THE FARMERS' UNION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12027, 25 July 1902, Page 6

THE FARMERS' UNION.

[BY TELEGRAPH. association.] ~ . . Txmaru, Thursday. A meeting of the executive of the South Canterbury Provincial Farmers'. Union was held here to-day to receive the' report of Mr. J. F. Douglas, the delegate to the recent Colonial Conference. The meeting discussed some of the conclusions of the conference. The union platform was criticised as absurdly insufficient, and the ruling out of proposals as political was said to be inconsistent, and if that attitude was persevered in it would "make the union useless. Mr. Muslin expressed a fear that the difference of interests between the North Island and the South would render it necessary to divide the union. It was resolved to take steps to form a Timaru branch, the one originally formed being broken up by the formation of other branches. The question of assisting the owners of threshing mills to, resist the claims of the' mill hands in the dispute before the Arbitration Court was discussed. It was decided that they could not do anything as a union, but the branch secretaries are to be asked to receive subscriptions from members to a fund to assist" the mill owners to defend themselves, as if defeated the extra charge must be passed on to the farmers., . .