FARMERS' UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 196, 20 June 1903, Page 2

FARMERS' UNION.

TARANiKI PROVINCIAL CON. FKRENCE. The Conference met at the Town Hall, New Plymouth, on Thur-day. The delegates present were: —Mr O. LjejH, loglewcod (acting President); Mr J. Boddie, Eitham (Vice Pieiideat); Mr Fryday, Matau ; Mr Allen, Patea West; Mr D. O. Martin, Matapu; Mr E. C. Meredith, O kura; Mr J. J. Waite, Uruti; Mr J. Davidson,' Hiwera; Mr D. L Astbury, Mahoe and Rowan ; Mr J. Thorn ton, Ngaire ; M> J. Pcillips, Mangatoki; Mr A. 0. Burr, Uarrington K.'ad; Mr J. T. Balcher, Cardiff; Mr E, Maxw.ll, Opinnke ; Mr Voullaire, Riverlea ; Mr W. Baker, Normanby ; Mr A. F. j Chapman, Itaho u ; Mr Par! me, Elthaw; Mr W.B'.iir, o.akehi; Mr W.j T:sc ■, Stratfo-fi; Mr Maekie, K'.i maa; Mr Kennir.gtoo, Tanta; Mnj>r Col mm, Midhirst; Mr J. Hiue, Waitara ; Mr W. N. Rickard, Lepperton ; Mr A. Morton, Egmont Village; Mr J. Burgess, Warea; Mr D. Hi rlihy, iLowgartb. I Mr A. J. McCurJy, Colonial Organiser of the Unbn, was present, and , to'S part in the discussioo. M* AdUm (Oakura), a of thi Provincial Executivi 1 , we s also presen* and joined in the discussion.

1h i, Chairman r*ad the annual report of work done by the Execu'ive during the past jear. It stited tint, hiving in view the youhfulnos of the orgenisation, the diffiju ti s in the way cf farme.s meeting tog*tb>r in numbers, and the infinitesimal amount of the annual subscriptions, they congratulated members 00. the progress made. A great of work bad been danej the frui3 of which will bo appa-ent io years to come. j The educational v*lue of firmera meeting together, and discussing m*t- , te r 8 of general interest, cannon bs overestima'ed. By the interchange of ideas at these meetings eaoh one his learned a little from the other, and thus the general knowledge is increased and the btntfied thereby. Many members are iooiiued to grow indifFeri rat if thsir expeatations are not realised immediately. AH such should reflect I on the tim) ii h s taken trades union- ' ism to reach its present state of : efficiency.

The pesfecthn of an organisation is always asi »w process, even when the narrow interests of a eing'e trails or profession oAy hive to be considered; there'ore, in the for ma'ion of a Union mob. as this, ths members of which represent world-*Ue interests, and on whese stioo?S3 tba welfare of every o'.har section of theconatnuniy mora or les3 depends a graat d»al of time is nquir.d. The found'ion of the I New Zoahud Fai mars' TJuon is not y»t la ; d ; it is now in court e of conS ruo ion. It is well, ther8 r ore, for the future of our building that progress at this sttge of the proceedings should be slo*", but the foundations should not be laid en the unsuitable qiickstands of p rty politics, uir the narrow inter. ests ot a single tradj or professi >n; bub rather on broad, sound measures whose central principle is "The gre»teat good for the greatest number'" I The nqces.ty and advantage of farmers combining has been cleat ly set ' forth by Mr J. Q. Wilson, the energetic Colonial Prsident, in a piiupbiei whi':h should be reid by every farmer, and tn mid result in a largely iueroas d membership and a'so groater aotivity jn the Dn ; on rank<. The figures in the appendix are e.-p 3 ciil!y intaiesiing, I as shewing (amongst o.her things) th) propo;tion of oread winner sia the co'ony who ara ben flted by PcotcC ion, compared with the total number of bread-winners-Total breadwinners, 340,230; benefited by Prp'ect ; on, 39,690; leaving 300,540 are not in any way benefited by Protection, bat who hive to pay these duties in order to artificially raise the wages of t ha 39,990 engiged in promoted inlustiies. Of these 300,540 breadwinner*, 89,222 are producers of agricultural and pastoral prjduce, and all of them bava to sell thtir produce in an op9n market an 1 buy their requhvman-.a in a protected oue. The above figures are of eep cial interest when raad in conjunction with the Premier's recent utt. r.mres at Hami ton in regard to " Preferential trade with England." The two sh ;uld be bracke'.td togeilur, and every farmer should how the course suggested in the speech referred to will all' ot him. A resolution dealing with the subject will bj submitted, and will afford ftp Oobf rence an opportunity to repress an opinion.

