MANIOTOTO FARMERS' CLUB.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume 26, Issue 1369, 16 January 1896, Page 4

MANIOTOTO FARMERS' CLUB.

At "the meeting bf the above club, which was held 011 Saturday, the 11th Inst., the attendance of members was somewhat larger and more representative than usual. The president of the club, Mr Jf. J. Ramsay, ppcupied the chair. The secretary having read the minutes of the last pjeeting, which were confirmed on the motion t ,f Mr Chapman, seconded by Mr Bleach, a statement of the financial position (if the club was laid on the table, which showed that they liad a credit balance of £3 17s in hand, which would be reduced tq a. little over a pound, when outstanding debt? were paid. The secretary also pointed put that the club was still indebted tq two of its members, Messrs Logan and Ryder for money iaid out by them in connection yrith business pf the club.

ANNUAL MEETING

The- annual meeting wag then held, and the secretary having read the miiiutes qf the last annual meeting, which were confirmed pn the motion of Mr James Hore, seconded by Mr Thps. Ramsay, the meeting proc£edgd W'ith thp ELECTION Of OFFICEBS ' for the ensuing year. The President said that at the last annual meeting Mr -Law said it was owing tq his (the speaker's) impressive ability that he would support him for the position of presi-; dent. He did not see that his irrepressive ability had done them any good as the club had had a very quiet year, but perhaps the bad weather had had something to do with that However, he would like to keep the': club going even if they -only held meetings Occasionally. It was ' always a recognised body to bring influence tp bear on the member for the district, or in any other direction, on behalf of the farmers. This year was their sixth anniversary, and as they did not Seem tp have, gqt any smaller for a lqng time the probability was that if they could stick for a few years longer they would get a much larger club. He then asked for nominations for the office of president. Mr John Law did not see any Teason they should have any change. The club had been fortunate in having Mr Ramsay in the first place a$ sepyetary and then as president. He could not say whether their quietness during the past year bad been dup to the president beingalittjemoie quiet than usual pr tq the late severe winter; perhaps it was a mixture of both. He had pleasure in pro: posing that Mr Ramsay continue as presi: dent, if they kept the club together he hitd more hope for thp future, and there were better times ip store for them. There was pinch ijyurk fpr the club to do, and if they closed its career at the present time they would close ft when the v\ ork already done was just beginning to germinate. Two things were going to happen in the near future : one was the entrance of the Otago Central Railway on to the Maniototo Plain which might eventuate this year; anci they had also the Otago Central Pastoral Association holding its meetings at Clyde, and the punedin Association was putting put feelers to get hqld pf us here. It was impqssible for them at present tq maintain two institutions. They had either to give their support tq Blacks or join Liunedin. Punedin wopld probably be the one for them to support. Hpwever, that was for the club to corisifkT in the futpre. It be a big pistake tp allpw the club to lapse. Mr Bleach had great pleasure in secpnding Mr Law's motion. It was underslppd that the o|Bee§ qf president, vice-president, and secretary wtre all rollingoneg, but- it was better tp rtpaaip statipnery than tq roll into obliviqn, wliiph happen if they made a phange. Then thpre was alsp the probability pf the Farmers' Club having direct representation in the House of Representatives before another year, which was a great considera: tion fpr them tp look forward to. He quite grdorspd Mr Law's remark.- as to Mr J. J. Pumsay's fitness to retain the position, if lie Would only conset tq dp so Mr J. J". Ramsay said he wopld like to see the posiiion a rolling one. but as it seemed to be the wish of the club for him to take the office he had po qbjection. Ope reason Was he had only fieen president of the club for pine moptbs, apd they had dope yery little business in that pine mopths. As to what Mr Blpach said was likely to eventuate, it would pot bp his desire if it did npt happen, as he hoped to stand for .some higher posi'tiop before the end qf the year. He thanked them fqr their good opinion of him. The niptiop was then put and carried unanimously. Mr J. j. Rajnsay proposed Mr Bleaph for the office of secretaiy. " . • ' Mr Bleaph hail to decline as he hed two pr three similar positions and it took up all his spare time. As hp said last year hp' thought the business pf the club could be carried on t>etter by havipg a and secretary li-ing close to each other. It wquld not suit him if he wanted tp see the presir dent to have tq run after him to Hyde, Punedin. or perhaps to Wellington. Taking all this into consideration it wopld be better if Mr Raipsay ponsented tp retain the position.

