THE FARMERS UNION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 June 1907, Page 1

THE FARMERS UNION.

PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE. The -sixth annual Provincial Conference of the Farmers' .Union was held in the Oddfellows' Ball, Richmond, on Wednesday, 12th inst. The following officers and delegates -were present:— Messrs I. Tunnicliffe (president), P. Higgins (vice-president), W. D. Harkness (secretary), Messrs C. Di-ogemulj-er, :Lw. ;(Upper Moutere), G. Dodson (Wakapuaka), J. Thorn (Dovedale), F. Fairhall (Wakefield), F. W. Smith (Richmond), R. H. Turner (Waimea West). The minutes of the last Conference, and of the last executive meeting, were read and confirmed. The president delivered his address as follows : — ' Gentlemen, — It is my duty as president of the Nelson Provincial Council to give a resume of the work undertaken by the Farmers' Union for the past year. I regret the circumstances that caused me to occupy the position of president on this occasion, viz., the resignation of Mr C. J. Ruffell early in the year, owing to his business engagements. lam sure lam voicing the feelings of all present in saying that V.c were sorry to lose the services as president of so zealous a worker as Mr Ruffell always pioved to be. Since our last annual Conference many changes Vive taken place. Especially is this -.o with regard to the personnel of the "rovernment, the Cabinet having been Mitiiely reconstructed. Nelson has "snff.i'ed a severe loss by the death of Col. Pitt, Attorney-General. The whole colony as well as Nelson has mourned the loss of so able a statesman. The Land Bill brought down iby the Government last session has caused quite a stir in Farmers' Union circles. In fact, the Farmers' Union throughout New Zealand has been engaged in fight- - ••;* •■ uf the provisions contained h->r?in. 1 refer more particularly to the limitation and endowment clauses and the absence of any facilities for obtaining an optional tenure. The campaign undertaken by the Union against the Land Bill, or rather, the clauses referred to above, is meeting with considerable success, as evidenced by recent utterances by Ministers and others tn the pffect that in all probability the Bill will be modified before it makes its anper.'ranee again before the House of Representatives. Thc Land Bill 'ias not been discuss-d much in the Velson district. Land owners either lo not take it seriously or have not studied it sufficiently to understand the effect it may have on the futuie set•lement of the Crown lands ..owing to the natur*; and position of the Crown lands in the Nelscn district they need to be taken up under tha best tenure nossible to encourage settlement. Therefore it behoves us as settlers to see that anv futnre land legislation does not tend to retard the settlement of our 't'r.wn lands. Labour Deman 's : — lt wil be neces--*iry for this m'...ting to consider what -tops, iff any, are to be taken to com'm*. the demands of the Nelson trades •inions. As vou aro aware there is a ■novement on foot to extend the radius iver which the awards of the Arbitration Covet may be made applicable to a Hstanee of 35 miles from Symons' Memorial in Nelson. This practically lakes in tho whole of the Waimea County. As farmers, we know full well that the conditions that apply to hihonr in the towns are totally inapplicable to conditions prevailing in the country. aThe only result that i's likely to accrue if these demands are acceded to will be that a much higher rate will have to be levied all over the county to meet the extra demand on the funds. This state of affairs is not likely to benefit anyone, least of all the labourers. The farmer's business is largely controlled by tho laws of supply and demand, and of the elements, conesquently rule of thumb methods cannot apply to agricultural pur-

