INTERESTS OF FARMERS

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 292, 10 December 1929, Page 21

INTERESTS OF FARMERS

BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT. CONFERENCE'S RESOLUTIONS. L CONCESSIONS ON RAILWAYS. (By Telegraph.—Ofrn Correspondent.) OPOTDXI, this day. Delegates from various branches of the Farmers' Union in the Bay of Plenty conferred in Opotiki on matters of common interest. They were welcomed by the S Mayor, Mr. G. S. Moodv. e r The Minister of Agriculture, in reply to the union's representations on the •* subject of noxious weeds on idle Crown e and native lands, said he would do his n best to see that the Noxious Weeds Act e was administered as effectively as poss sible. This reply was considered very Q unsatisfactory. d In reply to a letter opposing any inrr crease in the wages of Civil servants, and Y asking for a reduction in the costs of ± services, the Postmaster-General said he fi did not propose to grant increased wages, e The secretary said this was the opposite 1 of what the Minister had said in Auck- - land. The Minister of Agriculture, in reply e to a letter on the subject of weevil in - oats received from Canterbury, said he was asking the Director-General of Agri- - culture to make an inquiry. He added 5 that the question of weevil in grain i stores could not be dealt with by legisi lation under present conditions. 1 In discussing a reply from the Minister ,- of Railways concerning concessions on t lime and manures, the chairman said they , were coming to the time when the Raili way Department would have to abolish, i or materially reduce, present concessions. They were faced with the position of heavy goods going by rail while cased goods were going by road. As reason- ' able men they could see the concessions ! could not continue. They must be prepared for a considerable increase in the * charge for lime and manures in the near future. Delegates said they considered the union should fight for the abolition of all concessions on the railways, as it would pay them. i Use of Waihi Swamp. I In reply to a letter urging that a considerable proportion of Waihi swamp, ' now devoted to flax-growing, should be ' utilised for dairying, the Minister of • Lands said he had obtained a report 1 which showed that the land was peaty and sinking. Mr. Cawte said some land that had been let out for flax-growing [ was being used for grazing. The swamp : was a marine deposit, and would not ' sink. Amongst remits which were carried > .were the following:— :' ' "That the provincial executive support the abolition of the present system of i rating farm lands for the construction and maintenance of roads, in view of the fact that all roads are now principally used by motor vehicles." : "ThatCthe petrol tax be increased to meet the existing liabilities- upon all loans, in addition to the whole cost and maintenance of all roads, and that the allocation of the petrol tax to county councils be made upon a more equitable basis." "That the provincial executive be J urged.to investigate the proposed unemployment insurance scheme, especially , with regard to its ultimate effect upon , primary producers." f "That the Local Elections and Polls Act < be amended to give facilities to electors at ' municipal and local body elections to re- j cord their vote by post in any part of the Dominion, should they be absent from j their own locality on the day of the poll." ( 7'That all protection of deer be with- ( drawn, as deer constitute a menace to the ( forests of the Dominion." t "That this conference earnestly recom- < mends the Government to proceed immediately with the construction of the ( East Coast. Main Trunk railway from , Taneatua to Opotiki, as there are great ( prospects of • increased production in primary products~ from the East Coast c district when regular means of transport < are provided." '