FARMERS’ UNION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21411, 12 August 1931, Page 12

FARMERS’ UNION

OTAGO PROVINCIAL COUNCIL A nieeting'df~the"New Zealand Farmers’ Union, Otago Provincial'Qbuncil, was held in the offices of tlxeS'coimcil yesterday.. There were present;/Messrs C. R. Sheat (president), Milton; M.-iA. Kinney (vicepresident), Hyde; J, D.-Revie (immediate past president'), .“ Avondale,” Crookston; T. Barr, Oa ; ah:a; .-iT.,: Cockburn sen., Arthur’s Point;* A.,:Craig, Greenfield, Bal.clutha; C. Hallum,; Waikouaiti; James Howell, Middlemarch; A. C. Leary, Evans Plat; T. H. Mee, “Prospect,” Becks; J. Miller, Maungatua; R. H. Michelle, Milton; E. H. Murney,' “Mourne Park, Tapanui; J. 'Preston, Flag Swamp, v\ aikouaiti; I). •'M'Gtegor Reid. Portobello; R. J. E. Wedderburn; H. A. Tamblyn, , Coal Greek Flat, Roxburgh; John Clarke, (life member),.Roslyn; R. B. Tennant; (honorary member), Department of Agriculture. 1 _ A welcome was extended to Mr F, Lill, of Christchurch. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS.

In opening the meeting the chairman said: Never in the history of the_ executive has it begun a year of activity under greater difficulties than obtain to-day. Never for many years at least have the problems of the primary producer been so desperate. The great bulk of the men whom we represent are at best making no headway; very few are not entrenching on their reserves, and numbers are unable to meet their obligations. Men with farming experience, capable, hard-working men, undertook propositions a few years ago and made .their calculations on a conservative basis. To-day their position is - hopeless; ’ Honest■ - men are depressed by the fact that they cannot meet interest, rates, or living expenses,, and it is merely a matter of time and they will have to leave their farms and Join the ranks of the unemployed. Conditions would indicate that we have arrived at the time when a sound basis must be found upon ""which the primary producer and others may carry on. In this time of reconstruction the Farmers’ Union, representing as it does the, ■_ the bulk of, this. country’s’ wealth, will need to take astrong /part. This year I am sure will be oneVwhich will tax the capacity of our executive to the utmost We will need to use all the diligence and'ability that we possess to prosecute effectively our job. As for myself, I feel that the office that has coijie tq.meAirings with it duties and responsibilities 'of/no, light .nature. I do not hope tbviulfllvall' that-yod expect of me. 1 will need-your . co-operation and 3 r our close .attention to the business of the meetings. ;T:mn : glad ; *tha,t' the election of execeutive -has not"; left me with a new team altogether;:' Some members who had established ■^aifetitoe’s 1 this have not been returned; New. blood lias come in. That 1 is'as it' should be, and I wish to extend to the new members a very sincere and .hearty weL comedo - this executive The combination of', you fregh insight and new ideas with the experience of the older members should make Sir -better decisions and actions. I hope t|§B year will be one of progress. It will certainly be one of hard work, and it wilFrtax our capacity to the utmost. — (Applause.) The/.Chairman also congratulated the secretary iipoh the meritorious address he gave before the Chamber of Commerce on Monday night.—--(Applause.)