Jt is pleasing to n >te that the, cry that the Farmers' JJahn is a party organisiUon, and the opposi {on tq ic on that acoouQ*, is dying out. The latest example of this fact is to be found in a recant U'.terance of the Minister for Lmds at the Wellington Conference; l( He corn, needed the delegates' moderation in tone and reasonable demands, and believed it was the tjght thing to speak plainly and they woull do good thereby, Ii was not a sin for farmers to touoh politics, and he complimented the Union on the absence of *p\rty feeling,' Is is now no longer an opan questioc as to the necessity of farmers uniting, and it is also beyond debate that to uoite successfully we must provide sufficient funds to meet all reasonable expenses. Toe pist year's expirieocs proves that the Union U trying to run ou too small a subscription, and it is confidently hoped that this Conference will endeavour to provide its Executive with eyffiqjent funds to carry on the wo k of organisation in a thorough manntf.

The Executive regretted tint no I success could bs reported in the matter of affording relief to farme 8 from exo saive premiums on fire risks, all [negotiations with existing companies [having failed. It hid be j n decided to endeavour to obtiin the cep.'sary legislative authority to insure farmers !oa the "mutuil" principle as is dote in Canada and by the Grangers of the U.S.A., and it was hope! by this t) eventually obtain rtli f. In the ma' ter of accident insurer ce the concessions granted to members of the Farmers' Union by a private compiny and tht n by the Government office had been withdrawn, ar.d the old r.ite re-iorted to, thus affording another proof tha*i a strong combination exirs in the insurance business to force p-ofi s, atd thu even the New Z aland Government is n)t p oof against the poser of this combination.

During the yeir the com'ry hid pissed through the stiuggles of a general election, on'whLh the fc\roae s' Union hai uiidonbte.ily ex rci ed some influence, though to wbai exttnt could not be fully d t mined yet. Ii wa->, however, encou agiug to know that a greit number of the representitiv 8 of country constituencies had pledged thoraselves to sjpport the Unioa pi ttforra, and it would be tin duty i f ev.ryoni to witch how those pledges were redeemed,

Since the last Conference a good deil of activity hid been displayed in New Plymouth haibour matters, and as this is of vital interest to every farmer in faranaki, no excuse is needed for mentioning it in this addres?. A resolution dealing with "representation" would be submitted ; but this was only i one phase of the "harbour question," another and more vital one being: "Are we prepared to support a steady progressive construction policy and thu reap full advanttgeof the increisinp trade of the province, or shall we p'od along in our present groove and all» •■■ j Auckland and Wanga-mi to scoip th> trade which rightly bo'onga t) us.' The Cbnfererc* might well resolve oniway or the other. The quasMoo. of rpining up the back cjuntiy by mians (f (hi ouiple'ioa <>( thn Moki, Ohu'-a, and. Mokau-Te Kui i Roads hid been under discussion by the New P>yat mth Chamber of Oommercc, and u rtsolu'.ioa to a's'st tha body would certainly be a step in th right direction, During the year the Jixesutive h<d held eight mee'ing", at whijh various milters were dealt; with in the manner which appeared best at the time.

In conclusion the President thanked members cf the Execu ive for the courtesy an 1 assistance given t) him on all occasions, and hop;d the present Ojtfcrence would be conducted as pitas intly as was last year's. The bJince-sheet, which showed a d fiaieacy of £7, was adop'.ed afcor some discussion.

The minutes of the las': annual meeting were read, anl an instruction given to the senreiary to insert a copy of the order paper in conjunction with the minuses.

It was decided, after diecujsion, tint the election or officers should take place at the end of the day's business. A resolution was passed that the ord-r paper be sent to the branch secretaries at least a month before the Conference, and that they ba notifi d of the date, place, and hour of meeting of the Conference. It was decided to read the ordtr piper, and questions of lewer importance were thrown out.

