THE FARMERS' UNION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12624, 3 August 1904, Page 3

THE FARMERS' UNION.

MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE. A meeting of the executive of the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union was held at the offices of the secretary, Mr. G. J. Garland, yesterday, There were presents Messrs. L. R. Phillips (president), Sturges, Dye, J. G. Rutherford, S. Scruby, J. S. Wilson, Sainsbury, Wyley, Thomas Coates, and E. Hall. The President delivered his address upon the . business transacted at the recent Colonial Conference in "Wellington, in which ho gave a survey of the deliberations of the conference, referring at some length to the formation of mutual fire insurance companies, and agricultural education imparted principally through the rural primaryschools. The debates, he said, were characterised by thoughtful, earnest consideration of matter.? of vital importance to farmers. Mr. Phillips thought, however, that the proposal to prohibit the export of ewe lambs was an unwarrantable interference" by the Government with affairs of farmers. The ewe lambs exported were, if allowed to corne to maturity, animals which would not meet the objects which it was evident the Government had in view. It would be far better in the interest of sheepowners if the Government minded its own business in this matter. Referring to the cattle disease of_ black water, black leg or quarter ail, as it is variously known to farmers, it was agreed that the members of the union should assist the chief Government veterinarian (Mr. Gilruth) in his efforts to stamp out the disease. Unfortunately, as pointed out by Mr. Hall, supplies of vaccine for this disease had to be obtained from Australia and America, as there was no proper laboratory here for obtaining it. The report was received and adopted, and a vote of thanks was accorded to the president and to Mr. Hall for their attendance at the conference at Wellington and for the valuable work they had done there. Railway Charges: Reference was made to the charges for cattle trucks for the carriage of sheep in a letter from the Whangarata branch. It was resolved, after discussion of the scale of charges, to refer the Whangarata Union to the fact that the matter of transport charges for cattle had been dealt with bv the Colonial Conference at Wellington. The President thought an effort ought to bo made to bring the charges for carriage of sheep to such a rate as would secure the whole of the trafFio to the Railway Department and at the same time leave a profit. Technical Education: The circular recently issued by Mr. George George (director of technical education in Auckland) was referred to, and Messrs. Hall, Rutherford, and Dye were appointed a sub-committee to draw up a reply to Mr. George's circular. A letter was received from the Waihi branch suggesting that payment for such agricultural technical instruction as suggested should be met out of the consolidated revenue, and not by direct payments made by the settlers themselves. Mr. Dye observed that; £16.000 only had been voted for technical education for the whole colony, and he believed that that sum would be inadequate to meet the needs of existing institutions, let alone any extension of the work. Land Tenure : In referring to the subject of land tenure, the President said he had received a letter from Mr. Massey, saying that the whole matter would be fought out on the floor of the House, After full discussion, it was unanimously resolved to forward the following telegram to the Premier, Mr. Massey, and to Mr. J. G. Wilson (president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union): — "Strongly protest against the question of land tenure being taken out of the hands of the Parliamentary representatives by referring it to a Royal Commission." The members present unanimously condemned tho proposal of the Government in ignoring the power committed . into the hands of the people's _ representatives to Parliament. Franchise Extension : In referring to the proposed extension of the county and road board franchise, the. President said it was an unwarrantable interference with the rights of ratepayers. The members of the union j throughout the colony were at one on this ■ point, and were unitedly hostile to the pro* ! posal that others than ratepayers should have j the right to deal with money that rate- ' payers would have to provide! Mr. Thomas i Coates remarked that in North Auckland, ' for example, where there was a floating population of gumdiggers, persons would have the power of voting for the expenditure of loans which permanent residents would certainly have to meet. It was also pointed out by other members that the whole business of the extension of the franchise was an attempt to introduce the thin end of the wedge of single tax. It was finally resolved, 'That the farmers of Auckland province strongly oppose the extension of the counfv and road board franchise to non-ratepayers. ' Telegrams, including tho resolution, were, ordered to be sent to the Premier- and to Mr. Massey. i Single Tax Opposition: Mr. Wylev called ! attention to the proposed legislation to be introduced by Mr. G. Fowlds, .M.H.R., to ' make the taking of a poll on the rating on unimproved values compulsory. "One wretched singletaxer in mv district." ex- I claimed a member, "cost us £10 to take a j poll, and the result was a foregone conclu- I sion ; the majority would not have it, and I tho principle was rejected." It was resolved ! that the president take such immediate ae- ' tiou as may be necessary to oppose Mr. i Fowlds measure should it come before I Parliament. . Stud Registration: Mr. Hall explained, re I ferring to the registration of stallions, that the Hon. T. Y. Duncan, Minister for Agriculture, had laboured under a misapprehension in stating that the Auckland 'Agricultural and Pastoral Association was in favour of compulsory registration of stallions. That was not so; the association favoured optional registration. This was the view taken by the meeting. Mr. Rutherford explained that trie Wellington conference had steadily and ■ consistently advocated optional registration. ' The union approved of the action taken to ■ make registration optional. fertilisers Bill: The President gave a tunning commentary on the provisions of the Fertilisers Hill, and the matter, after discussion. was referred to a sub-committee, consisting of (he president, the secretary, and Messrs. Hall and Rutherford, with power to deal with the measure. 1 lie Slaughtering l .Act: Mr. Sturges called attention to the Slaughtering and Inspection Bill, with a view to permitting export slaughtering companies to dispose of their produce in the abattoir districts. Mr. Sturges referred to the recent decision of Mr. Justice Dennis!on in the case of the Christ church Meat Company v. the Christchurch City Council, and he remarked that the city councils seemed to be in opposition to the best interests of farmers and consumers in this matter. The farmers should sec* that this matter was brought before, the House and there settled, so that slaughterers for export could, by paying the municipal ! fees, supply to local markets. The matter he (Mr. Sturges) knew had Air. Massey\s support, but his hands would be strengthened if he had the strong support of the farmers. It was resolved that the president be instructed to act at once if he finds any attempt to make any alteration in the Act. North Auckland Railway: Mr. Coates drew the attention of members to what he called tho unconscionable delay in the completion of the North Auckland railway. It had already tak«n 18 years to complete 18 miles, and there was no telling how long it would- take at that rate to complete the work. Farmers suffered severely in their stock having to be driven over rough country ! to the steamer, and then often driven back from the steamer, which was not ready to leave, to the nearest feed, perhaps many miles off. The animals lost heavily in condition. and frequently missed the market, i he delay in finishing this important line was unpardonable. The work of extension to Maungaturoto should be hurried on with all possible speed. Mr. Dye pointed out that this was the best paying section in the whole of the colony, and he challenged the Railway Department to prove to the contrary. The Government could find money to build lines leading from nowhere to nowhere, and yet they could not find tho means to hurry on the completion of this most lucrative part of the railway system of the colony. After a full discussion it was resolved that the Government he urged to complete the line from Hotco within two years from date. Land nluation : Mr. Sainsbury called attention to the capabilities of land valuers, and. suggested that measures be taken to have properly-qualified men, with the requisite local knowledge, appointed for this work. Mr. Wylev instanced a case where valuations had been made of land that the valuator had novel- seen. It was finally resolved to request the Government to appoint as valuers practical men. possessing some local experience and qualifications, as many complaints had been made of the incompetency of some valuers. Routine matters were disposed of and the meeting closed.