v COMMITTEE. The-i Finance Committee was appointed as' follows:—The chairman,. Messrs J. Clarke, D. M‘G. Reid, and the secretary. V EXECUTIVE. Meslts William Lee (Goodwood), James Begg (Dunedin), and R. B. Tennent were appointed hon. members of the executive, COSTS OF. COMMISSION, ETC. The secretary (Mr A. C. Cameron) re-ported,;-that immediately after ; the Pro- - vinciar Conference he had forwarded the following letter to the Dunedin ;Stock - Agents and Wool Brokers’;;, Association,and tor the various stock 'firms individuAt the annual Provincial Conference of the above body held on’ Tuesday;, 2nd inst., the following remits were carried, and I was instructed; by ‘the executive to of (same to you, with the request’that you give same your earnest consideration:—(l) ; This conference having noted with pleasure, that the stock and station companies in the Wellington province have formed a subsidiary company to handle all their clients’ live stock with a view to considerably reducing the number of agents on the; road, preventing unnecessary overlapping; reducing the cost of overhead and reducing fheir services to the farmer, urges |that similar action be taken in Otago.iyith a view to: (a) Reducing costs .of commission;i(b) reducing the price of goods, ffetc. (2) This conference is of opinion that in view of the serious economic position of farmers that the following stejjs be taken in an endeavour to get a reduction in> handling costs: —(a) That the stqck and station agents be again respectfully urged to abolish terminal charges, of 9d per bale on wool, etc. (This charge is not made in the case of wool being -delivered by - lorry, and' the charge tends to encourage the use of lorry, instead of rail.) (b) That where the mortgagee agrees to reduce or remit mortgage .interest the Stock, and Station AgentatJ Association be respectfully re-. quested£|h, reduce their rate of interest on cu&Cat account to 6 per cent., and that this “should; also-apply in all cases where -the' agent • has' stock- and/or crops' under ; lien and refuses to pay -mortgage interest.•• (My-'executive realise that all stock agehfiv -corapaUies are going through a very; difficult time, but they believe that you realise that the average capable hard-working farmer must be enabled to make af living out farming, and such being the case that you will do your part to help; them to get down costs of handling and production. They would, therefore, appreciate your giving more than a cursory consideration to the foregoing requests;,;'A copy of this letter has been forwarded to the secretary of your association and to -each of the firms represented therein.” The of the Dunedin Stock Agents-vand W’ool Brokers’ Association (MrJbhn Couchman) had replied as follows:—"Your letter of June 5, embodying remits from the Annual Provincial Conference of the New Zealand Farmers’;;-JJnion, 'held on Tuesday, 2nd inst., was duly considered ; at a meeting of the Dunedin Stock Agents and Wool Brokers’ Association, held on Friday,. 19th inst, My association fully appre-, ciates thq serious (economic position .of farmers,- owing ;tq' the continued low prices for primafy’ p.foducts. Jndeed, the seriousness of ( the: farmers position is continually brought home to the various stock and station agents. Low prices of necessity mean low * commission, and, as a consequence, every avenue, whereby overhead and services may be economised, is being explored with a view to meeting the pres^%^U|i^fd;’ ; ‘eonditions. Some of the vmwllnffi''submitted by you will probably be discussed at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Wool Brokers’ Association, to be held in Christchurch in August next. In the (meantime, the Dunedin Stock Agents’ Association have not sufficient information with regard to the probable success of the Auctioneers’ Association which has been registered in the North Is'and, and \We are meanwhile awaiting development's. Thanking you for your c; urtesy in communicating your conference remits to us.”

The secretary also reported that he had since been in touch with Mr Couchman, who had given him his personal assurance that he would bring the matter up at fhe conference at Christchurch. Since then the matter had been taken up at the Dominion Conference, and the Christchurch executive had promised to wait upon the wool brokers in conference and to place the position before them there. A copy of a letter had been sent to the president and secretary of the- Christchurch executive. NUMBER OF BUYERS.

The secretary reported that he had written to buyers in the South Island •tating that at the Otam Provincial Conference a resolution urging a meeting of responsible administrative officers of the various South Island freezing companies ■with a view to a reduction in the number cf buyers, with a consequent reduction in charges to the farmer. Several replies were read by the secretary. Mr Howell stated that one or two of the buying companies had not taken the matter up with any enthusiasm, while others were doing their utmost to .effect economies. The matter was finally left to the president, the vice-president, and the secretary to watch anfij take such further action as they might think advisable.

SALE YARDS CHARGES. The secretary of the Dunedin Sale Yards Company wrote stating that the union’s request for some reduction in the standing charges, particularly the charges for unloading trucks, would be considered at a future meeting, probably in September. REMITS TO DOMINION CON--A: y .^FEREJfCE. The njeAtllii£'lhen;gaive consideration to the remits sent by Otago; to the Dominion ConferericdA : ''"J"; The chairman said -it/ wins right that members should know, that the remits passed at their provincial conference, did not drop and die when passed; > It was proper that reports should be made on the remits, so that members would know the remits had received consideration. The secretary and the chairman reported on the consideration given to the remits in Wellington. • . Several members expressed dissatisfaction with the small attention given to the fiscal remits at the Dominion Conference. The delegates sent to Wellington; explained that ; these remits had been withdrawn by the conference eh bl6e, as a result of a deadlock over the wheat business. • After, discussion,*-it was agreed that the Otago remits be. again taken up with the Dominion Executive. One of the remits forwarded by Otago read: “That the Power Board Act be amended to provide that on the question of loans the franchise be the same as is provided in the Counties Act/’ Mr Reid expressed the opinion that the matter was of the utmost importance. He hoped it would be referred back to the Dominion Executive. The position was anomalous, and they would have to take a firm stand. . Mr Smith seconded the motion. Mr Revie said they wanted the law altered,-and legislation was the only way tO ]VTr Murney thought that* nothing coultl be done till after the elections. It was resolved;. “That,The 'matter, be referred back to the Dominion Executive, that the executive, be requested to regard it as important and urgent, and that the local members of Parliament be notified of,, the .action, of the , council in this The chairman said that, on the whole, the Dominion Conference was very successful,. though long, , drawn , out. There were some excellent’addresses. The Gov-' ernor-General’s speech and his were quite good, and the conference tele proud that the representative of the throne in New Zealand had such an interest in farming matters. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Leader of the. Labour Party were Pf A member; What about Mr Semple? The chairman said he was not at the meeting when Mr Semple attended it he was at a committee meeting, hurther, they had an excellent address from Mr Samuel, M.P., dealing chiefly with marketing in England. lie criticised th 6 look of action of the Government in advertising New Zealand products at Home. A helpful address was also given by. Mr Tocker. The addresses took up a good deal of time, but they were well worth • * The delegates to the Dominion. Conference ' were thanked for their services. DUNStAN BRANCH.