I Mr A, 0. Burr (Oirrington Boad) then moved the first; question: " That retired farmers be allowed to join as working members of the Union." Seconded by Mr Morton (Egmont Village). Mr Astbury (Mahoe) pointed out that the resolution was praotically unnecessary, seeing that the rule reliting to membership covered the cese. Mr J. Hine (Waitara) agreed, and Mr W. Blair (Otakehj) considered it should be shown thit a retired farmer had bean refused membership before the quislion need be disoussed. Messrs J. Mackie (Kiiunta) and Kennington (Tarata) opposed the motio'. They oonsiderei the term " retired farmer " would include storekeepers and others cf means who would have farmers uader their thumbs.

Mr Maxwell dupportel the motion. Mr Bjddie (Elthim) moved an amendment tint the w.rds " ualess engaged in a trade or occupation inimic.l to the inter* s s of the farming 'community."

The amendment was seconded by Mr Meredi'h (Oakura). Mr Voullaire (Riverlea) considered tint branches had the matter in their hands already, as members were balloted for.

Mr J. Davidson (Hawera) and Herlihy (Lowgartb) supported the resolutin?, and Messrs Fryday (Matau), Wti;e (TJiuti), and Belcher (Cardiff) opposed it, Mr Burgess (Warei) pointed out tha*i there s.em?d to be some confusion among member6,who were confounding "retired fume: a" and "ex-farmers." Tbere ould be no possible objection to retired farmere.

The amendment was then put and carried by 14 to 13. The amended resolution wai then pat and carried,

Mr A 0. Burr (Oat riDgton road) then moved : " That the Executive should have a secretary wbo should receive a fixed Hilary, and who could travt-1 the oouatry and give greater time to Union matters "

Mr Biloher (Oirdiff) 3eoonded. Mr Hine (Waitan) moved an amendment tint the Evecutive shou'd have a competent secretary who should receive an adequate fixed salary. Seconded by Mr Waite (Uruti) and carried.

This was further amended by the addition of the words " and the greater time to Onion matters," and eventually pirried iri th : s f6rm.

Mr A. 0. Burr (Oarriqgton-road) moved, '< i'hat on the I) rod Assessment Court one of the assessors should be appoin'ed by the landowner," Mr Fry day eecoDd^d.

The President pointed out that the Colonial Conference had oarried a resolution tint one assessor be eleoted by the local body of the district, which met the difficulty. In the circum--B'ance9, he thought the motion might be withdrawn,

Mr 3ice (Waiters) moved, as an amendment, that this resolution be reaffirmed,

| Mr Maxwell (Opunak") seconded. The resolution read; "Seeing that local bodies have a thorough knowledge of land valu s in their owo dis*riots, the law should b6 so amended as to albw them to nominate c:e assessor to sit with the Judga of the Assessment Oouit."

Mr Burr said he was willing to withdraw his motion, but Mr Pari me objected, and the discussion proce ded. Eventuilly the amendment was carried.

Mr Burge6B (Wares) moy.id: J' That this Conference protest againßt the levying of ineoma tax on dairy companies." Mr McCurdy mentioned thtt the Premier bad promised to amend the law rththg to the matter. Mr Fnday secoudel the motion which waseuihd unanimously, Mr Burgess (W area) move!: " That this Ooaleteioi a rongly protests ag dnst the incidence of land and income taxation." He contended the I 'axition should be assessed more equita'ly. The ixempion from land lax shuld be higher or eli9 that for ihcome tax should be made lower. Mr Friday sroosdid.

Mr Astbury npprel the motion. I' i". was cairied it wouli bsadinc't injustio) to the firmer and the merh nic, Messrs Maxwell and Herlihy gpokn in supp irt > f the moti >n. Mr B ivgisf, in i eplying, said he would like to put the motion in a sligh ly amend-d form, na follows: That the Ooi f renoe protest against the incapability of the pr«s nt system "f levying income and land tixes, by whfoh incomes up to £3OO were exempt, and land up to a value of £SOO only was exempt,—Carried.

Mr Maxwell (Opunike) moved; " That the V.luatioa of Licds Aot b) am.nded, ag that any addHoaU value

added to hods by the expenditure of local monies he cl-aied as impoved value, and deducted from the rental value of Grown and native leta.a io the same way as oiher improvement!,'' spoko sroogly of tbe ir juttiee ot the presatit system of assrsim/ rente on the valuations of land added to by accretions in values brought about by cue expenditure of special loans, etc. Mr A. F. Ohapman (Rahoto) ssoond»d.

