N.Z. FARMERS' UNION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 304, 16 May 1913, Page 7

N.Z. FARMERS' UNION

. TARANAKI BRANCH. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. The annual conference of the Taranaki branch of the New Zealand' Farmers' Union was held at Kll'ham yester'day. Mr. (i. Hunter (Hawera) vicepresident, was in the chair. Delegates present were: Messrs A. Harrison (Eltham), M. G. Looney (Opunake), If. N. Buxton (Auroa), W. H. Le Fleming (Otakeho), M. G. Capper (Kaimata), J. S. Barrow (Te Roti), E. Gray ■ (Lowgarth), C. E. McGuiness (Mangatoki), B. Orr (Ngaere). Members of the executive in attendance were: Messrs. R. Lambie, E. Maxwell, H. H. Buxton, R. Dunn. G. H. Buckeridge, F. Virgin, G. Capper, A. E. Washer, and J. Swindlehurst. At the outset, delegates were accorded a civic welcome by the Mayor of Eltliam, Mr. Crump. In an address, 'he assured . them of the welcome of the townspeople I of Eltham and their appreciation of the very valuable work the conference was called upon to do. Passing on, he re- [, ferred to the fact that the old-time cleavage between the interests of town, and eountrv was now rapidly disappear- !? ing. Nowhere more than in Taranaki was it emphasised that the inter- . ests of town and country were identiI cal. The inter-dependance of town and ! country was very marked. Referring I to the order' paper, lie said that the list I of remits bore out the last-mentioned I part. He pointed out that the con-1 [ ferenee had even under consideration the ' question of the Saturday half-holiday. It was very right and proper that they » should take this question into eonsider--3 ation, for it was a matter that'affected I the farming community. Touching the 1 remit urging that political economy be > made a compulsory subject in the higher j schools, the speaker said that it might [ be that to introduce political economy into our schools would not be the best \vay of combatting the socialistic tendencies. It was of the utmost importance to producers, however, that an effort should be made to overcome the evil. Labor desired to set up a class—a paramount class—and he instanced the efforts being made by the Labor Party to obtain the entire municipal control of the city of Wellington. The citizens, however, had awakened to the dangers of absolute control by labour, and accordingly saved the situation at the recent polls. The importance of a vigorous immigration ;'oli:;y ci uld not i he added, be over-emphasised. Returning thanks, the chairman said the Mayor's reception showed the interest that business people took' in the affairs of the conference. Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., also addressed a few words of welcome, stating that for many years he had been an admirer of the Union's good work,, although he differed from their policy in' some respects. For instance, he did not agree with a remit 'licy i ad or.ce pas-' sed urging the Government not to put I : an export duty on any raw material. ' His objection centered round the export) ; of white pine, which was assuming such \ large proportions that it was only a, question of time before New Zealand J j would experience a serious shortage of j i this timber. The merchants in Aus-j j tralia did not stop at buying the cut 1 ■ timber, but had actually bought whole | forests of white pine. The only way j to in any way check the export was 1 to place a duty on all white pine leaving the Dominion." He agreed with the remit that seeds ought to be tested and guaranteed by all vendors, even if they! cost a little more. At present they had no check at all. He did not think they would be able to get a Bill put through the House that absolutely no impure i I seeds at all would be allowed in any j | seeds. Thev should, however, be able ' ! to restrict the adulteration over a eer-1 I tain percentage. I Before proceeding to business, the con- j ferenee passed a vote of sympathy with Mr. S. Forsyth, of Opunake, a member of the executive, who was unable to be present on account of serious illness. The President in his address said that several of-the reforms far 'which they had been striving for had been brought brought about during the year and others were in sight. Telephone and postal facilities had been improved, especially the delivery of rural letters. Referring to the slaughtermen's strike, lie said it had had as little, sympathy from the general public' as anv in the history of ' tlis Dominion. Touching on Mr. Wilkinson's remarks, the -speaker said that we should not, allow our 'Umber to go out of the Dominion at all. This was] said to be an age of substitutes, but there was nothiiur on the market "to replace limber. The suggestion put forward by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conference that it should be made illegal to dehorn j cattle showed that the promoters were ! not familiar with, fanning. As a matter ; of fact, (i up till 18 months was the ] most unsatisfactory time for 'dehorning. > The process of dehorning by chemicals i was not very efficacious, except in eases i where extreme care was exercised. The matter was one which the Union should 1 watch. Passing on, he commented on i the paucity of support of the Union. J i U was but to be expected that the bulk t of the work would fall on the executive. \ Although farmers did not roll up well < to the annual meetings of the Union. ', still their support was behind it. The ( Union should bear this in mind and \ keep up heart. ANNUAL REPORT.