A letter was received from the Dunstan branch respecting Mr W. A. Bodkin, M.P., replacing Mr .E, J. Iversen on the executive. <■'.? . ,- r .: - • It was decided to reply that the appointments had been, made, and that no .chafige could be made, and Mr Leary and the secretary, when in Alexandra nest ‘will explain the position. AREA OFFICER. The secretary reported on the work being done by the area officer (Mr 0. E. Niederer), and stated also that -a Womens Division was making wonderful progress on the Taieri.THRESHING AND HARVESTING, Prior to the executive meeting a conference was held in connection with costs of threshing and harvesting, and suggestions were made regarding getting same reduced. , ■ ... The conference decided that, until some pronouncement was made as to what the on-trucks price of wheat to farmers was to be nothing . .definite could be done, although it was felt that all parts of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland should work together to get the award rates reduced. After a full and frank discussion, it was resolved' that Messrs F. Lill (Christchurch), A. S, Cookson (Dunedin), A. Craig (Greenfield), and D. Dickie (Gore) be appointed a sub-committee to go further into the matter and report, and that if necessary Otago delegates be sent to Christchurch in support of any action taken : PETROL AND OIL.

The Clutha branch forwarded this remit;—“That the Government be’ asked to make inquiry into the apparently huge profits being made by the petrol and oil companies, and to take steps to have prices for these commodities reduced. It was said the Government was at present inquiring into the price of petrol. Mr Smith favoured the Government taking over the sale of all bulk oil in New Zealand and washing the bulk 01! companies out. ' ‘ Mr Revie supported the idea ot the Government importing all the petrol required in the Dominion, distributing it from the centres. Mr Smith moved as an amendment to the remit—“ That ,the executive is - of opinion that the time has arrived when the Government should be the sole im; porter of petrol ip bulk, .into. N?w Zealand.”, W ’ After- further discussion,*., it -rwas . decided ,';t(i ask the Government to hasten its inquiries into, the-profits.; being n\ade by the'petrol and oil companies. UNEMPLOYMENT. , .The Tapanui branch forwarded the following remits: — , 1. That this branch feels that the only way to assist and help to relieve the position caused through unemployment is to devote some scheme for land settlement under a group system and a classification of those who have had previous experience of agricultural work, such to be first assisted under this scheme. 2. That'"’this 'branch consider the unemployed levy is right in principle for finding necessary work for unemployed, and that at least portion of the necessary funds should be raised by a flat tax and that the Government should not permit the present laxness in these contributions. ■■ ■■ ’ ~ ' '1 ’ ' J 3. That in v the opinion,,, of. this..' branch the penalty -'on 'thrift’ l in'v;the Unemployment Act .is* wrong,, ; a person.unemployed should s not have to become a pauper before being eligible for work under the Act. That this branch consider,that to encourage thrift is the only way to assist the Dominion, in unemployment. v ;: ■ . Mr- Murney, in supporting the remit No. 1, said that as the Unemployment Board would be in possession shortly of a considerable sum of money, % certain portion of it should be ear-marked to assist those of the unemployed who would make suitable., - 5 to 10 to 20 acres,Vafieordihpjtbi.the class of land, would give the better class of unemployed a chance of retaining their self-respect. The.holdings could be handed over free. Half a million might be set aside for the purpose of settling, say, 500 men on sections of good land, giving to them cows or hens, and even a house, plainly furnished. This would get rid of at least that number of unemployed. . Mr Kinney seconded the motion, which was* carried. ' ? Mr Muthey moved remit No. 2, stressing the latter portion, of, it. . The motion was carried, . Remit No. 3 was also carried. REMITS.

