FARMERS ENTERTAINED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 295, 22 May 1915, Page 3

FARMERS ENTERTAINED.

SMOKE CONCERT AT INGLEWOOD. The members of the New Zealand Farmers' Union who attended the annual provincial conference at Inglewood on Thursday wore in the evening entertained by the citizens of Inglewood. The gathering, which was held at th? Town Hull, took the form of a smoke; concert, and there was a good attendance. The Mayor (.Mr. G. Young) occupied the chair. The usual loyal toast having been honored, Mr. Henry Brown proposed the Army and Navy. The British Army, said the speaker, had always given a good account of itself, although often called upon to face three or four times its number. It was doing so at the present time, and although faciiy overwhelming numbers of Germans, had succeeded in driving them back. With regard to the Navy, every Britisher knew its records. It had always acquitted itself well. In the present war, with the exception of those vessels of the British Navy sunk by superior weight of the Germans' guns in the action oil' the coast of Chili, every one lost had been sunk by submarines or mines. On the other hand, a number of German vessels had beer defeated by superior gunfire.. Jn the present crisis New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and India had all done their duty in connection with military matters, and, as they all knew, the Sikhs and Gurkhas had distinguished themselves more than once. Messrs E. Maxwell and T. Hamcrton replied. The latter declared that neither of the races—English, Scotch, or Irish —possessed the necessary attributes to have carried out what the. combination —the British—had; and he was proud to know that New Zealanders were ot the combination. The present war was being carried on at a heavy cost of life, but the percentage of deaths was not to great as in the Maori wars. They all knew that the present war was the. greatest in the history of the world, and in order to carry it to a successful conclusion the Empire was asking for more men. New Zealand had to do its share, and the young men of this country should stejr forward to support their fellow countrymen at the Dardanelles.

"The New Zealand Farmers' Union" was proposed by Mr. YV. Matthews, who declared that the country owed the union more than they knew. If the boys at the Dardanelles managed their business as well as the Farmers' Union managed matters in connection wifTi tin; strike last year they would do very well indeed.

Messrs A. Hunter and A. E. Washer responded. The latter referred to the lack of support which hampered the union, until they received much better support they would be unable to do very much.

Mr. W. Percival then proposed "The Pioneer Settlers of New Zealand." Many people did not realise that it took as much pluck to go into the backhlocks, where months passed without'a stranger being seen, as it did to go to the Dardanelles, The pioneer settlers of to-day were going through much the same thing as the old settlers went through.

In the course of- his reply Mr. 11. Lambie said the progress made by such a young country as New Zealand—botli in the North aniT South Islands—was simply marvellous.

Mr. G. Capper, who also replied, said he could remember the time when some of the Btreets of Inglewood were bogholes. The life of the pioneer settlers wns hard, and they deserved any reward tliey could reap. Mr. Surrey proposed "Local Bodies." The speaker referred to the excellent roads provided by the local bodies, anJ compared them to the mud and corduroy roads of the early days. The loca.' bodies were doing good work, which was appreciated. , Mr. H. Trimble and Mr. H. Brown responded. The latter gentleman said when he first joined the Carrington Road Board there were but very few chains of metal on the road from New Plymouth to Inglewood, and the whole of lnglewood's provision had to be carried over this road. Many animals became bogged in the process. Settlors in those days had to carry an axe with them to clear the road of any tree that might have fallen across it, whereas now people complained if there was a little loose metal on the road.

"The Press" was proposed by Mr. Spurdle, and responded to by (lie representative of the Inglewood Kecord and Daily News.

Mr. 0. M. Yowng proposed "The Inglewood Folks," and thanked the citizens for .having provided them with such an excellent entertainment that evening. The chairman, Mr. G. Capper, and Mr. W. Percival briefly responded. Mr. J. B. Sim, in the course of a few remarks, declared that that conference was one of the most successful ever held by the union, having proved interesting and instructive throughout. The day had been a very enjoqable one. The proceedings were then brought to a close with the singing of the National Anthem.

During the evening songs were given by Messrs Hunter, Matthews, and Patterson.