CALVES FOR SOLDIERS

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23446, 29 September 1941, Page 3

CALVES FOR SOLDIERS

DEFINITE SCHEME WANTED CONFERENCE REQUIRES ASSURANCES Assurances that any cattle given would not be pledged as security to any lending institution, and that they be tattooed or otherwise marked, were asked by a conference of representatives of the Farmers’ Union, the stock and station agencies, the dairy companies and the agricultural and pastoral association, who met to discuss with the Returned Soldiers Association the scheme for supplying returned men with calves to help to stock land which they took up. Though no formal resolution was passed, those present agreed that little could be done until Dominion headquarters of the Returned Soldiers’ Association had formulated a definite scheme. The chairman, Mr C. Miln, explained why the conference had been called, and said that the Returned Soldiers’ Association was making every endeavour to safeguard returned soldiers in an economic sense. “Most returned men of our time were placed on quite uneconomic propositions, and we have got to guard against that this time,” he said. “We are also doing all in our power to see that soldier settlers are fitted for farming. In our time many were not. They went in for farming in the spirit of ‘giving it a pop,’ and in many cases they finally had to walk off.” Mr Miln said that headquarters proposed that the calves should be handed over to the Government in January, and that they would be placed on land owned by the Government and reared until they were given to the settlers. Mr R. W. Smith, of the Stock Auctioneers’ Association, asked whether satisfactory arrangements had been made for rearing the calves. Mr Miln said he did not have specific information on that point It was a most important point, said Mr M. E. Lyons. Farmers might not be keen to give good calves unless they knew that they would be well looked after. “Will the calves become the property of the Government, or of the people going on to the farms,” asked Mr M. M. Fleming. “They will be the property of the settler, and will be a gift to the settler,” said Mr Miln. Mr C. P. Agar said that the Dairy Conference last week had been addressed by a Returned Soldiers’ Association representative, but it was not at all certain from what was said there that the calves would become the properly of the settler. “Is there going to be any scheme for settling soldiers on the land,” asked Mr R. G. Bishop, president of the North Canterbury district of the Farmers’ Union, "We don’t know that. In the recent bill before Parliament, returned soldiers were only mentioned once. Before we commit ourselves we would like to know if soldiers are to be settled on the land. “Another point farmers want to know is, if they rear the calves, are they definitely going to the soldiers, or is the Government going to take the cattle over 10 start some other scheme, such as co-operative farming. The Government should have no claim on them at all as chattel security. We know that the Government is the hardest landlord in the country, and likes to get its hands on anything it can as security. If the cattle were given by the people of New Zealand, they should become the absolute property of the soldier settler. "I am inclined to think that it would be better if farmers reared the calves and sold them, the money to be placed in a fund to buy cattle when necessary. That way you would get better class cattle, and avoid a mixture oL types and breeds. The farmers are all out to help if we can, and if we think that a scheme is sound, it will get all our support.” . The Returned Soldiers’ Association had no other idea than that the cattle should be a gift to the soldiers, should be a free gift to the soldiers, said Mr Miln. It would not consider a scheme on any other terms. Mr Bishop's motion that assurances be obtained that if the scheme was put into operation, the cattle should not be pledged to any financial institution whatever, and that they should be tattooed, or otherwise marked.