THE COUNTRY PARTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19170, 9 November 1925, Page 11

THE COUNTRY PARTY.

FARMERS' UNION DISSENSION.

MATAMATA« BRANCH ACTIVE.

SUGGESTION OF SECESSION.

[BY TELEGRAPH. — OWN CORRESPONDENT.] MATAMATA, Saturday. When tho Matamata branch of the New Zealand Fanners' Union assembled on Friday evening at its monthly meeting, mention was made of the Country Party. Owing to illness of the president, the previous meeting had lapsed. This members regretted, as several had intended to move further in the matter of sustaining the branch's objection to tho formation of the Country Party. The president, Mr. H. Rollett, said ho had considered whether the branch should secedo from the union. " I have almost come to the conclusion that the union is doing no good," lie remarked, "and the action of tho Auckland executive in foisting tho Country Party upon us has about burst the thing up. 1 think tho Auckland provincial executive has lost its grip. We have been sending representatives to Wellington to the Dominion executive conferences, but to a very large extent our efforts are wasted. I have represented this branch for eight years, and have attended conferences, but have come away with the idea that no good was done. This branch has opposed the Country Party since its inception, but the average farmer does not know that. Wo have opposed it from start to finish." Mr. A. Bowler asked whether the Matamata branch could refuse to contribute to headquarters' funds if the money were partly used for the Country Party. Some timo ago tho branch passed a-* resolution against tho formation of the Country Party, and he was glad that tho country had upheld the attitude of the branch. At the conference in 1923 the delegates expressed themselves as being favourable to the formation of a country party. The Matamata and Morrinsville representatives were the only ones against it. Ihe men on the executive had been for 20 years among the farmers, and must have known the true position. Yet they persisted in their attitude, and their going down as they had done had made a laughing stock of the Farmers' Union. Mr. J. W. Simpson, referring to Mr. R. I). Duxfield's attitude on a no-con-fidence motion, asked if there was anything in tho platform of the Country Party authorising a member to support Labour. A member replied that Mr. Duxfield qualified his attitude later. He had been expressing his personal view. Mr. Simpson: No wonder the farmers did not support them. Mr. Bowler thought tho question of secession had better bo held over in the meantime. Inquiries could be made to ascertain whether the funds of the union were used for political purposes. Mr. Rollett said he quite agreed with Mr. Bowler's view, for it was with great reluctance that ho brought forward the idea of severance from the New Zealand Farmers' Union. Members commented that they had always got more satisfaction by writing direct to Government departments than by acting through the union executive, where the correspondence had sometimes been lost altogether. The president moved, and Mr. J. VY. Simpson seconded, a motion that the secretary write to the Prime Minister and the member for Tauranga, Mr. ('. E. Mncmillati, expressing the satisfaction of the branch that the country had endorsed by so substantial a majority the policy of law and order and stable government. This was carried unanimously.