NEW ZEALAND' FARMERS' UNION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13192, 1 June 1906, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND' FARMERS' UNION.

CONFERENCE OF AUCKLAND 1 BRANCHES. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT. The annual conference, of the Auckland branches ;of the New Zealand Farmers' Union was commenced in the Chamber of Commerce buildings, Swanson-street, yesterday morning, there being a large attendance. of delegates. The President, Mr. C. R. Phillips, in submitting the annual report, said the union in the province had more than held its own during the year, and finances were sound. : The executive decided that, as a number of its members lived at such a distance from the city, executive meetings should bo held quarterly, and urgent business should be dealt with by the president and vice-presi-dents. The executive made appeals to provide funds for organising, but as the amount received was so small it was impossible to undertake the work, although the brandies all over the province were asking for the services of an organiser. He was satisfied that money spent on organisation was money well spent. , * THE LAND COMMISSION. Soon after the last conference the Land Commission visited Auckland province, and during its sittings the farmers generally came forward to express their views in favour of the option of acquiring the freehold. They ' were men who, from practical experience, should entitle their views to be taken as a guide in formulating a land policy, for if those settled on the land did not know what was the best tenure for the settler who did? The most remarkable fact in connection with this commission was that its finding was a record in verdicts at variance with the weight of evidence. There were certainly a number of witnesses prepared to advocate' State ownership of land, but who were they? Not settlers. No. Those were the men who gained their knowledge of the land from theorists. Tho question of agricultural education had been kept prominently before The authorities during the year, and in some districts an effort was being made to introduce it. An arrangement had been entered into between tho executive and the South British Insurance Company for three years by which the accident insurance rates had been reduced considerably to members of the union. Tho press were deserving of the thanks of the union for the space and attention given to the union's proceedings, but special thanks were due to the agricultural editor of the Weekly News foi the many able and strong articles he had published urging farmers to join the union.

: THE.NECESSITY FOR UNION. The Chairman said there were one or two questions upon which he would like to addross them. The tendency at the present time seemed to be towards the formation of unions. Different sections of the community were binding themselves' together for the purpose of . assisting themselves to the utmost to the detriment of others, and seeing that this was the case he thought that the farmers, the largest body in New Zealand, should bo more united and bound together in one union, which •would protect and advance their interests. Upon the prosperity of the farmers depended the prosperity of the country. As an instance of this they heel only to look at the exports of the colony for * last rear. The total was £15,000.000," and out of this the farmers produced £12,000,000, while the rest of the colony only produced £3,000,000. The prosperity of the colony, he said, was not due to faddist legislation, but to our exports, to. which the farmers contributed bv fax the greater portion. . The farmer therefore was. entitled to more consideration than he received, and it was absolutely necessary in,their interests that the farmers of the colony should be bound together in such a. body as the Farmers' Union.. The first interest which thev had at stak.'i was the security of the holding which they tilled. The ,_::;'..; ..f it-nave was an important one, and one that- could only be understood by practical experience, but unfortunately there were a lot of theorists growing up in the colony who wore opposed to their ideas. He sympathised' with the worker in his endeavour. to secure a fair wage under fair conditions, as- he was sure every right-minded man .•■would do, but when the Trades and Labour Council evidenced & desire to interfere with what the farmers considered a cardinal essent'i" of their success, the hr.:[ tenure, then the Farmers' Ur- ; ~ •'■ must opivjs© them at. fell eo«- The Trades and Labour Ook?----..c* wanted to amend the law *»•• .„ io provide for. the revaluation of !^ia«s in perpetuity, such revaluation riot to take" place for 50 years or- until a transfer took place. The Farmers' Union had suggested a way out of the difficulty which would bo fair and equitable to the State and to the tenants. "'"* The Trades and Labour Conference proposed to reduce the term of revaluation from 999 years to 50, and in a. few years more they would propose that it be reduced to less. Unfortunately there was a strong body which had exerted a powerful influence on the legislation of the past 15 years who were opposed to the granting of freehold to the Crown tenants, and the Farmers' Union must devote their energies towards: securing the adoption of the principle they so strongly supported.

