Farmers' Union.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 238, 5 August 1902, Page 3

Farmers' Union.

A pnblic meeting of farmers was (say* the Herald) held in Timaruon Saturday Mr Talbot presided, and explained tha it was necessary to make a fresh start for the Tiniaru district, and form »» branch on the same footing as tha oib.fi districts. The rules required that a committee of thirteen be appointed, of • whom four form a quo am. Mr D. McLaren moved—" That thr South Canterbury branch of the Ne* Zealand Farmers' Union, having be»>. merged in tha variou* branches nine formed over the South Canterbu > dis rict, this meeting now take stp* «■• form a Timaru branch of the said Union; thi Ttmaru branch to include t:Seadown, Waimataitai, Claroim>nt, Waiiti, and Otipua R dings of the L»velCounty, and the two Pareora and Ola «> Kidings of the Waimate Coun;y." Mi McLaren said that »eeing tiie larj<' interest* at stake, and the effect • t legislat on recently passed, h« yr*» surprised at the smallness of the maeting. He thought the farmers muat yet suffer more before they recognised that t hey must unite to protect ihomselves from such friends *s Mr Laurenson ard Mr Hornsby in the House. 'J he farmers were told to let politics alone ; but po itics would not let the farnws alone. They hod let politics »l<>no too long air. adv. Why were i-o* the labour unions told to let politics alone ? It seemed that the farmers were expected to allow themselves to be turned out of house and home without complaining, and if they did they would deserve all they got. H« hoped they would ke-p on piling up legislation against the farmers, so that the latter would be compelled to kick. Mr Verity thought he could suggest a reason why the people did not turn up to the meeting This was the fear of the Farmers' Union ruining counter to the othar unions. The other unions were oflVneive as well as defensive, but the Farmers Union, as soon as it was attacked, fell back. The other day they had a challenge from the threshing-mill hands. If th«y had showed fight they would have had ail the farmers at their meeting ; but instead of that they paused a useless vote of sympathy. Mr Act<n said that hs did not agree with that. They were not ooustituted or registered so that they could go into a court of law against any ether anion. A meeting of 50 or 60 farmerß at the Pi>int resolved that the Union ought not to take up tha defence of the mill-owners, as a union, bub they agreed to afford financial help individually. Collectively at a union they could not enter into the matter. Ha would like to urge upon all farmers that they should meet to talk over matters concerning their interests. United they were a mighty power. The 25,000 associated farmers were 25,000 times bb powerful as one. Mr Verity said the 25,000 of them wsre not as strong ae 500 of a workers' union, because they were not prepared to use their strength. What was the use of meeting to talk over matters ? They could do that in the street s. The farmers would not come to the meeting because the Union could not support them when they needed support. Mr Chisholm also doubted whether they were a mighty power. At all events they had not shown it in putting aiide measures that were likely to be useful to farmers, and taking up matters that were of very small concern to the majority of farmers. There was not much mighty power shown in saying that they could not enter a oourt of law to right the wrongs of "farmers, to Ut as labour and wages wore o .noerned. Yet this was just one of the objects for which the Union was started, namely, to keep a olose watch on the legislation that was being passed by the labour unions. Mr Chisholm quoted a part of the •« platform "to this effect. This was the main object in the eyes of the farmers, and in vhe face if that ti.e Colonial Council sa'd they could not take any action in sue i nutters at all. That was not fulfi ling the object for whioh the Uni.n was established. Referring to the two uases j hanging over their heads—the threshing and the case .said to have been-filed to bring the farm labourers' clams before the Arbitration Court, he supposed that the usual course of the Cou t would be followed, and they would have an ord<?r forshoter hours, higher wages, pr-fer-ence for unionists, and other onaitions of employment aiker d. Anothar thing that sn nl \ be corr- cted was the number of perßone required to form a union. No * any seven persons can form a union and bring any matter b -ttte the Court, and it only oost 3s 6d to get seven persons of a sort to do that. A glass of beer apiece would do it. No case should be brought before the Court unless it eould be shown that a majority of those affected by it demanded it. It hid been boasted in the House that 95 per o«nt of the cases before the Court had gone in favour of the Unions, and in tbe face of that, and in face of what they were threatened with, they could not £•-ad-cent meeting in a pUce like Tim»-u. . They cou d get a good attendance any day at a sale of old horses or sheep, but when, as it had been shown, it was a question of 4s or 6»an acre on their land the tery people concerned took ho interest in it. The chairman said he had allowed the discussion to go on though it did seem a little wide of the scope of the reflation. However, he agreed with most of what had been said. No doubt there was a good deal of trouble in the tray of the Union nuking itself effective in the way that had been advocated, bit until that was done he feared that very little good would result. They must no* only get the Union registered, but they matt also ha.e some way ot getting funds to fight The motion was then pat and carried.