suits. It will be for this meeting to consider the question of -registering the different branches of the Union under thi} Arbitration and Conciliation I Act in order that we may be in a better position to protect our interests. I am pleased to note the increased interest that is being taken in Union matters in the Nelson district. Inquiries have been made by farmers in the Tadmor and Tapawera, districts, in reference to establishing a branch to serve these two districts, and f-rom inquiries, I have hopes of seeing a very strong branch of th" Union formed in the near future: I was also pleased to see that renewed interest was, beiug taken in Union matters by farmers around Richmond : and I have reason ti believe that this district is likely to grow. Two branches in the district, viz., Dovedale and Wakefield, have organised and carried out to a successful issue an old-time winter sport designated as- the farmers' field day consisting of ploughing matches! sheep dog trials, driving competitions, etc. Both these branches are to be congratulated on their enterprise, and they deserve all credit for iiitroducini** a clean and healthy sped, one that is evidently popular, and therefore likely to extend the influence of the Union. Experimental Farm.— At the last meeting of the Provincial Executive it was invite the assistance of local and other representative bodies in Nelson in ord»r to advance the question of the establishment of a State experimental station in Nelson. With this end in view, » deputation consisting of repr resentatives from Nelson City Council. Nelson Education Board, Chamber of Commerce, A. and P. Association, Richmond Borough Council, Stoke Road Bocrd, Suburban North Road Board, and Farmers' Union, met the M.'sH.R. for Nelson and Motueka on the grounds of the Wakefield Field Day sports, and received assurances of their sympathy with and their intention to support the movement. It will be necessary to formulate a strongly-word-ed application to the Minister, and any other stops you may deem necessu7y to back up the application. In conclusion I wish to express my reeret that I have not been able to visit the branches in the various parts of the district, owing to circumstances that I was unable to control. I sincerely thank you for the honour you did me in electing me to the position of president cf the Union in Nelson, and I Hope that the Union is destined to be of great service to all who are engaged in acricultui'nl and pastoral puo&uits. I wonld urge all members of the Union t> attend the branch meetings as often as possible, and endeavour to make the meetings as entertaining and instructive as possible, in order that the young mo nof our respective districts may be induced to join our ranks. The president was thanked for his address, and it was ordered to be published with the report of the meeting. l'he secretary read his report and balance-sheet, the latter showing that- 1 the income from levies was an in--reasa on the amount received last year. Tha state of the finances was considered an improvement on the last two years, but there was still 'room for improvement in this respect. The total amount received to date was £30 for the year. Correspondence was read and dealt with as follows : — From the Colonial Secretary, re distribution of pamphlets on the Land Bill. No action was taken, as not sufficient information had been received as to the manner of distribution. The question of the Nelson Lahore Union's demands were considered This matter was left jn the lianas of the President and the Secretary to take such steps as is deemed necessary. A letter was received from Mr Innea Jones, asking on behalf of the settlers at Tapawera and surrounding districts for information and dat***. in order to enable a branch of the Union to be established there. The President and the Secretary were authorised to snpply all the information in their power, and to attend a public meeting .if necessary. Mr W. Buckland, Waikouaiti, wrote •-e the setablishment of a Farmers' Union Rifle Club. To be acknowledged, with a reply sympathising with the movement, but stating that the Unions were not prepared to take any action in the matter at present, owing to tho fact that there were already a number of rifle clubs in the district. From the Wakapuaka Branch, recommending the following remit to be forwarded to the Cplonial Confidence,, viz. : That the Government be again' requested to appoint only persons who have qualified as veterinary surgeons to the position of Stock Inspectors. ' A remit was received from the Wakefield Ecanch asking that the headquarters of the Provincial Executive be removed to' Wakefield, that being considered more central. This question naturally caused considerable discussion, only Wakefield delegates supporting. „ Mr F. W. Smith suggested as an alternative that the Executive meetings might be held in different centres ; but he could not see his way to vote for the permanent removal of headquarters at- present. Sush a step might become necessary in the futu-re. The motion was lost on the voices. Remit No. 2 from Wakefield. That the Executive bring under the notice of Branches the advantages to be gained by pooling orders for manures, etc., with a view to some definite action being taken. The delegates sympathised with the idea, but considered it was too late to be of mach service to farmers for this season, ns so many had already ordered their season's supply, but they would keep the matkc in view, and in thc meantime make inquiries as to terms, etc. The question of taking further action with regard to the agitation for the establishment of a State experimental farm was discussed. The President was authorised to take what steps he considered necessary to forward the movement. It was suggested that an ' application be drawn up, and the signa- j tnres of all those forming the deputa-t-ion •L*-> tla« m«mlx.»i"*s l>© attached . una | the document forwarded through the members for Nelson and Motueka. Mr McKenzie's suggestion that a petition be circulated for signatures, although considered an excellent one was deemed to require considerable time ; so it was thought that the next best thing to do would be to follow out the alternative suggested as above. The election of officers for the. year was then proceeded with, -resulting as follows: — President, Mr I. Tunmeliff (re-elected); Vice-President, Mr P. Higgins (re-elected) ; Secretaiy, Mr W. D. Harkness (re-elected) -.Auditor, Mr W. Smith; Delegate to Colonial Conference, Mr I. Tunnicliffe; Members of the Provincial Executive, the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary (ex officio), Messrs F. W. Smith, C. Drogemuller, G. W. Bensemann, H. V. O'Beirne, G. Dodson, J. Thorn, W. Thorn, F. Fairhall, J. Hagen, R. H. Turner, G. S. Haycock, and G. E. Chisnall .