THE AUTUMN SHOW.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1915, Page 6

THE AUTUMN SHOW.

i SIIOI'LID IT BE DISCON'TCSTED? : THE APATHY OF FARMERS, APPEAL FOR MORE INTKRKST. The pmtpov.od meeting of the Taranaki Agricultural Society to consider the ndvi.-c. b'lit v i»f continuing the Aiittinm Show was'held at the Town Hall, Xew PlyinnnUi. on Saturday afternoon, when there was a- good attendance of farmers and a few townspeople. Mr. .1. Connott, president of the society, presided. ]n opening the proceedings, tlie c-linir-nian *aid ;nany of them would no doubt be somewhat surprised that n special meeting had been called to decide, this question, seeing that tile animal meeting would ho held shortly. It was decided last year to request dairy factory companies to allow representatives of the society to address their annual meetings ir- the interests of the society, when they could point out to fanners the honefits' to he derived from the {rood work of tiie sociotv. They had, therefore, agreed that it would he the better plan i to come to a decision as to whether they would hold one or two shows, when they could put the matter clearly before the fanners at the coining dairy factory meetings. It had 'been urged hy some that they should adopt a hold 'policy, and proceed, to erect buildings on their ; recentlv ae.T,ii-'e;l property at Waiwakaiho. 'and Isold their show there. It was pointed out that farmers would say that the money (the subscriptions) was being spent in permanent work, and that this would induce them to subscribe. It sounded very nice, but he por-sr-nallv was not prepared to act upon this advice. Tt had also la-en pointed out that better accommodation was necessarv. They could not. of course, erect su.h buildings on the racecourse, and, apparently, the other was the only satisfactory way. hut they could not take it -unless they secured ,a much larger membership. Mr. Watson had given notice to move that no Autumn Show be held next year. He knew that .Mr. Watson had done this with the greatest reluctance, hut it was unavoidable unless thov secured many more members. Mr. Watson said the society, in common with all others, had met with =ome misfortune, but the chief cause of their trouble was the meagre., membership. There were approximately ] 7.10 farmers in -the district, of whom. 181- were members of the.-society. . Of the';. 1 33S adult members -!<!'/> > per cent, were not farmers in anv shane or form. The society, including the stock show, could not he carried on without at least 000 {financial members. One neighboring society, with a membership of "if>o and other sources of income larger than their own, had lost £2OO on its last s'now. Another, with a membership of f>2R and a stiil larger income from other sources, only made £SO. He considered it was what was commonly termed " the limit'' when the. chairman of the society had to write to the, press to stir matters up. If 'it had not been for the loyally and hard work of Hell Jtlock, the society would have boon dead- long ago. Some had asked why they had not hoiitrht land of their own and erected the necessary buildings. They now had the land, and he thought it -would prove very suitable, hut the committee did not feel inclined to commit itself to expense of putting it in order—which. ■ probably, would cost something like j £2ol'o—under the ■present circumstances. ■ They had appointed an organiser and canvasser, who had done. good, work, j having secured 03 new members, but ; thev had also lost a number of others. ' Last year they had 400 members, of whom .'{7B had paid their subscriptions, j Of 403 members this season, only '3.18 I had paid. They could not continue the autumn stock show unless thev had. double that number. It appeared that the Taranaki Agricultural Society hod outlived its usefulness. This was not a nice thing to say, but, nevertheless, it appeared to be true. It was of no use continuing in tlie silly way they had j done, in the. past. Ho moved: "That the | Taranaki Agricultural Society docs not hold an autumn stock show this year." Mr. Pigott seconded, expressing regret that- such action was necessary. Mr. Colson said it -was a crying shanic to allow the show to drop. He suggested that the district should be canvassed j from end to end, and that every farmer be asked for tlie small sum of £1 to- | wards a fund to erect the necessary ! buildings on the grounds at Waiwa- ] kaiho. It had been very kind of the : .Tockcy Club to grant them tlie use of ita grounds, but it would have been much better had they secured grounds of their own in the first plate. The money that had been spent in erecting the necessary buildings and pulling them down -would have paid more, than the interest on the amount they would have required. He suggested that some such scheme as he had mentioned should be tried before the show was dropped. 'Mr. Hill pointed out that there was no enthusiasm among the younger members of the society. It was certainly the same old hands that did all the work. He did not altogether of the new grounds. 'They were too far from the town. The chairman said they had endeavored in every way to improve the show and make it worth the patronage of the general public. He felt very keenly that it should have, come to such a pass. The district was the homo of Ayrshire*. Jerseys and Holsteins. and for this reason the farmers of the district should certainly support the show. Mr. F. Watson referred to the fact that many of the stewards did not carry out their duties properly, leaving th» work to a few of the willing men. They bad done their best, and ho considered that it was impossible to continue. The losses on the Autumn Show during the past three years had been £232. £l<3fl and £2OO, ' and their overdraft had ■rrowu from £MO to .£402, to £OOO. Their assets were comprised of £IOBO on the Coronation Hall and £oBS, the value of the, property at Rcwa Pe.wa. Tile only means of continuing would be to bring forward a scheme whereby the farmers world either contribute as suggested by Mr. Oolson or take out debentures. Tn answer to Mr. W. Honoyfield. the chairman said the Winter Show had always paid its way. Mr. Burgess said they had previously held a very successful campaign for members. Why should they not do the same again? Mr. S. W. Shaw said there was no doubt that it would be an extremely retro-

