BOARD OF AGRICULTURE BILL.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14821, 12 November 1913, Page 13

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE BILL.

SECOND READING- DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. (rOSSS ASSOCIATION" TELEGEAM.) WELLINGTON, November 11. In the Houso of Representatives last night, in moving the second rending of the Board of Agriculture Bill, tho Prime Minister said tho Dominion was wonderfully prosperous because of ,iignculturc. New Zealanders had to leave tbo Dominion to gather knowledge, despite tho usefulness of the ~ Agricultural Department. It was quite Impossible for one man to control that Department properly, hence tho Bill. Ho instanced tho Board in Ireland, T.hich had raised tho agricultural industry there. Tho first aim of the Irish Department was to teach peopio to help tbemselres. The Bill provided for the appointment of a Board of not exrwdins twelve members by tho Governor lor three years- Us membi-rs might boreappciated, bat would not be paid for their services. Ho could not yay for the first twelve months whether tho chairman should bo paid or not. Vcur members would be recommended by A. arid P. Societies of the South Jslaod, and four by similar bodies in '■ toe "North JUlatid. The Board was to advise, tho Minister on questions relative to agriculture and rural industries.

■Sir Joseph. Ward asked what was to bccomo , of the Agricultural Department; , .Vow Zealand should not look to Ireland for advancement iv agriculturul matters. Ho queried the provision of nomination by tbo Government, holding that they bad been led to believe that euch a method of appointment was to be abolished. • The Board was to be a select one, and that was not in the interests of the country. A. and P. Society nominees would be stock-breeders and large lanclliolderfc, and possibly a fnrnior. -'I'lio ■fruit-growers. horticulturists, dairyfarmers, . pouHrynien, beekeepers, and ffasniillers . had been ignored, and would bo unrepresented. Dealing with the clause providing for expenses, lio asked trhero tho Board was to meet and how oltin' ,. They had trained experts on jII the subjects which the board wsi to advise the Government on. It'

tho Board was" constituted as proposed, t notiM ho disappointing to those who k< neio look:njj;to it to accomplish eomctlung Hβ did. not believe in the theory -v tha* men who were not paid would givo tho vimo services as men who were piid If Axe. chairman was to bo paid, he should reside in''Wellington. Ho nould far eqpner see tho establishment f or a Training College in eich island un- , dw- GoTvrmnent control. ; , »■ Tb& Hon. 'F. M. B. Fisher eaid tho agricultural educational facilii offered in ..this country wero p-aitiiMly Tnifc Tho country had dragged the Agricultural Departin* nt aitcr it. There was only, one rollcßO. and it could, only accommodate ibout 10 students, and they must bo f>ons of well-to-do people. In Canada, there were hundreds .of colleges. The Board was a necessity in a country liko .New Zealand; where many problems had to be tolvcd, end there was no liner u«s io which endowments could be put than to- erect colleges on them. Ho , hoped tho Bill would be the forerunner of the establishment of a, sories of colleges nght throughout the province. Tie Hon. D. Bucklo traversed the *t*t«went that New Zealand had dragged tho Agricultural Department behind it. The party of Old Country prececal fanner? which had visited Ji"ro recently, eaid that New Zealand Wothe way in matters agricultural. Soon after the Honse met this afternoon the debate was resumed by jfr G M. Thomson, -who said there vos need for the Bill, as the Depart- ' fflent of Agnouuture had not been working as harmoniously as could be wished, and there was need for some new authority eruch ac would be provided by tee Board Personally, ho was of < . opinion that agriculture was of a light s - ortter jn this country, but it had to be ~ - rewembored that m> to now farmers had, _ to a great extent, been . working oii virgin coil. Bnt the time was coming v j Mhen the chemical i>ropeities of tho so»J would hare to be- better understood, ■ad more scientific farming adopted. • 8* adrocated a highiy trained scionJUt being placed at the head of the Board, one who understood plant breedftud who could increase the volumo of other crops at least 6 per cent., j * wueb meant a imge sum annually to 1 , wxeaatry. So far as the breeding of j aaunah was concerned, he thought New Zealand had reached a fairly representative stage, but tho great want was a more general adoption of BigbJy scientific methods of farming. \ ilr 0. "Witty, expressed grave disappointment with the Bill, which fell far snort of expectations. The proposed I *grknltutaf colleges were not likely to i become wliat they should be, and, like tbe Lincoln College, would not perform "taetr proper functions. *Ho ridiculed t~e proposal to select members of tho |wtrd from members of tho A. aud I*. Societies, who, in many cases, were tho *j*rt farmers in .the district. Tlie «ard was. merely a buffer between tho and the people. Sir "Walter Buchanan defended tho *«tting up of the Board as calculated I *J wvaneo -the interests of agriculture. *t would be composed of members rej*«e»tttrte of both Islands, who would ** thoroughly conversant with climatic in all parts of the Dominion, «m trjth the class of farming most suit- . w a*l« in different "districts. He wanted r ** «c agricultural colleges! established. \ *W Rβ might some day offer the Gβ- > & enm of money for that purYj®*, but ho would not stipulate that «» collage should be in the Wairarapa. .*"■ G - W. Forbes thought, in view - * il c dlff erent problems to be faced in , Jγ , *!£ rt a and south, there ought to be r r^ 0 foards, one for the North, and 2* fcr the South Island. .Hβ deprc- ****** .the prominence given to repress 011 on the Beard by A. and P. So<*w«e as giMiig representation over to i r*| f" 3 **, only, and • tho small farmer I *w tbs dairy farmer would have no " eni » c establistment of an agricollege was a matter that re- - w'V'MpecKat© attention. '* «to t Xewmau agreed that the offi°f the Agricultural Dcpartmeufc I jVfc*. cfficieat fcnt tho systom nnder Z** ntZi* * ' was hard, and re- % J?, att? nt«on. The Board would fc^E^v, 0 1,1 of policy, which had i?l xJfo* past changed with the varying V'-iT cry. new Minister with dierebalts *o *he Department.

