The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.) WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1876.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 409, 13 September 1876, Page 2

The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1876.

“We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

The meeting convened for to-morrow evening, at the Waerenga-a-hika Hotel, will, probably, determine the question whether a, new society shall be formed in the agricultural interest alone ; and, practically, whether the existing “ Agricultural and Pastoral Society,” shall cease to be supported by men and money belonging to the former class, but whose interests it stands accused of having either ignored altogether, or thought of secondary importance. The movers in the new formation say, very naturally, that a “ Farmers’ ” Association, in its generic and comprehensive sense—whether allied with the pastoral interest in its exclusive sense, or not—is what is required in what should be a large producing district; and, if, as was inferred at the meeting on Tuesday last, the members of the existing Society do not exhibit any very great desire to lend the machinery of its means in aid of the development of a sister industry,then that industry must seek for some machinery of its own. Wo are far from saying that such is the case. We are still farther removed from an inclination to dismember the original Society, which was formed to support both the interests in question; for it must not be forgotten that two co-existing, and essentially weaker Societies are not so likely to succeed, (as they are net indispensably necessary in a small, and straggling, and, in a measure, struggling community) as one strong one which warmly advocates the improvement of sheep, cattle, and agriculture -on ■equal terms. Those who attempted to have a meeting of the society at a later period of the season, and asked for a provision being made for agricultural products, as well as sheep and cattle, are dissatisfied with the opposition they met with, chiefly, so it is asserted, by those whose interests lie wholly, or nearly so, in an opposite direction. This, if true- —for one cannot always catch impromptu at reasons that are not given—is not as it should be. It establishes a pernicious class system, and creates an opposition of interests which, although separate and distinct,! should work cordially together for the promotion of each ether’s welfare. The large gathering of farmers and others ’-that may be expected at the meeting to-morrow ■night, will, as we have said, practically, and we doubt not, detewninately, settle the fate of the parent "Society, of which, doubtless, they are all members ; and the withdrawal'df their countenance and support will be a serious blow to it. Thue we shall be establishing another Society at the expense of the one. But, as the farmers, whose interests they say have been ignored, are in the majority, they have the trump card in their own hands, and their prompt action may be the means of rousing the “ Pastorals ” to a sense of duty, which will be best exemplified by a full attendance of their leading men, and, if possible, prevent what must be fatal to their best interests. There is not room for two Societies ifi Poverty Bay, purposely kept distinct for the avowed object of promoting what are essentially kindred objects ; one of the twain will, assuredly, come to grief ; but if the farmers are driven into secession, as the only alternative by which their vitality can be kept up, then, we say, all honor to them for the bold front they seem determined to > shew., and to their leader, Mr Walsh, for the pluck he has already displayed. While we still adhere to the principle of Unity—remembering the fable of the bundle of sticks—we are not sorry that the question has cropped up, if it be the means of drawing the farmers together to compare notes and observations as to the statistical strength of their number, and the capabilities at their disposal to stand in a position of their own. As an industry, agriculture has certainly not been prosecuted in Poverty Bay as it should have been. Most persons can set Up a sheep run, as it is called ; and thrive withoutmuch brains. If his flock is known as “ scraggy,” he imports a few good breed, turns them into his fold, and in due time obtains “ a prize” for exhibiting the product of other men’s labor. Not so with agriculture. A man who “ easts his bread upon the waters ” of this pursuit, requires intelligence, patience, and perseverance, for his crop is more susceptible to damage from the capriciousness of the weather, than the fleece of the wool owner, or sheep farmer. We have not a word to say against these latter. They hold an estimable position of honor and utility in the producing markets of the world ; but as their toil is easier, their losses less, and their profits larger, and less precarious than the agriculturists’, they do not stand in so much need of assistance, if we may so call it, which arises from combination or association. Therefore, we trust that, at least, one good will result from the approaching meeting ; and that that one good must be for the benefit of the farming class, we have not a shadow of doubt. It is a reproach of the most aggravated kind

when it is remembered that a district so thoroughly adapted to agricultural pursuits as this is, does not grow enough cereals for home use, to say nothing of potatoes, bacon, hay, and a host of other articles that find their way here from neighbouring provinces at prices that should be remunerative enough to home growers. The fact is, nearly every one with a little money dabbles in sheep ; but now that the agricultural class are desirous of confining themselves to their legitimate sphere of labor, we trust that the result of the meeting to-morrow night will be an earnest indication of its first fruits, and an evidence ef things to come.