The following remits came up for consideration: — . , North Otago Provincial Executive: That it be a rcommendation to the Government that in any future land settlement under the Land for Settlement Act, a clause be inserted in the lease whereby, if a tenant wishes to dispose of his lease, the land should revert back to the Crown, the tenant to be entitled to full compensation for his improvements.—lt was decided to obtain further information before adopting the remit. Berwick; That this branch considers that no revaluation of land should take place at the present time.—The opinion was generally expressed that the present time was inopportune for a revaluation.— Consideration was deferred for six months. Milton: That your executive confer with the various dairy companies on the matter of overlapping in the collection of cream from country districts, with a view of devising some more economical way of doing same. —The remit was adopted. Lawrence: That the attention of the executive be drawn to the Manufacturers’ Association desiring legislation enabling them to fix minimum prices for their goods, j The secondary industries are too highly protected already. Manufacturers

should rationalise their concerns to make goods cheap and to pay their way.—After discussion the remit was withdrawn. Tahakopa: That the time has arrived when steps should be taken to standardise the price of butter-fat sold in New Zealand, and, if possible, the minimum price paid to dairy farmers be Is per lb butterfat.—After discussion the remit was lost.

Tahakopa: That this branch considers that, in view of the low prices ruling for stock, steps should be taken to have the duty removed from stock foods, and the reduction in price thereby possible passed on to farmers. —The .r.qjmt lapsed. Lawrence: That/ the -Provincial Executive be asked to ■.investigate if electric power poles can be dropped .five feet when they rot under the ground, instead of replacing them with new poles,-—The secretary said the position of the Electric Power Board was that clearance of overhead lines was set out for each type of line, and in erecting a line those distances were adhered to as closely as possible.— The remit , was withdrawn.

Milton: That your executive again take up the matter of payment for wool bales, also object to the deduction of tare on wool. It is suggested .that-your.'execu-tive might solicit:' ihe VeupportViOf the; Sheepowners’ Federation in this matter. —Referred to next Provincial Conference. Lawrence: That the Otago Executive set up a committee to report on the advisability of introducing an availability rate for the Otago Power Board area. — The matter was i-efcrred to a committee for a report.—A letter was read from the Lawrence branch regarding Power Board franchise. Lawrence: To allow more attention to be paid to remits at a provincial conference, the president’s address, previously published, be taken as read, and, if possible, all preliminaries be shortened. — After a discussion, it was suggested to open the conference at an evening sitting, ■.when the Minister’s address and the chairman’s address would be taken, the remits to be considered on the following day.— The matter was left in the hands of a sub-committee to carry the suggestions further. V ' , Clutha: That the election of country members to the Otago Harbour Board be conducted by postal vote instead of the present very expensive system.—Deferred for consideration to next meeting of the executive. correspondence. A communication- was received ’ from the Awaniunga-Pukeawa branch, which suggested the formation of a company to handle and sell all lamb, mutton, beef, and by-products of freezing works exported from New Zealand. —The branch was thanked for its suggestion,' i The Middlemarch branch forwarded a report of a meeting, held on August 8, when the subjects of unemployment, woollen wool packs, and foot-and-mouth disease were dealt with. The branch was disappointed with the action of the board in its decision to discontinue No. 4 A scheme. A large number of workers had been engaged on farms under the scheme, £and by its elimination the services of over 50 per cent, of the workers would have to be dispensed with. —It was decided to make a protest against the scheme being stopped. Mr J, Pow, secretary of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, wrote stating that registration was contained in the Finance Act last year giving the Government power to re-arrange the allocation of main highways revenue to assist in meeting the shortage in the Consolidated Fund. As the power to divert the motor taxation expired on August 31 the matter would be brought up in Pariia.ment. r The Prime Minister had, expressed the opinion that the ear-marking of any tax was unsound in principle, so that a -reduction in subsidy to county councils and other reading authorities would probably be proposed.—The secretary was authorised to telegraph to the Prime Minister objecting to any reduction in subsidy. Mr 3*. Pow also wrote stating that a special parliamentary committee had been appointed to make investigations into highway finance;—Messrs Preston. Reid, J. Begg, and the secretary were appointed a sub-committee to prepare evidence. This concluded the business.