MASTERTON A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 11 August 1913, Page 5

MASTERTON A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Master*ton A. end P. Association was held in the Association's Rooms on Saturday lost, alxkt fifty members being present. The chair was occupied by Mr Hugh Morrison (President). ' . The, annual report (already paWn** ed) was taken as read.. , PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. In moving the adoption 67 the rfc* port, Mr Morrison said: — "Gentlemen:—For the second turn* I have the honour of imoying the adop« tion of the Report and. Balance Sheet* and it gives me great pleasure tm again congratulate this society on its achievements during one of the mosfc successful. years in its history. B» most gratifying item in the bakuKa sheet is ihat' we 1 haW reduced «w bank overdraft from £1092 lis ll*' to £IOB 6s—a reduction of £9Bfi 6s ll<t on the year's work, which I unnk yen must admit is very satisfactory, and places our society in a strong financial position. _ „ _, • ■ Membership! Calculating Bfir members at £1 each, the sameTas «*- dinary members, we have paid iip subscriptions amounting to £1056 155,, as against £1043 10s last year—«a» increase of £l3 10s.- / - v..--;*

; '* Tho-piost unsatisfactoryside of j bal^c^slieet^iKSCthe'i&owditf 'apt-'-..'" pay for \there bi<Hrig a losai)tdr> .; £26 'is C"3d, ;: lipid Mhati "than": liai^;|y(&i&^ went intothiaxftatter of lose eartjvin '". -the .year, and decided it waa not mi- . visible" to cut down prise :mipney Wr general wf 1 best to keep up the high standard «f , the Solwjy . show,.: and endeavour jta*. compensate'tK® deficiency by "iijcrwlied mfeimbersliip. " After, writing £49s 19s 6d off buildings we hay© improved our position in assets over liabiKtraiß by £584 lis Bd. ,- • '•** i _ 1 Turning to the show itself,, as jot* know, the prospects were not -r» • bright beforehand as ill. previoos 4 ; years, owing to season and «tock not being as forward as usual. This handicap was increased by a fear of tim slaughtermen's strike, which compelled intending exhibitors to quit stock as early in the season as they, could. Your" oominittee, howeyer,* got busy, and made an appeal by circular 'exhibitors, on behalf of Jhe asgpaa- /* tion,' and I wish t<f thanjp fheto f j their magnificent response.— ■* /hear,) Although the entries .'•fepjfr'--" '* not quito up to previous 'years, it wa& thd" opinion of v M»d^' 'exprit^ v from all over the Dotoinioij, that are' had thinfinesfcdisplay of fart more especially in cattle —yet seen, in this country. This, together with, a record; attendance and perfect, w»ather, was mainly responsible'for wjtafc I may'honestly claim to be ths successful sshow yet lieW by .thiitW? ciety. ' '>< * . The l railway arrangements for p&fesehg4ra and 'stock; were very eatisfao- ' tory, andthe "control of :t the motor and general traffics by the police Arm excellent, " ' - , ; The .geilera! arrangements on the grounds, with the exception cf the» water supply, were almost perfect. Tlio water supply from: tbwh. - Ims ' never bean satisfactory, and it will l>st necessary, to ajigpenb tja . present supply with. aservice|ofoiu- own front, 'tho', stream on •tho grounds. 'j\. i.v■ -;V■

