Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1897. A. & P. ASSOCIATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 4363, 4 December 1897, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1897. A. & P. ASSOCIATION.

I A'}? the meeting of the Joomm-t.ee oi the A, and P. Association on Tuesday -•-. points were raised for considera *.v.« *k« »'*"** Committee in the future, tion by t__ - tb igter It was suggested "* % ? „ members should be kept, sho .T^* vt)Q«e who were good financially, and those who were in arrears. In the course of the discussion it was shown that there were members who had allowed themselves to fall in arrears for one or two years, and then came and paid oneyear's subscription, which placed them again on equal terms with members who had been financially good from the time they joined the Association. It was contended that farmers and others who did this sort of thing, when .eotaing in, after default for a season, should be ballotted for as new members. This contention, it seems to us, is sound; and no thinking man will object to it. There are a number of farmers who have been members of the Association, and would gladly remain so, if they could afford the annual guinea required

to keep tbem good on the books.; but struggling to make both ends meet are forced to curtail expenditure sometimes, and, looking upon the A. and J?. A&«,ociatioo*a subscription as .«, luxury, v . **P. Iv .«!__ (gases men who »re , cut it o-.. «_, <t fcef^ feeipg generous i trying to be )u ■ <. ;s We J. are not to be railed at. *_» Mcc- f - time, such men would have . 4^ I' tion to go to the ballot when v... »eek reinstatement. The Association j & has nover been a very wealthy one, *nd}

is not wealthy now ; and its managers I have always been anxious to procure j funds from any legitimate source. Having no power to enforce payment of subscriptions, they were only too glad to lake such guineas as were offered to them, and did not look too closely into i the matter of arrears. Now, however, j though still requiring all the financial aid it can get, and still not anxious to offend a single friend, by whom a subscription might be lost, the Association is more popular to-day than ever it was at any time during its existence, and there is every probability that its membership will increase in the same way that its gate money at the Show has 1 marvellously increased of late years. . It is thus in a better position than | ever it has been in the past to ask its I members to observe more closely than has been the case hitherto, the rules of the Association as regards, payment of subscriptions, and we have no doubt that the question that has been raised about a members' register will have the desired effect of making careless members toe the mark. The other point was raised by Mr R. Clarke, who complained about the loose way in which the sites of the implement yard were let. He pointed out that at last show there were exhibitors who, having entered and catalogued a certain number of implements, etc., brought very many more upon tbe ground than they had paid for, which was unfair te the Association, and deprived it of a portion of its legitmate revenue. He claimed that such exhibitors had no more right to bring in more Btuff than they had entered than he had to enter three cows, and show nine. His comparison hardly suits the case, as the implements do not compete for prizes, being there for exhibition only and advertising purposes, while live stock are entered for the prizes offered, But the advertising obtained by exhibition is of more value to those who use the implement yard than the few shilling, and the accompanying honors can possibly be to the small farmer. Ii the advertisement is of any value tc the exhibitors of implements it is onlj right that what should naturally com. in revenue to the Association shoul. be paid. At anyrate it is not credi table to any man to enter a cer tain number of implements, and then under cover of the entry sneak in a lot for which no fees have been paid This is simply a case of smuggling, but from what we can gather the eyes oi the Committee are now opened, and the trick has been played for the last time.