FARMERS' UNION.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 105, 7 May 1907, Page 3

FARMERS' UNION.

Rongctea Bran:':The annual m'.vJ.ig 1 • Saturday airoruoosi, Theiv. v, a.- a | small attc:i-.ia,iice. Mi" i t -"■ uu ! presided. _ 1 In t.iio annual report it- v. staled . that there were 80 members and had paid their subscriptions, l<ortv tons of manure had been pr.Huireu by the Branch, and those who had benefited br the '0s discount allowed had made a saving of £?0 Jos 10; lon their purchases. j-'ilteen members h;id insured with the boujh British Co. to cover under the Woikers' Compensation aim hmployers' Liability Act, The Branch liad joined with other branches in a trip to Momohaki, and in the action taken to oppose the Land biJl. lne members had subscribed £."> 4s towards the cost of the agitation the •Laiui Bill. ReiVveuce whs muuo to the death of Mr D. beott. a late member of the Brauch. The balancesheet showed receipts to have been £83, the sum of £17 18s lOd being from members' subscriptions; £10 had been paid to the Provincial Conference on 52 members. There was £8 19s lid credit balance. In seconding the motion for the adoption of the report, Mr R. B. McKenzie said even from the imancial point of view, perhaps the lowest, it was now evident the Union was of groat advantage to the members in the matter of insurances, particularly. Politically it had certainly bsen effective in preventing the passing of the Land Lill in the crude form it was first presented. Mr McKenzie referred to a correspondence he had had with the editor of the New Zealand Times on the subject, which Xoimd up by a statement in that journal to the effect that it was the intention of the Minister of Lands to propose an amendment as follows: —'Where a mortgage has been taken prior to the passing of this Act the mortgagee may become the purchaser. In the first draft of the Bill it was provided that on 'it becoming law that tlie mortgagee could not purchase. This was only one point on which the in fluence of the Union had been effective. The meetings of branches might not be well attended, but while they were all combined the influence of the whole could be exerted. in an emergency. The motion was caried. Mr H. H. Hunt was re-elected chairman, and M. B. McKenzie ■vice-president. Committee: Messrs J. Hausen, J. Broadbelt, E. E. O'Neal, Thos. Gifford, Carl Andersen, J. Lumsden, W. Davis, T. McKenzie, J. P. Clark, A. C. Perry, H. Lutze, and W. Tucker, j Mr Perrv was re-elected secretary, ! and £3 3s was voted to him as an honorarium. Mr Anderson was elected auditor. Mr H. H. Hunt ■was appointed Provincial delegate. It was resolved to, apply for the services of the Provincial Organiser. As a remit to the Conference it was resolved that a uniform and complete set of bwks be provided for uses of branches in the colony. It was decided to make the rate of subscriptions the same as last year. The following were elected members of the branch -.—Messrs J. Millen, C. G. Campbell, P. H. Gifford, and Mrs B. S. Penny. On the motion of Mr R. B. McKenzie, seconded by Mr Thos. Gifford, a motion of sympathy with Mrs Scott and family on account of their bereavement, was carried. Both mover and seconder spoke in high terms of praise of the late Mr Scott.