In its annua] report the executive stated:—Twelve meetings had been held '■iiijt the year, all of which had been well attended. Among the numerous .subjects dealt with by the executive, the following had received special attention: Land and Income. Tax, Land Laws Amendment, Local Government Bill, Immigration, Packing of Manures, Export duty on hides, Extension of .Mutual Insurance Act to include acci(lent > insurance; Representation on the Empire Trade Commission; Socialism and Single Tax; Draft on wool; Water Pollution Hill; Co-operative Freezing Works; transfer of pedigree stock, and the bringing „f labour unions and the Farmer.-,' Union into closer touch. On Hie (pieesHon of land valuation which Hie I'liion has for years been endeavouring to get amended, the executive was "leased lo report that the Valuation of Land Amendment Act of last session practicallv embodies what the l/nion had 1 » askin-r f,„-. The representations made to the Government on all the other ijiicstinns ,iealt with by the exe;''tive had received due consideration. The executive regrets to report the lack of support, to the Cnion bv fanners generally. The work of carrying on has been done by a comparatively small number of farmers and the whole of the farming community has reaped the benefit _of their labours, in the direction of legislation and concessions to farmers. In view of the dill'ieulties the Union bad to contend with it was satisfactory to report that nraetieallv the whole of the original platform was' now embodied in legislation. It was also no doubt due Hif efforts of the Union that the firming community and the primary industries were so well represented iii the present Parliament. The cmestion of freehold tenure which had always been *h"_ main plank of the platform' of the Union had now received the endorsement of the Legislature. PURE SEEDS BILL. Two remits were tabled urging a Pure Seeds Bill. Mamjatoki move': "That ithe a recomendation to the Government to bring in a Seeds Control Bill to pass Wislation making it illegal to sell or disliibuto ssedj of iinv kind tl:a.t are

impure or contain any mixture of noxious weeds." Auroa and Otakeho: "That the Government be urged to bring down a Seed Sale Control Bill."

