CANTERBURY PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8850, 29 May 1914, Page 7

CANTERBURY PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE.

tfc *r «UiS Provincial conference of the North Canterbury district- of the New Zealand farmers' Union opened yesterday m Christchurch. President's Address.

The retiring president/ Mr C H Ensor, in his opening address, welcomed the delegates. During the year .a' number of new branches had been formed, and the membership of the Union m North Canterbury had,been increased by 416 members, which denoted progress. The speaker impressed upon the delegates the importance of the business in hand, and emphasised the definition of the "primary producer," who, according , to President Hagenbarth, of the National Woolgrowers' Association of America, was the backbone of the nation and , its main strength. Yet the tendency of modern legislation was to favour, not the primary producer, but the "parasites," or the people who existed on the fruits of the primary producers' labour. They had a primary producer at the head of affairs in the Dominion to-day, and the speaker believed that prosperity would follow to all classes. The distribution of primary produce was, a question which affected the consumer as much as the producer, and there was an enormous waste to both under present conditions. Sufficient wheat could be grown by the farmer and milled by the miller for 3d, but by the time it went through the channel of distribution the retail price was 6d or 7d. Other articles were made equally costly by hawing unnecessary distri-. buting charges added to them, and he felt sure that, by better and more up-to-date conditions, the prices of necessaries of life could be greatly reduced. To illustrate this, the Union was now selling horse-covers at 20 per cent, less than the same article could be bought for at a retail shop. Spot cash transactions were necessary to eliminate book-keeping charges, and it was . also necessary for goods to be taken from the bureau to eliminate the cost of distribution. Much more could, and would, be done by the Union, and during the year he hoped to see a great expansion of the system. The speaker referred .to the remits that had been passed by the various executives and conferences, and the most important which had become law were the extension of workers' homes to rural districts, the increase of compensation for condemned cattle, the granting of the freehold,-etc. It was by belonging to a strongly organised Union stich as theirs was that the farmers of the Dominion could bring their views before the Government of the country, and get their grievances redressed. Although the Union took no definite'/ side in politics, it was essential that they should discuss political measures which affected their homes ' arid industries.^ ' Seeing that other unions were advising their members to vote solidly for certain candidates, it appeared to be an absolute necessity that the farming community should pull more solidly together than had been done in the past. The tendency of the time was to fake united action and adopt collective bargaining, and, used legitimately, the system was not a bad one. The speaker urged on the farmers the formation of branches in all districts, which would prove of benefit to farmers, both economically and socially. The lectures given by experts last year were splendid, and proved of interest and benefit to those farmers who heard them. •

Referring to the late strike, the speaker commended Labour leaders' and organisations who worked for tho good of the class by constitutional and proper methods, but condemned unreservedly agitators who inflamed the workers for their own ends. The thanks of all were due to the men who opened the ports and restored trade and peace ,to the Dominion during the recent troubles. The •sympathy of all would go out to the misguided men and women who suffered from the bad leadership of foreign agitators and strife makers. The Farmers' Uriion certainly justified its existence by the prompt manner in which tlie branches collected their members for the purpose of quelling the rebellion against the handling of their produce, and it was essential that all farmers should he members of their Union for self-pro-tection. The speaker criticised the recent Australian Waterside Workers' award, which introduced the principle of giving a living wage for 3% days' work, which would infallibly increase the cost of production. Payment for loafing time was bad for the workers and bad for the State. In conclusion, the' speaker said that "with regard to the principle of co-operative banking, by. which farmers could assist themselves and each other, it might be favourable to establish a system on the lines of the French "Credit Foncier." The speaker concluded amid applause, and received a hearty vote of thanks for his address.

The Remits. An important section of the business of the Conference was the consideration of remits forwarded from different branches. Agricultural Lectures. - Loburn —To ascertain from the Agricultural Department what lecturers i will be availabble to give lectures. Mr R. Mclntosh moved the remit. Mr Burbury thought that prominent farmers from other districts should pay visits around the country and give informal talks or addresses on farming matters. He thought it would fc be better than having Government experts. , . .' , Others also supported the idea, and Mr Lill made it clear that there was no intention of disparaging the work qr abilities of the Government or other experts. Farmers should take the opportunity of getting the, services of men in the front rank of scientific investigation on every possible occasion, and their work had been of great value in the past. <• The remit was carried. Arbitration Court Matters.

Loburn—That the Government be requested to amend the law so that the third party affected by an Arbitration Court dispute shall have legal right to being heard. Rangiora—That the Government be requested to inquire into the expediency of appointing a representative versed in economic questions to act on behalf of the general public m nil labour disputes, and to add the public/ o, s a. third party in all such cases. After .some discussion it yeas decided •to take the above two remits together, as they practically dealt with the same sifbiect. ■ ■% ■, Mr Mc-Intosh, for Loburn, said it was

