FARMERS' UNION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 21 May 1915, Page 5

FARMERS' UNION.

TARANAKI PROVINCIAL l> CONFERENCE.

(By Our Own Reporter.)

The annual conference of the TaranakL provincial district of the New Zealand Farmers' Union was held at Inglewood on Thursday.

The delegates present were: Messrs A. Hunter, president (Hawera), S. Norris (Eltham), A. Cleaver (Te Roti), A. Johnstone (Auroa), C. J. McGuinness (Mangatoki), U. Orr (Ngaere), H. Hodge (Patea), J. 'F. Davidson (Kaimata), O. M. Young (Otakeho), M. A. Voullaire (Riverlea), R. Lambie (Opunake), J. Thomson (Ngaere), E. Maxwell (Opunake), H. H. Buxton (Auroa), W. Pennington (Eltham), J. Capper (Inglewood), A. E. Washer (Patea), B. Booker (Lowgarth), -J. SM-indlehurst (Eltham). RESOLUTIONS OF SYMPATHY. • Apologies for absence were received from Mr R. Dunn (vice-president), who had met with a serious accident, and from Mr J. Davidson (Hawera). The president expressed his regret at Mr Dunn's inability to be with the conference that day, and moved a motion of sympathy with him. There was no member of the executive who had been keener than Mr Dunn, and he was sure they were all exceedingly sorry to hear of the accident to him. Mr J. Thomson seconded the motion, and endorsed the remarks of the president. Mr Dunn had attended the meetings of the executive regularly, and had always done his best in the interests of the Union. He would be missed from the conference-. 1 The motion was; carried, and it Wai decided- -to forward, the resolution to Mr Dunn hyf feTegf'am : thatmorning: On the motion of Mr J. Swindlehurst, it was resolved to send a motion of condolence to Mr N. B. Fryday Ngaere, in the Bereavement that had befallen him through the death of his son. while fighting for his country at the Dardanelles. . DELEGATES WELCOMED^ Mr G. Young (Mayor of • Inglewoed) was present, and extended a warm welson?e5 on?e to the delegates. He hoped the deliberations of the conference would be satisfactory to all concerned. (Applause ) He heartily invited the del£ gates to a social gathering, in the even* lA T W-A^r^aV president of the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce, said he had much pleasure in welcoming sucn a representative body as the Farmers' Union Conference. They all kne^ that the prosperity of the <Ln! try depended upon the farmer. If the ™,m? r WaS PmsPe™us, the rest of the IS **» P^perous, business peoffinJ? d#£ ers- H% hoped the deliberations of the conference would not only be of benefit to th^farmer, but to the whole community at large. He had tt?h L^ <maS? years' experience with bodies of farmers, and farmers individually were the best of fellows, but farmers collectively, if he might be permitted to use th* .exprc SSIOT , were sometimes a little bit awkward.' (Laughter.) + Vet rrom wnat *c JS or the delegates present, some of whom he had known tor very many years, he was sure that there would be nothing awkward about their deliberations. He hoped the conference would be use*ran™mstru.ctive- (Applause.) Mr Okey, M.P., said he also had pleasure in accepting the invitation of £nJf n + wnc?. *° b -<t Present, and he hopsd that their deliberations would be or interest, not only to the/ farming C?i mmU£l ty ' but to the Public generally. Ihere were many matters that would require attention from the people who were interested during the next Parliament, and one of the main measure's would be that of making some provision for the extra expenditure caused through the war. They had had people saying that the producers should meet this. He believed this extra expenditure had already amounted to over two million pounds and he thought it would reach to about six million pounds within the next twelve months, which would be about 25 per cent, of the farmers' production Why should the producer bear all the increased expenditure? He was not one of those in favor of an export duty being imposed, and if it was necessary that their taxes should be increased, then it should be on a tair basis, and not thrown wholly upon the producers. Maray of the producers as they were aware, were struggling farmers, a good number of whom had to pay high rents, while others again were sharemilkers. Were these men to be called upon to bear the whole or the extra burden, while the men owning the land were allowed to go scot free? He hoped no such measure as he had referred to would be brought forward, because an export duty would be most unwise. He trusted that the business transacted at the conference would be of benefit 'to the district and the community as a whole. The president thanked the Mayor and the president of the Chamber of Commerce, for the hearty welcome to Inglewood. The conference sat in Inglewood a good many years ago" when the weather was not so smiling as it was that day, though ihe welcome had then -been as hearty as it was that morning. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. The president then gave his presidential address, which was published in yesterday's issue. Mr E Maxwell (Raikotu) said he had much pleasure in moving a very heartyvote of thanks to the president for his very able address. He noticed that the president made apologies for absence from certain of the executive meetings. He certainly thought this was unnecesi sary, because all \rere aware that Mr Hunter had not been absent through his own pleasure, but was away working in. the interest of the farming community in other directions, and under the circumstances the apologies were not called for. Mr Hwnter had always given his services for the benefit of the farming community in every direction, and was a most useful member of the executive. (Applause.) Mr Norris seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously by acclamation. THE FINANCES. The conference then went into committee to consider the balance^heet, and upon resuming consideration of the remits.was proceeded with. CONTROL OF BUYING MEAT. Mr J. Swindlehurst (Eltham) moved —''That in view of tie present unsatisfactory arrangements for the freezing and shipping of meat, this conference is of opinion that the Government should take more direct control of the buying of meat from the producers." The mover said the position ™3 been ver7 unsatisfactory, and the Eltham branch was of the opinion that something should he done to bring about an improvement, and thoughtl the Government could do something in that direction. « ° Mr Norris seconded the motion He supported Mr Swindlehurst, and maintained that the farmers had not been receiving the prices they .vfiould have clone tor their freezing stock Mr E. Maxwell said that, without wishing to speak antagonistically to the objects of the remit, it seemed as it the conference were asking the Government to make good the 6hort-eight-

