OTAGO

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 16

OTAGO

The monthly meeting of the Wyndham branch was 'held on the 2nd mat., Mr James Milne in the chair. Mr Cushnie (secretary) said that the annual subscription had been fixed, on the recommendation of tho Provincial Council, at lCfi. He now observed that the executive desired that of each member's fee 8s 6d should go to that body, leaving only Is 6d per membei on which to finance the local branches. Speaking on behalf of Wyndham branch, he Aas convinced that it could not be "run" on lees than 3s of each member's fee. The Chairman explained that the executive had to find Mr Paterson's salary, pay for all printing, etc., amd they required 8s 6d out cf every 10s to provide the necessary funds. Mr Winter thought they could not hope to remain a sound financial body on ihe present fee. H« favoured tho subscription being raised to £1. The Chairman eaid that question was out of order, as the Provincial Council had already resolved that it should be 10s. Mr Cushnie said it took upwards of 3s from each of their member's subs, last year to pay their way ; but during the next 12 months they could not expect to sit rent-free, a« they had done in the past, owing to the hotels being about to lose their licenses. He moved: — "That this branch jontribute 7a from each of its member's subscriptions, reserving 2n for local requiremeutfl. Seconded by Mr Cook, and carried. — The small birds nuisance was again brought up. The Chairman remarked that it was a formidable and growing evil. A great deal of money had been spent in endeavouring to cope with the pest ; but the results, 60 far, had been anything but satisfaotory. Mr Cushnie said that their county member. Mr Raymond, had given notice to move that the County Council discontinue its subsidies in the way of poisoned grain, there being no evidence that the poison was diminishing the evil. Mr Rose thought it would bo unwise to discontinue laying poieon. He moved:— "That the County Council be requested to continue its exertions againet the small birds pest ; and that the Government b& aeked to offer a bonus, local bodies assisting, for the best epecifio for ths destruction of small birds." The motion was carried.— The Chairman said the Provincial Executive had thrown out tho suggestion that branches should meet less frequently — say, quarterly instead of monthly — and endeavour to make their meetings of a more attractive nature, including the regular presence of their organiser, Mr Paterson. Then th© lectures on agricultural science that were being arranged might also be held on the same nighte. Quarterly meetings could be financed more cheaply than monthly. Mr Cushnie said such a. change should bo welcomed by him as n branch secretary ; but from a broad standpoint he favoured the retention of the monthly meeting. He moved — "That this branch oontinue to neet monthly." Seconded by Mr Cook, and. carried. CANTERBURY. At the annual meeting of the Grcenpark branch the following officers were elected : — President, Mr J. Dent ; secretary, Mr G. Holland ; treasurer, Mr I\ E. Jarman ; auditor, Mr R. Coloo. After a discussion on the weighing of gra - 'n and other matteie, the president was elected a delegate to represent the branch at the annual conference. The first annual meeting of the Timaru brainoh wae held on the 2nd inst. There were only about a dozen of the 90 members present. The Chairman (Mr J. Chisholm) said the original South Canterbury Union promised to be successful and useful, but amalgamation with the New Zealand Union had destroyed all interest in it, because of the attitude taken up by the Colonial Council on labour questions, and the adoption of a definition of membership which precluded them fromi appearing as a union in the Arbitration Court. He was so convinced of the inutility of the union in this most important respect that he purposed having nothing more to do with it as at present constituted. He suggested that they should revive the independent South Canterbury Union with which they started. Mr E. Acton, president of the South Canterbury Provincial Executive, advised that mo adverse decision should be come to until after the meeting of tho Colonial Council in July. when they might hope that southern delegates would be able to have some reforms effected. This advice was adopted. Tho second annual meeting of the Fairlie branoh took place on the 4th inst. There was a fair attendance of membere. Tbe