PROTECTIVE TARIFF DENOUNCED. Touching upon the tariff question the Chairman said the value of our produce did not depend upon the New Zealand market, 'but on the markets of the outside world; yet the people of the cities said everything coming in should be subject to a high duty. There were onlv 35,000 people in New Zealand who benefited by protection, and the .vest of the community had to pay for it. , Only the other day an industrial association •was formed in Auckland, which advocated a protective tariff. An industry which could not support itself without a protective tariff was no, industry at all. Mr. Phillips also spoke strongly against the proposal to use the •Parliamentary franchise •'for count rv and road board elections and loan polls. He also urged that, greater facilities in the matter of roads should be afforded the farmers for getting their produce to the market. . * The balance-sheet submitted showed a credi.:. of £*D 2v lid. - . Mi. F. Dye. Kaukapakana.- moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, which was carried.. STOCK ROAD BETWEEN GISBORNE AND WAIKATO. Mr. Harry, on behalf of (he Hamilton branch, moved, . . ~v That a. good stock road be constructed between Ginborne and the Waikato, and that the conference be requested to take such steps as are necessary to attain that object. Mr. Gill seconded the motion. The country between the districts mentioned was,' he said, at present practically unknown. . Several other speakers said they were against the conference specially advocating this matter, as it was* a local one. They were in favour of opening up all the roads, but did not. see why the conference should specially put this matter forward. The mover said whatever the needs of the other parts of the province might be it should not prevent this matter being push«d forward. The motion was carried. SACKS. On behalf of the Paterangi branch Mr. R. Kay moved, t That in the opinion of this meeting all pack* used, for the disposal of ehatf, grain, and other fsrnf produce should be paid for, and not weighed in, as at present. ' Mr. J. Ryburn seconded the motion, which was carried. BURDENS OF THE SETTLER. Mr. Kay moved; . That as the expenses of running the Waikato Hospital are increasing so that a large share of mil rates are required to keep it going, this branch \a of opinion that the Government should pay for. all cases coming from public work* and roads, where the patient is unable, and that the secretary or the Board should see that no one ' escapes "who is able to pay, and should take legal proceeding* where necessary to prevent loss. The mover explained that tb*> Waikato Hospital was situated near the King Country, where the railway works were at present being proceeded 'with. A great many accidents occurred, and the victims were sent down.to the hospital. The burden was very , great. One bodv, for instance, had to pay »s much as £600 in one year, which left it very Iktle with which to «c on with roads. On the suggestion of Ahe chairman the mover agreed to alter the motion so as to make it a colonial question. Mr. R. D. Duxfield moved an amendment : v;to the effect that all hospital and charitable ' airl expenditure should come out of the c0n..,1 solidated fund. < ~ : Mr. ii. Wily said if they carried the amendment (her would not get anything ,'.';;*me, but if they adopted th© motion they had more chance of petting something. . -, The Chairman said although lie. was in sympathy with the amendment- he did .not see the use of tarrying it, as there was a

strong ; feeling against it in ; other parts of the colony. Ho suggested it should be withdrawn. ' • ■,' The. amendment was withdrawn, and the motion as amended was carried. ' , Mr. T. W. Wilson moved, ; That, the Government be urged to no amend the Hospital and Charitable Aid Act a* to give isolated districts cut off from aid from any hospital, and where an,organisation exists for the support of 11 medical man. a claim on the tubsidy against their subscriptions, and also on a portion of the rates levied. The mover said the settlers in the outlying districts, although they paid 'rates towards the upkeep of hospitals, received no benefit whatever from them. He wrote to tho Premier urging the necessity for such a stop. The Premier replied that the matter would receive attention, but nothing had been done. That was three years ago. (Laughter.) The motion' was carried. ENTRANCE FEE QUESTION. Mr. Kay moved, That in the opinion of this meeting the la entrance charged to all new members should be . dons a-.ray with. Mr. J. Ryburn seconded, and the resolution was carried. REVENUE TARIFF FAVOURED. Mr. W. Jowilt, of Helensville, moved, That should the present New Zealand tariff be i altered it should be in the direction of making : it a. revenue tariff, but in no case should it be made more protective. Mr. J. Borrie seconded, and the motion was carried without discussion. ' The following motion, moved by Mr. W. Jowitt, was also carried: — That the. farmers should agree to the removal of duties on farm produce, provided all other protective duties are reduced to a revenue basis. ENDOWMENTS OPPOSED. Mr. Jowitt also moved, • That the Farmers' Union should oppose the proposals of the Premier to set aside areas of land as endowments for various purposes, as it might be used as a means of preventing'numerous settlers from obtaining the freehold.