edriess of the farmers. He thought it would be made clear that that was the position. The weakness appeared to be that the farmers had filled Co eecure their own freezing works, or to have such-control that they could sell their stuff on any market. They, had allowed' the freezing works to get. outside of their control, and new through the particular circumstances arising a* the result of the war the disadvantage in not having, their own works were being brought forcibly to their n^nd* and they began to kick and to appeal to the Government to remedy the troubles arising out of their own neglect. Had the farmers pulled together and obtained control of a sufficient numbet of the freezing works in the country they would have been able to sell their meat to the Government, instead of to proprietary freezing works, which were reaping a splendid business as the result of the war. (Applause.) He made these remarks more particularly with a view to assisting to bring home to the farming community the necessity for co-operation in all branches of the farming industry, and so maintain the control of the means of marketing.

Mr J. Thomson (Ngaere) said the movement for mutual farmers' freezing works was a step in.: the right direction. There -was toon much going to the Government for assistance. In other countries, the farmers had their . own freezing works, and there was no reason why they should not have them in this country. If they had, they would, have the thing in their own hands. The farmer should lean more upon himself and not so much 'upon the Government. (Applause.)

Mr Young. (Opunake) said the present trouble was largely due to their own fault, but since it had arisen they would have to face it. He believedv with the previous speakers, that if the farmers had their own,freezing Works, the present.difficulties ,^wi tt regard to thqV.controi'and.^aler .fit ?d3ieif freezing stuff would be overcome to a certain extent. They had now to face the position, and not look back with regrets.

