FARMERS’ UNION.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 102, 15 April 1912, Page 4

FARMERS’ UNION.

HASTINGS BRANCH. The annual general meeting of the Hastings branch of the New Zealand Fanners’ Union was to have been held on Saturday last but as only’ four members, Messrs. T. Talbot, J. E. Lane. A. Masters and A. Miller, and the secretary (Mr,. J. A. Fraser) were in al tendance, the chairman (Mr. Taibi;l) adjourned the meeting till Saturday evening next. Tlie following telegrams received |by the secretary from -Mr. Eustace Lane, who was at Mangapebi, were handed to the Press-.—‘Will you draw' the attention of the annual meeting to the fact that if Hawke’s Bay had railway communication with Taupo, Napier would be the nearest, deepsea port, for the development of the King Country. Between hero and Taupo there is not a single fence or read, and there are hundreds of thousands of acres of heavy fern and bush which such short direct rail communication with Hawke's Bay would hastily benefit by enabling us in our dry seasons to pour in stock for crushing purposes. I would suggest the following remit for consideration by the Dominion conference :—Seeing that the operations of the graduated land tax do not necessarily land in any increased production and do result very conspicuously in the subdivision of large estates amongst speculators, and that Native land is being acquired wholesale by speculators under long leases, and that in both eases a large area- of country is being held up for inflated value; and that genuine farmers desiring to increase production are being heavily handicapped, in the opinion of this union a law should be passed which would

make improvement as compulsory on freehold or Native leases, as op leases held from the State, or else give the State the right of resumption at the price indicated by the value produced,”