•fact _■ -lied,,buifby :the v j , ; :mentv«Ader <, the "lapspices, they anQulcfr /^inigVth'it; 1 ;¥wojffc, ; ( " done -the is of;im-';■' j ,.< .- ™©n3© linportonce to the coutit^ r f v . The experimental; -farms are agreat ';! educating factor to the farming; community, 'but I am of-opinion that perimenbs are more educative toth* farmer whencarriedout by himself with theadvice This applies* more ©specially poorer second and third class lands,. for I believe by systematic expert- ~*• ments over, a period of, year§, that a considerable portion of inWcowi*ry, . now lying idle, .will ultraa'telyibeuti- : lised for grazing puTpps|s,/ ' mdding (greatly to the-wealth and ' popiilhtion of this country. ; In respect of experiments 1 ,'■ we haWffalien. ■ behind other.countries., arid it is to . the l;'ivtr.» f<ime^vrwill.^' ; • wake'irp, and take advantage of the Department is offering.' ' - / C:: L oking to -be future, I believe, , t from anv agriciiiltural ;ahd; pastoral' .;■ standpoint, New Zealand has brighter ~ prospects than any other country, in .'■ ' ..thai ; from , and^man^rjf,.the-':^-^}" ■ it '■€'»seo among sf-bcli:\v'hieh v hamper oil!'" Al ?', rivals en--the world's markets, and * also because, we. find that the demand •.. v -.- : for our exports is steadily increasing;, , while flocksi in all the chief cbunti-fes ; , arc decreasing. ' ' ; ' The following statistics sliow tlio decrease in sheep "in Furope and tin States; Gehriam\ ■w!,k , h a few year* ago had 25 million now "has.-,.'; only 7 millions. Frarco had 24 -mil- - lion, now she luis 17 ml lon, Russia in 1900 had 49 million, and in 1911 had only. .89' million. '.■ In the;laßt four years the flocks of the United • States show a decrease of 2& millions. These figures show that the flocks of these countries have decreased by ' . 49£ „ million, whereas—and this is a ; very important pcint—the population of. iiiese.cowitriea has increased .by-76f: : " million since 1595, > and according' to '<" ■ evidence given before tjis Imperial i million more people wearing day than there ' were fifteen j'ears ago. ■■,_■."■ . ' \v" : ':■ •>■; Our competitors in the expert trade ; to Europe, to make up the deficiency existing there, are, 'as,you know, Argentine, A;istra) : a, a.nd' South. Africa. . The meat s-upply of the United Kingdom is drawn from the following ccrmtries :—Argentine supplies 64 per o""t., Xew Zea } nvd 18 per cent., Australia 14' per cent'., other countries 4 'percei'.t. . Although the Argentine supplies th:> largest proportion and. is a. pros--.' •parous country, it has not the natu~al advantages wo posses*?. :; are life among sheep, while locusts and" haYlsW-'ils do considerable damage to the crops. ' Australia., our greatest competitor in the wool trade, last year shows a decrease -f °.00,000 bales, mainly ow- - i'-r to th. J > 'bouglib of two years ago. •°he h also ten million sheep short this year. In.the opinion of experts,

, . __ —_., f . -„..•■ (Continued; onPage, Ql j v 'i^

Australia will greatly increase her output of frozen meat, but she labours under tho disadvantages of the ever-impending droughts, and the long distances over which stock have to bo driven to the freezing works. South Africa, whioh has in the past been only a small competitor in the wool trade, is now, making rapid strides in agricultural and pastoral 1 pursuits. Wheroas she was an importer of both butter and meat, she is now providing for herself, and, according to I)r McDonald, of the South African Department of Agriculture, / that country will soon be one of our rivals in the export of daily produce. This gontleman makes the emphatic statement that South Africa possesses tho richest farming region in tho British Empire. In 1909 there wero twelve million sheep in that country, and in 1911 twenty-ono million, an increase, of 84 per cent, in seven years. Tho quality of the flocks has been greatly improved by the importation of 30,000 stud sheep from Australia. Owing, however, to the prevalenco of disease amongst | stock, it may bo some years before that country will be a serious competitor in the world's markets. There is every indication of a larger direct trade with Canada in meat, hides and dairy produce. In fact, | there lias been a 50 per cent, increase j I in our oxports to that country during the last twelve months. Farmers will have an opportunity of hearing more details about our trade with from Mr Beddoe, the Canadian' Trade Commissioner, who will address you in this Toom on Wednesday) the 20th inst. ,y . : The wnioh lifts been until'quite, recently a heef exporting-tTOiintry, had, in 1907 "SlVmilliou Head of cattle and a population of 83 millions, whilst in 1913 she had only 36 million cattle and a population of ninety-seven million— . an increase of 11 per cent, in populfl- J ™>n, ana 6 * n eaMsSf §0 pW eMfci With the proposed duty off wool and meat, together with the shortage of stock mentioned, there is every indication of a very good market in that country for our produce in the future. The "lion in the path," with regard to trade to the Western Coast of Canada and America, is the shipping facilities hot being satisfactory, but ho doubt -this will.be remedied in the future. Other serious propositions to foce with regard to the trade to the United States are the American meat trusts, who own all the refrigerating cars on railways, and can make their own.conditions. They already .own two-thirds of 'the rijeat exported from the\ Argen-_ v iine", and according to ah article in : the io'ndon Times, are making an 'effort to capture the whole output of that country. They are also directing their attention to Australia and Now Zeolafld: If they manage to capture our output, it would mean disaster to us, and every effort 'should be made to keep thetn out. ; Taking everything iuto consideration, the future looks exceptionally bright. There is, however, an inclination in this country to sruffer from a swollen head, as in the past three years our imports have expanded by £6,993,566, or about 451 P 6l " cent., and our exports have increased" by £1,333,577, or about only 5 j per cent. There are not the financial opportunities there were a few years ago for a young man saving money to get upon the land, as money is tight; and the price of land is high, so that, it behoves our young aaen more than ever to be diligent and saving. In conclusion, I must thank you for" the support you have given rnie during the two years I have occupied the chair. I ask the same support for my successor, and we shall then have one of the best societies, as we have one of the best show grounds, in New Zealand.—(Applause.) THE SECONDER.