Mr ft. Lamble (Opunake) said he did not think he could add anything to what had already been said. While they had a good deal to thank the proprietary freezing companies for, yet they found these companies in the position of pretty well ruling the business. Whenever application was n.ade to the freezing companies for space they (the applicants) were told that there was none available, and what was needed was more accommodation. Hitherto, in ordinary times, accommodation had been fairly sufficient, and the ships to carry away th& fiozen stuff had been pretty regular, linfortunately the war had broken out, and some of the ships had been sent to the bottom, while others had been commandeered by the Imperial authorities (which was necessary), - and left the Dominion in an awkward position. He did not' think the farmers' co-operative freezing companies were in a better position than the other companies, because their stores were also fully stocked. He did- not know whether more freezing works were required, but ne certainly thought it would be better if farmer's had their own works. If that view was agreed to, they should be. prepared to stick better together than they had done in the past in connection with this business. The position in Canterbury had been very bad, but happily the North Island had been better off, particularly Taranaki. He did. not think the Government could help them in the present situation, unless it took over the whole of the freezing works, and that would be a big undertaking to ask the Government to face. It had been an exceptional time, and considering how other countries had suffered, NewZealand had come out of it very well, and was in the best position to-day; He could not support the resolution" The President said they had never before been so short -of shipping space, but as far as this part of the country was concerned, they had got over the rush pretty well. * The bulk of the dairy produce had been got away before the shortage was felt. Canterbury, where the season was later, had felt the shortage worse than Taranaki. As far as the freezing works were concerned, tie did not think they had any right to blame the private concerns; he did not support private companies because he strongly believed in freezing with the farming companies'; but to set iip co-operative freezing works which could be managed by the farmers was a somewhat difficult problem. The majority of the farmers' companies were undercapitalised, and that was where the difficulty lay. In ordinary seasons the accommodation had been sufficient, and it was not until extraordinary circumstances arose that they began to experience the shortage complained of.- No doubt when times became settled again they would be ab\o to cope with the position, unless extraordinary circumstances should occur once more. Passing on to other points, the President said that anyone studying the balance-sheets of farmer's' freezing companies would know that farmers were not • making a "fat thing" out of them at all. With regard to these companies, as Mr Maxwell had said, the farmers had allowed the management to drift to a certain extent, because the voting power lay with the shareholders, who were . practically all farmers, and they could exercise their power and have the concerns run as- they wished. . The farmers had themselves to blame if the companies were not managed to their liking. There were proposals afoot to erect new works 'throughout the country, but there was a danger m this. Old companies, in ordinary seasons, were not ,\ble to continue operations the whole time, because there was not enough stock coming forward, and what guarantee had they that new companies would not be in the same plight? These were matters which should not be lost sight of. The remit was lost. v WAR TAX.

Eltham—"That this conference is cf opinion that m order to distribute the war tax fairly a percentage increase on, the present sources of taxation would meet the case." Mr Norris, who moved this remit on behalf of the Eltham branch, said he believed the suggestion referred to m the resolution would meet the position. It would give a fair increase all around, without becoming a burden upon any one section of the community. .Mr Voullaire (Riverlea) seconded the motion It was the fairest proposition if there was to be an increase m taxation Mr Maxwell (Executive) supported the remit, winch he said was similar +L> a ref?i2 tlol\ pa?sed by the Exec«tne. Although they might not all agree with the present system of taxa+i,°o n> " ,was r tne one used for meeting the needs of the country, and if cu^ cumstattc.es arose which* required an increase m the amount to be collected, it seemed to him obvious that the only fair and just way to get that increase nSLjrf a ger, Percentage on the piesent sources of taxation—land, in25f' ""? R ustoms- He moved the in- ™? £°! thl? e ™rds-"lsnd, income, So Customs -after the word taxa-

The mover and seconder of the resolution agreed to this. Mr G Drtv.Ftfscm . (Kaimata) said Iris t£? Af hA? **?****s similar views to that of Mr Maxwell. He thought 5

