FARMERS AND GOVT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 December 1945, Page 4

FARMERS AND GOVT.

NON-CO-OPERATION RUMOURS CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 10. The existence o*f a plan for non-co-operation of farmers with the Government as a protest against recent legislation is still the subject of official silence. A report in the “Evening Post,” Wellington, however, states that details of such a plan have been placed before a meeting o'f Wellington business and professional men. This report states that those who attended the meeting were present, by invitation, from the Makara-Hutt provincial district of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union; that such a policy was stated to be the national policy of the Dominion organisation; and that those pi'esent were asked to place proposals before their respective organisations with the idea of giving farmers support. The report added that Mr. R. G. Buckleton, president of the branch, presided. “That would be purely a local meeting, and I know nothing about it,” said Mr. W. W. Mulholland, Dominion President of the Union, when the report was referred to him by telephone this evening. He added that he did not think that Mr. Buckleton was president of the Makara-Hutt Farmers’ Union Provincial Executive, and it rather looked as if he was ( “having a run on his own.” “I do not know on what authority he was acting at all,” Mr. Mulholland said. “It was not on any authority of the Dominion Executive of the Farmers’ Union. He must have been acting on local authority.” Asked if a plan did exist, and, if so, what the details were, Mr. Mulholland said, “I cannot tell you anything about that for publication. I think it is quite well known that certain matters have been discussed by the Dominion Executive, and that certain suggestions have been sent to the various provinces, but what they are is confidential, and I cannot tell you anything about them.”