only fair for the .fo***^ I third party to have some standing b^^ ou.rt' Mr Evans moved f^H^h " That as tho awards of the Arbitration Court frequently mipose -a great hardship on the parties, who are not represented at the bearing, in the interest of public justice this Conference is of the opinion that these parties should havean opportunity of, being heard before tlie Court before an award is made, and that the Government be. asked to introduce legislation giving effect to this." • '■'-... :. ± , Mr Leadley said they were introducing a now principle into the Arbitration Courtis of th« country, and they needed a. more specific statement of.. their case: before sending such a remit forward to the Dominion Conference. The speaker said that vi the recent case before the Court between the millowners and ■ employees, he had been present as a representative of the farmers. He had felt that he was an interloper at tho .Court, and the Court nnparently regarded him m.tliat light. The principle, of letting the men who finally had to boar the burden be represented at the Court was a good one, and one lie heartily supported. Mr Shoaf thought the _ whole question was a' very large and intricate one. Ativ award had a far-reaching effect, a"d it was difficult to say who was and was not affected. At.'present third parties were ■ represented 'by courtesy, but they wanted it, as a right. Mr Evans corroborated .the statement of Mr Leadley that sometimes an " unholy alliance" was entered into by parties to an award. He felt that a strong effort should be made to protect the struggling _ farmer who was trying to raise a family. Mr Wright then withdrew the Rangiora. remit, and, on the amendTnotit being put, it was lost, and the Loburn remit carried, with the addition of the word " direct" before " third Dartv." '

Australian Workers' Union. Waikari —That the Conference should consider the effect of the Australian Workers' Union's influence in New Zealand, and the results of the New Zealand unions amalgamating with' that body on the agricultural and pastoral industry in this country. Mr Gardner moved the remit, and pointed out the gravity of the results that could happen in the case of such an amalgamation. He hoped that it would be possible for the Government to bar such outside organisations from coming into the Dominion. Mr Leadley said it would be impossible to prevent any Dominion organisation from adopting tli'e constitution of an outside organisation. That wouldbe an interference with the liberty of the subject that could never be tolerated in a free country. He did not think it right to even suggest such a course of action. They could not prevent any union adopting any constitdtion it liked, but when a body of people came out in the open and talked sedition they could bo dealt with then. The remit'was lost on the voices. Carriage of Stock. , Waikari—That the Railway DepartI ment should allow farmers who wish . o send stock from one station (to another station to combine and make up a truck load. &uch stock to be charged at truck rates, and to be consigned by one consignor to one consignee. - Mr G. G. Newton moved the remit, which was approved after a short discussion. Commercial Intelligence Bureau. Ashburton —That the Conference be asked to consider the necessity of in • stituting a .Commercial- Intelligence Bureau for collecting "arid/distributing reliable information to membei & oi the Union regarding prices of our staple products. :Mr Leadley moved the remit. He said some scheme was necessary to get reliable information for far.nei'S> anil he had such a scheme. R-vorte of rill transactions would be sent forvard to a central office, and all memiiters of the bureau would have a pno.3 'list forwarded every week, show.ig exactly what prices had been got. ''ho newspapers did their best to obtain accurate information, but it was not absohytely trustworthy, because the source from which the news was obtained was interested in keeping prices down. His proposal was that farmers, by subscribing to the bureau, could obtain every . week price-lists showing the ruling rates in tho market. '■ i The remit was adopted. • Subsidies to Doctors.

Mr E. P. Burbury, (Waiau) moved — " That in sparsely-populated country districts where' it is found necessary to subsidise a doctor inugrder to get him to ; reside there, , r th%, amount of the subsidy required should be refunded to. tho local authority by the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. As an alternative, where such districts are over 50 miles from a public hospital, legislation should be enacted whereby they may withdraw their contribution to the Hospital>and Charitable Aid Board and make their own arrangements, should a majority of the ratepayers favour such a course being taken."

Mr C. Reid said that the counties suffering under a grievance should follow the example of Ashburton and obtain legislation separating them from the "North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid District, and cro.iting them self-governing areas. The counties could then build their own hospitals. That was the . only way to obtain justice. ■•>,■- Mr G. Gardner, said, that,the Board had offered a subsidy of to tho Waiau district, but it'"*was. hedged about with conditions that made it impossible. The portion of the remit referring) to decentralisation was withdrawn, and the remainder was adopted. Labour Exchange. Waiau —This branch considers that much benefit might be derived by the farmers if the Farmers' Union could be induced to open the branches of tliek ( Labour Exchange in country townships! \ Mr Burbury moved the' remit, stating that there was always someone in j country townships who could act for the executive in the matter. If lists were available in country towns.of jobs, or men available, it would be a great help to farmers. . . The remit was thoroughly discussed, and finally approved and carried. Land for Farm Labourers. Hsirowood—That, the ■Government be j urged to put aside one or more sec-1 tions in each block of land subdivided for ballot by qualified farm labourers only. \ -. Mr Livingstone moved the remit. He s.-'id fjirm labourers often had considerable, difficulty in getting a start on the land, a. difficulty'that'was not met completely by the present land for settloTne«t reV.ulnti.ons-. Genuine and pjiitabln form workers should have some lit+le prof ore-" co for one section nt the different in.ml ballots. If the Government oorld pas!. s legislation on the lino sugwstcd by tho remit, it wmild.be n gro^t •encouragement to farm labourers. Mr Seymour seconded the motion,

and warmly supported the idea. .:• 1 In the discussion which followed, a \ good deal of v adverse criticism was % directed against the idea, it being f pointed out that a very dangerous j principle was being introduced in the i remit, the principle of preference, I which had always been strenuously ' opposed by the Union., After further discussion it was decided to withdraw the remit, and the sitting of .the Conference was adjourned.