THE FARMERS' CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13480, 3 July 1907, Page 6

THE FARMERS' CONFERENCE.

The annual colonial conference of i the Farmers' Union, now sitting at Wellington, will at least have the effect of definitely informing members of Parliament of the wishes of' the agricultural community upon current legislative proposals. That the agrarian interests of the colony are at last possessed of effective organisation is a valuable and muchneeded check upon the bad practice . of ignoring the opinion of the country constituencies in matters that vitally affect them. It remains for j the Government to decide whether , it will completely estrange our agriculturists by still attempting to force upon them the ill-advised agrarian theories of city politicians or will take the conciliatory action which is at once politic and just. Upon the Tariff question we must expect diversity of opinion between diverse, though not necessarily antagonistic, interests, but any reason-*,; able compromise ought to be accepted by all parties as a fair settlement. For tariffs must always be compromised, and cannot possibly give complete satisfaction upon every item to all parties. But in the matter of the Land Bill there is no fair ground for compromise as long as those who do not intend to work the land assume to dictate the working conditions to those who do. There can be no great difference of opinion as to the desirability of discouraging by constitutional and practical means any pronounced tendency . towards the aggregation of great estates. Upon this, the great mass of farmers are indubitably '. firm —for they are staunch believers in Freehold, without any academic or theoretic reservations. But when the Government attacks the Freehold, by taking every opportunity to increase the Leasehold areas of the colony, it sets practically every farmer in both islands against its 1 objectionable measures. This is [ already known to and openly recog- '. nised by every frank politician, but ; no harm can be done by and much ' good may result from the emphatic ' reiteration of agricultural opinion 'which will be sounded in the ears [of our assembled representatives by the Farmers' Union Conference.