NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 4 July 1907, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

_«. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. Scr Press Association. Wellington, July 3. At the Fanners' Union Conference today, advantage was taken of the presence of Mr Ritchie, secretary to the Agricultural Departments bring under his notice a number of remits relating to agricultural matters. In regard to an Auckland suggestion that agricultural statistics should ho collected through the Post-office, as was done with the sheep returns, Mr Ritchie said the experiment had been made iu M'istcrtou and Nelson, but so badly were the returns filled in that they were found useless as records. On the motion of Mr Leadley, Canterbury, a resolution was passed 'setting out that the whole system of collecting and publishing the annual returns of grain production is eminently unsatisfactory and misleading, and urging the Uovei'ument to obtain from 1 threshing machine-owners quarterly rc-f„,-.,c nf ~u «,..»;„ +i,,.„<.ii.,.i i.i. 4-'„„™.

tunia ui itii ynuu mresueu UJ mem, v The Conference negatived a motion from Gisborne to the effect that the date o£ making up sheep returns be altered from the 30th April to tlie 30th June. It was decided to again request the Government to appoint only persons with veterinary knowledge to cj>ief stock inspectorships in • each province, and to urge' the Government to bring in a Bill making it compulsory lor seedsmen to guarantee all Beeds sold r.s true to name and the germinating power of specified percentage. Wellington, July 3. At the Farmers' Union Mr Leadley (Canterbury) moved—."That tliis conference protests against any further increase of the graduated land tax." The mover said he did not wish it to appear that they objected to the graduated land tax as a tax. All 'they objected to was its increase. A man would derive a revenue of £320 from tlie investment of £80[)0 in New Zealand Consols, and the amount he would liava. to pay tax on I ■ would be only £2O. A man who invested £BOOO in land, whether he made any profit or not, would have to pay £35 or £4O to the State. That was a great inequality, and it was fair to ask for its removal. He asked fo have the remit amended accordingly. There was objection to this, so the motion was moved as originally submitted, and Mr Crick (Marton) seconded it. Mr McQueen (Southland) said it had been proved to the satisfaction of the conference that disintegration was already going on satisfactorily, so there was no necessity of an increase of the ■ tax.for that purpose. Mr Cooper considered it unfair to tax all landholders because there might be ! a few estates which should be cut up. Mi'. Jones (iVortli Canterbury) moved that there be added to the motion the ' words ''unless a similar increase is made ; in income lax." The president: "If the graduated land - tax is forced upon the country, I should not be averse to see, under certain conditions, the whole of wealth taxed. I could not personally vote for the motion." Mr. Jones withdrew Jiis amendment, and the 'motion was passed in this form: j —"That this conference protests against any further increase of the graduated land tax for the purpose hinted at by (he Hon. Sir McNali in several of his rec-"nt addresses." On tlie motion of Mr Leadley, it was resolved that the system of treating mortgages as land under graduated land tax is a cruel injustice to land-owners,' asthereby tl.e-State collects a tax twice ever oa fjine amo.vnts—first from the mortgagee on his loan, and then from the mortgagor on the capital." The conference also decided to protest against improvements being undervalued i.i irdei' to unduly force up the unimproved or taxable values. Mr J. (i. Wilson was re-electod president, and Mr (x. W. Leadly vice-presi-dent. Members of advisory board: Messrs J. Peat, 11. Richardson, W. Birch and J. C. Cooper.