Mr Maxwell agreed to a aurgestion hat the words " and taxable valui of ail iau4s" be i< serted after the words 'native leases."—Carried. An Op mak » remit: " That the land t x be abolisheJ, and iu lieu thereof an ■ noama tax bo substituted in the same pioporion an on incomes from any jih t siurcf," was struck out. Mr A. F. Ooapmao (Rihotu) moved •' That this b.-at.c 1 urge on tbe OonI'oivnce tj invite the fullest power of the Uoioa to resist the Single Tax," and bikfly spoke to the question, Mr Allen (Patea West eeeonded), Mr Astbury considered the question was njt one for discussion by anon a meeti-g as the present conference. Mr Msekii was in favour cf giogle Tax, while Messrs A. Morton, W. B air, anl J. Uice w*re advene. Tbe President said that th»re were people prepired to oppose the Single Tax at the p/iotof the bayonet, and these pwple did not know anything abaut tt. lie sug.ss'ed deferiog discussion uni il thty had gained foil information on the subjeot, and he moved ic thit direction.

Mr VoulUire seconded the amendment which, after a long disousiion, was lost. The resolution was then carrieJ.

Several remits were struck out. Mr J. Hioe (Waitara), by permit* aioD, withdrew a remit relating to acquiring the freehold, as he wm in favour of a remit from Patea West dealing with the subject. Mr Allen (Patea West) then movedt " That all holders of Oiown leuee be a lowed the optionjof acquiring the freehold in limited areas, according to the Lind Act and Lend for Settlement Act."

The President pointed out that No, 3 plank of the Union's platform dealt wih this subjeot,and Mr Alien I*l4 he was aware of thtt, but his br&nob wished to keep the nutter from bring overlooked

Mr B. M«well (Opunake) seconded, and suggested the addition of the words "and leases under the West Coast Settlements Reserves Act," after the words" Grown leasee." This was agreed ta, and thi motion oarried. Oi the motion of Messrs Wai'e and Bod He, Mr 0. Leech was elected President. Mr Leach, in returning thank', siid he would do all io his power to assist the Union.

The o;ber officers elected were.'— Vice-president-, M. r J. Boddia (Eltham)} auditor, Mr Asbn y( Mahoe); Executive Committee, M.ssrs-Parian*, Bur* ges», Maxwell, Hiae, Blair, Biker, Thompson, Forsyth, Morton, and Ad« hm; delegates to Colonial Conference, MeifM Burgess and Bjddi». Tae Oooferenoe th.n adjourned until Friday.

6E30N1) DAY. The Conference resumed at 9 o'clook on Friday, The resignation of Mr Burgess as a memb.r cf th* Executive w.uacoep'ed, and Mr G. T. Alien, junr., (Patea Wi s l ), was ele.ted in his stead,

I Tin members received, with ftp. plause, an invitation from Mr 0, S imuel to make us? of the Qentleuen'e Olub during stay h»re. Mr Maxwell (Opunake) moved J " That a protest be made against the present system of disposing of Grown lands by bjlLt and that a recommend«• tion be made that in future all Unit open fir selection be put op by auotioa, Mr Maxwell's main argument wee that under present conditions (he bonafida sittler was often excluded whilst too land speculator eame out on top. It might bs argued that celling land by auotion would lead to land being taken up at a price higher thin its value, but if a min made a bad bargain he bad only himself to b'auu. He mentioned that the Waimita land was all put up, by auo .ion or tender, and the bjet results had accrued.

Mr Tis.h (Stra f :rd) seconded, and described the present system •■nothing short of a Ssate gamble. Mr Pryday was of opiaion thtt there was j ist as much gambliog under the lease in perp .tuity system. Mr Wait* pointed 'out ° that lost «a muon dangr, if no) mat, wodld a? orue under the suction system for the smallcapitals!* would besquesetout, Mr Meredith, also opposed the resolution.

MrAstbury, whilst admitting deficiencies and abuse, thought the ballot system was bettrr than taction. It was fairer by reason of the faot that there was an element of ohance in it. At auction the man with the money bags would come out oa top every time, but not so at ballot, where the poor man sometimes succeeded despite the rich m in's uncle* and aunts, Mr Mackie asked what would be the position if 20 or 30 applicants bid the same.

