FARMERS’ LEGISLATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 5 November 1924, Page 4

FARMERS’ LEGISLATION.

DAIRY AMENDMENT ACT. EXPLAINED BY MR CORRIGAN. A review of the provisions of the new Dairy Industry Amendment Act was made by Mr J. R. Corrigan., M.P., on Monday at a meeting of delegates from companies connected with the Federation of Factories'. Mr Corrigan said that the litigation in the cases of McDonald v. The Normanby Co-op. Dairy Co. and Sbalfoon v. The Cheddar Valley Co-op. Dairy Co. had caused the promotion of the Bill in question. The judgment in the McDonald case had'made it clear that a co-operative dairy company had no aiithority apart from express contract frith individual'shareholders to require its members, by virtue of provisions in the articles of association, to accept additional shares in the company. By reason of this decision doubts had arisen as- to the validity of certain; East allotments of shares. The Act’ ad validated these past irregular aU lotments. However, no authority had been given by the Act for dairy companies to continue these allotments, which, but for the passing of the Bill, would have been illegal. The Bill in its original form was intended to give dairy companies power to enter into -arrangements with suppliers binding them to supply a certain company, such agreement being in the ordinarv way in restraint of trade. This' section, however, had been struck out in committee. Another clause which had been struck out was a clause validating articles of association making it obligatory on shareholders to supply milk or cream to a company. The striking out of this clause meant in effect that if articles of association calculated to bind shareholders and their supply to a company were in the ordinary way illegal, then there was nothing in the Dairy Industry Amendment Bill which legalised such articles.