TELEGRAMS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 95, 22 April 1912, Page 3

TELEGRAMS.

FARMERS' UNION. THE LABOUR, QUESTION. [I'ItESS ASSOCIATION.] ASHBUKTON, 20th April. In moung the adoption of the report and balance-sheet at the annual meeting »t the Ashbuiton branch ol' the Farmers' Union this afternoon, the chairman (Ah 1 . G. W. Leadley) congratulated the farmnig community on the position they found themselves in that day after the eloso of another year. The position was i'airlv satisfactory, and this could not be said at the tame time last year, when a. partial lailnre of the crops and scarcity of feed made the position of the farmur a. very trying one. When spring came they were carrying insufficient stock to consume the feed, and thio was responsible lor the Jight wool clips. The season just ended had, however, been very successful, and the Plains farmer had never had a year like it. The yeilds of grain had been phenomenal. The labour question was again before them, and he referred to it because of an article that had appealed in the Guardian calling attention to the bad workmanship in building stacks. What was said was quite true, and what was worse was that the same things applied to other branches of farming work. He had that morning seen some ploughing that was disgraceful^ It seemed that the men had lost then- pride in their work, and with regard to stacking, they could not get that efficiency and knowledge in a. workman that wae necessary. He knew of a man oL 75 yenre of ago who had had to build his o"wn stack because he could not get a. competent man to do the work. It was not the farmers' fault that the work was done in buch a. perfunctory way. Prices of staple product* were good, and there were proepects, with a, probability of Continental markets being thrown open, of evpji better prices. With regard to tho dairying outlook, ifc was distinctly good, and he believed that in a short time they would find more farmers devoting their attention to dairying. Speaking of the political situation. Mr. % Leadley said he did not think it quite fair that the new Ministry should have- been subjected to so much carping criticism as had been levelled at them. He saw no reason for the sneers at the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie, whom ho thought should be commended for his courage in stopping into the breach. Some things that were being said of him had been said of My. Seddon, who had falsified all statements made against him. One thing stood out pre-eminently, and that was the maintenance of the standard of exports both in quality and in quantity. Ihe fact that our exports had fallen away by £2,000,000 called for serious attention. Another matter to be considered wae tho large proportion of people who lived in towns instead of helping to fructify the land. RAILWAY ACCIDENT. TEN. WAGONS DERAILED. ASHBURTON, 20th April. Later accounts of tho railway accident near Hackthorne-road to the Mount Somers branch line train, show that the accident was caused by the breaking of an axle on one of the trucks while the tram was running at ordinary speed. This caused the truck to "spread," and threw tho nine following wagons off the rails, and tore up the line for 100 yards. The enginedriver noticed the trouble, and immediately applied the brakes and stopped the train. The engin© and carriages remained on the line. There, were about 60 passengers on the train, but the jolting was very light, and many did not notice the accident till the train had stopped. Drags brought them to Ashburton about 1 o'clock, or 3£ hours later. A relief gang has been despatched to. the scene, and repairs are now being effected. "SOCIAL" TO MR. MASSEY DUNEDIN, 21st April. A large number of people, including many ladies,- attended tho "social" to Mr. Massey in the Art Gallery Hall last night. The toast, "Our Guests," was proposed by the Mayor (Mi 1 . Burnett). and responded to by Messrs. Massey, Buick, Allen, Nosworthy, Fraser, Lee, Scott, Malcolm, and Anderson, M.P.'s. 1 The toast of "The Parliament of New Zealand" was proposed by Mr. G. Ritchie (president of the Chamber of Commerce), and responded to by Messrs. Thomson' and Statham, MlP.'s. Mr. Massey and other visiting members of Parliament will proceed north tomorrow. UNITED LABOUR PARTY •AUCKLAND, 21st April. The plan of campaign in connection with the new United Labour Paity of New Zealand was framed by the recent conference in Wellington, and tho Hon. J. T. Paul, M.L.C., of DiuiPcUn, piesi* dent of the new party, has spent a week in Auckland in organisation work among Labour groups in the city. Prior to his departure this evening. Mr. Paul j .said he believed the new organisation would give Labour an influence commensurate with its numbers. Membei'R of the council have undertaken to organise their lespective groups of workers without delay, and the result will be a party composed of industrial groups instead of individual unions. BRICKMAKERS' DISPUTE SETTLED DUNEDIN, 20th April. The trouble between Messrs. V. and W. Gore, brickmakers, and their employees was settled to-day, the firm conceding the increase asked for — namely, Is per day to workers receiving 7s and 8s per day respectively. BODY OF A MISSING MAN FOUND CHRISTCHURCH, 21st April. The body of a Christchurch builder, who has been missing for some time, was found this morning near Amberley in a water hole about three-quarters of a mile away from the whare where he was living while superintending a job, and where he was. last seen. Ihe body was found floating on tho surface of the water. BORING FOR WATER CHRISTCHURCH, 21st April. The South Canterbury Jockey Club ha* had a, well bored 356 ft at tho racecourse, and obtained good water, lising to 15ft from the surface. SUDDEN DEATH. ROTORUA, This Day. John Richards, aged 45 years, died in the Town-square on Saturday evening. Deceased, who wa-s 1 subject to epileptic fits, was found suffering from one by his father and cousin, who placed him on a seat. Returning shortly afterwards they found him dead. A doctor's certificate as to the cause of death has been given.