Mr Bilcher suggested as a remedy that f icilii s for transfer, say for the first five yeirs, should be decreased*

I Mr Boddie hop *d the question would be carefully consideied. Whiht be was aware of the faults of th* ballo) ays-em, he did not thick they were jusiifbd in rushing to the other extrmi ■. Th y must not forget that the bulk of the men now on the land wou'd hard fared badly uader fhe auction system. Land Boirds mould, however, hive more discretionary power, but to make the basis of their taxation the prioa paid for land under the excitement of ao auotion sib' was to his mind a retiO£»da movemnt. Messrs Ricktrds and Mcrton alto spoke,

Mr Blair favour d the auotion system, as it would briog out the best class of Battlers.

Mr Voulair* opposed the notion, whilst Mr D-ividton suppjrtad, Mr Astbury moved an amendment eo strike out the words after ballot with a view to substituting the words " devise some other me hod of disposal and el initiating th* element of duplication of applications." A long diocu -sioa ensued, after wh'eh he amendment wa« carried.

A number of other lubjeote were discmeed (including Harbaur Boari epresentation, in c;noecaim with which a ra.-o ution ws oirried afaieal the pre ent "distribu iun if set's"), a full rcpoit of which is bid over. At the ronclusim of the bti'in as Mr J. Q. Wi'soo, the OJoaitlP«lß. dent deliv.rej an a'dress. MS WtL«OSy ADDRO9. -*■ After stttiog tht grott ptMMtfe Iht:

•xpanenced od receiving an invitation to attend the Omfereno and address the members, Mr Wilsoo slid ths! pleasure wu enhanced by the faot thit j the meeting plice was New Plymouth, i a pi use he was always glad to visit. Taere was something ia its surroundings and in its old-world appearanca that always give htm and other visitors immense gratification, especially whan its beauties were sean in such glorious weather as they had that day. One of the most beiutifal thiogs in Taranaki was its lovely mountain, which was one of the most beautiful in the world.. It might be said to be witching over the settlers and stimulating them to form high ideals and act up to them. In Switzerland it was customary for the peisants to lift their bats to Mt Blauc when its head was uncovered, and Taranaki settlers might well pay the same respect to Mt. Ejmont. He looked on the mountain as the principal assistant in the dairying industry. Certainly Taranaki settlers deserved pio3perity, for they had to fight their way to it through great difficulties and they bad worked bard to achieve r. The chief factors in their success, howover, were the cow and the mountain and there was only one thing «anting to complete that Buccess and thit was that every farmer should j>in the Union and by so doing confer a lasting benefit on the province. Farming was the oldest and most honourable, as well as being the healthiest pursuit. It was the mission of farmers to chthe and feed the world. If they produced more than could be used locally then it was necessary to find a market for the surplus, and so far as butter, meat, woo 1 , and grain were concerned they must depend on an outs : de market. There was no doubt tha action of trades unions had increased the cost of living, but it had banefitttd the workers. Employers of hbour cauld put a little more on their , goods if the cost of 'production was in- j creased, but farmers were in a different p vision, as they were depradent on the markets of the world and had to take the best prices offering. JEhis rendered co-operation all the more necessary. It was co operation that had practically made Tarsmki. As an iastano *of how farmers Buffered for want of eo-opera-tioo, be instanced what had taken place at Nelson over the hop trade, pointing oat that some business mm who had found out tint hops were source and would fetch a good price, went round and bought up the crop whereby they secured a handsome profit, which, for want of combination amocg the farmen and an organisation to watch the marke'e, was lost to the growers. Farmers, singly, suffered great disadvantage). There was often great distances aspirating one from the other; they were so busily engaged with their work that it was difficult to fiid time to watch the mitkets and legialition affecting their interests or to hold tint constant intercourse with one another that was essential to their well-being. Whereis townspeople 'could in a few minutes get a meat* ing together by means of the telephone and thsy were puuetud in keeping their appointmen s while farmers were the reverse. They could see how public opinion was formed by meeting together and discussing qiestions of interest and it was by such meetings that the opinions of farmers were made

