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The Farm.

WINTON A. & P. ASSOCIATION. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The annual meeting of the above was held on the evening of the 27th nit—Mr J. Cowie (President) in the chair. The attendance of members was very satisfactory. The balancesheet for the year just ended, submitted and read by the treasurer (Mr D. McKenzie), showed the position of the Association to be To amount brought forward from last yeai, £l7 4s ; total receipts for the year, £56 17s 3d; expenditure, £SB 3s 6d ; debit balance, £1 6s 3d. Total credit balance to be carried forward, £ls 17s 9d.

The President, in moving the adoption of the balance-sheet, said ; Gentlemen, The following is a resume of the year’s work of this Association :—We have hold 14 meetings, besides a few special ones, in connection with our annual grain show, which were all not by any means so well attended as I would have expected them to be, seeing the number of members on the roll somewhere about 70. The attendance only ran from 15 to 30. Amongst the first business that this Association took up at the beginning of the past year was a motion brought forward by Mr John Hamilton to the effect that auctioneers be compelled to register all brands of sheep placed in their hands for sale. This most important motion deserved a better fate than it received, for after being before lavo or three meetings and very Avarmly discussed, it was allowed to drop. "A majority—a small one — thought that it would entail a great deal of extra trouble giving and taking the brands, and that it Avould hardly be workable. Noav, my opinion is that Ave should have carried this motion unanimously, and one reason for holding such an opinion is that it would make it much easier to trace stolen sheep if all the brands of sheej) sold and the date on which they were sold were down in black and Avhite. The trouble Avould be very small and I am sure the auctioneers could afford to do a good deal more for the amount of commission they charge. —Another motion Avas brought forward by Mr O’Brien, and carried unanimously, to the folloAving effect : —That the last sentence of bye-law 14 be erased, namely, “ Should a member fail to pay twelve months he will not be admitted except by ballot as for a new member.” It is most important that all members should notice this alteration, as Ave are a registered body. Once one is a member lie remains so , until he sends in his resignation in writing, so you Avill see that the clause Avas quite illegal. —A motion Avas brought forward by Mr Collie, and this may be said to have been the motion of the year, on account of the number of times it came up. It Avas as follows: —“ That the County Council be asked to take pr-ompt action regarding the abatement of the small bird nuisance.” This motion was carried and forwarded to the Count}' Council, but that body declined to take action, although the Bird Nuisance Act of ’9l empowered them to do so. I am of opinion that they Avere right in doing so, notAvithstanding the petition from this august body. We must remember that Ave are but a small body of the ratepayers of the Southland County Council, and that they Avould not be justified in taking such an important step without a general expression of feeling in favour of doing so throughout the county. The rate allowed (one-six-teenth of a penny) may not seem much, and would not be much to small holders, but to those Avith lai-ge areas of land it would come to be heaiy; and the chances are that the rate would need to be doubled right away, as we Avould require our inspector and sub-inspectors. Then there is the question whether it Avould be wise to have a Avholesale slaughter among the birds, seeing they relieve us of so many grubs and insects which ruin as much crop as the birds on some soils.