In seconding, the motion for the adoption of the report, Mr James McGregor said it had been frequently asked, "What - has the society done for the district?" It had been admitted that they had done much for their stock. But they had. done /more. They had produced yoang men who were orators. Mr McGregor urged his friends in the Lower Valley, when they wanted a man to succeed the "grand old man," to cast their eyes upon one of the Presidents of the Masterton A; and P. Association.—(Apphuse.) The speaker congratulated - the committee upon the .magnificent success that had attended its efforts during the past year. He stated that the reduction of the overdraft was an important feature of the year's work. Those, who had become life members and .subscribed £lO each had the one object in view —that of reducing the overdraft. Mr McGregor drew attention to the question of the class at the show for export sheep. The judging of the Sheep at Home had shown that none of the sheep that had been awarded prizes at the local show had received prizes from the Hocne judges. There was, he thought, room for improvement in the (matter 1 . Mr McGregor also drew attention to the staid" of the lamb trade. He suggested that it would pay better to keep lambs until they were heavier, instead of sending them Home .as light-weights. fhd subject was om which A»nsideration. In conclusion. *»£ r McGregor stated that th* association had made great Vtrides in recent

years. It had started to go, and nothing could stop it. "I look upon the association as part of the life of tho farmers. While the -farmers live,' this association must live. If the association goes down, the farmers will go with it."—(Applause.) . Tho motion for the adoption of the; report was carried unanimously*

OFFICERS. Tho election of officers resulted as follows:—Patron, Mr W. H. Bee-! tham; president, Mr O. C. Cooper; vice-presidents, Messrs Q. Donald and ( J. C. McKillop; treasurer, Mr D.| Caselberg; auditor, Mr J. B. Keith. ' COMMITTEE. The election of committee resulted as follows:—H. Morrison 255, W. Perry 255, W. H. Buick 254, R. Gray 253,'81and Ravner 253, C. F. Vallanco 249, J. Strang 248, W. Cooper 248, D. McGregor 242, A. D. McMas-. ter 240, W. J. Welch 240, J. M. James 237, A. J. Percy 236, E. Harper 235, G C- Summerell 233, G. Shaw 231, H. J. Dagg 231, J. T. Dagg 228, A. Donald 227, A. G. Pilmer 227, G. E. Allen 222, Joseph Morris 221, H. A. Matthews 221, G. H. Perry 211, W. D. Wateon 209, D. W. Foreman 203, G. E. Williams 182, C. A. Cameron 179, R. Smith 177, E. Perry 171, A. T. Spain 147, P. H. Nathan 143, Hugh Douglas 141, John Judd 138, A. B. Wood 98. The first thirty members wero declared elected. THE NEW PRESIDENT. ;

In returning thanks for his election to the position of President, Mr Q. C. Cooper stated that he was of, opinion, and many others were of opinion, that tho man who should have been elected:to the. position was Mr John Strang. -However, W:;. Strang had stated that his medical: advisors at. Home had advised that he rarast have a quiet life._ Then, .J£r position) and he, too, would have given great satisfaction. But he had declined. Mr Cooper stated that, as for himself, he-had-at first been inclined to refuse the position, but when the members of the committee offered to relieve him of most of the work, he had consented. .. He would do his best for the association, and endeavour to justify the confidence reposed in him. In conclusion, he expressed appreciation of remarks made concerning him by Mr J. B. Moodie. Messrs Q. Donald and J,' C. McKillop returned, thanks for their election, as vice-presidents, and Mr D. Caselberg for his re-election as treasurer. ' •■_-:,;. _ •. ■'RETIRING- .OFFICERS. On the motion of" Mr G: C; Sunt'-" merell, hearty votes of thanks were accorded the retiring officers. \, Tho retiring president acknowledged the vote. '' ,' Mr John Strang acknowledged the kind remarks that had been made concerning himself. . . ,