THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION. Meeting of Shareholders at Cambridge.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1861, 10 June 1884, Page 3

THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION. Meeting of Shareholders at Cambridge.

A mbetiko of the shareholders of the North New Zealand Farmei s' Co-operativ e Association, in Cambridge district, was held in the Oddfellows' Hall, Cambridge, on Saturday evening at 4 o'clock. There were about thhty shareholders present. On the motion of Mr Jus. Foi rest, Mr Alford was elected to the chair. Hip Chairman, in opening the proceeding read the advertisement in The Wai kato Times convening the meeting They would see by this that tliev were invited to n.cet the manager, Mr Gilletfc, for the purpose of laying their requirements befou; him ; but h«« understood that the manager through some accident or other would not be piesent, so this portion of the piogramme ho presumed would be set aside for the present. As to offer ing suggestions that may be of advantage to the woi king of the association, they would doubtless avail themselves of the oppoitunity now given thorn of doing &o. It was now fur some poison to take the initiative and proceed at once to business. Mr Funcs-t said, icspoctiug the absence of the inanngcr, that lie had just received a telegiam fiom that gentlemen to the effect that he had not icccivcd notice in time to attend the meeting He had wiittentoMi Gillett and also to the Sect ctat y, and had tcceived a reply fiom the secictary on Tuesday to the effect tli.it Mr Gillett had gone to Auckland, and that he had forwaided the notice on to him theie. The lociettul veiy much that Mr Gillett was not piesent. The object, however, for which theyh.nl assembled was to assist by their advice and opinion the diiectois in curying out the aflaiis of the Association to a successful issue, and with "▼equal adv.intige to pioducer and consumer. Befoi c proceeding to the business of tho meeting lie would like to answer one 01 two lctteis ho had .seen m the pn pets, and also tome eiujun ics he had had fiom slureholdeis and othcis in refeieuce to a few mattets. In answer to " M.ion, ' whose Icttei appealed in a tceent l^uo of The Waikato Times, he would -ay. that i.nc moie sentence would liave made his lettei complete, and which he would supply, , \l/ , "That w e intend Lo co opeiatc, <^> as to know whoie the dif fi'ieiKV b"tv\oeu i(i 7» toi 20 c\\ fc of wheat, and £1:5 for "20 cwt of Hour goes to." Another coiic«pondont signing himself " Shaieholdoi" had i,.ised the question uf the voting powei which it waspiopostd to give the 2000 woikiugmen in AucKl uid. So fai as In, expci;ence guided him. thcicwas no icason to be aldimed on this seoie, even weie tho proposal giv en ellcct to The\ had all been elamoiuiug about netting a maiUet ioi their p'oduce, and so soon as the dueotois intimated wlieic a suitable mat kct was to be found, a few mdiv uliials immediately ciicd "Wolf," because it •was pioposed to give the coiiMtmei a voice in the n c sochtiou. It was .said that if tlusc 2000 woikin^mm got 2000 votes they would woik tlic association to their own inteiest, but this, to Ins mmd, was an absuidity. It was to the advantage of thrso men, as well as to the settlers of Waikato, that the association should be a success, and was it likely that they should e\eit the uselves in opposing those whom it was to their mtciest to co-opeiate with .' Kxpeuencc showed thorn that, even at election time, when it was to the inteiest of the woikingmen to combine, it was almost impossible to get them togethet to effect something foi their own good ; it was this cl iss who at an election, when their inteiest wa 1 - most at stake, had to be bi ought to the poll in the em iages of the candidates and then fi tends. And these weie the men whom they now dicaded should combine and upset their association, simply by giv ing them an equal voici; with tho piodueui In his capacity as ducctoi he had done his bust to iMclt.ii' ■ the dnci/oiat • to ciect a suitabb tloui mill in connection with the extensive giau.uj at JM.riktou, whuii it was pioposed, oi lie might say decided, to ci\ct 13} way of lllu&tiating the pecumaiy ad \aiit.iges which the association mig'it expect to dtiivc fiom a flout mill, ho would submit the following fiL'iucs for theii cousideiation Mt Walla je alone had threshed for the Cimbudgi; and Puke kui a distiio I*.1 *. (exelu-ave of Taniahcio and llauMpu) '20,000 b isheL of w lie it tlu<. year which, siy.at.Ss 10-1 i-> woith CSS.W 0\; to mind "'JO 000 Ini.heh of whiat will pioilncp IM) toiii of lloui. The lowest selling piiee in Waikato at Lho piesent time is £I.'