THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION AND THE AUCKLAND SHAREHOLDERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1862, 12 June 1884, Page 3

THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION AND THE AUCKLAND SHAREHOLDERS.

TO THE EDITOU. Sir, — In your is-,ue of Thursday last a letter appears in lefcrcnco to the action of the duectora of the co opeiative association in distributing 2000 shares among the worknig men ot Auckland, .signed by a Te Awamutu shareholder. With all deference to that gentlemen I must, as another shareholder, beg to differ with him a little. While I am opposed to a large amount of voting power being placed in the hands of a few, which might give undue influence to the detriment of others, I think that some better plan might have been adopted than the placing the majority of votes in the hands of those who certainly had no hand in the formation of the association ; but lieie I must take leave of my Te Awamutu friend. He sa>& in the first poition of his letter that we are sold to a section of the community diametrically opposed to ours, and again,' further on, What have we, as faimeis in common, with the working men of Auckland? Well, it appeals to mo that we base a good deal m common with the ■working men, whoconsunie most ofthemo.it, butter, bacon, etc., that we as farmers produce. And ue have also this in common, that we both suffer. We produce an aiticlo of food which, as we ha\e no means of coming in contact with the consumer, we are obliged to *ell at a low pi ice, to take whatevei the middlemen, choose to give us ; whoieas the poor ivoi king men aie paying an unreasonably high price for thih same aiticle, and the difference is so much that while beef, mutton, and all farm produce could be lowered very considerably to the working men, we would in future receive prices for our farm produce th.it would make farming a source of fair living, instead of, as now, a hard and Übourious life, \ery frequently showing at the end of the year moie loss than piofit. I have .showed as well as I am able what we have in common with the working men of Auckland, and I believe it is for this reason that the directors have taken the step objected to by a Te Awamutu shareholder.— l am, &c, Whatawhata Faumkr. June Oth, 1884.