—We had also under our consideration the proposed Stock Bill, Codlin Moth Bill, Land. Drainage Bill, and Poisonous Weeds Bill, and made recommendations to the Government thereauent. — We agreed to support the Gore Farmers’ Club relative to the abolition of t*-*e per cent, discount on wheat transactions, and also that wheat bags be paid for. —We also did Avhat Ave could in the direction of obtaining two trains a day from Win ton to Invercargill, and that the passenger trains be run at a more reasonable rate, as it often takes two hours to do the 19 miles. At this rate, if one was in a hurry he AA r ould hardly care to, wait. —It Avas also agreed that this Association support and keep before the Government the necessity of a railway from Winton to Wrey’s Bush. —Our annual grain shoAv was a success in every way. In some classes aa 7 6 had a large number of exhibits, and many of first class quality. I hope the farmers this year Avill endeavour as far as possible to make the Winton grain slioav second to none in Noav Zealand,— A number of other subjects were also taken up, and a great deal of interesting and instructive discussion evoked over each. I always feel after our meetings that I am somehow Aviser, or, if not Aviser, that I am stirred up to go in and consider the different subjects more fully than I Avould do if I Avere not to attend, and in every way I think it is adi'antageous to the wisest of us to meet and interchange A'iews and opinions on the different subjects affecting the farming industry. More especially are these meetings necessary noAV seeing that every branch or section of the community have their Chamber of Commerce, their unions, and so forth to watch over and protect their separate interests. It is the duty of the farming community to be very Avide awake in those times, Avhen land is being made more than CA'er the milch cow of the State ; and lioav can Ave shoAv more effectually that we are Avide-aAvake than by meeting- together consulting, debating, and agreeing upon different subjects, and then letting ourselves be heard in the proper quarter ? I would urge upon eA T ery member to attend every meeting' if at all possible, and to endeaA’or to persuade all their neighbours to become members. Some say —“But Avhat good can Ave do ?” To them I Avould say —“Union is strength.” Look to our crops. We soav them to-day, but Ave must wait for months for any fruit. The same result follows our meetings. We hold one tonight, and months, it may be years, after the fruit of that meeting may appear. I think, gentlemen, that, the farmers of New Zealand should at once see to getting more of their

members to represent them in Parliament. Until we do that Ave need not expect our burdens to be light. Our representatives in the meantime are nearly all townsmen, connected with the press or laAv. Noav Avhat does a man that has been shut up in a printing office nearly all his life knoAV about Avhat would be advantageous for the country f The same with the lawyer, although he may be very clever, glib of tongue and so forth. It is these gentlemen Avho are running our luavs. They can and do talk all night and say nothing to the purpose, and make luavs that a carriage and six can be driven through. That sort of men away Avith. We need them not. At the very least a majority of our representatives should be men directly interested in the land, seeing that the welfare of the colony depends so much upon the good management of our landed estate. Let us, then, be up and doing, and see that Ave put the right sort of men in the front—those who will do their utmost to encourage the man aylio makes tAventy blades of grass grow Avhere one groAV before.

How, gentlemen, Before vacating the chair, iet me say one word in connection with our secretary. He has been most industrious and painstaking - , and has done everything - possible to further the interests of this Association. I must thank him on behalf of myself as president for the assistance he has given me. To be president

with such an able and willing secre tary is quite a pleasure. Also, I must thank all those who in any way assisted to make our meetings a success, and for the kindly way in which they overlooked any shortcomings of mine. The motion for the adoption of the balance-sheet was seconded by Mr A. Robertson, and carried unanimously. The election of office-bearers followed. On the motion of Mr W. Keith the present officers were reelected, viz., President, Mr J. Cowie ; Vice-President, Mr A. Liddell; Treasurer, Mr D. McKenzie ; Secretary, Mr M. O’Brien ; auditors, Messrs W. Keith and W. G. Coster. The office-bearers were accorded a very hearty vote of thanks. The secretary was voted the sum of as remuneration for his services duringthe year. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Association was held on the 3rd inst.—Mr Cowie (President) in the chair. —-The Minister for Agriculture forwarded some very useful leaflets, principally for farmers. —It was resolved that 200 circulars of the President’s report on the progress of the Association during the past year be printed and circulated amongst the farmers. —-A very lengthy discussion took place on the question 11 That grain merchants accept the weight of bags weighed by duly registered scales and belonging to millowners.” Eventually it was decided “ That all mill-owners be requested to carry their scales with them to places 'where the5 r purpose threshing, such scales to be duly registered.” Another question of considerable moment was brought forward, viz., the matter of holding the next V' estern District Cattle and Implement Show here in December. The Secretary, in the meantime, was instructed to communicate Avith the Western Distinct Club on the matter. —The meeting adjourned with a vote of thanks to the chair, after proposing four candidates for membership.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SOCR18940210.2.4

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 46, 10 February 1894, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,720

The Farm. Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 46, 10 February 1894, Page 3

The Farm. Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 46, 10 February 1894, Page 3

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