per cijrit increase sums passing tfarougthtlie tdtaUs^tor;- t Mr. G. <%»per-(Kaimdta)-; cons Mere* a that? the increased tax should,b&Vput, i inc^re, upon tha wealth of /^&y.s&rini^^ $J ■upon rather too 'mii^'v^/ >y-'^^:}^' 1-:1 The President said it would doubtless have been noticed that a number of wealthy farmers throughout "the country had given pretty large eon* tributions, to the various fundsj although their incomes were no larger than in ordinary years, while on the other hand there were some farmers v/hose incomes had been enormously increased who had nbj, given liberally. The difficulty in connection . with the proposed increase of taxation would be to devise a scheme so as to make the .increase bear evenly upon all, but he "was afraid this was practically impossibe. ; Mr Okey, M.P., also spoke on the remit, repeating that the whole burden of the increased taxation should not be placed upon the farmer—'-the producer—who usually had a hard struggle to get on. Any increase in the Customs tax should not be on the necessaries of life. He did not anticipate that the^ increase would be heavy. The remit was agreed to. INSPECTION OF OIL ENGINES USED FOR DAIRY PURPOSES. ' Mr Washer, on behalf of the Executive, moved "that the Government be urged to exempt from inspection all oil engines used in farm work; also that this conference is of opinion, that the fee charged is unwarrantable seeing that there is less risk in this connection than with many implements used on the farm." In doing so, he said that he was sure sixty per cent, of the farmers using oil machines were unaware of this annual tax.and had never seen the inspector. He had been milking for eight years and had, only had the inspector twice, and the present mode of inspection was only a farce. Either it should be done- uniformly and thoroughly or not at all. The majority of oil engines were put in by qualified inspectors who knew the dangers-connect-ed with belts, and this was the chief danger; they sometimes reversed the fly-wheel so as to have it and the belting next the wall, and in that case there was practically no danger. There were dangers from disc harrows, for instance, when working over a paddock quite as great as from oil engines. This might appear a small matter to bring before the conference, but it was the pin pricks they wanted to avoid. Mr Buxton seconded the motion and agreed that tkea*.e was no necessity for farmers to have their oil engines, examined annually, and •for the most part the inspectors did not know half as much about them as the farmers. If the inspectors could or. would give advice when the engines gave trouble no farmer would object to pay the fee of 2s 6d, but they did not give any such advice. In the interest of employees, however, who certainly should be protected, it was quite right that the citrine should be inspected to guard against unnecessary dangers, but once ibis was done any everything was passed as satisfactory, a certificate should be given exempting the owner from try farther inspection unless the plant vos remodelled or any alterations n.ade: then another inspection would be requisite. Mr Young said that >o far as he could see the inspector's ijv.iin duty was to see that the iiy wheels &n«l pins were properly protected to avoid any risk to life, and in this respect they might do useful work. In one she-:! ire -tin of a fly wheel which was not giu.ided, caught in his coat, and it w:is on'y his main strength which averted a sriious accident. Mr Maxwell agreed with the mover that there were very many farm implements much more dangerous. than oil engines, and he could not call to mind any accident that had happened through an oil engine connected with milking machines. Still there was always an element of danger in a shed where women and boys were employed which would not exist in farm implements operated by men. The fee charged was a paltry one, and an inspection by a qualified man would' be a safeguard, to some extent, against possible accidents. "When the plant was first installed it might be inspected, and thereafter th* Department notified of, any change of position or. system. He suggested that, under, the circumstances, this remit should be thrown out. Mr McGviinness remarked that he had had an oil engine for four years and had never been called upon for a fee. He suggested that those who had similarly escaped should now pay out. (Laughter). Mr Davidson said the crux of the position was that tho inspector should be on hand when a plant was being set up. (Hear, hear). Mr Voullair.e said the first he knew of any inspection of or fee for oil engines* was when he read it in the re-J port of the remits to. be sent to the conference. The great risk was when the belting was put on the wrong side. He did not think the inspection should be done away with, but it should be done properly and not in the haphazard fashion which had evidently bean., the case in the past. Mr "Washer, in reply, said he did not want it to be inferred that he was opposed to paying 2s 6d, but he did object to one'farmer being called upon to pay it and the next passed by, and so on. He desired that the inspection should be carried out more systematically. The motion was lost. PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS. Mr 11. Lautbie moved, "That this conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union has consistently opposed preference to unionists, and would prefer to see it abolished. But if it is still to ba continued, then the Farmers' Union should be included." The mover said that this was only a reasonable proposition, but lie admitted the difficulty in imposing it. So far as 'preference to | unionists was concerned he did not think it could be justified, but the ol»-------ject apparently was not to allow anyone to enjoy the advantages or privileges they obtained without paying their contribution; that was, however, exactly what the Farmers' Union was allowing. If any advantages were secured by the Farmers' Union, then those who were not members shared in it equally with the members, but he did not clearly see how this could be avoided and ho would not be disappointed to see the latter part of the motion struck out. A good deal had been said in the past about appointing an organiser to induce farmers to join the union, but nothing had apparently been done in this direction, and he did not know if the Executive could give a reasonable excuse for this omission. He questioned if the best possible had been done, and was sure the union was not progressing and growing as they would expect to see it. If it were possible for this resolution to be put into effect the farmers would have to join the same as men had to join i» other unions. A great deal of Taranaki wa3 under dairy farming, and if the j dairy factory companies said to every j supplier "Are you a, member of the! Farmers' Union?" and upon being told : no. said "Well you cannot bring your] milk here; you must take it back home j until you are a member"—if the dairy j ' factory people did take up that attitude he was afraid many people would saj that they were qualifying for the luna-