On the House resuming at 7.30 p.m., Mr G. AY. Jtussell continued the debate. He t-aiu ho did not regard tho Bill as no important as eomo other members seemed to regard it, for the reason that it wus proposed to set up a Board that could only recommend. The Board had no administrative power, aad before the Minister accepted their advice he was bound to consult his expert officers, and ho hoped he would not lightly <»iscard the advice of those officers' lie KtronjUy advocated tbc establishment of an Agricultural College in both islands, which would not become class institutions. As the setting up ot boards seemed to bo tho fashion with the present Government, ho suggested a Board should be set up for the encouragement of the mining industry, and of our industries generally, which were of ji:si as much iraportauce to the country as agriculture.

Mr Ell said this Heard could not bo set- u{) v.ithout considerable expense, because the members could uot be expected to act \rithoTit payment, and he thought the money could bo raoro beneficially expended in tho payment of experts, who could go about aud give practical instruction to the formers, tie strongly urged i-bat sous of our agricultural Rtaff should bo sent abroad periodically to gather information as to what methods are being followed in other countries. *

Mr F. H. Smith favoured a system of exchange of agricultural officers on similar lines to that adopted in Iho military service. He also favoured tho establishment of agricultural schools'as against colleges.

Mr J. Bollard advocated a class of Agricultural College where the sons oi tho poorest men could obtain thoroughly up-to-date instruction in tho theory and practice of fanning. To bo a success such colleges should he in tho vicinity of large populations, from v.-hinh they could draw a rminber of day students.

The Prime Minister, in his reply, said ho would he hard to please if ho did not express satisfaction at the reception the Bill had met with. He deprecated the attack which had been made upon the supposition that only large landowners "would get upon the board. He claimed that the Agricultural and Pastoral Associations were mainly composed of small Farmers, bnt if these societies did select the men in a larger way, what harm would bo done, as they wero the best judges? Ho defended tho experimental farms which he claimed were doing excellent work, as were the officers of tbe> Agricultural Department, who wero both loy.il and efficient. The Board would probably cost .€IOOO per year, which was not excessive, but ho anticipated 'that tho proposed agricultural college would be costly, provision for which would probably bo made on tho Supplementary Estimates. Tho first college would' be established in the North -Island for tho good and sufficient reason that thero v/as already an ex-, cellent college at Lincoln. The Agricultural Department was now costing about £180,000' per annum, and if its efficiency could be increased under tho advice of the Board, then ho thought tho expenditure of an oxtra £1000 was money well spent. It was not proposed to pay the members of tho Board but >it might bo necessary to give the chairman an honorarium. He did not favour giving ■ county councils a voice in the election of the Board, ncithftr did he favour the inclusion of commercial mou amongst ite members, who, ho thought, should bo exclusively farmers.

Tho second reading v was agreed to on the voices.