POLITICS NOT WANTED.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 253, 6 September 1928, Page 3

POLITICS NOT WANTED.

. THE FARMERS’ UNION. Matamata Maintains Attitude. Disruptive Influence Deprecated. From its inception the Matamata branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ "Union has steadily and forcefully maintained an attitude of eschewing party politics within its ranks and has disapproved of. all such leanings hy the Auckland executive or by any part of the organisation. In general politics, such as the question of a protective tariff, the branch has been just as forceful and free in its expression of opinion, but it has always set its face against the union leaders trying to use the union to get any particular party into power, irrespective of whether that party was Reform, Liberal, Labour or any other brand.

At the August meeting of the branch the secretary (Mr. A. J. Tong) was instructed to write to the provincial secretary (Mr. A. E. Robinson) protesting against the use of the union’s official organ, Fanning First, for party political propaganda. When a copy of this outgoing letter was read before the September meeting on Saturday night Mr. D. B. Higgins objected that, in view of the feeling expressed at the conference at Hamilton in favour of political action, the letter should not have been written. Then the fat was in the fire, and. things were lively enough even though there was no electric light upon the subject, and the reporter had to make notes in the dark and try to memorise somewhat.

Mr. J. Price declared that if the union was going to be a political organisation then he was * afraid there were many present unionists who were going to have nothing to do with the union. He and others objected to the union’s paper being used for political propaganda. In any case, the Dominion executive was the ruling body, and the Auckland executive was subsidiary thereto.

Mr. H. Rollett, past president, who had occupied the presidential chair of the branch for many years, from its inception until last year, said the branch had consistently opposed taking part in party-political warfare and had passed resolutions to that effect. Members had objected to the idea that their subscriptions might be used to that end, for they included men of all shades of political opinion within their ranks. Mr. P. Finlayson senior considered that it was not right at all for the union to enter party politics. Mr. Rollett added that he did not at all mind the paper purely as a union journal, but not for politics. Mr. Higgins endeavoured to pour oil on the troubled waters by explaining that thj Country Party did not want to oust the present Government but merely to get a few members into Parliament in order to put forward the farmers’ views. The president, Mr. T. H. Prowse, said he had now ceased to read Farming First for it was a most biassed paper. A Member : It is up against the Government every time and all the time. It is most unfair. No further action was taken, but a motion Was hardly necessary, the branch, by an overwhelming majority of those present, having stoutly maintained its consistent attitude in regard to what it has always considered to be a disruptive influence.

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