FARMERS’ UNION FINANCE.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 1978, 21 November 1921, Page 3

FARMERS’ UNION FINANCE.

BRANCHES SLOW TO PAY. Tho somewhat involved finances of the Manawatu Sub-provincial Executive of tlie Farmers’ Union were again aired at considerable length at the meeting of that body on Saturday. The discussion arose out of a letter received from Mr. J. J. Lynch, who wrote stating that his attempts to resuscitate tho Ashhurst branch had proved abortive. After thoroughly canvassing the district, he had called a meeting of members of the branch, at which not one member had appeared.—lt was further reported by other members that so far attempts to revive tho To Horo branch had also failed. Tho Chairman, in reference to the other branches, said they were not sending in remits, their subscriptions, or anything else. The treasurer (Mr. J. A. McLeavey (said that within four months of the end of the present financial year they had received in subscriptions only £lB 15s. lid. up to last month, out of which they had had to pay £C 14s. 3d. At the same time they had a debit balance of £ll4 18s. The Secretary said that £lO had since been received from the Levin branch. Even with tho debit balance reduced, said Mr. McLeavey, tho present position was untenable. They would have to get to work quickly and do something to better the position, or they would bo starting tho new year as badly off as even. Levin was practically the only branch which had sent in its full subscriptions. The Executive had trusted very largely to tho branch secretaries to get the mone> in, ayd they, as ho had anticipated, had failed. They had to find some means of getting the hioney in or pay it out themselves. Mr. O. P. Lynch: A lot of people seem to think that it is on the samelines as tho County Councils, and that they have six months in which to pay. A Member: Why not charge them tho 10 per cent, then? A detailed explanation of the financial position of thiir respective branches was given by the members present, but apparently this did not throw any light on tho subject. Mr. F. W. Hubbard remarked that the Farmer!’ Union was supposed to be organised, but it seemed to be disorganised. They had heard that a Dominion organiser had been appointed in the South Island, but they had not been officially notified of the fact. There, appeared to be no effective cohesion between tho different controlling bodies of the Union. If a capable man, the organiser appointed should be given a chance of reviving tho whole organisation. He moved that the secretary of the Executive be written to for information concerning tho activities of the new organiser.—This was agreed to, Mr. Aitken blamed the system of collection rather than the indifference of members of the Union for the state of the finances. He moyed that branch secretaries be asked to forward their dues before December 10. Definite business-like methods would probably produce effective results. Mr. Aitken’s motion was carried,