Mr T. Jlamsay thought it was much mprp fltsirable to have a ppw sepretary. Mr Bleach then moved that ilr J. Hore be secretary foy the ensuing year, but that gentleman moved they could pop dp better than to retain thpir present secretary, which motion was seconded by Mr W. Mawhinney. carried.

OKDINAEY MEETING-.

Mr J. J. Ramsay said he had much pleasure jn introducing to the club the Hon. Mr Bolt, pf Dunedin. Mr Bolt was quite a town representative, never having visited Central Qtago before. He was highly delighted with the disurict, apd anything brought before the Legislative Council'concerning it wojiid have h party support. The Hon. Mr Bolt, who was most cordially received, thanked them for the reception they bad givep him, and assured them he appreciated highly the privilege of being present. He had spent a very interesting week, but the greatest pleasure he had derived from bis visit waa the ide» he bad gained of the amount of lapd to be benefitted by the Otago Central Railway. He certainly had no conception pf the extent there was ; ' t was far aboye wb at be had heard. The reports Le peaxd y?eie of a conflicting character. Some said the land was of no use, others that it jronlfl grow anything, and others that it would srrow anything if irrigated. It was a grand lapd for settlement if they could open PP communication with Dunedin. He was (exceedingly pleased that they had decided to parry on the club. There had been great mortality amongst sheep in the district during the past winter, but he thought it would be a greater loss still if the Farmers' Club succumbed. The need of the club would be far greater when they got the railway than it was at present. When they got the railway on to the plain it would infuse new life into the district and the benefits derived from the plnb would be greater. COREESPONDENCE. correspondence included a letter from the secretary of the Blacks Farmers' Club re Mr Byders motion passed at a previous meeting askipg the Minister of Lands to secure for the Crown tenants of the colony direct representation pn the Land Boards of their respective districts, in which the writer said that his club, while not agreeing with the general tenor of the motion, were of opinion '• that in future appointments care should be taken that the appointees, while not necessarily resident in the interior should have been resident there, and should have a wide knowledge of the remaining Crown lands of the province, now chiefly in Otago." The secretary of the Strath Taieri Farmers' Club forwarded a resolution' passed at a recent meeting, viz. •' Thpt the secretary write to kindred societies asking their assistance in getting the extra rates abolished which arc charged on some branch railway lines, and that the several members of Parliament be requested to wait on the Minister and urge him to abolish these rates as being unfair to the inland settlers and tending to retard settlement j also that tne minimum weight in Class E (grain, See.)' fae reduced from H tons to half a ton." The President said that this matter had beep frequently brought under their attention during their trip, and considerable feeling existed on the subject. They bad bad hopes fjiat ifijb the abolition 0/ the Railway