? Tins is equal to £5720. Of bran and sluips fiom this amount of wheat theic would be 120 tons, and this at, £(i w.u equal to £720 ; total, £6440. Taking tho puce of wheat from tli s leaves 120 0 Us ioi woiking the null. Now, tins veiy onooiiiaging result was ftom the tlucshuig of one man alone, ai d iv a compaiativelv small coiner of the distiict. Ho would give them a mo c domestic, aivl possibly a inoio sti iking illustiatioti of the gieat difference vv hiuh existed between the puce of wheat and the finished ai tide. The CDiisumption in his family was foity small loavc^oi twenty la>ge ones a week Taking this number 20) at say 0M apiece, which of itself i-> a \ciy laiyo fi','Uic, the diffeiencc between this and the ptesfiit pi ice, Sd, amounted to in his case £8 13s id in the jear, a sum which far exceeded his piopeity ta<, an<l which, according to the piesent puce of wheat, was nothing shoit of an extoi tion. He would cauy the tiguies a little further. Let them suppose that Mi Wallace bad thieshed one-fifth of the Waikato wheat, then we find the laige sum of £13,023 Us Sd has gone oi going to the miller for gi Hiding this season's wheat in Waikato into flour. Again, suppose a mill on the most impioved priuciple belonging to the association will, with wheat at its present price, reduce flour to £10 a ton, even then a very handsome profit is left for the null ; nothing under these circumstances can pay so well. Now, pei haps it would be said tint the cpuntions having spiead so far it would not be fan to spend £5000 for milling and butcheiing plant, but were they to sacutico such good piospecls where so much was to be made, and go into numerous affairs where the management was likely to take the lion's shaie of the profits ? To this question he answeied no ; but let them have a flour mill and butcheiy, and whatever may happen they would always be able to look back upon one of the greatest blessings and host paying concerns that the association could go in for, cither from a farmer's or consumei's point ol view, in the province of Auckland. He contended if they wanted a granary a flour mill was wanted doubly more. It was argued that in Can tei bury they had granaries, and these were of great use aud benefit to the farmers. But Canterbury, they must bear in mind, was an exporting district, whereas we here in the Auckland province consumed what we raised. He would conclude his reference to this subject by proposing, "That, freeing the large difference between the "■^ricc of wheat and the selling price of flour, this meeting stiongly recommends the directors to erect a flour-mill in connection with the proposed granary on the most improved principle, and, if possible, on a site available to both lailway and river carriage. .Before sitting down he would just retnaik that in Vietoiia when the wheat is 4s a bushel, the four pound loaf is sold at 5d ; whereas in Waikato here if wheat were at that figure the four pound loaf would be <Bd. Such a state of things would have to be altered, and the means of cooperation now afforded them was to his mind the remedy. Certainly his proposal meant a bip expenditure ; it was a big affair, but they would have something to show for their money. It had been said that the gieatest benefit- which the association would confer upon the farmers would" be to buy for them, and that a saving to the extent of 10 per cent, would be effected in this way. But he contended it waa the duty of the association to

enable the farmer to sell well aa well as to buy well. Mr Parr seconded the proposition. He had noticed fiom the papers that th,e association had decided upon building a granary, but to his mind a granary without a flour-mill would be of very little advantage to the farmers. They only grew for the requirements of tho Auckl.uid province. He considered it would be to the advantage of the millers more than to the farmers to have only a gianary. They could not have a granary at every centre. It would also be very ad\ant.igeous to all concerned that tho granaiy and mill should be erected on a site convenient to carriage by rail and water. In theold conntiy a site of this kind was always pieferrcd. They all knew what they got for their wheat, and what they paid for their hi cad, and was it not to their advantage that the fanners instead of the niilleis should secure the margin ? Mr Tucker asked if one of the present mills in the distiict would not answer the purpose? He undcistood the owners would only be too happy to sell out at their own price. Mr Foirest replied that none of the mills m Waikato were at all suitable to the requirements of the association. Hally's mill, for instance, was only capable of turning out a ton a-day They w inted a mill ♦ grind 1000 backs of wheat a week At\ one to do this would have to be fitted up with all the latest and best appliances lie did not even consider that Firth's mill at Auckland was at .ill suitable. The mill which he would propose to build would, he estimated, cost not lc*s than £1000. Mr Beere lccommcnded that bofoie they should start building such an evtensive concern they should go into a veiy careful calculation of the cost, &c. Mi Alfoid gave Ins