) ■ The vomits were lumped together 'and considered as one, and ,in ( tin course of a general discussion, on< speaker urged that the Governmenl should see to the inspection of seed a- growing areas. if farmers saw somi a- of the pastures, in the South Island r- shut up for seed, they would simply not e- buy the seed. Mr. Maxwell said that where there were L almost similar weight and bulk of seed. i- it was practically impossible to clean it ; e They should get at the root of the evil i- | by insisting on cleanliness of paddocks, y The trouble about the last Bill introi- duced into the House was that the ie suggested percentage was far too high. s. A great many merchants were too i, reckless, only half cleaning their seed. i, Mr. Capper (Kaimata)'said that there ;- had been more noxious weeds introduced 1 into Taranaki by means of chaff than d by seeds. It was no use passing a Bill, '< unless some expert was appointed to sec ll . that its provisions were carried out. e I Mr. Euckeridge (Eltham) said that in e i various other countries all the vendors * submitted their seeds to a microscopic, ! ' test, which threw out a very large quanti tity of impurities. The seeds were sold , under warranty. j . Mr. Lambie contended that it was no . I use asking the Government to draft a . | Bill, unless the farmers gave them a ],ead II on what lines to go. He also pointed to 1 j the difficulty of coping with impurities II in imported seed. In the south the 11 Californian thistle had got such a hold - j in certain districts that it was useless » l trying to eradicate it. ,The weed .was . therefore being cut for ensilage. , The ' farmer who tried to sell adulterated seeds : should get ".six months." (Hear, hoar.), I It was hardly fair to expect the merchant ! to take over the responsibility of selling j I seeds with impurities, in them, when the " fault lay at the door of the farmer who ; cut paddocks that were too dirty. ' Mr. Orr said that the simplest way ' J would be to condemn paddocks that were ' dirty. He moved an addition to the { amendment that at harvest time a quali- , fied man be sent round to inspect all seed areas, refraining from giving a ccr- , tificate in cases where there were noxious weeds in the crops, the vendors to refuse to purchase stocks where no certificate had been given. The amendment was withdrawn in favor of the motion, which was carried unanimously. 'UNIVERSAL HALF-HOLIDAY. Mr. Orr (Ngaere) moved that the Government be requested to pass legislation so as to make the half-holiday universal. Mr. Virgin seconded the motion, and stated that the present arrangement was most unsatisfactory to farmers. Mr. Dunn thought that the farmers were opposed to taking a poll on this question, but were in sympathy with the resolution. A confidential letter from Mr. C. A. j Wilkinson was received and read and considered in committee. On resuming, J Mr. Maxwell stated that he thought : everyone should have an opportunity of I statingswliat day he or she was in favor ] of observing as a half-holiday. U all the j elections were brought into line, withj out much expense the question could be I put on the ballot paper and settled satisfactorily. As to the day which should be observed, he was strongly of the opinion that Saturday was most unsuitable He suggested that the resolution be amended so that all local government elections should be held on the one day, and a poll should then be taken on the half-holiday question. The motion was then amended to read: "That the Government be requested to I pass legislation, so as to make the halfholiday the same day throughout the 1 Dominion." FENCING ACT. j Mr. W. Virgin (Opunake) moved "that the Fencing Act be so amended as to make provision for compelling owners and occupiers to keep dividing fences clear of scrub and noxious growth." Jn moving the resolution lie stated that in the back counlry fern and rubbish was allowed to grow over the fenci 6, with the result that a chance fire would destroy the wire. Mr. Dunn seconded the motion. Mr. Maxwell pointed out that' this would hit very hard farmers operating in second or third-class country. Mr! Buckeridge supported this contention, and suggested that the legislation should only apply to third-class land. { After discussion, the motion was lost by 0 to 0. Mr. Gray moved: "T4tat the Dominion Executive be asked to careful]v watch the reintroduction of the Water Pollution Bill, with a view to the prevention of undue hardship falling upon dairy factories and others." As the law stood at present, lie said, all the dairy factories were in a dangerous position, and it only required some actiop to be taken in the matter to close down mout of the dairy factories in Taranaki. ■ Mr. Buckeridge seconded the motion. It was. he said, essential to people liviii" m the boroughs that they should have pure water. He suggested that something should be done in the wav of purifying the refuse from the 'factories. ■Septic works were not capable of dealiii" with sewasre that contained acids. ? simple and cheap method of filtration would overcome the difficulty. The motion was carried. NOXrOUS WEEDS. Mr. Washer moved: "That stock inspectors he empowered to assist noxious weeds inspectors in enforcing the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Act." Mr. Harrison seconded the motion. Mr. Maxweil considered that i;he purity . and health of stock, etc., was a more ini- ' portant. matter than tha spread of noxious weeds, and they kne v it was sometimes difficult to get tho stock inspectors on to the farms. The motion was carried. FARMERS' MUTUAL INSURANCE. Mr. Maxwell, on behalf of the executive, moved: "That the request to the Government to amend the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Act in certain directions, for extending -tlie scope to apply („' accident business, be renewed."'—Carried. MANURES. Mr. Harrison moved: "That the Government lie urged to make it compulsory on vendors of ciiemical man .ires to include in 1 cwt. bags a guarantee analysis." " c Mr. Dunn seconded, and utated that the farmers could not get an analysis of proprietary manures, though it was a simple enough matter to give them this information. He suggested that the motion should be amended to lead "to include in every bag a guaranteed analysis," and the motion was carried in this form. Mr. Maxwell moved: "That the Valuation of Lands Act be so altered as to permit of the value, on a 5 per cent basis, of any special rates paid on siu-li land for loading, etc., being reckoned as improvements." The law at present only provides for the allowance ,>f such proportion of principal as in re paid at the time of valuation. _ Mr. Buckeridge seconded, and the motion was carried. The balance-sheet showed a creditbalance of £l7 9s Od. The chairman moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, the motion being duly carried. ' ELECTION OF OFFICER,?. The i'ci!!r,Y : .cv« olilc'-rs wcr? slwU'd for

