N.Z. FARMERS' UNION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 23

N.Z. FARMERS' UNION.

THE MOUNT IDA BRANCH. At the quarterly meeting of the .Mount Ida branch of the New Zealand Farmers Union, held at Ranfurly, Mr C. J. Inder presided. After going through the demands to be submitted to the Trades and Labour Conference it was decided to object in toto to the demands. The matter of sending produce to the University studentsbazaar is to be brought under the notice of members. The question o£ the epr-ead of gorse in river-beds was discussed. Mr Scott said it was not altogether the spread of gorse, but of sweetbriar, which was going to be the greatest curse New Zea- ; land yet had. In this electorate it would ' take an enormous sum to clear it now. If I it were not attended to large areas of Crown lands would become useless for runj ning she-ep. He intended! to bring the 1 matter up in the House, but thought the initiative should come from the Farmers Union. It meant putting into operation the Noxious Weeds Act as far as the gorse . and sweetbriar were concerned. Mr Glendinning moved, and Mr \N . Mawhinney seconded— " That ;t; t be a remit to the Provincial Executive asking it to draw the Government's attention to the l.uisance, and to devise some steps to picvent it."— Carried. LIMEHILLft BRANCH. At a meeting of the Limehill<= branch of the New Zealand Faimcis' Union, over j -which Mr W. A. 'Cox presided, it was resolved, after di«cueMon— " That thU moet1 ing of the Limehills branch of thr» Farni3rs' Union considers the rise in Jand valuation exorbitant in the face or the reduction in value of all farm produce, and this branch j would urge all other branches to i>eriou=ly consider the land valuation, with a view to bringing pressure to bear on the heads of departments to stop the 6ai<l continual ri-o, and that valuation should at leant be brought back to the pa->t rate '' It wa«. also* unanimously resolved — " That thi= meeting considers that the present system of rating on the unimproved value is vsiy ' unsatisfactory, and that the old system bo , leverted to— viz., rating on tho capital value. "'