tic asylum, but that was exactly what the other people tf^rey^o&gV^ftne amount farmers had to pay 'to become^1 members- of the union was trifling coinspared too£hj>& unipns,gwd«<v^ld.fliqs -amount to*'m6re than 3a-a,weeJc. "'l* ' * Mr Penhington seconded the"*motion. Mr Maxwell pointed out.that whilst Mr Lambie's motion might be a reasonable thing to support, it was not practicable, and did not come in the same category as other unions. The whole of the farming community was in favor of the first portion of the motion and had consistently, since the foundation of the union, reiterated their, convictions that preference was absolutely unjust; that every man should be en-titled-to give hislabor/where he would; at what price he chose, and without • any restriction. No man:who was,prepared to work should be prevented from getting work because he did hot belong to a cor.porat.ion—a body of, men banded together for their, own selfish benefit regardless of how the rest- of the community, the producer and the con-s-imer, might have to suffer, so long as they could gain- their ends. That is what the unions really were. He suggested that the motion should be amended to read that this conference asks the Dominion Conference to urge the Government to make preference to •unionists illgal. Mr Lambie agreed to the amendment and the motion, as amended, was then carried. PREFERENCE TO BRITISH MADE GOODS. Kaponga Remit —"That the farmers of tne .Dominion be asked to give preference to British made goods, particularly as regards farm implements." There was no Kaponga delegate present to move the motion, and Mr tapper did so pro forma;- He said,,hoWt ever, that he would prefer to see it withdrawn; as his branch was dead against it/:; Many farmers: get Arnericah implements which were lighter.' and better than the British goods.' Mr Maxwell seconded the motion, and said he would regret very much to see it passed over oncehaving appeared on the order paper. By allowing it to lapse it would make it appear that the conference was not in favor of a preference to goods made by Britain and her allies as opposed to those who were against them. He regretted very ruuch that he could not express himself as he would like on this matter, but he must remind them that they had reached a stage in the history of the British Empire when it was absolutely necessary to guard their own interests and the interests of their friends as opposed to those who would simply slauguter the British races and her allies, vjerimny i had been guilty of barbarity never before known in the world's history, and it would be absolutely absurd to cio anything which would tend to support such a nation.* The winning of the present war would not necessarily be the end of things. Germany, if she gets the opportunity, will go on building up again, as she clid after the Franco-German war until she was once more strong enough to tackle, Britain, but it was the business of all British people to make that impossible. No one must be so contemptible as to study his own pocket before the interests of the v crld and humanity. And there vas another nation which" should be treated as they would, in future, treat Germany, and that wa& America. If there was one nation besides Germany which deserved the utmost contempt of all fairminded people, it was America. They were a party to the Belgian treaty of neutrality, but did not make the slightest move on her behalf. The first thought they had was how to seize the trade of the nations engaged in the war, and their, next step was to aj.-peal against any interference with their trade. They had no consideration for the people- who were being slaughtered, "and no consideration for ""humanity; their one and only consideration was the almighty dollar. That has been their only consideration'right through and next in contempt to the German nation will be the supposedly free nation of America. He was satisfied that in their self-interest- they must combine against these people and particu r laiiy the Germans, and" they must give preference in trade to the detriment of their trade. (Applause). He suggested an amendment to the motion by making it read "Britain and Britain's Allies." Mr Davidson pointed out that Mr Capper's remarks'had reference to taxation. It was considered that if the products of the allied countries were penalised it would hamper necessary competition. The Chairman was in sympathy with the motion, on the general principle that he liked to favor Taranaki goods, and next to them Dominion goods, and the nßritish goods. Wider application would be covered by adopting this motion. It only meant that they would be giving preference to their brothers and sisters. Mr Lambie, whilst favoring the motion, saw trouble ahead with nations like China. They were buying our raw material, and because their labor was only about a tenth of'the cost of British labor, they would be flooding the market unless an enormous preference were put on. The motion, in its amended form, was carried.