Commissioners they would have got fair play. People said it was cheaper to get goods carried by waggon than by rail, which WBs ridiculous with the present price of feed. Mr Law said he had found out why a concession not been granted. It did not come from an official source but from one of the most prominent men on the Lawrence lines, who said thit if the rates on the Otago Central were reduced the whole Qf the inferior traffic would go that way. The speaker Went on to criticise at some length the action of the Govermnent in refusing tQ give the settlers of Central Otago fair play, and cont eluded by moving—That the club co-operates with any society that has takep action on similar lines, and promises to give all the assistance in its power tq get the rate ; abolished.—Seconded by Mr Chapman. [ Mr Jas. Hore suggested that if the secre? tary were to write tq each society and get theffi to draw up a petition it might have jxwre weight than a mqtion, as motions were, he thought, simply passed over. If they kept on trying they might get some concession.—(Mr J. J. Karusay :Asit is getting ; near election time again). A very lengthy discussion then ensued, and ■ the general was that the rate was a most unfair one, some saying that the whole . tariff was simply absurd, and the motion was put aijd carried unanimously. DUIJEDIN SHOW. • The President thought the present year was a splpndid one to send down a good exhibition.' A day or two previous hp had a long chat with Mr plinf, secretary of the Rlacks' Club, and speaking ofMr Jas. Dawson's suggestion tq shqw" the exhibit in Naseby on the way down, "Mr Flint said if they did so he thought he could get his club to co-operate, jn fact, they would do anything tq cooperate and ■.".help the club by showing in any central place. Mr Flint was very anxious to send down something fhat WPidd be a credit to pentral Qtago. A desultory- discussion took placp, end the idea of showing the exhibit in Naseby was unanimously admitted tq be a goqd qne, and it wag suggested that in order to make the cost of the exhibit- as light on the • clubs as possible, a small charge pould be made at the door. Various plans of making the affair a success were djscussed, and it was agreed that they would have to work in conjunction With those yyho had taken an active interest in the past in the show, the opinion being general thq,t po cqmmittpe would be comt plefe did not include Messrs Logan and Dawsop! The plan that received the most favour was to hold a meeting in Naseby of thpse interested, and let a general committee be selected, including representatives from Blacks and other centres. Mr Law eventu? ally proposed—That thp secretary of this club approach the County Council asking for the t)se qf their rooms for the purpose of holding a meeting of those interested in holding a show in Naseby of the exhibits fipm Central Otagq previqus tq their being sent to the D,unedin \yinter Shqw .—Secended by Mr Gordon, and carried.

GENERAL. The Cfimmittee appointed to cqnsider the best paeans qf bettering the financial position pf the club recommended that a ccncert be held at B weburn spmewhere about the time qf the npxt meetipg qf the club, and that it be held as a harvest hopie. The president considered the idea suggested by Mr James Hore at last meeting viz ,tq issue a number qf honorary tickets, and let the members try and dispose pf them, was a good onp. It was decided to ask Mr J. Law, jiyn.., for the use qf his woolghed for the occasion, the committee tp all necessary arrange-; menj;s. The committee's report was adopted on the motion of Mr Bleach, seconded by Mr J Ramsay. ' Mr Bleach said he wished to draw the attention of tlje club to a small matter before separating. He would move -- That the secretary write to thp Minister of Lands asking ]iim when he will be pleased' to have thp Eweburn aiid Sludge ; channtl township reserve? thrown open for sale pr selection. Ip speaking to the motion, Mr Bleach said there were about 800 a lying idle since the Pastoral Co. gave up possession. This land was a source of considerable annoyance to farmers in the neighbourhood, as all the spare stock in the cpunty was sent down to upon it, and as there was nothine on it they got wandering into other people's p:iddqeks. Further than that he had'reaspn tp believe that if the land was thrqwn qpen, several business peqplp in and arqund the yipinity qf Naseby wquld be willing tq buy sections and establish their business right away. If the sale were postponed until the ope Ping of the railway speculators' would buy it up and bona fide business people would }iave to pay the usual cent, per cent. Mr W. Mawhinney seconded the motion.

Mr J. La-rr did not think the club should support the motion. If the land were put up upder thp present pysteqj there wag pothing to preyent capitalists' buying the land as they would speculate on the chance of a rise in'value. If the land was the cause of annoyance to the neighbours they should ask the Minister of Lands to invest it in a domain board or get someone to take con-' tro| of it. It would better to let the time Arrive when the railway should' develop the district before the land was disposed of. a lepgthy discussion between Mr Bleach arid Mr Law the motion was put ancj carried.

One or two other matters of detail occur pied the attention of the meeting, which concluded with the usual votes of thanks.

At the conclusion of the meeting the Hon Mr Bolt expressed his regret at tlae club being in financial difficulties, and generously offered to deliver a lecture on come popular subject for its benefit at any time the club decided upon. The offer was immediately taken advantage of, and details will be arranged later on,