STATISTICS SCHEDULE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8304, 24 November 1915, Page 4

STATISTICS SCHEDULE

A PUZZLE TO FARMERS

OBJECTIONS TO ITS COMPLICA-

TIONS:

At tho Ashburtoh County Council meeting to-day, Cr. H. J. Harrison .stated that h« wished to'draw attention to the complicated Statistics Schedule vrhieliv had .b«en circulated among the farmers to .fill. in. The ■ whole tiling was so conflicting 'that it: was impossible to till it in correctly, j He considered tho farmers should pro-j test to the Government^ against what 1 he (onsidered was an unfair method of •extracting information. He' contended that fiumei h in the past were only too willing to »i\<> ihe Go\ernmeni am information piouding id was asked for in a propei m.inner.. li> one plac-'o in tho schedule they were asked to .supply the amount ot then- income. l*ersonally, he had been farming for 40 years and never had an income. The chairman (.Mr C. J. Harper) agreed 1 liftb fanners ' should protest strongly against ihe .schedule in its present torm. He was quite certain i that it was impossible to fill up the j schedule, correctly, and on that account, it was useless. To ask farmers , to go back to J914 to show how much produce they h.u! on hand, was nn-, reasonablo. They might know how many cuttle ihc> had. One iarmer had told him "tli.ru he had filled in his form anyhow," -o they umld vsee tho value oi such mlormation. (n one place liirino' 1.-. weie a^ked to state their losses and thei) g.vins last yefti He ventured to .stale that the losses had been well filled in. Cr. Lill said it was no use trymg io do the impossible, and supply all the information .^ked lor. He had looked at the schedule until hu wfto hcvil-, dered. hi its pi(<s'ent >>tato theiecould be no umloimiu of uitormation .supplied. What \\'as wanted wa*. a sim- ' plo loi m Ui.it could hn easily under-j stood. "Kanc\," '-aid Cr. Lill. "asking a farmei to say what meat ho had ' given to his men. and what he had made out of •»heepi-kwii-.'" One of the ' best accountants in Ashbnrton haJ , Told him "'that it uiil- impossible to fill in the schedule conoetly." \ pio-j tost should be made to the Minister of Finance against such .1 torm being sent out. He had also mentioned the mafler to the Hon Dr. McNab, and tho latter had told him. "that he supposed it was dialled by some undeiI secretary who had never be^n en a farm." Cr. Han isnn s.nd he would bei a fiver th.it i« Omninhmi'iit secretaries did not undeist.uid the themselves. 11/ 'aits dccid"d Lo le.'no tho matter in tho hands oi thi> ehainnan Lo "end a lettei oi piolest to tlie Minister, and aKn u> l>i mir ih<' uuu.ter before the memb'M loi the disti kt.