following were chosen as members of tha executive for tho ensuing y«ar: — Messrs James Wilson, John Bray, B. Gillies, Battison, F. C. Herbert, W. C. Isitt, J. Trotter, C. Talbot, F. R. Gillingham, and W. Wrcford. Messrs James Wikon and F. R. Gillingham were appointed delegates to tho South Canterbury Provincial Executive.-^-It was decided to make the subscription 5s per annum.— Mr E. Acton, president of the Provincial Executive, was in attc.tidar.os by invitation, and addressed the meeting upon, various matters of Intei-est to the union and farmers in general, and it the conclusion: was heartily thanked for his remarks. — The To.Mowing resolutions were carried: — "That the delegates be requested to strongly support freedom of contract : that they shoulct also support Mr Clelland's scheme for the appointment of a London Board for the distribution of frozen meat ; that this branch is in favour of severance of the union be. '.ween the North Island and South Island, though retaining a bond of union in reference to matters of colonial importance to agriculture; that in order to facilitate tho registration of the union members should consist of formers only; that this branch, is in favour of the appointment of an organising aeoretary for the South Canterbury Provincial District."— At the conclusion of the general meeting the executive appointed the following officers: — Mr James Wilson, chairman; Mr C. Talbot, hen. treasurer; and Mr F. R. Gillingham, hon. secretary. — A number of members were en* rolled, and the meeting closed. Thirty three members joined the branch last j'ear. There was a .small muster of membere afc : the annual meeting of the Temuka branch, held on the sth inst. Mr J. Talbo* occupied the chair. The Chairman regretted very much that there was not a larger attendance, as last year, for a similar reason, they were unable to hold the annual meeting. The present meeting had been well advertised, and he had hoped that there would be a large attendance, as he had arranged with Mr Acton, of Pleasant Point branch, to give a short address at the meetimg.^ Mr Acton -was present at some inconvenience to himself, and it was a great pity that there were not more present to hear what he had to say. At present there were 3i working membere who had paid their subscriptions, and all obligations had been met. and the balance sheet showed a credit of £1 17s. The buninesfl before the meeting was the election of an executive, secretary, auditor, and collector, flmd to decide the amount of the subscription for the current year. Included in the last, provision had to bs* made for 2s 6d. due from each memI her for the Provincial Colonial Executive. J There was an idea on foot that the annual ' subscriptions should be increased in order to make the union more effective from a financial point. — The following were appointed as ?xecutive: — Messrs J. Talbot, J. Guild, J. C. Rolleston. J. Fraser. W. Acton, jun.. ,f. Brown, J. Hoi well. Edgar,- Hoare, Ashwell. A. Shaw, P. Wareing, J. Austin, and J. Airav. Mr Talbot was again chosen chairman ; Mr Fraser re-elected hon. secretary : and Mr Hoare elected auditor. Mr L. Fn=or was appointed collector. — It was decided o raise the annual subscription from 3s to 5s. — Several mew members were elected. — Mr Acton rhe-n delivered his address, on simitar lines to His address aft Timaru and Fairlie. A hearty vote" of J than lea was passed to Mr Acton. I The annual meeting of. tho Peninsula i branch of the Farmers' TTn'on was held afc DuvaucheJlo's Bay on tho 2nd inst., at which there mss a l.irero and representative attend* aiw. Mr J. D. Bruce occupied the chair. Tho. annual report and balance sheet were read and {vlcpted. — The Chairman gave a resume of the work done during the year, which was xmsidored — Mr Bruce was re-elected ona-irman. and Mr Lcote secretary. Mr John Petti grew wa9 appointed delegate to represent thn branch at the Conference in Christchurch. Arrangments were made for representatives from tho various bays. — Mr Baker put bofore the meeting a scheme to deal with future crops of cocksfoot grown on the Peninsula. Summarised, the proposal was to form a co-operative company, farmers taking shares in proportion to the qu.-uitity o£ feed grown by them nnd guaranteeing to put ihe seed through the company for a stated number of vesrs. Tho scheme was i favourably discussed by those present, and it was decided to refer the matter to the Standing Committee set up early in the year. . with Mr Hall is chairman. — It was decided to raise the annual subscription to ss. At the annual meeting of the Tai Tapit sub-branoh, Mr R. A. Forbes occupied the. chair, and there was. a moderate attendance )of members. The statement of nccounta I showed ft credit blance of £1 2s Bd. Ifl was decided to increase the annual subscrip- ! tion to 53, and to make an effort to secure sufficient members to form a separate branch' directly affiliated to the New Zealand Farmers' Union. The election of officers and committee resulted as follows:— Chairman, Mr W. Gilmour, iun. ; secretary and treasurer, Mr T. 0. Morgan : auditor. Mr J, Voss ; tjommittee, Mess-: J. Michael, R- A« Forbes, G. Mangek, H. E. Poryman, J., Heinsmann, H. Tobeck. and J. Leney. Jttr> G. Gray, of Lincoln College, gave a very, interesting and instructive address on "Rotation of Crop 3," dealing with tho history ofi rotations, the systems in vogue, the general principles to be followed, an outline of fcho nutritive properties of plants, the effects of; tillagp, restorative fallows, plant food removed by different crop 3, comparison of root, grain and lecuminous crop 3, advan.tafi.ei

