KING COUNTRY FARMERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22427, 25 May 1936, Page 13

KING COUNTRY FARMERS

CENTRAL ORGANISATION AIM TO FORM BRANCH. UNION [BY TELEGRAPH —OtVN correspondent] TE KUITI, Sunday Linking up with the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union was not favoured by tibe central executive of the King Country Amalgamated Settlers' Associations! at their quarterly meeting. The question of continuing as at present or of merging the Settlers' Associations! into a King Country provincial union dealing direct with Dominion headquarters was discussed, and if a satisfactory reply were not received from Auckland the secretary was empowered to write to the Dominion headquarters of the Farmers' Union to make preliminary inquiries as to the procedure in forming a King Country Provincial Farmers' Union. At the last meeting, after a conference with representatives of the Otorohanga branch of the Farmers' Union, the following motion was forwarded to the Auckland branch: —" That the central executive consider the desirability of recommending to their affiliated associations merging into a provincial branch of the Farmers' Union or a subprovincial branch of the union." This matter was referred back to the affiliated associations. The secretary of the Auckland branch had acknowledged the receipt of the executive's motion, saying that the matter would come before the Auckland executive of the union on April IS. No further reply was received by the Settlers' Associations. The delegates at the meeting were unanimous that the Settlers' Associations did not want to merge with the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union, with which both northern and southern King Country sub-provincial branches were now affiliated. There are practically no Farmers' Union members in the area covered by the Amalgamated Settlers' Associations, and the secretary, Mr. J. Jones, stressed the need for some body to be .recognised by the" Government as officially voicing the opinion of the farmers of the central King Country. It was decided that a serious effort should be made to increase the membership of the Settlers' Associations and that the central executive should be recognised by the Government -as the mouthpiece of the farmers of the central King Country. It was also decided that the meeting to be held to form a Te Kuiti Settlers' Association should be told that the ultimate objective was to form a King Country Farmers' Union.