VETERINARY. Mr Washer, on behalf of the executive, moved, "That no one be allowed to practice as a veterinary surgeon- unless duly qualified." He did not consider the motion -required any argument, but 'would just remark that the amateur vets, did a great deal of harm to the poor cockies. Mr Morris seconded motion. Messrs Canper and Davidson opposed it. Their branch was unanimous on that matter, because they had a good man in their district whom they would be sorry to lose. He had done remarkably good work, was available at all times when called upon, and charged vei-T reasonable fees. The chairman also opposed the motion, because he thought that the movers had not considered the limits "fro its- application. He number of qualified vets in the country was very limited, and if this law were passed it would prevent a man. such as the man mentioned by the previous speakeres, doing many little things which he waa quite capable of performing, and this would be serious to the farmer. Mr Morris said that such an act would Hot stop any man from pranking, nor would it prevent the farmer doing minor veterinary work on his own farm. It would merely prevent a man not duly qualified from recovering

any fees. Vpoa a vote being taken the motion was lost.

ARTILLERY HORSES. Mr Davidson moved: "That the Government be strongly urged to take steps to improve the class of horse required for "artillery remounts." He argued that the class of horses was deteriorating, and this would readily he noticed if one attended a horse sale. Out of a hundred horses about 90 per cent, would be iiraotically useless. Mr Capper said the old pioneers or patriarch* were of opinion that this •class of horse in the district was not so good as it used to be, and thought a better das* of stallion and mare should be keyt in the district. The best class of horses were going away, and he was sure that unless something was done the horsea of the future would be a leng way inferior to those of the past.

**&&& Senates istmv%S&& " a wt&ref vbf' tK6;l^;isli#Rß iwM^wa^pi^ 4 through lalit'.yeaf f ' v m^in^^|^ig^*f'TO ** quiremari&. The(:G^rain^(s--^!asT^m-{. puowered'to suenS i&iXKrin''premiums < for stallions in suljsi<aj©S>f^2oo'each * for approved animals, ".\fhicfi would go* 1 » to approved mares. ' » * In View of this statement the motion j was withdrawn. i ' DOG TAX. * I i Mr Davidson moved "That Borough 3 and County Councils be asked to place 1 the same tax o«" gluts of all breeds the 1 same as on sporting dogs."—The motion was not taken seiiously, and after some facetious remarks was dropped. RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK. Mr Hodge moved, "That the Government be urged to obtain more rolling stock for the convenience of settlers, as great inconvenience is often caused by not being able to obtain necessary trucks and vans." H»e i>ointed out ithat the trouble obtained down his way more particularly ni the carriage of dairy produce. At their little station at Ball Road they sometimes had cheese carted down which had to re- , main there the whole day. It was computed that the shrinkage of cheese, , in-twelve' hours was; two per cent, l which represented 20s per ton, and on their output of 300 tons this meant ; £300. Supposing there were a hundred factories similarly situated, it would mean a dead loss of .£30,000 simply be r 5 cause the Railway -.Department had not " sufficient rolling Stock. The same ap- " plied to road metal. The Government could only supply trucks for metal in " -the winter months, when it w*s too " late to'lay it on the «roads..