A REASONABLE APPEAL.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14001, 25 March 1911, Page 8

A REASONABLE APPEAL.

There is Always a feeling of relief when a mortgage has been paid off. This is particularly the case when the interest charge has had a hampering effect upon the particular business which liasr been subject to the mortgage. When an important and useful public institution like the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association haa to allow a sum of £245 annually out of ita receipts to meet the interest charge upon its property it mtist be, as th© retiring President said on Thursday night, a serious obstacle in the way of a progressive policy of improvement. The Association celebrate* its jubilee in 1913, and no more fitting time could bo chosen for a effort to be made to wipe off the debt Upon the Association's grounds, and so enable it to make them still more attractive and convenient, and to extend ite operations in the interests of its chief supporters. Mr Murphy is to be commended for the manner in which ho haa introduced the appeal to the farmers and pastoraliste of Canterbury. The prosperity that has happily been the experience of the agricultural and pastoral community during the last thirty years is flue to a variety of causes, but the Association has certainly had its share in bringing it about, by encouraging the breeding of the most profitable classes of stock. Mr Murphy was, therefore, justified in appealing to the farmers and pastoralists of Canterbury to assist the Association to do even more than it has done in the past. No scheme has yet been formulated, but it is to be hoped that in whatever form it is placed before those -who have benefited, and will still further benefit, by the Association's admirable work, it will be heartily supported. The Association has been remarkably fortunate in,the average of years in experiencing good weather for its shows, but with the largo annual outlay required to pay ite way it might be seriously hampered by bad weather during Carnival Week. The charge for interest must be met no matter what the weather is, and if the Association were relieved of the liability that is upon its grounds a wet week would not be so severely felt. The carrying out of necessary improvements to the ground, which arj an admitted necessity, cannot be faced -until the financial position of the Association warrants it. We hope, therefore, that the object in view will be fully attained by the time that the jubilee of the Association is at hand.