (ho aid of friends and relatives. The truckers then struck, and the mill-owner could not therefore get his cane shifted. Accordingly, lie had to give way to the men's demands. The local union fined him £IOO, which he had to pay before the union would allow his cane to he shifted. At another sugar mill eight Japanese replaced 10 white men at one particular job. And they performed the same work as twice their number, and gave every satisfaction. The state of affairs he outlined was caused through the action of Labour

in talcing on itself to penalise employers ami generally to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible. Passing on Mr Poison described Queensland as the HOME OP THE I.W.W MOVE-. " MEET

in Australia. A number of I.W.W. men came to the town of Hughenden to assist in the strike. The loyal section of the community and the farmers got so “fed up” with the sedition that the I.W.W. men were openly preaching in'ihe streets that they ran them out of the town, after assaulting some of their number. The very next day, by special train, two Ministers of the Crown and a. detachment of police arrived on the scene. The Ministers refused to be received by the .civic authorities, and they stayed at the home of a prominent member of the I.W.W. The strikers held a mass meeting, at which a number of I.WW.’s preached the most frightful sedition he had ever heard. And around these agitators all the time they spoke was a gang of police who were busy arresting every, loyalist who attempted to prevent these rank disloyalists from speaking. Continuing, Mr Poison said that there were many workers who deprecated this state of affairs, but (hoy were drowned by the clamour of the noisy section of Labour — the extremists —who swayed the Labour movement in Queensland. The result was that there'was no national or public spirit in the whole State. People showed a marked disinclination to take up freehold land, because the Labour' Government’s taxation of it was so heavy. They preferred leasehold land, because when the time was up they could the more readily pull up stakes and get out of it. All the big estates were leasehold, and the holders made little or no attempt to improve the land. Describing the Bolshevik platform which he had heard announced in Queensland, the speaker said that under its provisions no man in llu 1 ball that day would have a vole, because employers of labour and those whose income was derived from any shares were deprived of the rigid to vide. 'Phis was the platform which in Queensland to-day the Bolsheviks wore enunciating from every cart-tail in the country. That Bolshevism was coming to New Zealand, unless we took groat care, was quite in evidence. The Maoriland Worker, the organ of the extremists, had published the platform of the Bolshevists for the edification of the workers of the Dominion. Things in Queensland were rapidly approaidiing a state of (diaos and disorder, and the fear of many settlers was that this would lead to civil war. In conclusion, Mr Poison said that if what lie had seen in Queensland was to he taken as a criterion as to what was likely to happen under Ihe Bolshevik regime, it behoved the farmers of New Zealand to do their utmost to organise. The Labour .Government now in power was not nearly as “advanced” as many of its followers desired. Il was fast becoming more extreme every day. The chairman followed with a few remarks to, the effect that Mr Poison’s address ought to convince any reasonable man that THE TIME I’OR ACTION could nol he any longer delayed. They had wailed lon long to do that duty by themselves and by the conutrv. MR. E. NEW MAX, M.P.. next addressed (lie gathering. Tie said they had had five years of government without parly, hut were they satisfied with the present position, compared with that before the war during the era of parly politics? Voices: No!

Party government avus the host form of government that h;ul been evolved. Tlic speaker went on lo congratulate Mr Poison on I Ik* able n(1<1 ross In- Inid delivered. It was n I'alol llieory lo try and govern any oonnlry for any class alone. The resull was equally disastrous, no mailer which class governed. Labour must have a voice in I he government of (he country, and it had a voice. As long as they followed out Ihe policy in existence now there was no fear thal Bolshevism would rule this country. Ho earnestly wished that they would keep the Bolshevik element out of politics. They must maintain law and order, without which no progress could be made. In (he words of the King, contained in his recent address to Parliament: “We must stop at no sacrifice to stamp out unmerited poverty, 'diminish unemployment, mitigate suffering, provide decent homes,- improve the national llhallli, and raise the standard of well-be-ing throughout the community.” Mr Xewman was convinced that it was the duty of all patriotic men and Avomen to sink minor differences of opinion and tight the • Bolshevik element.