^ Gonse- ':■ quently it had to be 'stacked- ,n«iir:-.sn<s. > \ station,'and- solid^ed,jßjiaj[ly costing 1 three or four times as much for labor : is it should liate 1 be got out on to the road. Out of an,--£BOOO loan it was estimated that they 1 lost £2000 simply because the Govern--3 ment had not 'the necessary trucks 1 when required. j ! Mr Okey, M.P., said that this matter came un before Parliament every year, r but Be* was satisfied the Railway De- ! partment was doing all it could to I keep ud with the ever increasing trade. a, The Government had recently gone in I for a considerable loan for railways, , and the providing of trucks would be one of the items of expenditure. The I Government recognised that there must L be some convenience for carrying the 3 people's nroduce to the markets and 3 the freezing works. (Applause.) . r NATIONAL ENDOWMENT. 1 The chairman moved "That endorse- . ment be given to the proposed amend- ! ment to the National Endowment I Act." He explained that.the purport i of tlds resolution was to give effect to Mr McQueen's proposed amendment to the ational Endowment Act as foli lows: —All national endowments held, r at the date of the passing of ihis Act s shall, as soon as suitable opportunity 0 offers, be sold for cash, or leased witn 6 the option of purchase. Where lands a are already leased, the option to pur--1 chase to be1-offered to the nresent lesr see at the actuarial valuation of the rr State's interest in the land, and the \ payments by way of purchase to be & made by instalments ot not less than 10 ncr cent, cf the ascertained value. I All'monies arising from the sale of v endowment lands shall be paid into a f separate account, to be called The National Endowment Re-investment t Account." The Colonial Treasurer or p other officers aonointed for the pur--6 p 3 se shall from time to time, as L l monies accumulate, re-invest the same, r by the purchase of city or town pror parties, "which shalt become a part of I the National Endowment lanrii but ' must be disposed of by leasehold for a s term of years. ' • ~ . I n "As they were aware the national enh dowment land of New Zealand included n a large" area of third-class land-— m , fact, it included a great part of the t Southern Alps and sand hills around i '*the coast. But it-also included, some third-class farmable land, and land ot I that class, unless very carefully farm- ] + ed, was the worst place in the world t for growing weeds. If a manfhad a i. lease of land such as that there was a strong inclination to take the n.ost J ~ he could out of it and put nothing back—that was only human nature In an article which recently appeared in k" one of their papers it was pointed out c what a loss was occurring through "the c deteriorating of those lands, and that y if the lessees were given the freehold they would farm the land much more h capably. In some cases land which at c one time carried nearly a sheep to the h acre had been now almost denuded of vegetation, and would soon be all a weeds. In some cases where fires had '" been allowed to go through it had "• gone back into moss country. By care- j s ful farming that could ne brought back J to a productive state, but it was only '- the freehold which would effectually s accomplish that. And so with the sandy v wastes, where the planting of marram s grass should be undertaken. One of h the suggestions of this motion was that - the monies derived from the sale of c this land should* be invested in city properties. So far as New Zealand was , concerned city investments have proved valuable sources of revenue, but they must be light in the centre of the city and covered with bricks and mortar. ■' It was, however, a question whether 1 the farmers ,who always objected to ■" the leaseheld, should seek to impose - leasehold conditions on the city man." '- Mr Maxwell, in seconding the motion, B pointed out that it "was not proposed to a break up the national endowment, and no doubt the investment of money in city land would produce a greater ratio i of increase than could be got from iural n land. So far as imposing' the leasehold 1 conditions on the city man was concernI ed, the positions were quite d.ifer(vnt. - Country people objected to the jeaee--1 hold because the unimproved value was i almsst unobtainable —the unimproved value got piled up and a large portion ■- of the improvements became {absorbed c in their landlords' interests. With a