Several members said they were in favour of endowments for educational purposes. Mr. C. Bell: It seems to me that endowments is another form of land nationalisation. ' ' The Chairman: Hear, hear. That is the position. The chairman went on to say that there was' a strong feeling amongst the people of the colony at the present time in favour of the freehold, and be thought that the Premier in his endowment .scheme was trying to get behind them. It. was. he thought, a ease of " Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly." Mr. Seruby said it might be » trap. He did not know exactly what capital wcfuld bo made out of this in time to come. Mr. Wily said it was easier "to get land than money from the Treasury. . After some further discussion Mr. Jowitt withdrew his motion in favour of the following, which was tarried: — That all large areas of land thrown open for settlement should be settled under the optional clauses of the Land Act: PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Mr. Jowitt moved, That all cost in connection with running the Public Health Department be borne by the consolidated revenue, and that this Department shall have no claim whatsoever on the ratepayers' money. ,:,.»'..' Mr. G. J. Garland said as a matter of fact •the salaries of the officers of the Public Health Department were borne by the consolidated revenue. It would bs unwis© to pass such a resolution." Mr. Jowitt withdrew his motion. NOXIOUS WEEDS. Mr. Ryburn moved. " That the inspectors under the Noxious Weeds Act be given power to enforce the law against offenders without permission from Wellington, as at present, and that Crown and native lands be under the control of the inspector, with power to clear the same of noxious weeds. Mr. Ross seconded. ■•"', Mr. M. M. Kirkbride, M.H.R., said he believed native and Crown lands- wei;e the worst offenders in respect to noxious weeds. If pressure could be brought to bear on the Government to clear the Crown lands it

•would result in immense benefit to' the country. Mr. C. Bell thought it was too great power to give to the inspector. Mr. Kirkbride concurred. The mover, asked the meeting to vote solidly for the resolution. i The motion was carried.-' ■::•..*•--- ----- The follow!":- resolution was also carried: — That legislation be passed by which owners of land may be compelled .by adjoining owners to clear all growth 10ft back from boundary fences, SILTING- UP OF THE THAMES. Mr. J.' S. Wilson moved. That, the Government be requested to take such steps as are necessary to prevent the silting up of the Thames Rivfir and its tributaries by mining tailings now being deposited in those' rivers by the gold mining companies. Mr. Wilson said the river was vapidly filling up, and when it rained heavily the country in the vicinity was flooded and silt was deposited on the land, doing much damage. Mr. Garland said if the present state of things were allowed to continue the surrounding country would be turned into a swamp. t Ho suggested that the tailings from .the various mines should be diverted into the Waihi Valley. If this were done the bed of the river would be soon cleared. The motion was carried. THE FREEHOLD. Mr. H. Wily, on behalf of the Auckland Provincial Executive, moved, That all holders on lease in perpetuity or perpetual lease or small grazing; runs have'the right to- purchase' the freehold at any time after the improvement conditions have been complied with, cither by. immediate cash payments or payments extending over an indefinite time, reduction of rent to be made in proportion to such payments. No transfer to be registered unless such transfer has attached a declaration by the purchaser in terms of the Land Act and Lands for Settlement Act. Mr. Walke, seconded the motion, which was carried without discussion. APPOINTMENT OF VALUERS. Mir. R. D. Duxfie-ld moved, That no valuer should be .appointed und'r Ihe Land Valuation Act unless he possesses local knowledge. The motion was seconded by Mr. Stewart, and after some discussion, during which it was suggested that such appointments should be made by the local authority, was carried. The following motion, moved by Mr. H. J. Burgoyno, was also carried: — That the local bodies in the various districts be given power to appoint one of the members to act in conjunction with the Government valuer in valuing the properties of it* partici'iar district, ,and that this meeting is unanimous'." of opinion that it is necessary to have local knot, ledge to be able to give fair valuations. . Mr. F. Dye moved, and it was carried, That the local bodies be given power to appoint one of the assessors at the Assessment Revision Court in the district affected. THE DINNER. About. 30 of 'the delegates attended a dinner at the St. Mungo Cafe in the evening. An enjoyable time was spent. The following toasts were proposed and responded to:—"The King," "The New Zealand Farmers' Union " (coupled with the name of Mr. J. G. Wilson, the colonial president), "The Provincial Presidents," "Mr. Glass, the Founder of the Union," "The Delegates to the Conference," and "The Press." The dinner was such a success that it was decided to hold a banquet on the first day of the conference next year. The question of organisation was subsequently discussed. On the motion of Mr. J. S. Wilson it was decided that a determined effort be made to organise the farmers of the Auckland provincial district, and that, for the purpose of- attaining this end the delegates present should impress upon their branches the necessity of supplying the executive with funds to pay the expenses of this organisation. The delegates were also asked to recognise it as their duty to act as local organisers. •• . , The conference will be resumed at halfpast nine this morning.