The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1917. MILITARY SERVICE AND BUSH FARMERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 January 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1917. MILITARY SERVICE AND BUSH FARMERS.

At yesterday's meeting of the Taranaki Land Board, Mr. Clelland did good scr 'ice on behalf of the hush farmers by I.ringing under the notice of the Board a case that is one of many for which I revision should he made in connection >v,'lh the military service scheme. The rosition in which these bush farmers !ii:d themselves in relation to military .h<• vice is by no niearss satisfactory, i'hey are, as a rule, only too willing to ; in the reinforcements, but the workng of a bush farm is vastly difi'crent from that of cleared land, because the I'crmer, if not given constant attention, spiedily reverts to a tangle of scrub and fern. The case mentioned by Mr. Clelland was further complicated by the fact that the 3jttler had undertaken the charge of a neighbor's section on the 1 older going to the war. These men do not want special treatment, but they i:.d; for justice, especially as the Mili--I'.ny -Service Hoards are granting sc. few exemptions, and that is why ar appeal was made to the Laud Board to L v ing pressure on the Government with the object of some satisfactory scheme l.c ng evolved for meeting the excep tional circumstances of the back-blocks hush farmers. It is these hard-working pioneers of settlement that have ma.k the Dominion's prosperity possible. At the same time they are just the class of men whose help to win the war 's u-gently needed, but that is a potent argument for protecting their interest! instead of ruining their future prospects. In the letter read by Mr. CI.lland it was stated: "Where men ar.; ?'ngle-handed on these rough bush f-..rms it means niin to take then away, when managers are out of the q-.iestion. In my ease it means ruin for

two of'us, one of wliora lias boon figlit•n§ for months as a volunteer. Beside-;, we are not middlemen, but are producing wool, meat, and mutton." It was manifestly impossible to provide ("r every rase in framing the scheme of universal service, and it is only right that when special eases arise they should be the subject of exceptional measures. The Land Board decided to urge on the Government to set up a sp'cial organisation to meet tlies: special eases in order to ensure thit v. Hie the Kmpirc is at war, the natural products of tiie nonunion should In f-i'.tered and developed as far as circumstances will permit It is unfortunate thai, the two fading members of the .Ministry are absent from the Dominhu, but there can lie 110 question that prompt action is necessary to provide a remedy for the evil to which we lmve Alluded above. ]t is a national and iur a personal matter, and it calls for serious consideration. Moreover, it is the duly of the Cabinet to evolve a scheiv.,> thai, while not checking military seripe, will protect the interests of the Imsli farmers.