city property there was no tiiifitulty whatever in arriving at an exawt unimproved value. The motion was carried. EXEMPTION PROM RATES. On behalf of. Mr Dunn, the chairman moved—"Tkat the Government be asked to introduce legislation to exempt agricultural and passtoral associations from paying rates land »kmd taxes." In doing so he said that Mr Okey, M.P., had assured him that local bodies had already the power to grant exemption in the direction suggested. Under these circumstances the motion was withdrawn. STALLION BILL. Mr Hunter (Hawera) moved—"That the Government be asked to re-intro-duce the Stallion Bill on the same lines as tkat drawn up by Dr Reakes and shelved by the Upper House." Mr Washer seconded, and the motion wste passed without discussion. RAILWAY CHARGES. Mr Washer moved—"That A. and P. Associations be asked to reduce the charges on agricultural implements at their shows, sj> as to encoui«f: exhibitors to exhibit their impleme- .i, a« they are of particular intere.-; and benefit to farmers"; "That the Government be asked to consider the question of reducing the freight on agricultural implements which are for exhibition *t agricultural shows wrth a viavv to further encouraging ezhibi-

o^^agncultutal. implements being >j at /he-various shqws^ as if'very often was seobn9ed the motions * 'Mr 'Orr pointed out th#t the StratordUA. and P. Association made absolutely no charge for space; that was not the reason for, the machinery not being'there. It was due to the combination of makers. r Tile Chairman eaid that the charges For space were practically nothing. Tho manufacturing firms had combined not to exhibit t at certain shows, contending that the expenses wei-g very heavy and not warranted by the sales. The first portion of the resolution was, by consent, amended to read— "That A. and P. Associations be asked to encourage the exhibition of agricultural implements at their shows, a« they are of particular interest and benefit to farmers." This was carried In regard to the second portion of the resolution, the chairman pointed out an anomaly in the railway regula tions, and considered stock and impic^ ments should be allowed to go from show to show^at the reduced rates, instead of, as at present, being' obliged to return home arter each show before a rebate could be claimed. The resolution was finally amended by altering it to read—"That the Government be asked to consider the question of reducing the post to exhibitors of agricultural implements and stock by allowing them to be moved" froni show to show without having to return to their original point of consignment after each ,show before a refund in freight could be obtained." This motion was then carried. DAIRY i-ACTORY MANAGERS' CERTIFICATES. .Mr Maxwell mov,ed—VNbiv that 'the dairying industry has become such an 4;nipdjrtian,t one and takes such an important place in the primary .industries' of the Dominion, this conference is of opinion that factory managers, cheese and butter.'makersJ- should be required to "nold certificates of competency, and this conference would ask the Board of Agriculture to consider the question of the' proper training of such." He remarked that whilst they had a great many excellent dairy factory managers, who took an intelligent interest in their work 3 there were others who were not so careful or so capable, and as the industry was now becoming such an imjiortant one, these people snoiild have certificate of qualification. , At the present a man who .was .an assistant in a factory and. who succeeded in obtaining sufficient recommendation, from the man he worked un-[ der, applied for a position as manager in another factory. Now in many cases persons were very reluctant n,ot to give the recommendations asked for, and some managers did so without due regard* to the injury which might, as a consequence, be inflicted on another factory. Personal liking for an 'ndividual or. reluctance to be considered disagreeable were often causes of recommendations being given quite apart from adequate qualifications, and in such an important industry proper qualifications were essential in a factory manager. In moving this resolution he was not in the slightest disparaging the man they at present had; there were some excellent managers, but the industry should be safeguarded in the future, and the capable men would never object to a test for qualification. His idea was that if this resolution were carried, and carried also by the Dominion Conference, the Agricultural Department would be requestto devise some method of examination, both in technical and practical work. Considerable discussion ensued, during which the opinion was expressed that, under the preset unsettled state of affairs and so many men going to' the front, it woiild be unwise to carry] any such resolution at present, v.' I Mr Johnston moved that considera-: tion be held over for a month, and,1' upon a vote being taken, the'numbers were even. At Mr Maxwell's request, the chairman gave his casting vote for an amendment to defer consideration for twelve months. SUPPRESSION OF WEEDS. Mr E. Maxwell moved "that the Government be asked to encourage the planting of as much as possible in each district of such land as is, too rough or too peor to be profitably farmed, especially the planting of such I land as is infested with noxious weeds, j with a view to their suppression, and 1 also to prevent the weeds spreading to better and comparatively clean land." ! In speaking to this motion, Mr Maxwell enlarged on the beneficial results obtainable from the pinus insignus, both as a weed suppressor and as a timber tree. It would grow in the poorest of soils, and would ' competely choke out weeds. As a mature tree the timber could be used for quite a number of purposes, and it produced an enormous quantity to the acre. The motion was carried. \ HUNT CLUBS. Mr B. Orr (Ngaere) moved "that the Government subsidise hunt clubs, and have the right to buy horses belonging to members of same at any time. The Chairman pointed out that Mr Okey's remarks in regard to the Kaimata remit referring to artillery horses and remounts would apply to this, and it might therefore be better to let it stand over. The mover and seconder agreed to this suggestion. CIVIL ENGINEERS. Mr C. E. McGuinness moved that .m view of the fact that it is reported that an endeavor is to be made by a combination of civil engineers to induce the Government to enforce the employment of civil engineers only by local bodies, the Dominion Executive be asked to keep a watch, and in the t event of such an endeavor to oppose it. .The time was getting very late when this resolution was moved, and it was carried without any discussion. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The election of officers resulted as follows:—President: Mr" R. Dunn (Auroa)* Vice-president: Mr A. E. Washer (Alton). Hon. Treasurer: Mr J. Swmdlehurst (Eltham). Hon Auditor: Mr MA. Voullaire (Riverlea). Executive: Messrs E. Maxwell (Opunake), R. Lamb:e (Opunake), B. Orr gfgaere) H.. H. Buxton (Ai roa), h! ?°fei (AS? n)' G < CaPPer (Kaimata) MlliA (Hawera),-J. Davidson (Hal rmv We Roti), S, Nerris (Eltham) and C E McGuinness (MangatSd) E MaxteM1 D°minion Conference: Mr ♦•VTw y T| ulo, gis,tic ref «renee wag made * Mr Hunter's work whilst lie occupied the presidential chair, and very general regret was expressed fliat he was unable to continue in that ofifite