known to the public through the press, and so the public were mule acquaj ited ' < with the views of the farmers. Until < this course was adopted they ould not " expect to have their interests proparly ' hoked after. There was too much < apathy amongst the fir mere, for evan if a member got up in the House and referred to matters affect ng farmers ' they did not take fie subject up. Uutil they had been absolutely forced < to join together in a common cause i they had Lever shown their opinions, i and yet on every hand they found other people operating against them, ' With regard to the qa stioo of firinsurance it was quite certiin that the j losaraoc) Companies had combined against the farmsrs as well as ftgai b i the public. There were five registered Insurance Oompinies of New Zeiland, but there were 22 companies altogether, and they nut in Wellington every year to see how much they could get out of tha farmers and the public. The five compinies had a piid up opital of £462,000, with reserve funds made out of profits amounting to £819,000, while the profits ranged from 10 to 22J per oent. This etnwed that the business was one of the most successful in the colony -fir better tlnn any dairy factory could show. Surely this was a cue for redress. If the fanners/wanted to 00-opjrate and ins itute an insurance fund to cov.r the fisks qn their 'buildings, the b s'. risk* bee .use they were isolated, they would have to provide a cipital of £25,000. This project would not in any way interfere with the proposed State Fira Insurance Bill and was worthy of consideration. He again emphasised the importance of combination. The had come to discu;s matters concerning their interests, and to sea what progress had boeo made during the last two years in the Union. When the platform w <s laid down it was const iered ad visible to exclude party politics. There was a great difference, between party and general politics. Each member had hi-i iudi vidud political opinions, bu", so far as the farming community was it did not matter what pirty was in office, the great point being thi musures this were pss-ml. Acuoag th.greit o'j eta of the XToiio, the chief was to encourage co-op ration amoug the m imbers, and it was impossible to Over-estimate tee far reaching effect -. f such a policy. The fact of firmors meeting together and dis:ussing questions was, of itself a greit benefit to them, as it had p'-oved —not only in the colony, but also in Italy. It Was very rigmfi ant that at the pres-n? time a fight was going on i -, Irelai d over th* freehold question, and tha" it was proposed a grant of 12 jnjilims f-hould b< m d« by the pinplof England to give the Iri-h tenants a freehold. \t seemed New Zeiland was getting behind in this respect. Henlarged on the benefit of the freehold, and alludei to it as something worth working hard to ob'ain. Farmers h id had a bitter expeiience of leaseholds, fc. and felt that they should no loager s'ave for the benefit of tin Stat?, but consider themselves. The o'd Taranaki settlers did not leave Horn 3 an 1 friends to go to a strange hnd to obtain leasehold hnd, they cou'd have obtained that without crossing th 9 sea, but th-sy wan'el tosocu e hnd they coull c.ll their own and thai their chilJren coul.l do the sime. Toe qiestioi was now to the fron*, and it wis hoped nest session an Act would be passed to en able leaidh ldors t) a-quire tha freholl. It was evidanVtne Pr mier wis awarj of the feeling on the mitter and had been educated up to whit was required. | With reference to the Customs ques-' tion, it was obvious that every farmer mi ft freetrader, bat we e Juld not have

free trade, as revenue from Customs was necessary. The tariff could, however bs reduced on nun; things connected wi h the farming industry. Mr Chamberlain had given a lead, and there was no reason why we should not fall in with it-. Canada gave a rebate of ten per cent on goods imported from : Britain. He considered Mr Seddon had expressed on this question exactly the opposite views to what he should have done. It might be a very adroit move of the Premier on the principle of protection, but the farmery should see tint those views were not carried out.

On the subj'.cfc of technical education Mr Wilson said he wondered if the members of the Union realised what science had done for the farming, iind especially tha dairy industry, Be alluded to the salf-denying labours of Sir Humphry Davy, JTarraday, and others; whose labours were entirely for the becefii of others than themselves and contrasted this with the reluctance with which farmers parted with five sbi lirgs for membership of the Union and the little encouragement they gave to experts who were willing by lectures to place their knowledge at the disposal c f the farmers. It was certain that if the farming industry was to advance they must keep in touch with the latest scientific methods. It was only necessary to point to the dairy fsctories and freezing works to illustrate this contention. The revolution which sciencs had created in the old method of butter-making and preserving had enabled producers to place butter \ on the markets of the world in the best; condition visible, residing in an export trade in butter ot one and a j quarter millions a year, acd of meat, with its bye-products, of four millions, j They must not forget that other people outside the colony too? advantage of I science, and that to compete with them it was necessary to be as advanced as they were. Yet the fumsr as a rule would not go to be educe ted, and when the education was hrought to him by scientists, who were prepared to give lecture'', he did not avail himself of the oppottuni'y. This should not be. Every effort should be made to encouraja t>e dissemica ion of export knowledge, and to take ad van age of it, Ths Farmers' Union should take a deep interest in this and further the work, A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to MrWilsanfor his attendance and' interesting address, A vote of thanks was all) passed to the Bwough Crancil for the use of the Council Chamber.