grade stop to allow the show to become defunct, but lie, sympathised with the members of the society on .their dillieu'.t position. The cause of the whole trouble appeared to be apathy—apathy was the curse of the farmer; lie would like to see some eil'ort made to prevent such a thing happening. They might adjourn that meeting for two months ami in the meantime appoint eoinniiltees in the various districts to canvas.-, and raise funds. If something of this kind was done lie had very strong .hopes Unit the people would rise to the occasion, and the society would again become a live organisation. Few people realised the work dune by the live members ov the society, and it was very discouraging to them to meet time and again with no better success. lie believed that the new ground would prove the must suitable one, and with the aid of tlie trains and railway most convenient. He moved that the meeting be adjourned until the date of*the annual meeting, and that in the meantime every eil'ort be made to, obtain financial support for the purpose of equipping the new grounds, either by gifts or debentures, as already suggested. The lacter point would, of course, bo decided by the committee.

j mi. V.IPIMIMI scooimca me motion. | llr. \Y. ('. Weston suggested that tin townspeople be urged to join togethci iiiul do their best to push tlic show ahead. There were plenty vt'ho wouh come forward if they were asked per sonally, iu:d lmich good would result. Mr. Boulctte supported the eontinu e.nee of the show. ; Mr. Hall said he thought -it was to !'. great extent the fault of the management committee that they had not had bettor meetings in the past. Tliey made a big mistake in holding their meetings in the evening, when it was almost impossible for farmers to attend. Mr. Watson said he was extrenielv glad to hear Mr. Hall's remarks. The annual meeting of thu society would be held shortly, and a committee count then be appointed that wovild meet in the afternoon. The show would then ba run by the men who should do so, 1 The chairman' pointed out that the ' townspeople had done a lot of work for the society. The finance committee. was composed entirely of townsmen foe ■ ' convenience, sake. (Several of the, best : workers in their ranks could not attend . '■ meetings held on a Saturday afternoon, ' while evening meetings did not prevent ' farmers attending. They should be ' careful before adopting a drastic change, I Mr. Kolands supported the amendment. To let the show drop in a dis-

1 trict with such a population us theirs : t would bo astounding. They wanted a . local show, and should be loyal to it. ' It they carried the amendment it would ' probably put more interest into the ' show. He saw no difficulty that they : could not cope with. ' Mr. Fairbrother suggested Hint the i gentle-men present volunteer to canvass their respective districts. Mr. Tumbull said he would not like to see the show drop. But lie declared ! that they would have to have up-to-date , accommodation at Waiwakaiho, othcr- ' wise valuable animals would not be ] exhibited. There were also numerous ■ matter.-: of detail they would have to attend carefully to. i The chairman said he would not be agreeable to go on with the work unless ; riio necessary money was forthcoming to do it properly. Mr. White suggested that if the amendment was carried farmers be asked to join and also to contribute an , extra £2. ! Mr. Watson expressed pleasure at the ! enthusiasm of those present, and sug- ' gested withdrawing his motion. It was, i however, decided not to do this. Mr. Watson thought that it might I be a better plan to ask farmers to take out debentures, rather than to make a 1 gift. I Mr. Ambury said ho would bo very I sorry to see North Taranaki go back • on the show. It would be a disgrace. | Eventually it was decided to adjourn I the meeting for two months. |