suppott to the proposal. He always hold that it was better to take the initiative K o long as they were satisfied that theic was nothing to lose and a lot to bo gained by the pro posal, than to wait until some othei pel son oi association should set them an example What had been said about the difloience between the puce of wheat and fie pi ico of (lour called to his mind a matter which nppoarul in a Bustol p.ipei not long since. Jt wis thoie chaiactcr ised as extiavagant that t lie public should lie called upon to pty 7i\d lor a font pound loaf, while the faunei has only been »ottin<j 4s 2d toi his wlie.it. In tlitii case it w as much noise ihdii this, and it was quit" evident the time had now aimed when some decisive step must be taken. Mr Selby enquired of Mi Forrest if he thought the association was jet in a i position to undeitake such an extensive woiK. The cntiie capital of the a<;soua tion was only £10,000, ijOOO of which was to be called up, and still Mi Fouest pioposeel tliat th" entile amount should be opent on a Hour mill lmtohciy. The t idea was a most extiaordmaiy one to Ins mind. it«,b pioposcd, be undcistood, to cany out othei w oiks in connection with the association, and wheie on eaith was tlie money to do this to conic fiom, if the entne called up capital was to be swamped as Mr Foiic^t pioposed? If they g.iveeffeit to such aptoposal he could only deplore bo:n<i i shaieholdcr. It, as it had been hinted, the money could be bon owed or raised on moitgago, he had little doubt that before long the whole concern would pass into the hands of the moitgagce. The picsent capital of the association would be altogetliei inadequate to undeitake .such an extensive w oil-. It was quite suiiicient that they should now seciue a good site fot a lloiu mill, and if jucumstances wan anted the undertaking at some futuie time they could then pioceod to build. It looked to him like tunning a iacj befoie they weie able to ciawl. Mr Koiust, as this •stage of the pioeeed-ing-s once moic submitted his h'gnies ie the price of wheat and the puce of biead tor Mi Selby's special enlightenment Mi Nil by piocecdi d. lie could not say that siuh a mill as that pioposed to be elected would not be benctici.il. He •iculy laised the question of moans, lie wanted to Know wheie the money w as to come fiom ? The Chdiuiian icferred at so ne length to Mi Selby s lemaiks, and stated that the eliieci'Ois would be guieled to a lit eat extent in such matteis by Hie expiesscel , opinion of the meeting, lie thoiunghly believed in the theoiy submitted by Mi Foiiest legal ding the pi ice of w heat and the pi ice ot (ioiu. Mr Selby then mo\ed as an ainend- | ment. "That the dnectois be lequested to keep in view the election of a fiom mill at some suitable place when they aic in a position to do so, and without as at piesent puiposed moitgagiug the sliaics of the Con.pa.ny." The advantage of a gianaiy was that it could be utilised at once. The erection ot a gianaiy and the election of a Hour mill weie tv\o \eiy ditTeicnt things. A "lauaiy would cost compauitively voiy little. The question was, Was tins meeting prepaied to moitgage its shaies tor the eicetiou ot a Hour mill ? Mi Fouest diel not see the advantages of a without a mill. For instanc, the gianaiy would be erected at FianUton. Every time any of them wanted to shift then gi am it would not cost them ka 3 than a penny a bushel, and a penny a bushel on a fe w thousand bushel-, meant a very laigc sum of money to the fanncis. Mr Selby was assured that a granaiy was much needed. He would ask those faniicrs piesent how many of them possessed rat and weather-pioof gianaiies on then fauns' Very few of them indeed. And was their expeiience not in favour of a gianaiy ? Mi Selby's amendment not finding a seconder, Mr Foi test's pioposition was then put to the meeting and carried, Mr ' Selby only dissenting. Mr Fouest, in bunging for waul the nextmattei, lcfened to the announce ment that the business of the association would be done on a strictly cash basis. He would diaw their attention to at tide 5 of the Articles of Association, which stated that the association would make advances on " crops giowmg and to glow." Now , these two statements were not at all consistent with each other. They were told on very good authority that nearly ovary farmer in the district had a moi tgage ovei his tarm. Supposing the association made an advance on a crop growing, what would iccoup them if, in the meantime, the moitgagee came down on the farm, crop and all. Again, the crop might turn out a failure, and in this case, unless the association had some other security, it would fare very badly indeed. He thought this clause should be. expunged from the articles of association. He would propose, " That this meeting suggests that the words in article o relating to the advances of money on crops growing, or about to grow, be expunged." Mr Parr thought that every shareholder should