FARMERS' UNION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 210, 29 May 1908, Page 8

FARMERS' UNION.

, — ' NORTH CANTERBURY CONFERENCE. ' •. (BY TELEGr.Arn. —rr.ES3 ' ASSOCIATION.) Christchurcll, May 28. Tho annual' North Canterbury Provincial > Conference of the Farmers' Union opened ,r to-day. . Tho President (Mr. D. Jones), in his address to the Conference, predicted that the spending power of tho farming community would be considerably reduced this year; owing to the effect of the dry season : • and the drop in the pricc of wool. He .■/ deprecated. the : agitation which : had been -raised during recent years to take tho protective duty ..off wheat,, and stated that'as, a result of the agita^on'farmers were afraid to grow • wheat, and consequently the Dominion was hardly producing sufficient foodstuffs for its own requirements. A good deal of friction over land values had been experienced during the year, and hestrongly condemned; tho practico of speculation, and ' farmers, who desired t-o sell securing high valuation ori their properties, which resulted in inflated values being put on the whole district. Tho necessity for an experimental . farm in the South-Island .should be pressed : on tho attention of the Government.. He dealt at length with the' Arbitration. and Conciliation .Act, and .strongly urged that it Ehould be made equally enforceable on both Employers and workers. The farming industry should be free from harassing restrictions. Ho thought that the time had come when tho Union should take a more active part in politics, and use its endeavours to ' return to' Parliament men who would support a coalition of the moderates on both sides of tho House. Resolutions wero , carried recommending ' the Government to pay auctioneers' license fees into a fund to bo used for hospital and charitable aid purposes; objecting to ■ tho introduction of any system of graduated subscriptions for members; and favouring a uniform subscription system throughout , the Dominion, tho minimum to be not less than iOs. per head. . " ■_ The' delegates spent a considerable amount of time discussing matters'connected with the arbitration' laws. "ho Oxford delegate moved that this branch considers that, as strikes aro practically impossible on farms, the forming industry should be exempt from the Arbitration Act. Tho mover said that any attempt to regulate the hours'of. labour on a farm must bo unworkable; the position of farm labourers was better in New Zealand than elsewhere. Several speakers contended that strikes were not impossible •on farms any moro than in any other industry. The motion wir carried, with an alteration to the effect i' at tho motion should 6e a recommendation from the Conference nrging the Government to exempt the farming industry from tho operation of tho Arbitration Act. The following motion was also carried:— "That if the Arbitration Act is to remain in operation, no disputo should bo brought before the Conciliation Board or Arbitration •y Court until the majority _of workers en- "" gaged in an industry vote in favour of it.