- the ensuing year:—President, Mr. A. : Hunter; vice-president, Mr. R. Dunn; ■; honorary treasurer, Mr. >■'. J. Virgin; lion, auditor, Mr. A. Voullaire; execu'- , five, Messrs. E. Maxwell, R. Lambie, IT. : IT. Buxton, J. Swindlehurst, A. E. ! Washer, G. 11. Buckeridge, G. Capper, ■ D. J. Willis, J. Thomson", .1. Davidson, ■ S. Forsyth, E. Marfell and ,7. S. Barrow; ' delegate to Provincial Conference, Mr. E. 1 Maxwell. Mr. Washer moved: "That the Railway Department notify, by collect wire, if necessary, country consignees of the 1 despatch of stock or goods to flag stations, to afford them an opportunity of unloading trucks without incurring demurrage."—Carried. ° i TAXATION., _ Mr. Lambie moved: "That'the ProvinI cial Conference be asked to frame, for ) reference to the' Dominion Conference, 'a scheme for a more equitable system of direct taxation. Mr. Lambie spoke to his motion at some length, and claimed that the present system of taxing on unimproved value was one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated in the Dominion. Mr. Maxwell suggested that the meeting could not do better than submit the following remit to the Provincial Conference: "That .as the present system of valuing land for Taranaki purposes has proved a complete failure, owing to the impossibility of accurately separating the improved from the unimproved value, this conference considers a much fairer and much simpler way would be to tax on the annual value, with the same exemptions as capital invested in other industries, the annual value to be 5 per cent, of the capital value." Mr. Orr claimed that there Wits at present absolutely no encouragement for a man to improve bis property. There were many cases where a man whose land was worth ,£;> an acre before stumping, and was stumped at a cost of £7 an acre, and the valuers calculated the improved value at £l2 an acre. Mr. Lambie said, in reply, that he did not blame the valuers; it was the system which was at fault. The remit was passed, and Mr. Maxwell's suggestion was put in the form, of a motion and carried. VETERINARY. Mr. Washer moved: "That this conference urges upon the Government to pass the Stallion Bill prepared by the ' Veterinary Department" T -Carried. POLITICAL ECONOMY. On behalf of the executive Mr. E. Maxwell moved: "That, with a view to counteracting the, injury caused hy the dissemination of fallacious views by the socialists and single-taxers, this confer- ' ence urges that political economy be made a compulsory subject in the higher schools." In the mover's opinion, the trouble all arose through the so-called agitators not having been given a reasonable grounding in political economy. He had no desire to initiate an attack ; against, the socialists and single-taxers, but he simply wished to remove the cause of the fallacious views of the ex- . tremists. His idea was to afford reason--able ground, whereon every person, be he socialist, single-taxer or what-not. would be able to base his own particulars.

Mr. Dunn seconded the motion, which was carried after some discussion.