have a copy of the Articles of Association. Mr Selby proposed that every shareholder should have a copy of the Articles of Association supplied him gratis. Mr Forrest said they were now ready, I and could be had on application to the secretary for 6d. Mr Selby, in seconding Mr Forrest's proposition, said he did not think that the shareholders should be called upon to risk their capital in making advances with no security of return. A man may grow fifty acres of wheat, but he may not reap five. Mr Parr advocated that the association bo carried ou on strictly cash basis when credit was given those who paid, had to pay for those who didn't pay. A large percentage would necessarily have to be struck on for probable losses. The proposition was then put and carried. Mr Forrest hoped that now such an excellent meeting had been got together, those present would not be backward in expressing their views upon any matter which they considered of importance to the association. Mr Alford had heard a lot of talk about ; the proposal oi the association, to give a

vote to each of the 2000 working men in Auckland who held a single share. It was for those present to express their approval or disapproval of this course. Was it necessary that they should offer such a bonus to the working men in order to secure their custom ? Mr Tucker said he had thought the matter over, and to his mind it was altogether out of proportion. He considered it gave the townspeople au advantage over them, and they all knew that the townspeople would drag the lasr shilling out of the farmers if they could. To give them the power proposed would be a great injustice to the fanners and other shareholders. He thought that no man possessing less than fixe shares should have a vote. This met with the views of Mr Beere. He thought it was too bad that the Auckland working men should have such an extent of voting power, considering the extent of their vested interest. Mr Sell>y said he would like to know whether the association was committed to issuing these 2000 shares to the 2000 mdiv lduals ? The Chairman understood it to be meiely a proposal as yet. Mr Forrest Loped that such a thing as depriving the working men of their voting power would not be attempted. They had nothing to fear from these men. They wanted these men to consume what they produced. And t'icy should know that the interest of the pro ducer and the consumer was to a very great extent identical. If they did not treat them as men they could not expect to be treated by them as men It was wrong that they should thus try to deprive these men of their voting power. It was not the 2000 working men but the men on the directorate they had got to fear. It was such men as Buckland, Fisher, Banks and Co. who were tryinjr to push forward the freezing business they had c;ot to fear. Mr Selby contended that the woiKing men would go wheie they got their goods cheapest. If the association could supply them cheaper than the rctaileis of Auckland then they would deal with the association, but most certainly not othei • wise. Mr Tucker withdicw his proposition. Mr Selby proposed tli.it the 2100 shaiea be distributed among the woikmg men in Auckland, eacli getting as many shaicsas he liked to take up to a certain limit. He would piopose, "That the working men be not lcstiictcd to one share, but that they have the same power in this respect as is given to other shareholders." Mr Bridgman seconded the proposition. He did not think it was> the intention of the Auckland working men to injme the farmers. The working men had been persecuted by the heavy pi ices which they had to pay for what they consumed. The proposition was put and canied unanimously. Mr Forrest thought that CUmhiidgo being the strongest diittict mini -i really hi ould have a second director on the ba.'rd. It was desiiable that the othei man should represent the Pukekura side of tin- district. Mr G'JNcill proposed that Mi' Thornton Walker, or any other eligible person m the Pukekura district, should be appoin ted. Mr Booth thought it would be bettor to wait until they saw how the directorate wcic goin» to act. Mr Sjlby proposed, as an amendment, that the matter bo left to the duectoratc to decid°, or at least for them to fill the position, the meeting meicly suggesting the addition. This was seconded by Mr Pair. On the question being put to the meet in<r, Mr O'Neiir* proposition was carded. It was tin tlier agiecd that the resolutions passed at the meeting be foi warded to the manager, Mr Gillett. Mr Fonost explained why he desired the manager should lie piesent thafc evening It they had a manager it was as little as ho con Id do to pay them a \isit occasionally to asceitam their re qunements. He felt cci tarn tint had the maua^'ci been tiieie tint evening he would ha\ c got a good numboi of oider*. •""lie meeting exprissed its di»ap pomtmeut at tne absence of the manager, and the piocfeding^ tei initiated.