SPACE AT WESTFIELD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 122, 26 May 1927, Page 14

SPACE AT WESTFIELD.

EXTENSION FOR VESTEYS. FARMERS' UNION INDIGNANT. "DRIVING THE WEDGE HOME." ((By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WHANGAREI, this day. The speakers at last night's session of the Farmers' Union Conference exhibited various moods when one remit was brought forward by the Bay of Islands, as follows: "That this conference protests against the. proposal to extend killing space and other facilities at Westfield freezing works." "Trusts are getting a strangle hold on the meat industry in this country," said Mr. Hodson, the mover of the remit. "I don't say that we will be,able to stop it, but we should make a protest; they have got the thin edge of the wedge and they are driving it home. If they ge* an extension at Westfield it will be the end of the farmers' works in the North." Mr. McCorkindale: Opposition is useless if the farmers would be loyal to their own works, and it would not be a matter of how much space was given to the trusts. Loyalty Not Profitable. Mr. Walker: You know the tactics employed in every district. What farmer here would support his own works if a man comes along and offers more for his stock than he can get from his own works? It's no use talking about loyalty. Mr. Babe said he was loyal in the season before last. He sold off hooks and his neighbour sold to Fletchers. He got 15/9 and his neighbour got 22/. "I was not loyal laat year," added the speaker. "I could not afford to be, if I were I would be bankrupt, but if we allow trusts to extend, not only axe we going to put our stock at their disposal, but our dairy produce as well, for our own freezing works are going to stop. If we do not fight trusts we are going out." Captain Rushworth said it was only the efforts of the Farmers' Union which, at the last minute, stopped the quantity of extra killing space. So far as he knew the matter was not dead yet. After stating that in his own district one could see lambs passing the Moerewa works for the South, simply because a farthing to a half-penny more per lb had been paid than Moerewa could pay, the speaker went on to say: "It is scandalous to talk of loyalty. A man has to choose between his neighbour and his own family. The extra farthing

i per lb may mean the difference between keeping on and losing hie farm. It's no use appealing to loyalty in a case like this. This meat trust has got a strangle hold on our meat, and is after our dairy produce." " Tragic Position." Mr. Lee Martin said that so far as the farmers' works were concerned the position was tragic It had been hoped that the Meat Control Board would have circumvented the aspirations of the proprietary interests, but apparently it was just going to give the opportunity to crush out co-operative works. He quoted Statistics to show how killings at the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Works had decreased from 234,049 in 1915, to 00,000 in 1928, and declared that the farmers' works were within a measureable distance of being wiped out. To give Vesteys an opportunity to enlarge their works was criminal. The chairman stated that when a deputation waited on the Meat Board Mr. D. Jones said there were too manv freezing works in New Zealand. Yet. because in the flush of the season Vesteys' accommodation was insufficient to handle the amount of stock at their disposal, they were to be granted permission to extend their works. They had been sending their overflow to Southdown, but if the proposed extensions to Westfield works were permitted it simply meant that more work would be done by Fletchers and less by Southdown. The remit was then adopted, as was toe following motion, proposed by Mr DuxfleJd: "That the conference expresses indignation at the Meat Board acquiesmg in the proposed extension of killinc space." e