FARMERS' UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1919, Page 5

FARMERS' UNION.

MEETING AT MAKETAWA. (From a Correspondent.) There was a really successful meeting of settlers at the Maketawa factory on Monday night, Oth inst., when representatives of the Durham, Norfolk, and Mountain Road were present to hear Mr. G. H. Buckeridge speak in advocacy of the formation of a branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union for the district, of which the Maketawa factory may be said to be the centre. Mr. J. B. Simpson, who has shown a keen interest in forwarding the interests of the farmers here and had secured the presence of Mr. Buckeiidge for the occasion, was voted to the chair, and, as chairman, briefly and suitably introduced Mr. Buckeridge as organiser and secretary of the TSaranaki division of the Farmers' Union. The claim made by the chairman for a patient and attentive hearing for the speaker proved to have been superfluous, for from the -tart Mr. Buckeridge '"caught on." Ji..j points were well arranged in suitable sequence, and, in a plain style, were picked up one by one in such a way that his audience, unless very dense, could not miss the point of his argument. Farmers as a rule are not easy to sway, but that Mr. Buckeridge knows how to convince them to their own advantage was proved by the fact that, out of a short score of eligibles present, sixteen gave in their names for membership, a branch being formed in the room, to liove Makntawa as its rallying point. Officers were elected as follows: Chairman. Mr. J. H. Stephens; vice-chairman, Mr. W. Marshall: secretary and trea-. surer, Mr. J. B. Simpson; auditor, Mr. If. Trimblei; executive, Messrs T). Brown, W. .Corney,. E. Davis, .1. Dombrovski, F. Dodunski, A. Drake, E. Gibbs, A. Johnston, E. A. Lawrence, C. Lawrence, and W. Wheeler. Mr. Bucberidge, responding to the vote of thanks which the meeting gave him for his address, sard that no better thanks could have been tendered him than the attentive hearing his remarks had received, with the prompt reply to his appeal that the immediate formation of a branch of tlie union had demonstrated. He concluded by asking for a similar vote to the chairman, Mr. Simpson, who had worked hard to forward the very satisfactory t climaii of that evening's ineetiasL