ol rotation, special requirements of crop*, end other matters. At the close he an.Tvered a number of questions, and was acCOrded a vote of thanks. • There-was a good attendance ot members ht the annual meeting of tho West Melton Jbranoh, which took place on, the sth inst. iThe report and 'balance sheet, which were eatisfaotosy, were adopted. Mr G. Watson, •hairman, was accorded a. vote of thanks for )bo aibly representing the branch at the Provincial Conference. A strong committee sraa elected to jarry out tho year's work. i-Mr • -Watson was re-elected chairman, and jMr Roberts eecretary and treasurer. •' The 'second annual meeting of the WaiSaaie branch was held oa the 2nd insfc. Mr J.. F. Douglas (president) was in the chair. The report of the retiring committee was not of a cheery or encouraging description, showing as it did a falling away to a considerable extent in attendance of memibeP3 at meetings, in numbers on the roll, and in amount pi subscriptions as compared with the previous year, j,nd it was feared, which is of more importance, that a falling away in enthusiasm and determination had also taken place. If some improvement to a considerable extent does not take place, the branch cannot flourish. The balance sheet was also read, showing income £62 16s 3d, expenditure £53 15s 6d, cash in hand £9 0s 9d, liabilities £3 10s (not; accounting for paymen* of secretary). The report and balance sheet were adopted, and votes cf thanks accorded to the president for his services during the year, and to Mr Buckingham for lik work in canvassing for members. Mr J F. Douglas declined nomination for president, as lie could not attend this year ; lie would be a good deal out of the district. Mr Borrie was at length moved to the chair ss president pro tern, and on the motion of Messrs Douglas and Ward it was resolved that the secretary convene, by cirto the farmers of the district, a meeting for tho 16th inst., to consider the whole matter of election of president and committe- for this year and the position and prospects of this branch. Tho annual meeting of the Eangionv branch was held on the Ist mat. Mr H. I*'. Recce, chairman, in his annual report, referred to the antagonistic spirit the Lyttelton Times had ilvays shown towards tho union. It was a pity that the Times, an ably-conducted and iniluential journal, and one that, as a rule, dealt fairly with public matters, should so treat the union. It seemed to him that the editor had a bee in his bonnet as regarded the union. Notbins; would convince that gentleman that it was not a political and party concern. Mr Seddon took up the saroo attitude at first, 'but lately his opinion had taken a turn, and he had seemingly come to the conclusion that it was no^ a political party organisation. Tho strength of the union was increasing, and farmers would feel that it was doing a good deal of useful work in a quiet ■way. It 3 existence was a -ihc.ek on rash legislation, foi when members knew that from 20,000 co 25,000 farmer unionists were watching their actions, it would make them careful. — The balance sheet submitted by Mr A. S. Bruce, treasurer, showed receipts £13 19s 2d, including 52 members' subscriptions ; nd expenditure £12 4s 6d, being a credit of £1 14s Bd. Subscriptions and levies mounting to £10 163 6d were vncolleeted, and £5 7s 6d was ptill Jhie co the Provincial Executive. The balance sheet was adopted. Mr H. F. Recce was re-elected chairman. Mr Harrison was elected vice-chairman ; Mr Bruea, secretary .and treasurer, and Messrs J. W. Fceter, •P. C. Threlkeld, F. Horrell, J. Stevenson, E. Mulcock, G. Whitcside., J. Barker, R. Meredith, Aitken, and W. Smith, the Managing Committee Miss K. Bay-ley was appointed auditor, and Mr Reeco delegate to the Provincial Conference to I>e» hold on May 28. — Mr Meredith thought the plin adopted by the Southland Executive in appointing 1 veterinary surgeon as travelling representative was an excellent one *hai should be followed by tho Cftn+prbury Executive. The unsatisfactory wriy jf weighing ifarmers' produce in trucks should receive attention. In February laet he sent 28 trucks of oats from Darfield to Lyttelton, and wihen he got the weights he found a difference of 164 bushels, or nearly three tons, between the threshing maohine and railway weights The merchant bought and sold by ,lie railway weights, therefore the farmer was the loser. With reference to the newspapers, \e thought much could be done for the farmers in getting more accurate information of the markets in Australia, South Africa, and elsewhere, and a!?o by sending special reporters U ;he south to fiixl out and publish reliable information respecting the condition and prospects of the crops. In instancing the necessity foi exploits n? the South African market, be stated that he noticed . in the papers that potatoes were quoted at £11 £>er ton in Durban ; but hi? son in South Africa wrote him that they were seilling at £23, find oats at 7s p?r bushel, and maize at 7s 6d. Mi F. Horrcll said, with reference to bhe Chairman's attack on the Lyttelton Tim^s, that, although a strong ■supporter of the union, he be-lieved there were grounds for the declaration that they •wore mixpd up in political matters. He was afraid they lid sometimes bring party politics into then discussion, and if they were not careful thir would cause a pplit. — Mi Recce -remarked that the railway rates were an important matter, an dthe executive intend .c interview the Minister of Railways reearding them at tho earliest opportunity. — Votes of Mianbs were passed to Miss Bavley for auditing the accounts, and to Mr Br,uce fo» his services as secretary and treasurer.